And we put the brakes on

We’re taking our house off the market. Yes, we just got an offer.

But we had already decided on me and Peter moving to the condo. And that’s what we’re sticking with.

And we’ve run the numbers and it’d be cheaper to maintain two households (house here and the condo) than to rent — mostly ‘cause our house has no mortgage. Renting would also be more expensive with all the costs of a full move and repairs needed due to an inspection. Of course those expenses will come whenever we do sell.

So really … it’s because if we did all this effort and spent all this money, and then Peter melts down or fails out, … it’d be so much pressure on him that we’d done all that. Even if we reassured him that we meant to do all this anyway.

In addition, we didn’t have a concrete plan for what happens next year: buy in Tampa? Move elsewhere? We could end up renting and spending more money without a clear plan. We need more time to figure out the next stage.

Four months ago, Sean was sure the economy was about to collapse and wanted to sell while we could. But the economy is mostly doing okay. And interest rates will drop in a couple months so housing market may actually improve. And maybe we will sell it for more money (that’s a gamble).

In the meantime, we can get Peter through a semester or two before we commit to moving.

Whooo wheeee…. It’s chaos! And yet, we’re doing the less chaotic thing.

As soon as Sean said that this could further devestate Peter, I was like, ohhhh yeah. That’s smart. Then I was like WHY we were gung-ho to do this? And he reminded we (HE and many experts) thought the economy was about to collapse. And it still might. But now that maybe it’s not collapsing as fast as we thought … this gives us more flexibility.