Next up is what I call environmental health. This encompasses my home in both the material aspect of it and the feeling inside of it. For the most part there is nothing I need to prioritize about my living situation. The issue is, I can see upheaval on the horizon and I need to start preparing now.
It is the reality that job prospects are better in a different city and that makes the scenario an exercise in fuckallat. I used to live in Denver. I loved it. Denver has done a fantastic job of pivoting the economy throughout its history to keep the area thriving. For a guy who put his roots down in the tech sector it was a great place to be. Competition for talent meant I could make great money and rarely have to struggle to find work.
Then they legalized weed, and things began to get crowded.
And stanky.
That’s not entirely fair.
There was also a situation where a lot of people from states like California and Texas figured out your home buying dollar went a lot further, so they headed for the hills. In return the housing prices went through the roof and my salary didn’t keep pace.
It is fun to watch these dicks try to drive in the snow though.
I mean how exactly do you get a car upside down on a 35mph street?
Anyway, I was facing a move to the only areas I could afford, which would put me in the hood, or an hour commute one way to work. I am fine in the hood, but I didn’t want that for my kids. Instead I looked at moving to The Springs as the commute would have been about the same. It was a last resort though. I grew up in The Springs, and I spent my entire adult life trying to escape.
Shit is weird here.
Luckily I was able to convince my employer that working from home was a viable option for me. This meant I could move, avoid the commute, and retain my Denver salary. I figured there was enough distance from my past to return to The Springs and try to see it with fresh eyes.
Then the world shut down and my employer told me to fuck off.
I blame Colorado Springs.
I had already bounced my kids around a bunch and I really wanted them to have a stable situation. In an effort to keep my daughter off the pole and my son out of prison I chose to stay in The Springs and figure it out. I did the best I could, but now I have to figure something else out because the life I am living is entirely unsustainable.
The good. My house is big. Four bedrooms, unfinished basement, two car garage sitting on a sizeable lot. I like the layout. I like the vaulted ceilings. I like the location. I get along with most of my neighbors and there isn’t a ton of crime. It’s relatively quiet and has great access to the Highway and other amenities. The grocery store is just up the block and I am mere minutes from world class outdoor adventures.
There isn’t a whole lot bad about it. It is nearly 50 years old so it has its quirks. It has that trashy 1980’s vinyl siding on it which sucks, but for the most part there are no structural repairs needed. The kitchen is a bit small, and the back yard is in serious need of landscaping, but there isn’t anything show stopping. I would stay here indefinitely if it wasn’t for the job market.
“Get another remote job” they say. What these “they” don’t realize is the competition for remote work is worldwide. Remote positions are absolutely drowning in applications, and the employers can dictate super obscure skill sets at lower salaries. “They” don’t understand it isn’t as easy as all that.
All this is to say, I probably need to move back to Denver. The major reasons are threefold. One, better job opportunities. Two, my daughter wants to go to school up there so I can either give her free room and board, or at least be close enough to bug her more often. Lastly there is a larger pool of available women and I really am hoping to someday make room in the budget to go on dates.
The reasons against are compelling. I have a low interest rate and I don’t want to pay out the ass to a bunch of banks that don’t give a shit about me. Plus, moving does in fact, lick balls. Having to sell stuff, donate stuff, trash stuff, then pack stuff, move stuff, unpack stuff, buy new stuff. . . balls in the mouth.
The other major drawbacks? The traffic up there suuuuuuuuucks. Vehicle emissions testing is annoying. Crime is worse. Air quality is worse. Everything costs more, from insurance to hot dogs. Taxes are higher. Parking is nonexistent, and the people can be. . . citified. Not entirely unfriendly, but situational awareness needs to be heightened for sure.
This is especially true since I will likely land in an area colloquially called Saudi Aurora.
Whatever the case, I have to maintain my environment and think about how to get the most out of my investment if I decide to sell. This has to be accomplished with a budget that doesn’t exist. I may have a favor or two I can call in, but this is DIY to the extreme at this point.
With that, I think I will schedule a room by room audit. I can inspect each room and write down any repairs or improvements that need to be made. Then I can do a rough estimate of the cost and decide where I can cut corners or where I need to abandon the idea altogether. Given I don’t have 3 nickels to rub together, all of the costs will need to come out of a HELOC.
This goes back to my financial strategy. I have to somehow figure out how to consolidate the debt and get enough on top to make the home repairs and improvements while keeping all that debt under the sale price enough to walk away with a 20% down payment on something new in Denver. I may be able to get away with another 3.5% down through FHA, but then there are issues with higher monthly payments, PMI, the whole thing.
I can do that math, but some of this hinges on hope that interest rates drop. What I can’t do is jump into another sketchy financial situation and have the government blow up the banking sector, or lock down the entire country, or you know, drop a nuclear weapon. If I take this risk I am doing so assuming the economy can be somewhat stable for the next 17 years so I can just retire already.
Of all the areas of my life that require attention and focus, this area is by far the most complicated and daunting. Not like I want to die in this house, but I am really in no mood to do what it takes to move on from it. In the meantime I still have to live here. Luckily the place feels good so I am pretty much set there.
I could use some more art on the walls, but who couldn’t?
Right now my timeline is 24 to 30 months before my daughter moves out, but that is not set in stone. A lot can happen between now and then, and unless I get a higher paying job I might be forced to do something drastic far sooner. I can only move money around for so long before this house of cards collapses again.
At the same time there is no telling what is possible. There are plenty of people looking for houses in any condition to try to flip. I likely wouldn’t get market the way things are, but what makes more financial sense? Saving myself the time money and effort to try to squeeze a few thousands out of my house, or getting whatever I can from it and figuring the rest out later?
Current interest rates are around 6.7 which is almost double what I currently have. Best case scenario I am walking out of the deal with $50K. That as a down payment only buys a $250K home with is nothing. This puts me in the FHA loan scenario where the bills on a comparable home are pushing $3500 a month.
Those numbers simply do not work.
Renting is the better option and could be a reasonable choice short term. It is just really difficult to manage pets and cars and tools and life under the thumb of a landlord. I swore to myself I would never have to deal with that shit again.
Gah!
I need a smoke.
Stepping into another morning I inhale slow death, mind racing more than usual. I have no idea how I am going to make this all work. It is all so daunting at the beginning. Every choice seems fraught.
Trust the process.
Trust yourself.
Trust the universe.
I put my hands together and raise my face to the heavens.
Please. Please just nudge me in the right direction. I just need a little positive push. I will do the rest.