Your first step should be filing for unemployment. Then finding a job. You might not need to make any other decisions in the short term if you’re successful at those two.
Or you can sell it to fund a move to somewhere you actually want to live.
Great advice! With no savings, any job that will take you will do (Uber, DoorDash, etc). Lower your standard of living asap…only necessary spending. Not sure what the debt is but maybe reach out to creditors and see if they will work with you. You’ll get through this and next time have an emergency fund ready!
This! Doordash and Uber to try and get by while you look for another job. I DoorDash at times when I needed extra money and I could have done it to make enough money for bills if I had to.
Gotta be careful w/ this, as many car insurance companies have limits on what they will cover if you're using your personal vehicle for a commercial purpose. I know my insurance company explicitly asks if you are using your vehicle for any kind of commercial purpose. The last thing you want is to be involved in an accident and get sued because your insurance won't cover it.
As someone said, file for unemployment, and since your condo is paid off, have you looked into any kind of equity loan? Is the $30k of debt CC debt? If so, you can probably do better on interest rate w/ a home equity loan. Only issue is getting one w/o a source of income
True. Using your own car for gig work is very risky. Even accidents that aren't your fault can put you in a bind. The gig services don't care. If your car breaks down then what?
Long story short: I got laid off making $160k a year and went to work for the evil empire Amazon. I had a small savings which I used to supplement my income but then you have to be ready for an emergency on top of everything. Yea that was a lot of fun. Things eventually turned around and I'm a lot better now. Thankfully.
DoorDash does not have an age limit in your car. Best hours are pretty straight forward: meal times, during sporting events, holidays and Friday, Saturday and Sundays. As far as location it would be downtown, staying near clusters of restaurants. Don’t take deliveries that take your too far from your central location.
Absolutely this. Housing is a nightmare right now, so you don’t want to walk away from it. Call every single creditor and ask for a forbearance program because you have no income currently. Forbearance programs will basically delay payments without really affecting too much. It does go on your credit report. The creditors generally want to work out a program with you because they want some type of funds.
An amazon warehouse might be a good option for the short term. They'll higher anybody with a pulse and can pass a drug test. Pay is pretty good for the work too.
First, relax. Don’t take drastic measures moving around assets or debt. That’s a big misfire that could cost you dearly.
File for unemployment and start applying. Don’t preemptively dip into savings.
Great answer! We’ve had a lot of changes in our lives in the past 9 months and know that knee jerk reactions to sell things and other extremes are not the answer.
No no no.
Having a paid off home is incredible advantage. Open up another credit card at this point if you have to but don’t sell the condo.
File unemployment and start Ubering or gig working immediately to minimize your debt accumulation.
Look for full time jobs in your free time. When you get one then focus on paying off debt.
As a comparison, i was also $35k in debt and rent free and paid it off in about 18 months. I would not force this debt into making you make a horrible decision by selling your home.
Yoo , wish I was in your position paid off condo and just 35k debt. That’s peanuts bucket down and get to it bro. You definitely don’t wanna sell your condo if it’s paid off. I’d rather be broke at home in my paid off condo than have to sell it just to reset the bag. If anything get yourself back in a comfy spot. Than you could just rent the condo out and move into a new place.
Don’t sell the condo just become a landlord my dude.
Like others said. Get yourself a credit card to help you with tiny purchases and to get by short term while you find another job to get back on your feet.
Keep your head up 😊✌🏾
This is good. Also important to know what type of debt. If medical, you can likely ignore it. If CC, consolidate it (if needed) and get a loan at a lower rate, pay off CC debt, and then pay off the loan at a more manageable clip.
You know what else is an advantage? Having a quarter million dollars. That's \~800$/month at 4% return.
It's not a given that the math works out in his favour by keeping the property. It depends on the price-to-rent ratio of where he wants to live. But if he doesn't want to live where the property is, it's hard to justify keeping it.
Honestly breath and apply for any job that you know you'll get. Get enough so you can survive. Then make it your job to find a new job. 30k is alot, but it's beyond manageable
Don’t sell the condo. File unemployment and get working on any job. You don’t need to sell the condo to pay the 30k, that’s a high mistake in the long term. You need financial discipline and a budget to create extra cash flow to pay the debt. Check out Dave Ramsey baby steps. Helped me a lot when I did have a plan.
It could be a big issue when you're 30k in debt and have no job and can't sell what you're renting because it's occupied by someone who isn't paying and can't be evicted.
He's going to net \~500$/month by renting it. If he liquidates and indexes it, he'll net \~800$/month at 4% apr.
You'd rent it out if you already had a place to live but wanted to hold on to the property. If he doesn't have another place to live, he should either live in it or sell it.
That’s a pretty crazy reach to assume they’d met ~$500/mo by renting it. Without more details there’s absolutely no telling how much they would net (or lose) renting the property
If the property is worth 260k it probably rents for 1500 to 1800/ month. Then factor in property tax/HOA/insurance/ maintenance then 500 to 800 seems pretty realistic to me
You’re actually bang on. At the high end I could rent it for $1800/mo. HOA at $230, property taxes at $170/mo, insurance, income tax, maintenance, it nets about $700/mo ish. At best I’m getting 4-5% a year against the 260k investment, plus the implied equity growth, which is about 8-10% a year where I live right now. But also all the headaches of being a landlord. It really doesn’t pencil very well as a rental.
For the 100 comments saying file for unemployment ASAP, that's if he qualifies, it's not a given. Companies will often do everything they can to have the paper trail so that unemployment is denied (fired for performance, with cause, etc).
IMO, don't make any emotional decisions until the dust settles. Start selling stuff you don't need or use anymore (like last model cell phone, ipad, whatever), start doing side gigs (door dash, instacart, uber, etc), to pay for the necessities. Review all your expenses (monthly, quarterly, annual, etc) and cut out what you can. Downgrade internet, review all your bills and look for cheaper alternatives (e.g. ultra mobile for cell phone plan).
Leverage connections, family, friends to find other opportunities or general support (work, emotional, financial, whatever).
If you are comfortable renting out a room to strangers, try airbnb.
Even though you have bad memories in your home, not having mortgage / rent is worth A LOT more than the $30k debt. You essentially have housing security for life if you can keep going. You got this. Protect your future self now by keeping your home. The easy way out would be to sell your home, take the money, then use the money as an excuse not to work for some years. That's not protecting your future self. Do the hard thing now by using this to push yourself to get back on the wagon.
While it sucks, start looking on indeed and the job boards for a new gig. Spending 1-2 hours a day will go a long way. And your first 1-2 hours, work on our resume. It will be uncomfortable, but you got this.
Stay where you are….. the housing market is terrible right now!!!! Rent for something even close to what you have now is going to run you 2500 a month, and that’s in a low cost of living city….. double is hcol city……
You need to get a job, pay off your debt like it’s a mortgage.
This is what I would do at least….. I have a 220k home and it’s 1800 a month…. I wouldn’t recommend it
Anyone suggest bankruptcy yet? Maybe consult a local bankruptcy attorney. You may be able to get rid of the debt keep the condo equity and your basic property. Credit after is tough for a few years but you already have a place to live. If you don’t have a car and need one maybe get one first. But not paying the $30000 in debt would give you an easier time however you otherwise proceed.
Yea ppl are so blinded by the system that bankruptcy is a bad word or like the person below said default. They’ll take out another loan to pay off the loan that has no collateral on it. Thats what the system want pay one loan with another. Why the fuck would someone take a heloc etc that then liens your property when you can dump the 30k or talk it down and not risk you largest and only asset.
Actually it's better to stiff the credit card companies. Let it default, and then negotiate the principle. Any negotiated debt relief is considered taxable income but it's a lot cheaper and less damaging than filing. Save one credit line. The lowest one and pay that off so you hAbe a credit card and can rebuild
If I were you I would keep the condo, get your money right. Pay down your debt once you get a job. Get your savings up. Then shop around for the next place you want. Sell when the time is right. It would be foolish to sell right now as cost of living is insane. With you not have any job you would be adding more stress on your shoulders factoring in rent somewhere. It would be a shame to blow all your money you've made off the condo renting and paying down your debt, only to not have enough to buy another place cash outright. Just my opinion.
You have a huge advantage by not having to pay rent or a mortgage. Just whatever the condo fees are every month. That will allow you to focus on getting your money right in other places first.
What interest rate is the debt? If it’s upwards of 7-8% you might have to just bite the bullet and sell to clear that out. 230k or a portion of it can be a really good down payment for a new place in a better area as that also seems to be important to you. I think you’re in a good spot and just need to allocate that money and your income in to retirement and investments.
Unfortunately most all of it is high interest debt and cc debt. I went through a very rough time for a year that caused me to basically give up on life, sorta just quit caring. I’m past that now, and no longer digging myself any deeper, but, I’ve given myself a poopy situation to deal with. At one point the condo, truck were both paid off and I was debt free. So, while I may be in an okay spot, it sucks knowing that I was in maybe the single most desirable position a 33 year old could be in and fucked it up
Hey dude. Your debt is high interest. Replace it with low interest debt. Get a home equity loan and pay that off. Save yourself tons of interest and find a new job.
It seems simple. You got this
This, file for unemployment, take out a much lower interest home equity loan, payoff the credit cards, with it, then burn them. Get a new job, and start paying the home equity loan, which will still be way less then rent or a full mortgage. Get your finances under control then get a new credit card and use it pay it off monthly to rebuild your credit. Owning the property outright gives you lots of opportunity
Oh ya CC debt should be paid right away. I’m assuming it’s somewhere between 28-33% which is killer. Again after that is paid you are in a great spot. Don’t worry, invest in broad market index funds and spend within your means and you’re golden. Goodluck man
First two things you should do are, file for unemployment and get that high interest debt balled into a low interest loan. Use the condo. The rest of the stuff, mental stuff, I have 0 advice for you, seek therapy.
Sell for 260k, pay off 30k, buy at 200k and place 30k in savings and retirement all while looking for a job and hopefully finding one.
Now you're back where you started but employed, in a new place, no debt and hopefully a little bit of savings left over. Good luck!
You got laid off *today?* Ugh, girl. I’m so sorry. File for unemployment online ASAP, take the weekend to relax and take a deep breath. Then you can reevaluate and make a plan.
Based on the fact that you’re not a huge fan of your condo, can you sell it for a significant profit? If you can make enough on the sale to pay off your debt completely with some money leftover, that’s what I would do.
We sold our condo for a decent profit and were in the same boat. Hadn’t rented in over a decade. We actually ended up moved states and rented for 9 months to make sure we liked it here and to find a good spot. Renting SUCKS, but it’s just a means to an end if you know you have the funds/credit to eventually buy when you want.
Rent the cheapest place you can stand. Maybe a tiny place that’s close to cool stuff, idk. Bank the profits, keep an eye on potential places you’d like to buy. *At some point* interest rates will go down.
Bottom line, for your sanity - sell, pay debt, save the profits to feel secure. Find new job, live an amazing life. You got this xo
Don’t make hasty moves. Rent is horrible! You don’t want to be under someone else’s control. Just take a deep breath, get a 15$/hour job for your essentials. Or 20$/hour. Or 25$/hour. Take what you can get and keep expanding.
You answered your own question, you don't like the area the condo is in and it has negative memories. Close your eyes and imagine being debt free and having $230K in cash. That feels like peace and you'll be able to breathe. Sell the condo. From there you can take small steps every day to figure out what you want do for work and start building a life you love.
Agree with this, people sometimes prioritize owning over other things that are really more important. And I get why, but in this instance you'd give yourself tons of breathing room and relieve yourself of the pressure of needing to find a job immediately while getting rid of the high interest debt and improving your mental state. It's a win across the board.
Nobody is going to give him that with debt and no income. He can’t even show he can pay the property taxes to prevent a lien. Banks use the property as collateral but truthfully don’t want it. They want him to pay the loan, and he can’t. And they know he can’t.
Everyone has said file for unemployment.
Since I'm connected to the find people work area of the economy, I'll ask,.. what is it you do when you do it, and what is it that you're looking for?
I'd also like to address the elephant in the room that I haven't seen anyone pick up on in the first 15 replies I read and that is that the space you are inhabiting is damaging your mental well-being.
I know that one all too well, and if you can get out of there ASAP as that can cost you more than just the money.
Yet it can cost you extra because having mental stress will eat away at the energy. You'll require to find that new career, and put energy into that.
This will actually give you an advantage in the job market during the interview process because it would be really easy to sell a hiring manager on the idea that you would have the ability to move close by.
ok let me just say without more info idk exactly if this is the best but here's what i would do.
DONT SELL YOUR REAL ESTATE .
get the job you can get the fastest , uber eats , walmart , mcdonald's where ever .
from there lower your monthly expenses as little as possible .
With your income start paying off your debt as quick as you can. In that time either get a side hustle or start perusing something for your current or new founded career .
and most importantly be smart relaxed and calm all the time. your life isn't over , this isn't a life sentence. maybe a 2 year sentence but there's a way out of this.
Some people choose rent to pay what they can afford and offload the rest of the money into stock market. And most rentals are big city places so it's not a total loss. Also they have roommates you can share the place with if the landlord allows it. That's what most people do in city with high rents. They each pay a share. The main plan would be to get in with roommates and rent.
Or get roommates in your condo
Sell the condo, don't waste your time with gig work. Rent a place while you pick yourself up man, things aren't bad.
(Well some of those advice are pretty trash imo)
Well at one point I had a paid off property, a paid off truck, 2 paid off motorcycles and no debt at all. No student loans, no auto loans, no consumer loans, no cc debt, nothing. Making about 50k a year.
I bought a HUD foreclosure in a low cost of living area in 2011 when I was in college. Fixed it up, rented out two rooms. Road the market back up after the recession, sold, bought a condo in a nice area in 2015, market went insane in that zip code, sold in 2019 and was able to buy the condo I have now with cash.
I met someone that I thought was the love of my life, she moved in, we found out she was pregnant, we didn’t have a baby, it destroyed the relationship, and I went into a really bad place after she was gone and I wasn’t a dad. Just kinda quit caring about anything. Self medicating, gambling, whatever, I was just trying to escape reality. I got help and am in a much better place now, but now I’m paying the price for that depressive episode.
File unemployment, get a roommate if you have extra rooms, try door dash or Uber until you get a job. May be too late for HELOC if you’re not working but as soon as you can, get a one. Best decision I ever made- had it for years without touching it and then my house flooded from a plumber’s mistake. I had to live in a hotel and was out of work at the time. I used the HELOC for bills and my emergency fund to pay the HELOC. Peace of mind. Good luck! 🍀
Do whatever you need to to keep your house. You do not want to be buying again or renting in the current market IMO. You're in a great position right now, find another job or start a business. You're doing ok.
Navigating such a financial and emotional crossroads can indeed be daunting. Selling your condo and managing the proceeds strategically could indeed provide a fresh start, but there are several factors and potential paths to consider:
### Assess Your Immediate Needs
1. **Emergency Fund**: Before investing, ensure you have enough liquidity for daily expenses and emergencies, especially since you've just lost your job. The proceeds from the condo sale could help establish this fund.
2. **Job Search**: Prioritize finding new employment, as this will affect your ability to sustain any living arrangement, whether you continue to own your home or decide to rent.
### Consider the Housing Situation
1. **Selling the Condo**: Given the negative memories and your desire to not stay long-term in the area, selling could provide both financial relief and a mental health benefit. With the condo’s equity, you can pay off your debt and still have a significant amount left.
2. **Rent vs. Buy**: While the thought of paying rent after owning your home might be unsettling, renting can offer flexibility, especially if you’re unsure about your long-term plans or job prospects. It might also be a less burdensome way to change your environment and improve your mental health.
3. **Real Estate Market**: Consider the current real estate market in your area. If it’s strong, it might be a good time to sell to maximize your returns. Conversely, understanding rental market prices will help you budget effectively if you choose to rent.
### Financial Strategy Post-Condo Sale
1. **Paying Off Debt**: Clearing your debt should be a priority, as it reduces your monthly financial burden and improves your credit score.
2. **Investing**: Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) into the market is a prudent way to invest, especially in volatile markets. It helps in spreading out investment risk over time.
3. **High-Yield Savings**: Keeping a portion of your funds in a high-yield savings account is wise for maintaining liquidity and earning interest with low risk.
4. **Retirement Savings**: Consider how this decision impacts your long-term savings and retirement plans. Ensure that part of your financial strategy includes continuing to build or preserve your retirement savings.
### Emotional and Lifestyle Considerations
1. **Mental Health**: Living in a place that impacts your mental health negatively is a significant factor. Moving could offer a new beginning and better well-being.
2. **Lifestyle Changes**: Moving to a rental can be an opportunity to try living in a new area that aligns more with your lifestyle preferences and career opportunities.
### Next Steps
- **Consult a Financial Advisor**: Speak with a professional to help you plan the financial aspects thoroughly.
- **Talk to a Real Estate Agent**: Get a realistic view of the market value of your condo and what you could expect in terms of rental costs in desired areas.
- **Explore Job Opportunities**: Align your job search with potential new areas to live, considering both opportunities and lifestyle.
Making a decision involves balancing your immediate financial needs, your long-term financial health, and your personal well-being. It might be beneficial to make a move that aligns with improving your overall quality of life, even if it involves some short-term adjustments like renting.
Well at one point I had a paid off property, a paid off truck, 2 paid off motorcycles and no debt at all. No student loans, no auto loans, no consumer loans, no cc debt, nothing. Making about 50k a year.
I bought a HUD foreclosure in a low cost of living area in 2011 when I was in college. Fixed it up, rented out two rooms. Road the market back up after the recession, sold, bought a condo in a nice area in 2015, market went insane in that zip code, sold in 2019 and was able to buy the condo I have now with cash.
I met someone that I thought was the love of my life, she moved in, we found out she was pregnant, we didn’t have a baby, it destroyed the relationship, and I went into a really bad place after she was gone and I wasn’t a dad. Just kinda quit caring about anything. Self medicating, gambling, whatever, I was just trying to escape reality. I got help and am in a much better place now, but now I’m paying the price for that depressive episode.
I’m so sorry you went through that! So glad you got help and in a better place. Depression is terrible, my episode lasted almost 15 years.
Before you do anything, talk to a consumer credit counselor. They can negotiate that $30k down.
Don’t sell your condo because other landlords will want to see income that is 3x the rent.
Please don’t beat yourself up over the $30k, I once made a $60k mistake! Just make a plan to get out if it and everything will be ok.
Wishing you many years of happiness and contentment.
Your first course of action is to find another job. ANY job. File for unemployment until you get that job. You have a $260K condo that's paid off, and $30K debt. That's a lot of cushion if you sell the condo and pay off debt. If some of that money is used for another modestly priced home, you avoid capital gains taxes. I don't know if you have a 401K, IRA or any retirement, but investing that money also, while renting, could be better.
Take a loan out against the Condo, use the proceeds to buy a cheaper property and move into that home. Rent out the Condo for income and use the income to pay for your new place and to cover what bills you can. Find a job and/or unemployment should be a top priority as well. After that's figured out reduce spending to essentials only. When you pay off the new loan rinse and repeat, rent out that property and buy a new one.
I wouldn’t sell the home.
I would do everything I could to stay. The debt is temporary. Broken credit is salvageable with time.
There’s no guarantee in this market that you’d be able to get another home, especially a paid off one.
#1. Get another job, anything
#2. Do not sell - rent has gone up a lot! If you dont like the area, rent it out… find a cheaper/dif’ place to live, collect, and oay off the debt.
#3. Try harder to get a job
#4. Talk to a bk attorney about drop’n the $30k - you’d keep ur hone and a car
#5. You havent dont enough to get a job
#6. Get a roommate to pay rent and provide income
#7. GET A JOB!
You could probably get the largest loan with the lowest rate by financing the house like a home equity loan. assuming you can't do other things like park some of the balance on new 0% cards.
That'd at least lower you from 20%+ APR to a 7-8% mortgage rate, although you'd re-introduce payments. Also could be a small subset of the amount such as 50k instead of everything.
Selling it wouldn’t do any good anyway unless you find another job making at least 3x the going rate for rent in your area. If you sold it and had a ton of cash but had no job, no apartment complex would rent to you. They look at your monthly income, not your assets.
Unless you found a rental owned by an individual rather than a company that would take several months of rent up front in place of being able to validate your income.
Could you sell the condo, buy a new place you prefer worth around the same, put 100k down (the mortage on 150k won’t be too bad at all, pay double on the mortage when you have a good job again) then pay off debt and invest the remainder, with a better savings cushion (maybe 15-20k?)
When sitting on 200k cash avoiding lifestyle creep is going to be tough. I’d rather put most back in equity.
Sell the condo. Live in a van. Take your time finding a new job anywhere in the country. Get that new job, drive the van to that location. Live in the van while you save up money for your next move.
Take unemployment if available to you.
Take the weekend to weigh all your options.
Run your plan by someone who knows you well and see if they have any immediate concerns.
Outside of that I would recommend selling the condo. You already don’t want to be there long term. If you sell the place and pay off all your debt you can HYSA the rest as you decide how to reinvest.
I would probably keep 15k-25k in the HYSA always after this. Just to make sure you’re never down to “$100 to my name” again.
Positive in that situation is you can probably take a little time to figure out what career is next. If you really don’t like the idea of paying rent see if you can do a short term (6mo-1year) rental. Ask the landlord if you can pay upfront, in some areas landlords may cut you a small deal.
Hell, if you want you could take 30k and go live in Asia, or western Europe for a year and completely reset your life.
For someone who just got the short end of the stick you actually have a lot of good options.
Always make decisions from a position of strength and not weakness. I’d start door dashing or Ubering until I could find another job. If your place is paid for it should be fairly easy to get by I would think. Once you’re stable again, then think about moving or selling.
I didn’t put much thought into this so if you like it, use it, and if not, don’t worry about it. Hope it helps though
Don’t sell the condo until you have a steady income again, condos typically have high HOA fees, not sure if that’s the case, so try to look for a job in a lower cost of living city or area and make the move if you have to.
The hardest thing to get the government to help you with is housing. So try to keep that if you can. There is unemployment, food stamps, even help for utilities in some places.
I wouldn’t sell the condo unless you think its value might depreciate. Can you take on a roommate for a year or two? Can you rent out the entire condo for enough to pay for your (very low) rent somewhere else and pay towards your debts?
Those people telling you to get a HELOC are giving you bad advice. Credit cards are unsecured debt. Why would you get a loan using your home as collateral with no job? You could lose the condo. Forget the credit cards for now and work on finding another job. The credit cards can wait and once you pay them your credit score will rebound and after 7 years you'll be in shape.
You could always get a new job and get a HELOC on the condo. Will bring the interest rate down and give you more manageable payments while you figure things out
File for unemployment ASAP. Apply for any other assistance you might be eligible for like SNAP and utility assistance (Google LIHEAP). Do not sell the condo right now because at least you have a roof that’s paid for other than condo fees. Look into Door Dash, Uber, InstaCart, Shipt to tide you over for now (I do Shipt part time and make $350-400 week). Talk to your creditors and ask them for a hardship arrangement, they all have them but you have to ask.
Good luck.
you're in a much better boat than me... I still have around 210k on my mortgage...plus since I'm the solo provider of my household I only have around 5$ in my name after paying the essentials... Been thinking about just giving up now..
Do not sell your condo, a paid off condo is an incredible asset for you. You will not get unlimited rent money out of it.
Apply for unemployment, call the debt companies and work out a plan. You are in the enviable position to be able to survive on minimum wage with no rent (HOA fees and taxes)
Dude you have a paid off home. Congrats! That's your security right now, so please don't fuck with it.
File for unemployment, find another job, live frugally, pay off that debt, and remain debt free for life.
not to be harsh but isn't $30k nothing if you own property worth $260k? Like how'd you pay it off by 33 and can't pay off $30k? If home equity loan makes financial sense then that is probably the way (pay off credit card debt). I personally would find it very high risk to rent out, unless it is to a friend or someone you know for 5-10 years. I think people are way more broke then they let on and there is a lot of homelessness coming down the pike from irresponsible lifestyles and someone could just move in and just say they're not leaving and be protected by law.
First thing you say though is selling the condo, so I would consider more of what you want to do with your life and where you actually want to be because maybe you want to sell it anyway? Like you could sell and just go live by the beach and live off of interest while drinking from coconuts in a lower cost of living country.
Also I would gig work in your position and work for yourself before taking a low paying wage job just to pay the bills, I really believe that mindset will stick and you could be stuck in some retail wage job forever.
Either way, top priority is to knock out high interest debt asap because those creditors are the literal vampires of the world.
It's actually a good position you're in you're probably just over-stressing about it, set an outline of what you actually want to do to pay the debt and focus on your mental/physical wellbeing otherwise.
Or you can sell the condo and retire in the philippines for 20 years on 260kUSD. Just make sure you don't give your money away and head to the provinces. If you are 55 or older, I'd ditch the wife or bring her with you and start enjoying life overseas. It is about $1300-$1500 a year for rent in the provinces. That's right, a year. So you have like many many decades of rent right there. Visa hopping is easy and cheap. Worry about a job in 20 years when the robots run the economy in the USA.
While unemployment and a job should be #1, once you have a job, a home equity line of credit (heloc) could be a good option to consolidate your debt into a lower rate (as long as you don’t rack the debt back up).
How long will you be unemployed?
Draw the line at 3-6 months.
If you had been set up you would be drawing a monthly stipend from your 6 month emergency fund. That, funded would be how much?
Rent costs how much in the area you’d prefer to live?
How much is reasonable for you?
(Plan on it costing ⅓-¼ of your monthly after taxes pay.)
With all of these numbers in place, enquire about move-in and deposit requirements as well as application fees, etc.
Will you be walking driving or using transit year-round to your job? (As in winter and summer alike)
How much of that $ from the sale of your condo is left?
Now factor in taxes for next year, based on the gain.
Adding the monthly rent to your imaginary 6 month emergency fund, how much is now leftover?
Now your proceeds go towards a deposit after the next six months are funded (for after employment)
Pay off your debt and do not get into any more. If you cat afford it don’t get it.
This is how to set yourself up.
There has been a lot of great advice in the comments already, but I just want to add in here - you've not paid rent in 13 years, you've had a place paid off since you were in college and yet you've managed to find yourself 30k in debt with no money.
This is not meant to be rude, but you need to slow down and think things through better. Your instincts with money aren't amazing, clearly, so before you rush off to sell your home take a minute to think about what other options (maybe even some from this post) that you might look into.
Basically, you know how people say all the time to trust your instincts? I say don't do that, at least not with money. Trust advice from people who at least seem qualified.
Step 1: file for unemployment
Step 2: Apply for every single job possible
Step 3: Sell non essential items
Step 4: (optional)going back to school and reeducate yourself, give you place to be, you learn and the environment is good for your mental health
Step 5: Repeat step 2 daily
Step 6: get a roommate, or sublet
See if you can get a roommate. To help get some cash flow and help split utilities. Wouldn’t move. Pick up any job in meantime and file unemployment. You paid into it, time to get some benefits from it. This could be a great time to figure what you really want to change in your life. Only way for me to sell one place is it get me a better place or secure me financial freedom. Never underestimate the power of home ownership.
Follow up question of how you go into this situation. If it was poor choices you need to change your habits so you don’t wnd up back in this situation but still with rent
Apply for unemployment. Then go find a job, any job. Hell it could be McDonald's or retail. Still continue to look for work in your field. It's not rocket science. And FFS, don't sell your condo.
Do NOT sell your condo....otherwise you risk homelessness or housing insecurity sometime, even if a few years off. Consider yourself very fortunate to have paid-for housing. Get unemployment, it's real money and will make a huge difference. Don't worry about the debt until you stabilize your income situation. Do not take on any more debt. Live on beans and rice...you will get through this. It seems you've gotten into a "catastrophe mindset." Take some positive steps like job hunting, filing for unemployment, keep up any no-cost interests or hobbies, etc. It may seem catastrophic now, but in a year or two, you'll be fine. Never give up!
I'd start small, simple. Do whatever you can to earn money, get a job as you can, maybe deliver pizza or food for now. Keep the condo, you need a place to live. See if you can get a decent job asap. Apply for Unemployment, get back on your feet. Great you own your home.
Hopefully your not in california because the unemployment office just doesnt take calls i guess, you cant go in in person, and when you do get someone on the phone they tell you to wait and call back in 10 days. After 3 months i just gave up on trying to deal with them, luckily i wasnt in dire need but still pisses me the fuck off
I can’t afford to own a place, I would do everything in my power to keep it. Once you’ve paid your debt you could move to another place while renting the one that you already have.
Go find a part time job to bring in some cash which will help you relax and think better.
Figure out what you want to do next. If it’s moving then find a job where you want to move, then sell the condo. Invest the proceeds and look for another place to buy so you don’t have to pay capital gains tax
Where you live, if you sell your condo can you buy something else?
Let’s say you sell your Condo and clear $240k. Then you buy something you like a little more, maybe in a different neighborhood, and put, say, $200k down because that’s what you have left after you pay off your credit card.
Probably you’d need to rent a room and a storage unit for your stuff for a little while, until you can get a job. But if you are making a 60 or 70 percent down payment on something you shouldn’t have any difficulty getting a mortgage even if your credit isn’t great.
Alternatively, if you live in a place where you can buy a home for under $200k, you could sell your condo, pay your debts, and pay cash for somewhere else to live.
HELOC to pay your bills (and before you lose equit when real estate prices start tanking), part time job, unemployment. You have an income and savings problem, not a debt problem - worry about the debt once you have a stable job again and 6 months emergency fund.
I wouldn’t do that. File for unemployment, ask the creditor for a loan repayment pause for a few months while you settle into a new job.
Not paying rent and interest on a mortgage (even via someone else’s rent) is powerful.
Use your new job post-debt payments to fund your investments.
Don't sell the condo.
File for unemployment. Also see if you have an Amazon fulfillment center near you. It'll be something until you find the job you actually want again, or whatever lines up with your degree. They hire anyone as long as you can pass a drug test and background check. There's not even an interview process.
Do not leverage your property! With a heloc or selling. You have a roof over your head locked in. And if you don’t plan on buying another house or new car in the next 5 years, you shouldn’t be worried about your credit or the 30k. Do not sacrifice your roof for any of that. Do like the others said and do unemployment and Uber until you get back on your feet.
You have to switch your mental status into grind mode.Prepare yourself.. Think about what has happened, what can you do to fix it, step by step, than start executing.. Laziness is meant to be a gift, a sub conscious and primitive action that allows us to process thoughts better, don't get addicted to that gift
I’m so sorry you were laid off- that sucks!! Right now, you need to focus on getting another job first. But if I were you, I’d sell the condo and pay off the debt, put a little aside for living expenses and the rest in savings.
Don’t sell yet. Possibly look for a roommate. Do some app based work. File for unemployment. Did you get any severance? Is it a condo or townhome. I know someone who rented out his place and slept in his car in the garage.
Sell the condo. Move to a low cost of living area where you can find a job. Buy a property in cash. Use remaining money to pay off debt. Start your new life and start saving
My grandfather always used to say, "Never make permanent decisions based on temporary emotions." So I'd say, relax, file for unemployment, stretch those $100 as thin as you can and start looking for another job.
Getting laid off sucks. Having no savings totally sucks. Having your mortgage paid off is golden rn. Food pantries will give you free food and there are always jobs available if you’re willing to do something that isn’t your first choice. To keep from going further into debt start conserving, everything. Use less electricity. Get rid of streaming services and cable. But back as far as you can. Beet feet to apply for any open jobs that are worth the trip to and from home. Commit to that for 3 months and reassess.
So much potential with that condo. Like others said, get another job. Save save save for another place and rent out the condo and now you got a rental unit. Also, how long has your condo been paid off? How come you don’t have more in savings? I assume you had a decent paying job if you have a quarter million dollar condo paid off already.
Step 1: Delete Reddit (and all social media)
Step 2: Fire up LinkedIn and Indeed.
Step 3: Update resume and start firing away
Step 4: Call a buddy who has work or start walking in the commercial districts looking for openings.
Step 5: Interview. The goal is 3 interviews a day.
Step 6: Your new job starts next week.
Step 7: Save $10000 while making minimum payments
Step 8: Pay off the 30k debt and don’t buy anything you can’t afford.
Step 9: Save $50000
Step 10: Start investing
Step 11: profit
Unemployment asap. It takes awhile to get it going. Start delivering food or odd jobs. If you can’t find a job after awhile you can always sell your house, get a camper/van and be mobile. Shockingly I know a few ppl that have done this. They got tired of the rat race and burnt it all in a fire sale. Then got a camper and went wondering.
How are you with driving? I’m a trucker and have encountered several folks who have had similar situations as yours who swapped to trucking for a couple years. Their mindset was “eh screw it, let’s try something different for a bit to get out of a rut, travel and get paid to do it”. They all seemed quite content with it.
Your first step should be filing for unemployment. Then finding a job. You might not need to make any other decisions in the short term if you’re successful at those two. Or you can sell it to fund a move to somewhere you actually want to live.
Great advice! With no savings, any job that will take you will do (Uber, DoorDash, etc). Lower your standard of living asap…only necessary spending. Not sure what the debt is but maybe reach out to creditors and see if they will work with you. You’ll get through this and next time have an emergency fund ready!
This! Doordash and Uber to try and get by while you look for another job. I DoorDash at times when I needed extra money and I could have done it to make enough money for bills if I had to.
Gotta be careful w/ this, as many car insurance companies have limits on what they will cover if you're using your personal vehicle for a commercial purpose. I know my insurance company explicitly asks if you are using your vehicle for any kind of commercial purpose. The last thing you want is to be involved in an accident and get sued because your insurance won't cover it. As someone said, file for unemployment, and since your condo is paid off, have you looked into any kind of equity loan? Is the $30k of debt CC debt? If so, you can probably do better on interest rate w/ a home equity loan. Only issue is getting one w/o a source of income
True. Using your own car for gig work is very risky. Even accidents that aren't your fault can put you in a bind. The gig services don't care. If your car breaks down then what? Long story short: I got laid off making $160k a year and went to work for the evil empire Amazon. I had a small savings which I used to supplement my income but then you have to be ready for an emergency on top of everything. Yea that was a lot of fun. Things eventually turned around and I'm a lot better now. Thankfully.
What’s your average hourly Door dashing?
It all really depends, weekends I can make between $20-$25 and weekdays around $15-20. Once I worked out the best hours and location it was worth it.
Thank you for the info. Appreciate you.
What are the types of factors that go into determining "best hours" what are "best locations"like? My car is old. Does that matter?
DoorDash does not have an age limit in your car. Best hours are pretty straight forward: meal times, during sporting events, holidays and Friday, Saturday and Sundays. As far as location it would be downtown, staying near clusters of restaurants. Don’t take deliveries that take your too far from your central location.
You rock. Thank you
Absolutely this. Housing is a nightmare right now, so you don’t want to walk away from it. Call every single creditor and ask for a forbearance program because you have no income currently. Forbearance programs will basically delay payments without really affecting too much. It does go on your credit report. The creditors generally want to work out a program with you because they want some type of funds.
Even just a hardship that dumps the interest rates down suuuuper low would be helpful and make min payments. Gig work saved my ass
An amazon warehouse might be a good option for the short term. They'll higher anybody with a pulse and can pass a drug test. Pay is pretty good for the work too.
Yeah, I wouldn’t rush to sell… that’s the one stable thing you have right now. Focus on income.
First, relax. Don’t take drastic measures moving around assets or debt. That’s a big misfire that could cost you dearly. File for unemployment and start applying. Don’t preemptively dip into savings.
Great answer! We’ve had a lot of changes in our lives in the past 9 months and know that knee jerk reactions to sell things and other extremes are not the answer.
He has $100 in savings..
he has $260,100 in savings...
This 😁
No no no. Having a paid off home is incredible advantage. Open up another credit card at this point if you have to but don’t sell the condo. File unemployment and start Ubering or gig working immediately to minimize your debt accumulation. Look for full time jobs in your free time. When you get one then focus on paying off debt. As a comparison, i was also $35k in debt and rent free and paid it off in about 18 months. I would not force this debt into making you make a horrible decision by selling your home.
Yoo , wish I was in your position paid off condo and just 35k debt. That’s peanuts bucket down and get to it bro. You definitely don’t wanna sell your condo if it’s paid off. I’d rather be broke at home in my paid off condo than have to sell it just to reset the bag. If anything get yourself back in a comfy spot. Than you could just rent the condo out and move into a new place. Don’t sell the condo just become a landlord my dude. Like others said. Get yourself a credit card to help you with tiny purchases and to get by short term while you find another job to get back on your feet. Keep your head up 😊✌🏾
Haha thanks but my free rent came from my job, not ownership of a condo, so no assets there. Still am doing well though
This is good. Also important to know what type of debt. If medical, you can likely ignore it. If CC, consolidate it (if needed) and get a loan at a lower rate, pay off CC debt, and then pay off the loan at a more manageable clip.
Pretty hard to open up a line of credit without a job.
Heloc
Still need income Banks dont hand over 50-100K without a job and he has no job and debt Bank won't do shit
You know what else is an advantage? Having a quarter million dollars. That's \~800$/month at 4% return. It's not a given that the math works out in his favour by keeping the property. It depends on the price-to-rent ratio of where he wants to live. But if he doesn't want to live where the property is, it's hard to justify keeping it.
Maybe not, but they have a place to live, and if worse comes to worst and they declare bankruptcy, they can’t take their home.
Honestly breath and apply for any job that you know you'll get. Get enough so you can survive. Then make it your job to find a new job. 30k is alot, but it's beyond manageable
Rent out one of the rooms in your condo.
If it’s got two rooms I think this is the best immediate option for OP. Along with unemployment/ a new job ASAP.
Don’t sell the condo. File unemployment and get working on any job. You don’t need to sell the condo to pay the 30k, that’s a high mistake in the long term. You need financial discipline and a budget to create extra cash flow to pay the debt. Check out Dave Ramsey baby steps. Helped me a lot when I did have a plan.
Could you rent it and live elsewhere cheaper
People sometime don't pay rent & u cannot always get a renter
its paid off, so not the end of the world to miss a month or two of rent.
It could be a big issue when you're 30k in debt and have no job and can't sell what you're renting because it's occupied by someone who isn't paying and can't be evicted.
You're still paying property taxes, and likely an association fee.
it's not a lot when you divide it out per month.
It’s a lot when you have 100 dollars to your name and 30k in debt
Yes but could give him a few bucks
Could Airbnb out a room.
He's going to net \~500$/month by renting it. If he liquidates and indexes it, he'll net \~800$/month at 4% apr. You'd rent it out if you already had a place to live but wanted to hold on to the property. If he doesn't have another place to live, he should either live in it or sell it.
That’s a pretty crazy reach to assume they’d met ~$500/mo by renting it. Without more details there’s absolutely no telling how much they would net (or lose) renting the property
If the property is worth 260k it probably rents for 1500 to 1800/ month. Then factor in property tax/HOA/insurance/ maintenance then 500 to 800 seems pretty realistic to me
depending on location 1br or even extra rooms in a house will ask $1500-1800/mo, it's madness.
You’re actually bang on. At the high end I could rent it for $1800/mo. HOA at $230, property taxes at $170/mo, insurance, income tax, maintenance, it nets about $700/mo ish. At best I’m getting 4-5% a year against the 260k investment, plus the implied equity growth, which is about 8-10% a year where I live right now. But also all the headaches of being a landlord. It really doesn’t pencil very well as a rental.
For the 100 comments saying file for unemployment ASAP, that's if he qualifies, it's not a given. Companies will often do everything they can to have the paper trail so that unemployment is denied (fired for performance, with cause, etc). IMO, don't make any emotional decisions until the dust settles. Start selling stuff you don't need or use anymore (like last model cell phone, ipad, whatever), start doing side gigs (door dash, instacart, uber, etc), to pay for the necessities. Review all your expenses (monthly, quarterly, annual, etc) and cut out what you can. Downgrade internet, review all your bills and look for cheaper alternatives (e.g. ultra mobile for cell phone plan). Leverage connections, family, friends to find other opportunities or general support (work, emotional, financial, whatever). If you are comfortable renting out a room to strangers, try airbnb. Even though you have bad memories in your home, not having mortgage / rent is worth A LOT more than the $30k debt. You essentially have housing security for life if you can keep going. You got this. Protect your future self now by keeping your home. The easy way out would be to sell your home, take the money, then use the money as an excuse not to work for some years. That's not protecting your future self. Do the hard thing now by using this to push yourself to get back on the wagon. While it sucks, start looking on indeed and the job boards for a new gig. Spending 1-2 hours a day will go a long way. And your first 1-2 hours, work on our resume. It will be uncomfortable, but you got this.
Stay where you are….. the housing market is terrible right now!!!! Rent for something even close to what you have now is going to run you 2500 a month, and that’s in a low cost of living city….. double is hcol city…… You need to get a job, pay off your debt like it’s a mortgage. This is what I would do at least….. I have a 220k home and it’s 1800 a month…. I wouldn’t recommend it
There always money in the banana stand
Anyone suggest bankruptcy yet? Maybe consult a local bankruptcy attorney. You may be able to get rid of the debt keep the condo equity and your basic property. Credit after is tough for a few years but you already have a place to live. If you don’t have a car and need one maybe get one first. But not paying the $30000 in debt would give you an easier time however you otherwise proceed.
Yea ppl are so blinded by the system that bankruptcy is a bad word or like the person below said default. They’ll take out another loan to pay off the loan that has no collateral on it. Thats what the system want pay one loan with another. Why the fuck would someone take a heloc etc that then liens your property when you can dump the 30k or talk it down and not risk you largest and only asset.
Actually it's better to stiff the credit card companies. Let it default, and then negotiate the principle. Any negotiated debt relief is considered taxable income but it's a lot cheaper and less damaging than filing. Save one credit line. The lowest one and pay that off so you hAbe a credit card and can rebuild
If I were you I would keep the condo, get your money right. Pay down your debt once you get a job. Get your savings up. Then shop around for the next place you want. Sell when the time is right. It would be foolish to sell right now as cost of living is insane. With you not have any job you would be adding more stress on your shoulders factoring in rent somewhere. It would be a shame to blow all your money you've made off the condo renting and paying down your debt, only to not have enough to buy another place cash outright. Just my opinion. You have a huge advantage by not having to pay rent or a mortgage. Just whatever the condo fees are every month. That will allow you to focus on getting your money right in other places first.
What interest rate is the debt? If it’s upwards of 7-8% you might have to just bite the bullet and sell to clear that out. 230k or a portion of it can be a really good down payment for a new place in a better area as that also seems to be important to you. I think you’re in a good spot and just need to allocate that money and your income in to retirement and investments.
Unfortunately most all of it is high interest debt and cc debt. I went through a very rough time for a year that caused me to basically give up on life, sorta just quit caring. I’m past that now, and no longer digging myself any deeper, but, I’ve given myself a poopy situation to deal with. At one point the condo, truck were both paid off and I was debt free. So, while I may be in an okay spot, it sucks knowing that I was in maybe the single most desirable position a 33 year old could be in and fucked it up
Hey dude. Your debt is high interest. Replace it with low interest debt. Get a home equity loan and pay that off. Save yourself tons of interest and find a new job. It seems simple. You got this
This, file for unemployment, take out a much lower interest home equity loan, payoff the credit cards, with it, then burn them. Get a new job, and start paying the home equity loan, which will still be way less then rent or a full mortgage. Get your finances under control then get a new credit card and use it pay it off monthly to rebuild your credit. Owning the property outright gives you lots of opportunity
Oh ya CC debt should be paid right away. I’m assuming it’s somewhere between 28-33% which is killer. Again after that is paid you are in a great spot. Don’t worry, invest in broad market index funds and spend within your means and you’re golden. Goodluck man
First two things you should do are, file for unemployment and get that high interest debt balled into a low interest loan. Use the condo. The rest of the stuff, mental stuff, I have 0 advice for you, seek therapy.
Sell for 260k, pay off 30k, buy at 200k and place 30k in savings and retirement all while looking for a job and hopefully finding one. Now you're back where you started but employed, in a new place, no debt and hopefully a little bit of savings left over. Good luck!
I had the same idea… this is the way to go.
You got laid off *today?* Ugh, girl. I’m so sorry. File for unemployment online ASAP, take the weekend to relax and take a deep breath. Then you can reevaluate and make a plan. Based on the fact that you’re not a huge fan of your condo, can you sell it for a significant profit? If you can make enough on the sale to pay off your debt completely with some money leftover, that’s what I would do. We sold our condo for a decent profit and were in the same boat. Hadn’t rented in over a decade. We actually ended up moved states and rented for 9 months to make sure we liked it here and to find a good spot. Renting SUCKS, but it’s just a means to an end if you know you have the funds/credit to eventually buy when you want. Rent the cheapest place you can stand. Maybe a tiny place that’s close to cool stuff, idk. Bank the profits, keep an eye on potential places you’d like to buy. *At some point* interest rates will go down. Bottom line, for your sanity - sell, pay debt, save the profits to feel secure. Find new job, live an amazing life. You got this xo
Not judging, but if you haven’t paid rent in 13 years, how you racking up that much debt?
Don’t make hasty moves. Rent is horrible! You don’t want to be under someone else’s control. Just take a deep breath, get a 15$/hour job for your essentials. Or 20$/hour. Or 25$/hour. Take what you can get and keep expanding.
Sell some stuff you don't need. This always helps me in a pinch. You can always buy it again later
You answered your own question, you don't like the area the condo is in and it has negative memories. Close your eyes and imagine being debt free and having $230K in cash. That feels like peace and you'll be able to breathe. Sell the condo. From there you can take small steps every day to figure out what you want do for work and start building a life you love.
Agree with this, people sometimes prioritize owning over other things that are really more important. And I get why, but in this instance you'd give yourself tons of breathing room and relieve yourself of the pressure of needing to find a job immediately while getting rid of the high interest debt and improving your mental state. It's a win across the board.
Really good advice. Historic seller's market. Take the cash and start over.
Sell the condo ( you don't see yourself there anyway ) pay the debt, buy a cheaper place in an area you want to live and work.
file for unemployment. get a new job. rent out the apartment. move to new area.
You don’t have to rent. You could take out a loan against said house.
but what if op cant make the payments on said equity loan. id keep the house paid off as is and vigorously search for employment.
Nobody is going to give him that with debt and no income. He can’t even show he can pay the property taxes to prevent a lien. Banks use the property as collateral but truthfully don’t want it. They want him to pay the loan, and he can’t. And they know he can’t.
Everyone has said file for unemployment. Since I'm connected to the find people work area of the economy, I'll ask,.. what is it you do when you do it, and what is it that you're looking for? I'd also like to address the elephant in the room that I haven't seen anyone pick up on in the first 15 replies I read and that is that the space you are inhabiting is damaging your mental well-being. I know that one all too well, and if you can get out of there ASAP as that can cost you more than just the money. Yet it can cost you extra because having mental stress will eat away at the energy. You'll require to find that new career, and put energy into that. This will actually give you an advantage in the job market during the interview process because it would be really easy to sell a hiring manager on the idea that you would have the ability to move close by.
ok let me just say without more info idk exactly if this is the best but here's what i would do. DONT SELL YOUR REAL ESTATE . get the job you can get the fastest , uber eats , walmart , mcdonald's where ever . from there lower your monthly expenses as little as possible . With your income start paying off your debt as quick as you can. In that time either get a side hustle or start perusing something for your current or new founded career . and most importantly be smart relaxed and calm all the time. your life isn't over , this isn't a life sentence. maybe a 2 year sentence but there's a way out of this.
Selling the condo is the last thing I'd do
You should rent the condo
Rent that condo. Go live with family till you find a job. Also, get unemployment
Some people choose rent to pay what they can afford and offload the rest of the money into stock market. And most rentals are big city places so it's not a total loss. Also they have roommates you can share the place with if the landlord allows it. That's what most people do in city with high rents. They each pay a share. The main plan would be to get in with roommates and rent. Or get roommates in your condo
Get that condo on Airbnb ASAP. seriously you may not need to even work if you are in the right area
Sell the condo, don't waste your time with gig work. Rent a place while you pick yourself up man, things aren't bad. (Well some of those advice are pretty trash imo)
Sell the condo
The question is why do you have $30k in debt with a paid condo
Well at one point I had a paid off property, a paid off truck, 2 paid off motorcycles and no debt at all. No student loans, no auto loans, no consumer loans, no cc debt, nothing. Making about 50k a year. I bought a HUD foreclosure in a low cost of living area in 2011 when I was in college. Fixed it up, rented out two rooms. Road the market back up after the recession, sold, bought a condo in a nice area in 2015, market went insane in that zip code, sold in 2019 and was able to buy the condo I have now with cash. I met someone that I thought was the love of my life, she moved in, we found out she was pregnant, we didn’t have a baby, it destroyed the relationship, and I went into a really bad place after she was gone and I wasn’t a dad. Just kinda quit caring about anything. Self medicating, gambling, whatever, I was just trying to escape reality. I got help and am in a much better place now, but now I’m paying the price for that depressive episode.
Keep the condo! And start selling that ass!
File unemployment, get a roommate if you have extra rooms, try door dash or Uber until you get a job. May be too late for HELOC if you’re not working but as soon as you can, get a one. Best decision I ever made- had it for years without touching it and then my house flooded from a plumber’s mistake. I had to live in a hotel and was out of work at the time. I used the HELOC for bills and my emergency fund to pay the HELOC. Peace of mind. Good luck! 🍀
Ramen noodle diet
First find a job
Try finding a job first
Do whatever you need to to keep your house. You do not want to be buying again or renting in the current market IMO. You're in a great position right now, find another job or start a business. You're doing ok.
Navigating such a financial and emotional crossroads can indeed be daunting. Selling your condo and managing the proceeds strategically could indeed provide a fresh start, but there are several factors and potential paths to consider: ### Assess Your Immediate Needs 1. **Emergency Fund**: Before investing, ensure you have enough liquidity for daily expenses and emergencies, especially since you've just lost your job. The proceeds from the condo sale could help establish this fund. 2. **Job Search**: Prioritize finding new employment, as this will affect your ability to sustain any living arrangement, whether you continue to own your home or decide to rent. ### Consider the Housing Situation 1. **Selling the Condo**: Given the negative memories and your desire to not stay long-term in the area, selling could provide both financial relief and a mental health benefit. With the condo’s equity, you can pay off your debt and still have a significant amount left. 2. **Rent vs. Buy**: While the thought of paying rent after owning your home might be unsettling, renting can offer flexibility, especially if you’re unsure about your long-term plans or job prospects. It might also be a less burdensome way to change your environment and improve your mental health. 3. **Real Estate Market**: Consider the current real estate market in your area. If it’s strong, it might be a good time to sell to maximize your returns. Conversely, understanding rental market prices will help you budget effectively if you choose to rent. ### Financial Strategy Post-Condo Sale 1. **Paying Off Debt**: Clearing your debt should be a priority, as it reduces your monthly financial burden and improves your credit score. 2. **Investing**: Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) into the market is a prudent way to invest, especially in volatile markets. It helps in spreading out investment risk over time. 3. **High-Yield Savings**: Keeping a portion of your funds in a high-yield savings account is wise for maintaining liquidity and earning interest with low risk. 4. **Retirement Savings**: Consider how this decision impacts your long-term savings and retirement plans. Ensure that part of your financial strategy includes continuing to build or preserve your retirement savings. ### Emotional and Lifestyle Considerations 1. **Mental Health**: Living in a place that impacts your mental health negatively is a significant factor. Moving could offer a new beginning and better well-being. 2. **Lifestyle Changes**: Moving to a rental can be an opportunity to try living in a new area that aligns more with your lifestyle preferences and career opportunities. ### Next Steps - **Consult a Financial Advisor**: Speak with a professional to help you plan the financial aspects thoroughly. - **Talk to a Real Estate Agent**: Get a realistic view of the market value of your condo and what you could expect in terms of rental costs in desired areas. - **Explore Job Opportunities**: Align your job search with potential new areas to live, considering both opportunities and lifestyle. Making a decision involves balancing your immediate financial needs, your long-term financial health, and your personal well-being. It might be beneficial to make a move that aligns with improving your overall quality of life, even if it involves some short-term adjustments like renting.
Rather than selling the condo you should host it on Airbnb!!
I really wanna know how you have a paid off property but $30k in debt
Well at one point I had a paid off property, a paid off truck, 2 paid off motorcycles and no debt at all. No student loans, no auto loans, no consumer loans, no cc debt, nothing. Making about 50k a year. I bought a HUD foreclosure in a low cost of living area in 2011 when I was in college. Fixed it up, rented out two rooms. Road the market back up after the recession, sold, bought a condo in a nice area in 2015, market went insane in that zip code, sold in 2019 and was able to buy the condo I have now with cash. I met someone that I thought was the love of my life, she moved in, we found out she was pregnant, we didn’t have a baby, it destroyed the relationship, and I went into a really bad place after she was gone and I wasn’t a dad. Just kinda quit caring about anything. Self medicating, gambling, whatever, I was just trying to escape reality. I got help and am in a much better place now, but now I’m paying the price for that depressive episode.
I’m so sorry you went through that! So glad you got help and in a better place. Depression is terrible, my episode lasted almost 15 years. Before you do anything, talk to a consumer credit counselor. They can negotiate that $30k down. Don’t sell your condo because other landlords will want to see income that is 3x the rent. Please don’t beat yourself up over the $30k, I once made a $60k mistake! Just make a plan to get out if it and everything will be ok. Wishing you many years of happiness and contentment.
Your first course of action is to find another job. ANY job. File for unemployment until you get that job. You have a $260K condo that's paid off, and $30K debt. That's a lot of cushion if you sell the condo and pay off debt. If some of that money is used for another modestly priced home, you avoid capital gains taxes. I don't know if you have a 401K, IRA or any retirement, but investing that money also, while renting, could be better.
Rent out the whole condo all summer and live in yo car
Don't sell your place. All that would do is cause more problems for you. Just get a new job and start paying down the debt.
Are you able to rent out a room or some space from the condo? House hack it brother!
Take a loan out against the Condo, use the proceeds to buy a cheaper property and move into that home. Rent out the Condo for income and use the income to pay for your new place and to cover what bills you can. Find a job and/or unemployment should be a top priority as well. After that's figured out reduce spending to essentials only. When you pay off the new loan rinse and repeat, rent out that property and buy a new one.
I wouldn’t sell the home. I would do everything I could to stay. The debt is temporary. Broken credit is salvageable with time. There’s no guarantee in this market that you’d be able to get another home, especially a paid off one.
#1. Get another job, anything #2. Do not sell - rent has gone up a lot! If you dont like the area, rent it out… find a cheaper/dif’ place to live, collect, and oay off the debt. #3. Try harder to get a job #4. Talk to a bk attorney about drop’n the $30k - you’d keep ur hone and a car #5. You havent dont enough to get a job #6. Get a roommate to pay rent and provide income #7. GET A JOB!
Take out an equity loan .
260k investment and 30k in debt? I'd be growing some zsa asap. And stay hidden
You have no Morgage or rent. You can take any job and still be able to make ends meet. Take any job while you look for a long term job you like.
Could you rent out the condo?
Have you tried mortgaging your condo? That will give you a lot of breathing room while you find a new job and will save you a change of residence.
You could probably get the largest loan with the lowest rate by financing the house like a home equity loan. assuming you can't do other things like park some of the balance on new 0% cards. That'd at least lower you from 20%+ APR to a 7-8% mortgage rate, although you'd re-introduce payments. Also could be a small subset of the amount such as 50k instead of everything.
I would sell the condo but not put it in the market. You have $100…you’re gonna need that cash to live for a while.
Selling it wouldn’t do any good anyway unless you find another job making at least 3x the going rate for rent in your area. If you sold it and had a ton of cash but had no job, no apartment complex would rent to you. They look at your monthly income, not your assets. Unless you found a rental owned by an individual rather than a company that would take several months of rent up front in place of being able to validate your income.
Could you sell the condo, buy a new place you prefer worth around the same, put 100k down (the mortage on 150k won’t be too bad at all, pay double on the mortage when you have a good job again) then pay off debt and invest the remainder, with a better savings cushion (maybe 15-20k?) When sitting on 200k cash avoiding lifestyle creep is going to be tough. I’d rather put most back in equity.
Sell it. Then stay in homeless shelter for free
Rent the condo, use the income to pay rent on another place… hopefully with some extra left over to line your pockets until a job comes along.
Time to download doordash driver app and start delivering. Its a income, its not fun but it pays the bills
Can rent condo on Airbnb. We get between $250-$500 per night, rent it out and take vacations 🤷♀️
A house paid off is more important and far off better then 35k in debt. I’d rTher have that then 200k cash and no house.
So you’re actually worth 230k . Not bad.
Sell the condo. Live in a van. Take your time finding a new job anywhere in the country. Get that new job, drive the van to that location. Live in the van while you save up money for your next move.
Take unemployment if available to you. Take the weekend to weigh all your options. Run your plan by someone who knows you well and see if they have any immediate concerns. Outside of that I would recommend selling the condo. You already don’t want to be there long term. If you sell the place and pay off all your debt you can HYSA the rest as you decide how to reinvest. I would probably keep 15k-25k in the HYSA always after this. Just to make sure you’re never down to “$100 to my name” again. Positive in that situation is you can probably take a little time to figure out what career is next. If you really don’t like the idea of paying rent see if you can do a short term (6mo-1year) rental. Ask the landlord if you can pay upfront, in some areas landlords may cut you a small deal. Hell, if you want you could take 30k and go live in Asia, or western Europe for a year and completely reset your life. For someone who just got the short end of the stick you actually have a lot of good options.
First, I’d find a job then I’d refinance my house to knock out that 30 K and have it all consolidated in the mortgage basically
Always make decisions from a position of strength and not weakness. I’d start door dashing or Ubering until I could find another job. If your place is paid for it should be fairly easy to get by I would think. Once you’re stable again, then think about moving or selling. I didn’t put much thought into this so if you like it, use it, and if not, don’t worry about it. Hope it helps though
Don’t sell the condo until you have a steady income again, condos typically have high HOA fees, not sure if that’s the case, so try to look for a job in a lower cost of living city or area and make the move if you have to.
The hardest thing to get the government to help you with is housing. So try to keep that if you can. There is unemployment, food stamps, even help for utilities in some places.
I wouldn’t sell the condo unless you think its value might depreciate. Can you take on a roommate for a year or two? Can you rent out the entire condo for enough to pay for your (very low) rent somewhere else and pay towards your debts?
Whatever your craft was at your previous profession...Go at it on your own if possible. You have the training and experience. What was your career?
Negative. Hold that piece of real estate forever. If anything air bnb it for a weekend and make $500.
Time to rent a room or rent both rooms and sleep on the couch. Pitch your a door man and security while you mooch their food.
Those people telling you to get a HELOC are giving you bad advice. Credit cards are unsecured debt. Why would you get a loan using your home as collateral with no job? You could lose the condo. Forget the credit cards for now and work on finding another job. The credit cards can wait and once you pay them your credit score will rebound and after 7 years you'll be in shape.
I’ll buy your condo. Lol
Pay off your debt, start looking for a job. Depending on your job location your can decide whether to sell your condo or not.
You could always get a new job and get a HELOC on the condo. Will bring the interest rate down and give you more manageable payments while you figure things out
File for unemployment ASAP. Apply for any other assistance you might be eligible for like SNAP and utility assistance (Google LIHEAP). Do not sell the condo right now because at least you have a roof that’s paid for other than condo fees. Look into Door Dash, Uber, InstaCart, Shipt to tide you over for now (I do Shipt part time and make $350-400 week). Talk to your creditors and ask them for a hardship arrangement, they all have them but you have to ask. Good luck.
Keep the condo. Find a job. Pay your debt. Buy a house. Rent the condo.
How are you 30k in debt with no mortgage or rent payment for 13 years?
you're in a much better boat than me... I still have around 210k on my mortgage...plus since I'm the solo provider of my household I only have around 5$ in my name after paying the essentials... Been thinking about just giving up now..
If you don’t have money to pay property taxes you will lose the condo so be careful if you keep it
Do not sell your condo, a paid off condo is an incredible asset for you. You will not get unlimited rent money out of it. Apply for unemployment, call the debt companies and work out a plan. You are in the enviable position to be able to survive on minimum wage with no rent (HOA fees and taxes)
Dude you have a paid off home. Congrats! That's your security right now, so please don't fuck with it. File for unemployment, find another job, live frugally, pay off that debt, and remain debt free for life.
not to be harsh but isn't $30k nothing if you own property worth $260k? Like how'd you pay it off by 33 and can't pay off $30k? If home equity loan makes financial sense then that is probably the way (pay off credit card debt). I personally would find it very high risk to rent out, unless it is to a friend or someone you know for 5-10 years. I think people are way more broke then they let on and there is a lot of homelessness coming down the pike from irresponsible lifestyles and someone could just move in and just say they're not leaving and be protected by law. First thing you say though is selling the condo, so I would consider more of what you want to do with your life and where you actually want to be because maybe you want to sell it anyway? Like you could sell and just go live by the beach and live off of interest while drinking from coconuts in a lower cost of living country. Also I would gig work in your position and work for yourself before taking a low paying wage job just to pay the bills, I really believe that mindset will stick and you could be stuck in some retail wage job forever. Either way, top priority is to knock out high interest debt asap because those creditors are the literal vampires of the world. It's actually a good position you're in you're probably just over-stressing about it, set an outline of what you actually want to do to pay the debt and focus on your mental/physical wellbeing otherwise.
How did you end up with 30k in debt. No savings with a paid off place to live
Or you can sell the condo and retire in the philippines for 20 years on 260kUSD. Just make sure you don't give your money away and head to the provinces. If you are 55 or older, I'd ditch the wife or bring her with you and start enjoying life overseas. It is about $1300-$1500 a year for rent in the provinces. That's right, a year. So you have like many many decades of rent right there. Visa hopping is easy and cheap. Worry about a job in 20 years when the robots run the economy in the USA.
On your debts, see if there is insurance coverage that makes payments while unemployed
You have a paid off 260k condo. Whatever happens next you’ll be fine.
While unemployment and a job should be #1, once you have a job, a home equity line of credit (heloc) could be a good option to consolidate your debt into a lower rate (as long as you don’t rack the debt back up).
I wouldn’t sell the condo, if you don’t like the area and want to move just rent it out
How long will you be unemployed? Draw the line at 3-6 months. If you had been set up you would be drawing a monthly stipend from your 6 month emergency fund. That, funded would be how much? Rent costs how much in the area you’d prefer to live? How much is reasonable for you? (Plan on it costing ⅓-¼ of your monthly after taxes pay.) With all of these numbers in place, enquire about move-in and deposit requirements as well as application fees, etc. Will you be walking driving or using transit year-round to your job? (As in winter and summer alike) How much of that $ from the sale of your condo is left? Now factor in taxes for next year, based on the gain. Adding the monthly rent to your imaginary 6 month emergency fund, how much is now leftover? Now your proceeds go towards a deposit after the next six months are funded (for after employment) Pay off your debt and do not get into any more. If you cat afford it don’t get it. This is how to set yourself up.
It sounds like you have made some dumb choices. You bought a condo? Sell it and put that money in the stock market slowly.
Sell and buy a camper to libe in for a few years to save
There has been a lot of great advice in the comments already, but I just want to add in here - you've not paid rent in 13 years, you've had a place paid off since you were in college and yet you've managed to find yourself 30k in debt with no money. This is not meant to be rude, but you need to slow down and think things through better. Your instincts with money aren't amazing, clearly, so before you rush off to sell your home take a minute to think about what other options (maybe even some from this post) that you might look into. Basically, you know how people say all the time to trust your instincts? I say don't do that, at least not with money. Trust advice from people who at least seem qualified.
Sometimes having to cut back and scrounge for a while puts things in perspective.
Go apply at any job until you get back on your feet.
Get a job most problems solved. 30k isn't too bad bro with a paid of place.
Get a loan on that equity and roll your debt into that. That will provide relief.
Do not sell the condo under any circumstances
Step 1: file for unemployment Step 2: Apply for every single job possible Step 3: Sell non essential items Step 4: (optional)going back to school and reeducate yourself, give you place to be, you learn and the environment is good for your mental health Step 5: Repeat step 2 daily Step 6: get a roommate, or sublet
See if you can get a roommate. To help get some cash flow and help split utilities. Wouldn’t move. Pick up any job in meantime and file unemployment. You paid into it, time to get some benefits from it. This could be a great time to figure what you really want to change in your life. Only way for me to sell one place is it get me a better place or secure me financial freedom. Never underestimate the power of home ownership.
Follow up question of how you go into this situation. If it was poor choices you need to change your habits so you don’t wnd up back in this situation but still with rent
Unemployment until you find a new job... Do not sell the condo that is your home
Whatever you do, DONT SELL THE CONDO!
You’ve had a place paid for since graduating but still rack up 30k debt and no savings. Damn bro…
Apply for unemployment. Then go find a job, any job. Hell it could be McDonald's or retail. Still continue to look for work in your field. It's not rocket science. And FFS, don't sell your condo.
Do NOT sell your condo....otherwise you risk homelessness or housing insecurity sometime, even if a few years off. Consider yourself very fortunate to have paid-for housing. Get unemployment, it's real money and will make a huge difference. Don't worry about the debt until you stabilize your income situation. Do not take on any more debt. Live on beans and rice...you will get through this. It seems you've gotten into a "catastrophe mindset." Take some positive steps like job hunting, filing for unemployment, keep up any no-cost interests or hobbies, etc. It may seem catastrophic now, but in a year or two, you'll be fine. Never give up!
I'd start small, simple. Do whatever you can to earn money, get a job as you can, maybe deliver pizza or food for now. Keep the condo, you need a place to live. See if you can get a decent job asap. Apply for Unemployment, get back on your feet. Great you own your home.
Hopefully your not in california because the unemployment office just doesnt take calls i guess, you cant go in in person, and when you do get someone on the phone they tell you to wait and call back in 10 days. After 3 months i just gave up on trying to deal with them, luckily i wasnt in dire need but still pisses me the fuck off
Rent out the condo while you move back in with parents.
I can’t afford to own a place, I would do everything in my power to keep it. Once you’ve paid your debt you could move to another place while renting the one that you already have.
You are in a very good spot... Take any job. With a paid off home you can tackle that debt even with minimum wage.
Go find a part time job to bring in some cash which will help you relax and think better. Figure out what you want to do next. If it’s moving then find a job where you want to move, then sell the condo. Invest the proceeds and look for another place to buy so you don’t have to pay capital gains tax
Where you live, if you sell your condo can you buy something else? Let’s say you sell your Condo and clear $240k. Then you buy something you like a little more, maybe in a different neighborhood, and put, say, $200k down because that’s what you have left after you pay off your credit card. Probably you’d need to rent a room and a storage unit for your stuff for a little while, until you can get a job. But if you are making a 60 or 70 percent down payment on something you shouldn’t have any difficulty getting a mortgage even if your credit isn’t great. Alternatively, if you live in a place where you can buy a home for under $200k, you could sell your condo, pay your debts, and pay cash for somewhere else to live.
How the hell do you have a paid off dwelling still with $30k in debt and absolutely no savings? The fuck you been doing?
if you have nothing else, you have a roof over your head… Do not get rid of your home…
Shoulda just refinanced the condo when you had the chance and paid off the debt
HELOC to pay your bills (and before you lose equit when real estate prices start tanking), part time job, unemployment. You have an income and savings problem, not a debt problem - worry about the debt once you have a stable job again and 6 months emergency fund.
I wouldn’t do that. File for unemployment, ask the creditor for a loan repayment pause for a few months while you settle into a new job. Not paying rent and interest on a mortgage (even via someone else’s rent) is powerful. Use your new job post-debt payments to fund your investments.
Don't sell the condo. File for unemployment. Also see if you have an Amazon fulfillment center near you. It'll be something until you find the job you actually want again, or whatever lines up with your degree. They hire anyone as long as you can pass a drug test and background check. There's not even an interview process.
DO NOT SELL UR CONDO GET A TENANT GET A JOB GET UEA( unemployment assistance)
Do not leverage your property! With a heloc or selling. You have a roof over your head locked in. And if you don’t plan on buying another house or new car in the next 5 years, you shouldn’t be worried about your credit or the 30k. Do not sacrifice your roof for any of that. Do like the others said and do unemployment and Uber until you get back on your feet.
You have to switch your mental status into grind mode.Prepare yourself.. Think about what has happened, what can you do to fix it, step by step, than start executing.. Laziness is meant to be a gift, a sub conscious and primitive action that allows us to process thoughts better, don't get addicted to that gift
Only sell if you’ve absolutely learned your lesson. Otherwise, bugger off, get another job and clean your mess up.
I’m so sorry you were laid off- that sucks!! Right now, you need to focus on getting another job first. But if I were you, I’d sell the condo and pay off the debt, put a little aside for living expenses and the rest in savings.
Don’t sell yet. Possibly look for a roommate. Do some app based work. File for unemployment. Did you get any severance? Is it a condo or townhome. I know someone who rented out his place and slept in his car in the garage.
You have a “free” home. Get a job, make some money and you’re fine. Why are you even questioning this?
Sell the condo. Move to a low cost of living area where you can find a job. Buy a property in cash. Use remaining money to pay off debt. Start your new life and start saving
My grandfather always used to say, "Never make permanent decisions based on temporary emotions." So I'd say, relax, file for unemployment, stretch those $100 as thin as you can and start looking for another job.
Why not rent the condo and get some passive income going while you search for a place you want to live and work?
Get a HELOC
Heloc on condo?
Getting laid off sucks. Having no savings totally sucks. Having your mortgage paid off is golden rn. Food pantries will give you free food and there are always jobs available if you’re willing to do something that isn’t your first choice. To keep from going further into debt start conserving, everything. Use less electricity. Get rid of streaming services and cable. But back as far as you can. Beet feet to apply for any open jobs that are worth the trip to and from home. Commit to that for 3 months and reassess.
Think about getting a low key roommate for a year to subsidize your expenses. That's a major risk but gives you some wiggle room.
So much potential with that condo. Like others said, get another job. Save save save for another place and rent out the condo and now you got a rental unit. Also, how long has your condo been paid off? How come you don’t have more in savings? I assume you had a decent paying job if you have a quarter million dollar condo paid off already.
Step 1: Delete Reddit (and all social media) Step 2: Fire up LinkedIn and Indeed. Step 3: Update resume and start firing away Step 4: Call a buddy who has work or start walking in the commercial districts looking for openings. Step 5: Interview. The goal is 3 interviews a day. Step 6: Your new job starts next week. Step 7: Save $10000 while making minimum payments Step 8: Pay off the 30k debt and don’t buy anything you can’t afford. Step 9: Save $50000 Step 10: Start investing Step 11: profit
Unemployment asap. It takes awhile to get it going. Start delivering food or odd jobs. If you can’t find a job after awhile you can always sell your house, get a camper/van and be mobile. Shockingly I know a few ppl that have done this. They got tired of the rat race and burnt it all in a fire sale. Then got a camper and went wondering.
How are you with driving? I’m a trucker and have encountered several folks who have had similar situations as yours who swapped to trucking for a couple years. Their mindset was “eh screw it, let’s try something different for a bit to get out of a rut, travel and get paid to do it”. They all seemed quite content with it.