What would you do?

I would try to rent out house #1 again, is it possible that it might rent for even more than $1400?

I wouldn’t want to live with the estranged wife and would try very hard to not go that route.

Are there consequences to breaking your lease early?

Breaking my lease early will cost me one full month of rent, $675.

If it were me I’d do the following:
#1 Divorce the wife immediately for what she did to me and sell house #2 in the settlement if only to make my investment back if that were possible. It beats bleeding 500 a month for someone who takes advantage of me.
#2 Move into house #1 and break the lease. It’s a short term loss but keeps you ahead of the game.

I would try to rent out house number one, preferably at a slightly higher rent. I might also consider either raising the rent on house number two when the roommates’ leases come up for renewal or discuss with your estranged wife why you should be paying her entire rent. And I would stay in the apartment so I wouldn’t have to give up my privacy.

Doesn’t your wife have a job?

You have a couple months to try and get a new tenant, is that unlikely or probable in your area? I would try that first and consider renting for more if possible.

If you can’t find a tenent, then I would break the lease and move into house #1.

Break the lease, move into #1.

If you don’t plan to get back with your wife, divorce her, as settlement offer to let her take over the house and the payments for it. If she does not, sell it.

These will cut your monthly losses.

Advertise for a roommate if you need more income to met your then current bills.

We have discovered that renting rooms to elderly, single people who have a regular income from Social Security is the best way to make the payments on our three bedroom rental. We rent the bedrooms out separately, and one tenent gets a discount for being the house manager, since we discovered it works best with someone “in charge”. One room has a 65 year old woman (the ‘manager’) and her 85 year old Mom, the other two are 68 year old women. When one tenant moved out, it was very easy to find another one.

I would move into house #1 immediately by telling current tenant that you will pay them 500 for the option. It’s only a month and they’ll probably welcome the extra 500 bucks. You lose the 650 security on the apartment but so what. You buy yourself a month and a half. You look for a tenant to share the house with them having the majority of it and paying 1100 in rent. You end up paying less than your current 675 (650)occupy your house and save the 350.00 monthly. You save 375 a month.

@Darwin My wife does not have a regular job. One of her roommates is elderly with Parkinson’s disease, and she takes care of him. He pays her for this service, which is her sole source of income.

@Everybody As to the possibility of divorcing her, it seems she will get more from me than what I am providing now. Though she would be able to support herself on the income I’d have to give her, she would not be able to keep house #2 since she would not be able to get a loan. Also, the scraps I’d have left would not let me afford house #1. We’d lose both houses.

Dang, this is a problem. I would do the best that I can to find a new renter for House 1 or lose the apartment that your in and move into house 1 with a room mate or two. Take the loss now and then you will get it back over time. Good luck…

Oh and I doubt this would work, but you might try asking your wife to get a real job…

Perhaps your wife needs to take a few more roommates. Maybe she could consider running an informal group home for elderly folks, with care provided for an extra stipend.

Sell all the properties and move to the Bahamas.

Or, you could break your lease and move into the vacated house. In the long run you will save money.

@basp I like house #1, but it will cost me an extra $725/month to move into it without a roommate. I’ve come to discover that I like living alone, so that would be a big sacrifice as well.

If you move into house number one you will see an immediate savings by being able to deduct the mortgage interest from your taxes. As long as it is a rental you can deduct the loss, but the interest is probably a better deduction.

That being said, I understand that with the mortgage meltdown the rental market is pretty hot right now so you might be able to get a tenant in there that would cover the entire mortgage.

Whatever you do don’t move in with the ex. If there is no hope of reconciling why even go there? Just not worth the stress.

Ru2bz46
I didn’t realze you would ncurr that much extra cost in house one. Guess I didn’t see that….
I can appreciate your not wanting a roommate. I would feel the same.

@basp Yeah, I’d lose the $1400 rent and save the $675 I’m paying. The tax deduction will help a little in the long run, but I got a 10% pay cut, so I don’t have the short-term wiggle room.

@ru2bz46
I’ve got it..kill the..nevermind.

@SeventhSense LOL! No, in spite of the grief she has caused me, she does a lot of good for countless other people through volunteer work, etc. She’s a great person in general, and I love her for that. I just need to think financially right now.

we never had this conversation..

What conversation? ;-)

So… how’s the wife and kids?

…haven’t seen ‘em around in a while…

In these times, is it unlikely you’ll be able to get another tenant to reliably pay the $1400. a month? If you think so then take the loss to break your lease on the apt. and move into house #1 and look for a roommate to cover as much as you can.
Ugh, pure ugh for the situation in house #2.

I wish i could rent a house for 1400 in NY. That’s a 1 bedroom apartment on L.I. In the city it’s maybe a small studio.
Average 1 bedroom apartment sold in Manhattan-600–750,000.

@SeventhSense Yeah, the market’s not quite that steep outside Sacramento. This is a 3-bedroom house in a good area. I think it should be easy enough to rent, but I’m still pretty new to the landlordship, and I can’t afford much vacancy time. If not for the California work furloughs, I could probably just afford to move back into house #1. Until July 2010, I’m screwed.

We live in California and our neighbor never has any problems getting a renter ( it’s a decent neighborhood, 3 bedrooms, and he charges $1600. He always lists it on Craigs List and he gets lots of interest. It wouldn’t hurt to list it and see what interest you get in the next month. Also, have you compared what other rentals in your neighborhood are going for?

We are in Bakersfield and I imagine the Sacramento area is a bit more expensive than us.

@ru2bz46: You claim that your wife has cheated in you multiple times—sowhy would you have to support her at all in a divorce? She broke the terms of the marriage contract and is entitled to nothing. At least that’s how I’ve always understood it, and how it worked for people I’ve known.

@hearkat – @ru2bz46 lives in California which is a community property state. Basically each partner in a marriage is entitled to half the marital assets in a divorce. That’s even if one partner is an angel and the other a demon. Some states do it differently, and couples with a pre-nuptual agreement may also do it differently. But in community property states average Joes have to split it down the middle.

@hearkat Also, from what I understand, she starts out getting 40% of my gross pay, which is 60% of my net. I pay all the taxes from my 60% (so, in practical terms, the net is split 58%/42% in her favor). She does not have to claim the money she gets as income because I’ve already paid the taxes.

Thanks everybody! I’m going to advertise the house for rent. The rents are still fairly strong here, so I might even be able to get a little more for it.

@ru2bz46: Ouch! Sorry to hear that. Remind me never to get married or live in CA!

@hearkat Never get married or live in California.

@ru2bz46: Thanks!

dammm you rich

@ayoub00 I live paycheck to paycheck like most other people. By renting these houses, I am able to provide housing for others who may not be able to afford to live in these locations, otherwise. That’s the part that makes it all worth it.