HOW I SAVED $3,000.00 BY LIVING WITH THE 'RENTS

& Update on Moving Across the Land (Part 1)

You may think living with the folks is just for the young, not so! El Carino, Zoey, and Simon took my folks up on their kind offer to live with them “rent free” after our home sold. There were surprising benefits over the cash saved!

Quick recap for those just joining in.

El Carino got a new job at the other end of the country.

Last April we courageously put in an offer on a well priced, short sale (In a short sale, the buyer pays less for the property than the seller actually owes. It happens in a falling home price environment when the seller has difficulty paying the mortgage) condo in a beautiful development. We’d heard about the horrors of buying a short sale, but thought we had plenty of time to work out the kinks.

Fortunately, we sold our existing home, but we were left with nowhere to live. What was initially expected to be a couple of days has turned into a month with the ‘rents. (Update… 6 WEEKS WITH THE ‘RENTS)

From April until June, we were waiting to hear whether our offer on the property was accepted. After 2+ months, our offer was accepted.

Next hurdle, get our financing lined up on the condo. It didn’t seem to matter that our credit was great, or that we have successfully paid off several other mortgages. After sending reams of documents to the mortgage company over the ensuing weeks, we thought we were nearing the end of the loan approval process.

During the final week in July, we were informed that our loan was approved and the settlement papers would arrive any day. Five days later and no documents was no surprise.

While writing this article I received another call from the mortgage broker. Oops, they need one more piece of information. So our loan is approved, but we can’t close until we get this next piece of information is clarified. Mind you, it’s 7:14 PM on Friday evening. Not likely we’ll be able to do much else on this matter until Monday.

A week later, our loan is really approved. Another three days and the remote title company notary visits  the ‘rents home for us to sign the settlement documents.

Next, I’m off to the bank to wire the funds for the down payment!

In a few days weeks we will begin our journey to our new home with stops at Mount Rushmore and Brice Canyon. Our four month process of moving across the land is drawing to a close… stay tuned for the final episodes!

How We Saved the Cash; Would This Work For You?

Had the folks not offered their home, we would have been in temporary quarters for about $100.00 per night! A few days wouldn’t have been
too bad, but our temporary stay ran into an entire month 6 weeks or a total savings of more than $3,000.00 in hotel bills.

Although we are buying some food and incidentals, and taking the ‘rents out to dinner on occasion, the savings are huge. The folks love having us here, we’re old enough to clean up after ourselves, and we are pleasant company :).

The evenings, filled with watching movies and playing games has been fun and a unique change from our usual routine.

For those readers strapped for cash, out of a job, or in transition; if you have willing relatives, go hang out with them for awhile. But remember, be pleasant, courteous, pick up some groceries, and take them out to eat once in awhile. You’ll save some cash and might even enhance your family relationships.

How have you handled major life transitions?

image credit; kc2014