I thought that I would update everyone as to the latest in our decision-making process. It's been a few weeks since I posted up that we had decided to sell the house. Well, after calling our realtor and thinking about things for a few days, we came to the conclusion that we can't afford to sell the house any more than we can afford to stay here.
The other week when we were visiting with our next-door neighbors Dheeraj and Nataša, the idea of renting out part of the house came up. We brushed it off at the time, thinking that there would be too many factors to rent out part of the house (mainly zoning for multi-family and the awkwardness of sharing a house with another family). After thinking about it a bit more, we realized that renting the house out may be just what we need to do. Not part of it, but all of it.
So, after the first of the year, we'll be putting our house up for rent. (I have already secured an internet domain that I will use to advertise the house on, including a virtual tour and a list of all of the reasons why this is such a great place to live!) This will allow someone else to pay most of the mortgage for us, meaning we would not have to give up the house for a loss. We could move back here in a few years, or sell the house when the market turns around. If we were to sell the house right now, we would take at least a $25,000 loss between what we still owe on the house and realtor fees.
Our biggest concern right now is being able to pay for the bills for the next few months. We're still praying hard for the bookselling business to pick up. (We can't cut our expenses any further, so we need to increase our income somehow). We're still coming in under sales projections by 25-40%. We're having a lot of cancellations that I'm going to need to fill in with some kind of supplemental income (need any help in Maine in mid-November, Bob?). Among everything else, we're still going to have to be ready to welcome a new member to our family around the New Year... so there's a lot happening right now, and you can imagine that it's taking quite an emotional toll on me!
So... the latest specific prayer requests would be: that I would have the strength I need to get through this season; that God would provide for our financial needs as they come in (with a cushion to get through the off-season); that He would give us wisdom as we need to make big decisions and figure out what we are supposed to do and how; and that we would all stay healthy through the rest of the season, especially Heather, with two months left until the due date.
Thanks so much to all of you for upholding us in your prayers. I cannot begin to express my gratitude for all of you who so faithfully support us through your prayers. Our God is an awesome God!
