Today was just an Ugh day. It wasn’t really a bad day, I think I stayed up too late, and I’m probably just tired. You might recall that, I’m taking a summer writing class that I absolutely LOVE. It’s so fun. The students in the class seem to really enjoy my writing. The first week, I wrote a piece called “Unleashing the Writer Within” which is actually the title of the class. I shared how I wanted to let go of the past and focus on my real passion, which I discovered is writing. That “past” includes a failing real estate investment property that I bought a few years ago. At the time I wrote the piece I had big dreams of getting rid of the crappy old building. Well, last week I met with my realtor again. She closely inspected the property, and ran all the numbers. The property is not nearly worth what I paid for it in the inflated market where they gave everyone a loan (including broke 25 year olds like me). Now, the bank won’t take a short sale, because I don’t have a financial crisis. A single girl working at a law firm with no kids is not really a good excuse for the bank to take a loss. Essentially, the only way out would be foreclosure. I can’t see myself voluntarily going into foreclosure just because I’m sick of being a landlord. That’s not fair to anyone involved. I’ve probably bored you with all of this, which is why I really don’t talk about my broke tenants and leaky roofs. Although, I absolutely had to tell y’all the story about the guy who wanted to install the stripper pole in the living room; that was too funny not to share. Anyway, I’ll figure out something, my Dad said he would help. This real estate headache probably contributed to my mood. I went over my parent’s house and talked to my Dad some more about my real estate conundrum and picked up my little sister to go to the gym. Once we got inside the doors of the gym, we almost simultaneously told each other how much we didn’t feel like working out. We stood there staring at each for a few seconds speechless, while we mentally weighed whether we should just leave. Of course we decided not to, and went up to the indoor track. I couldn’t pull a run out of me, and I didn’t even try. So, we casually walked. We were both surprised that we walked just over 2 miles. Not bad for a completely unmotivated workout.
Stress is no joke and some days, a casual walk with help ease the stress, if only for a moment.
Sorry to hear about your real estate woes. I’m not sure if this is an option, or even how to go about it, BUT, have you considered checking with the city or even HUD for assistance with making repairs. You could turn it into senior housing (yes, it will take substantial $ – but HUD may be able to offer help). If you prove a value add to the City by making it into some sort of low income housing, the city may be able to assist with funds. Just a thought.
I think you are doing quite well. You worry yet you are still able to talk (write) about it and that means you are working it out. Someone said “If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.” I don’t hear any excuses here and God always helps us find a way. And the casual walk in the midst of stress is pretty darned awesome. You got this!