Monday, February 21, 2011

Decisions, decisions.....

So yesterday my mom called me.  We talk often so this is not a surprise.  But she dropped yet another bomb on me (not necessarily a bad one) but a bomb nonetheless.  I am currently working for myself, I have done so on the side for years, even when I had a full time job.  In May of 2010, I got laid off from my very good paying job 3 weeks before the house I sold was to close which would enable me to buy another one shortly thereafter.  However, with no secure job I was not going to get a house.  I was SO pissed.  They knew I was trying to do that, couldn't they friggin' wait a few months?  I took some time for myself, then decided it was a good time to venture out completely on my own, working for no one but me.  Again, this makes it difficult to buy a home, because lenders don't like to give money to self-employed people and if they do, you'd better have a damn stable income of at least 3 years of constant work.  My significant other works at a bank part time and is a musician so we can't rely on his part time job to buy a house.  I've been struggling with the idea of renting in the city because you get very little for a lot of money and am considering moving a little out of the city to rent a house and have more space for WAY less money.  I will be honest, we are struggling financially and because of my self-employment I've dismissed buying a house anytime soon.

My parents are wonderful and have always been there to help me if I need it.  They, like most parents, want to see me happy and in a good place in life.  My parents hate to see me renting, and want to see me in a place of my own again.  Hence, the phone call.  See, about a month ago, my mom fell on some ice and broke her hip.  She'll be 65 tomorrow and pretty fit and active for her age so she's lucky it wasn't worse than it was. She spent a week in the hospital and has been home now for a little over 2 weeks.  Over the past few days, it has hit her that the fall could have been much worse, she could have hit her head and I could be without a mother right now.  She started crying, saying she couldn't bear the thought of leaving this earth and me having nothing.  She wants to see me taken care of, and wants me in a house of my own.  She's trying to convince me to go back to work for whatever time it takes for a lender to consider me in a stable job (some lenders 6 months, most a year) do what I need to do to get the house then go do what I want after I have it.  Now I'm starting to second guess my game plan.  I really dread the thought of working for someone else, but I really do want my own house again.  Dammit!  Now what?   
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6 comments:

  1. Just Sayin...February 21, 2011 at 4:47 PM

    Go back to work. Get the house, have some savings, then go back to being self employed.
    You CAN do both.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Elizabeth SingletonFebruary 21, 2011 at 7:34 PM

    **Sigh**
    I do NOT want to go back to working for someone else but at the same time I want to own a home again. Rock vs. hard place. Crap.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Travelin' MikeFebruary 21, 2011 at 9:27 PM

    Renting is not that bad. There will be time to buy a house. At least with renting the expense of up keep in on someone else! In two years should have the self employment income verification you need to buy a house. If you have the opportunity to be self employed go for it while you can!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Elizabeth SingletonFebruary 21, 2011 at 10:34 PM

    No, renting isn't that bad at all and I don't mind renting. But I know what I was making before and I know what I was approved for by the lender and I would have to make in excess of $50,000 to afford a house that isn't falling apart. And trust me, I'm not looking for perfect because with my construction background and handyness, I can make pretty much any repairs NO problem or with minimal expense. Not sure if you're in the US or Canada, but you need at least 3 years of proven income here if self-employed and I'm not confident I'd come close to making that right away. One of my good friends who has been running her own very successful business for 6+ years and has impeccable credit still had trouble getting a mortgage even with her husband's income of 100,000+. So I worry that I spend years working to get a house, then not get it, then have to go back to work again anyway. I'm figuring do it now (6 months- year) get the house, then do my business thing once I have it. AGH! So much to think about after a wrench has been thrown in the plan.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Travelin' MikeFebruary 22, 2011 at 3:50 PM

    I'm in the US. When I was a loan officer in 2006-2007 it was 24 months of income for self employed applicants. However, we used their bank statements and counted the deposits to verify income. I guess that's why our housing market dumped so bad. ;)

    I'm sure you'll do the right thing =)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Elizabeth SingletonFebruary 22, 2011 at 6:50 PM

    Thanks! I'm sure I will sort it out. :)

    ReplyDelete

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