WHAT NEXT?
ONE
Sell Toyota. This will net me around $14K, which will help keep me afloat, and get rid of a $1,000 monthly payment.
I plan to buy a Kia Soul for around $22K. My monthly payment will be around $400.
The Toyota will be listed this weekend on Facebook Marketplace. I plan to ask $38,500 for it. Slightly under the Blue book valuation. I have no clue if it will sell quickly due to the economy.
TWO
Get Tin House ready for sale. The house is gutted but it has a new metal roof, new historical gutters, a new sill, new electrical panel, partial new wiring, new buried electrical line, and new PVC plumbing. The water can be turned on, and there is a septic system. No hot water heater. No HVAC.
I will only clean the house and have Justin cut down and remove all the wild overgrowth. I have already spent 5 afternoons working on the house, and hope to have the house listed in a month.
I think the house will sell quickly. I think. It needs work, yes, but houses are rarely for sale in the small town, and the house is exceedingly charming (I will soon be doing a post on it). I will be asking $22, 500 firm. This, too, will help keep me afloat.
THREE
After the Tin House is listed, I will switch to getting the Cross Properties ready for sale. Yesterday I began the cleaning process. The properties will be sold AS IS, and I will only clean, clean, and clean. I will also remove any clutter (not much), and organize things that will stay with the house.
The furnishings and lighting will not convey with the houses but can be purchased separately.
I plan to market the properties as an investment opportunity. They are ideal as an airbnb and events space.
I have no idea of their value as of yet.
I have zero confidence that the properties will sell quickly.
FOUR
Get The Other House (now to be known as the Strong House) finished and listed for sale. This will take…I guess…about a year.
I am highly confident that the house will sell quickly (assuming the economy has not been wholly destroyed). I am uncertain what to ask but have been thinking $180K. It appraised at $140K in 2014. The house has substantial equity.
THEN WHAT?
If Strong sells first, I will take the Cross properties off the market and move into them. I will then finish the carriage house and rent or airbnb it, as well as the Octagon Suite and Third Floor of the Cross House.
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May the Force be with you!
Thank you Kate. I’ll take all the help I can get!
♡♡♡♡♡
Good luck Ross. Fingers, toes, and eyes all crossed for it to all work out the best way possible!
Sending best wishes for the properties to sell quickly. If you have trouble selling the Toyota consider CarMax. I sold my RAV4 to them a few months ago and they gave me a fair price and it was very easy to do. We have our Victorian on the market for the last 2 months without even one showing so I am going to have to drop the price. It’s a tough market out there right now. I think even though this is hard you are wise to consolidate your resources and focus on making your future more financially secure. You have done such an amazing job preserving the historical integrity of these homes and I hope someone who will appreciate and honor that legacy purchases them to continue the work.
Thank you, Rebecca. I got an online offer from CarMax of like $32K. I might take it if the car doesn’t sell quickly. I will be listing it tonight on Facebook Marketplace. The loan on the car is like $26K, so I would only net like $6K. I am hoping to net like $13K.
And, again, I have zero confidence that the Cross House will sell quickly, or even sell at all.
I’m wishing, hoping the Tin House and Strong House sell quickly. Also that you net more for the Toyota. Please hoping the Fated allow.
Then you can move into the Cross House properties and focus on Airbnb potential!
Love you and hope these things come to fruition😃
Hugs!
Sandra
Thank you, Sandra. Hugs back at ya’!
That sounds like a plan.
Could you put the money from selling the Toyota into buying a gently used car outright and then have no car payments at all?
Why will it take a year to get the Strong House ready for sale? I remember the kitchen is finished. What is left?
If the Tin House sells first, would that money speed up the readiness of the Strong House for sale?
How long would it take to get the Carriage House fit for Air BnB or rental? If the Tin House sells, would there be money to get the Carriage House finished enough for AirBnB or rental and thus have some extra income in the mean time?
Where are all of the lights being stored right now?
Don’t forget to take the Peacock wallpaper out of the Cross House.
Mary, what I need more than anything is to stockpile cash. So, buying a car for, say, $10K will deplete my cash.
The Strong House is a mess. Save the kitchen, every room needs work. The condition of the exterior is terrifying. The living room needs a whole new roof.
I need the money from the sale of the Tin House to pay for the completion of the Strong House.
I don’t have the time or money to work on the Carriage House. My plans for it are detailed in this post.
All my lights are stored in Strong.
These are good and hopeful ideas Ross. I read the post about YT as well. You have thought this all through thoroughly and it sounds like a good plan. I truly hope everything goes easily and exactly as you’d like it to happen.
Age and change are a little daunting. I get it. But remember, we are the YOUNG old! I am 100% serious. I think that is even a medical term lol.
And we all stand with you.
Love and hugs!
Good luck, Ross, I hope things start moving in the right direction for you money-wise!!
Long time follower, rare commenter. I couldn’t write on your previous post in the manner I was taught; Clear, concise and correct.
From my own watching YT, most require the energy that you lost, AND rely on Patreon to provide while doing regular content. YT keeps siphoning off more of the revenue.
Selling one, investing in the next to keep the third. I took out a loan and facelifted a house in 2006-7. It sold in 2008 for 60K less than a low bid 6 months before. I have no faith that the current regime will keep the current falling knife from falling faster, harder. You also have a fine eye and want things just so, which the new buyers may not appreciate and tear out anyway. Just sell, don’t prolong the time of change. My two cents on that.
The Cross House was a massive undertaking when I first heard about it. It would take a fortune and a gifted caretaker to see it through. You have been able to make enormous strides mainly due to determination and perseverance. It seems you have taken a hard look at this recently. Do you have what it will take to get yourself and your furry family installed safely? How will this affect your own health, finances and ability to rent and continue work? What’s the 2 year plan? The carriage house didn’t go to plan, so how can a new plan be set up to succeed? I’d love to have you be able to keep your dream, live in and fuss over it. But it will take a team in the long run. That means bringing in enough to fund the materials and the people, including yourself.
I am devastated about this news as this is one of my favorite blogs – the depth, the investigation, the sheer knowledge and empathy you hold for good architecture, and putting yourself through the uphill battle of restoring a mansion purely for the love of the house. I wish I were independently wealthy so I could buy this Fascinating Investment Opportunity, and additionally, hire a local Ross as a permanent live-in Consultant and Carpenter and Innkeeper and Lighting Designer and General Purveyor of Good Taste which God knows this country needs more of.
At the very least I wish I were closer to Kansas so I could come take one of your impromptu tours and tip generously! All my best –
Thank you for your kind words, Eddie. And I, too, wish you were independently wealthy!
BIG hug!
Ross
Wishing you well and sending you strength and clarity.
Awwwh Ross, I wish I had won the last Billion powerball, you would have your needed funds. While my funds are sorely lacking, my earnest hope for you to be relieved of the money stressors is great. Thank you for all you have done and will continue to do for these projects. You are an amazing person and deserve only the best. Sending hugs and all of the Juju I can muster your way for solutions and evaporated stress. Hug your kitties and know that many others are caring and concerned.
Ross, it’s been a few years since I have posted a comment on your blog. I apologize that I haven’t been a regular contributor to the discourse over the years, but rest assured I have read and thoroughly enjoyed every post over that time. I have to say I was a bit sad but not surprised to read your last post in regard to the Cross House. I completely understand having to make tough financial choices in order to alleviate the stresses you have been dealing with, couple that with time and I’m sure a toll has been taken. That being said it has been quite the adventure, and we all know even the best of adventures eventually come to an end. In your case I hope that everything works out and that your adventures whether they involve the Cross House or not continue, and that you have the strength and desire to share those adventures with the rest of us. Thank you for all the hours of enjoyment you have provided, and I wish you all the best!