Saturday, September 29, 2012

To do or not to do... that is the question

The last few days, while we wait for our coach to be finished up and for the bank to get it's ducks in a row, we have been discussing and researching what to do with the house. Do we rent it out, rent out a room and maintain our 'personal space' or do we let her sit, essentially empty, for the months we will be away and hire a house sitter? OH my goodness, what a nightmare! 
There are so many pro's and con's to each option.

Renting out: 
 Renting it out means that the potential renter may look great on paper but be a total slob and not care about the place even with a management service. Or, the renter is great and we are happily raking in a monthly fee that will help pay for maintenance on the house and maybe, if we are blessed, give us a small income to sock away. 

Renting out a room: 
I was thinking that if we were selective in where we advertised our "room for rent," we may be able to get a good kid from college who is tired of campus living. We do have three universities in our town but knowing college students as I do (yes, I am lumping them all together - my bad), I am not sure this is the best or the wisest option for almost obvious reasons. However, the student may be a good kid and would take care of the house, the backyardigans (two of our fur babies) and the cat. We would have to find someone that we trusted explicitly with our things and animals. This option may be worse than just emptying the house and renting it out. Of course, there are others to think about besides college types but in our town, this individual may be hard to find. 

Letting it sit... and fall to shambles... and break my heart... 
Sorry, I guess I am getting ahead of myself. Well, we all know what happens to things when they are not used and sit for awhile. Not only is the house subject to all kinds of issues - theft, looting, destruction by hoodlums, mice/snake infestations, among other ornery and pesky critters like opossums, skunks, and racoons. This would also require a 'house sitter' to be paid to care for the animals, gardens, pool, mail, and misc. shipments. This has been our choice for the last two years when our travel time was a total of 3 months, tops. However, I am not sure it will be worth the cost for 9+ months. 

So, there you have it. This is what we are faced with and I've no idea which to choose. Each has it's own good and bad sides so we are still weighing our options. Trust, faith, and a lot of thought... I am tired. Guess we will decide this tomorrow. :)

Speaking of tomorrow, the grands are going to the Tulsa State Fair. I want to go, but we are trying to watch our P's and Q's money wise. I guess after such a big plung in the finance pool, we don't want to over-do it. So, I guess we will stay home and enjoy the Facebook pictures. 


Speaking of added expense - This sweet thing came home with us tonight.


 I am a sucker for a good story and well, this angel's mama and daddy (with baby) couldn't take Maggie with them to their new home and were almost forced to send her to our local shelter. So I caved. Mind you, we have 4 dogs and a cat already and they are another decision to be made. I cant take them all and so what do I do.... bring one home. Before you all get bent at me, I took Maggie with the intention of finding her a good forever home and that is still my intention (sort of, maybe, not-likely); however, knowing my hubby as I do... Maggie will be going but not to another home. She will be going with us, on the road, with the other fuzz faces.

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