My beautiful spot on (really, really close to) Willard Beach. It is the best of times – It is the worst of times.
Moonrise on Willard Beach (courtesy of Elizabeth Isele - Teddy & Argyle's mom)
For those of you who follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/lynnelle) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/lynnelle) you’re familiar with “my” Willard Beach. I’m walking the beach with the littlest Pablo most mornings and sharing a picture or two when I do. It’s a magnificent spot and I’ve been lucky enough to call it home for almost 7 years now.
It’s a brilliant property, not because of the house but because of the lot. In fact I really don’t like the house very much. I’m a block off Willard Beach in South Portland. The lot is a quarter acre, which would support a very nice size home. Many people around have already added on or rebuilt so the area is on an upswing. I’m, by far, one of the least expensive properties around – with one of the nicest lots.
Unfortunately, as lucky as I’ve been and as beautiful as it is, it is an expensive place to be. PLUS: the City of South Portland is talking about raising property taxes AGAIN, this time 1.5% more. That will put the property taxes on this tiny (1000 SF) little house at well over $4000. This has sent me over the edge. I’ve been able to justify taking money out of my 401(k) to stay there for the last couple of years (since the divorce) but I can’t hide from the grim reality anymore. I just can’t afford it.
I can’t afford it. I can’t rent it out at a rate that will cover the mortgage (& second mortgage) payment and, given the current banking environment (not to mention my own personal financial situation) I can’t refinance it at a lower rate to bring my payments down. At least I can’t get refinancing through traditional channels. So that’s why I decided to suck it up and send a proposal to my friend, Raymond.
I love Raymond. I have for 30 years. Raymond and I have dated on and off …for (gasp) 30 years. Unfortunately I kept marrying (and then divorcing) other men… but that’s another blog post. Raymond made his mark in the Texas real estate market and was one of the tough, true real estate investors who didn’t run out on their investments or their investors. He fought long (years and years) and hard with the FDIC, FSLIC, banks, IRS, and anyone else who tried to kill him off during those awful years in the late 80′s / early 90′s real estate hell. He came out the other side bruised and battered, but he came out and so did his reputation.
As uncomfortable as it is, I’ve make a proposal to Raymond to refinance my house for a 3-5 year period for monthly payments plus a percentage of the equity in 3-5 years or when I refinance / sell the property, whatever comes first. Why am I swallowing my pride like this? Because of the advice he gave me earlier this year, which was to do whatever I could to keep the property. Ok, Raymond. Here I am. Doing whatever I can to keep my house.
Not sure this is what he meant. But, stay tuned. I’ll keep you posted.