thinking outside the box

[mellowtigger]

I am applying for tech support jobs that seem to me like really good fits, but I decided I should also be more creative and try to imagine a life-changing alternative. What if I went back to school and got a degree, so I could become an astronomer? That has always been an interest of mine. I "did" the computer world in this first career already, so now I should try something else entirely different for the next stage.

I called the realtor who helped get me into this house in 2015. He says (without having seen the place yet) that I should probably list this house at $110K and see if bidding pushes the price upwards from there. The house doesn't even need to be perfect in this hot market, because buyers will accept the small problems just to get the property. That incoming light rail project is really affecting the interest here.

I think it's conceivable that this house could be my scholarship for going back to college in the fall season. :)

I checked my mortgage online. It says I owe just under $39K on it now. I wonder if I could actually pocket a difference close to $70K, or how much in taxes/fees would disappear?

• That amount alone would be sufficient to pay for several years of studio apartment rent and tuition in Moorhead MN without needing to work-and-study at the same time. I tried that dual life long ago, and it was very bad for my mental health. I should focus just on studies.
   
• If a bidding war provides a little more money, it would be enough to buy a condo in a nearby town (4.7km / 2.9mi) and afford a few years of association fees there.  It would keep some of that wealth intact, to help when it's time to graduate.
   
• If a bidding war provides a lot more money, it would be worthwhile to investigate buying a lot near-ish (3.9km / 2.4mi) to campus and build a new "tiny house" on it. Hard to imagine that much money for this century old house, though. I'll try to remain a little more reasonable in my expectations during this brainstorm.

It sounds reasonable, though, doesn't it?  Start a second life?  I haven't flitted off into escapist fantasies, have I?

Comments

[danieldwilliam]

When does the light rail system arrive?

[zipperbear]

It'll be some years away, presumably after the other extension, planned to open in 2024:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_LRT

It's less far along in planning, and they plan to settle on a final alignment by the end of 2021, but they still need new engineering and environmental impact reports:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottineau_LRT#Opposition,_realignment

[danieldwilliam]

Thanks.

My guess is that there will be more impact on property prices the closer to opening the line is.

I have a house that is going to be conveniently located near to a new commuter station in to Edinburgh which is due to open in about two years. It turns the town from not a commuter town in to a commuter town. Not seeing a huge impact on house prices yet.

[mellowtigger]

I think you are right. Probably actual homebuyers would pay more to buy this house after the line is functional. Right now, I suspect it's all the prospectors (property flippers) who are buying at this early stage. Probably the sanest course of action would be for me to find a new and intellectually stimulating job to "tide me over" for a few years, pay off the house, then reconsider school. Not waiting too many more years, though. Nobody has any guarantees, but already I'm well into my grey beard years.

[danieldwilliam]

If I were in a similar position to you, in a British city (where I understood the property dynamics and future interest rate trajectory better) I would be inclined to wait a year. Maybe two. Give myself a chance to pick exactly the right course, build up some reserves, pay down the mortgage a bit more and in the expectation that the property price would go up a little as the plans for the light rail get closer to fruition and COVID receeds.

But there is something to be said for just going and having an adventure right now.

And how great to be able to enjoy thinking about it.

[danieldwilliam]

USian mortgages seem differently structured to UK ones.

A colleague and friend of mine in Seattle just told me that he renegotiated his fixed-term mortgage and has reduced the term of the mortgage from 30 years to 15 years with repayments at the same amount just as a result of the reduction in interest rates.

In the UK I don't think I would get a 30 year mortgage at the age of 45 (he's older than I am) and the longest fixed-term mortgage would be 5 years (5 years at a fixed interest rate, + X years after at a variable rate but you can re-mortgage).