In need of some input re: possible financial bind.

**MomToTwoBoys** · 05-11-2010, 11:12 AM

DH and I had one of those "life changing" discussions yesterday again. His warehouse is up for a lease renewal in October. I know this is five months from now, but it's a distinct possibility that we will be looking at moving to Edmonton after all.

I told DH that now I'm not so sure if I want to do all of the things to the house that I wanted to do before. We both had just gotten used to the idea of staying here longer.

Ok, long story short:

His company does freight management/forwarding for a couple of companies, including some customs work for Canada Customs. He has a company at his warehouse called Dometic, which deals a lot in RV parts (everything from canopies to fridges to other goodies). That company may end up being split from the warehouse and moved to the warehouse in Edmonton (this is the one that DH turned down working for). The customs work would then be contracted out to a third-party company within Calgary.

He's already getting calls from people, saying that they heard he was looking for new work. He's still working for KN! (KN = Kuehne-Nagel) He told his boss about that and they had a solid 45-minute conversation about what Mike wanted to happen. Mike's basically his boss' shadow and does just about everything in the warehouse. He does payroll and customs and customer service rep work and loading/unloading trucks, etc. He does inventory and all other goodies. When his boss is out of town, Mike's basicaly the one in charge.

So his boss submits two proposals to the KN International division: keeping the Calgary warehouse together and moving it to a smaller warehouse or dividing it up and sending it off to other areas.

This does include a move to Edmonton.

Now, we had gotten comfortable with being here. I even started spending money on berry bushes and made plans to renovate both the inside and the outside of the house. If it's May and this move is expected to happen in October, that's 5 months to fix up the rest of the house. That means all of the plans that I had are put on direct hold and whatever I have going on right now is to be finished. We figured that we'd fix what's wrong at a minimal cost and then sell the house like that. This includes just replacing the subfloor and putting in tile in the upstairs bath, replacing the vanity and faucet, the toilet, etc and then also replacing the flooring and the vanity in the downstairs bathroom. Besides a few smaller cosmetic things, the house is able to be sold if we get all of this work done by September.

The possibility that he could be going to the smaller warehouse or another company is there, but he really loves KN. He has lots of time invested and his boss is great, but his boss would be going to Vancouver if they send the customs to a third-party company and move Dometic to Edmonton. He's told me that he loves working for Dometic, but he's also expressed regret in the possibility of moving to the warehouse in the past.

He does have family in Edmonton. He has no family in Calgary. My family is in NY. The kids would be ok with moving. However, we'd either have to take out a HELOC to finish up the house or sell it as is and take a hit on it. The prices for our style of house right now are hovering at the $250k mark, which is $150k more than we owe on it. We'll owe about $102k in July on the house, but we also don't have the money for closing costs and such.

Do we sit on our hands and see how things go, or do we go ahead and spend the money to prep the house "in case"? Do I finish the minimal landscaping in hopes that it'll help sell the house or do I save the money for later?

**Greebo** · 05-11-2010, 12:26 PM

What kind of work does the house need?

I suspect you're taking a hit either way. VERY few renovations give a 1:1 return on the cost.

**monkeywrangler71** · 05-11-2010, 12:31 PM

Just fix, don't improve. Any obvious damage will turn off buyers, but it's not worth improving anything that isn't broken because you will not get your money back.

Closing costs on a sale will come out of the proceeds of the house, you don't need the cash in hand like when you are buying.

**MomToTwoBoys** · 05-11-2010, 12:58 PM

Originally Posted by Greebo

What kind of work does the house need?

I suspect you're taking a hit either way. VERY few renovations give a 1:1 return on the cost.

'

The bathroom floor upstairs needs the subfloor replaced and new tile. We just replaced the shower/faucet in the tub, so that's off our list. The vanity needs replacement and so does the toilet. Other than that, a coat of paint will do. The downstairs bathroom needs a new vanity and some tile, plus a paint job. Both bathrooms could use an updated light fixture, but I'm not breaking the bank on it.

The kitchen needs a paint job and the countertop needs replacement. We'd be putting in a laminate countertop for that. DS11's room needs a hole fixed in the outer wall, plus all of the doors need replacement (we have the doors already).

Other than that, we just have to fix the laminate flooring by removing the baseboards and using something to tap all of the boards together (then nail them in place on the ends) then put the baseboards back. The screen door for the patio needs a new screen, which is simple.

Originally Posted by monkeywrangler71

Just fix, don't improve. Any obvious damage will turn off buyers, but it's not worth improving anything that isn't broken because you will not get your money back.

Closing costs on a sale will come out of the proceeds of the house, you don't need the cash in hand like when you are buying.

Oh, I thought we needed the cash in hand for closing costs when we sell. Thank God! That's such a relief.

**Greebo** · 05-11-2010, 01:10 PM

Originally Posted by MomToTwoBoys

'

The bathroom floor upstairs needs the subfloor replaced and new tile. We just replaced the shower/faucet in the tub, so that's off our list. The vanity needs replacement and so does the toilet. Other than that, a coat of paint will do. The downstairs bathroom needs a new vanity and some tile, plus a paint job. Both bathrooms could use an updated light fixture, but I'm not breaking the bank on it.

Is there visible damage to floor, vanity, toilet? If not, leave em alone.

The kitchen needs a paint job and the countertop needs replacement. We'd be putting in a laminate countertop for that. DS11's room needs a hole fixed in the outer wall, plus all of the doors need replacement (we have the doors already).

Paint and get the cheapest counter you can.

Other than that, we just have to fix the laminate flooring by removing the baseboards and using something to tap all of the boards together (then nail them in place on the ends) then put the baseboards back. The screen door for the patio needs a new screen, which is simple.

Only fix it if the buyers mention it.

Oh, I thought we needed the cash in hand for closing costs when we sell. Thank God! That's such a relief.

This assumes your proceeds will COVER the costs.

**mek42** · 05-11-2010, 01:15 PM

Are you sure you're supposed to nail down laminate? We just let ours float.

There's a special tool you can get from Lowes, Home Depot or any number of places for beating them in place once they've been installed. It looks like a plate of steel with either end bent up 90 degrees. Found in the flooring department. Less than $20 USD, think mine was closer to 5 or 10.

**Libby** · 05-11-2010, 01:18 PM

I'd only fix the necessities as if you're selling within the next month or two. I know you had big plans to re-do the house but I'd still only focus on the areas of 'need' that would help the house sell and sell sooner rather then later.

How soon will DH find out what's going on with work?

**MomToTwoBoys** · 05-11-2010, 01:19 PM

Well the issue with the laminate is that it does float, but they didn't cut it to size and now, it floats apart when you walk on it. There are these considerable gaps in it at times, so we could tap it into place and then cut a piece to size to stick on the ends.

The laminate countertop that we were looking at would be pretty cheap. The paint's not an issue since that was on my list anyways.

The water damage in the upstairs bathroom is very noticeable. There's a distinct odour, as well.

**Greebo** · 05-11-2010, 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by MomToTwoBoys

Well the issue with the laminate is that it does float, but they didn't cut it to size and now, it floats apart when you walk on it. There are these considerable gaps in it at times, so we could tap it into place and then cut a piece to size to stick on the ends.

Or tap it into place before anyone comes to look at the house.

The laminate countertop that we were looking at would be pretty cheap. The paint's not an issue since that was on my list anyways.

The water damage in the upstairs bathroom is very noticeable. There's a distinct odour, as well.

The water damage may be a "discount the price" item.

Get a few realtors out there to look at it as prospective listings - sign nothing, you're getting a feel for them right now.

**monkeywrangler71** · 05-11-2010, 01:45 PM

Yes, call in a couple realtors - they will tell what prospective buyers notice, what you should fix, and what you should ignore. I was going to fix a couple issues in our backyard and our agent said not to waste my time, no one would notice or care. She was right, I'm not sure our buyer has even been out there.

The decision is made at the front entrance, everything past that is justification.

**MomToTwoBoys** · 06-02-2010, 07:53 PM

A small update:

We replaced the indoor doors through the entire house. We also put in new hardware, which was in desperate need of replacement for updating. The handles were fairly cheap ($12 for the ones with privacy locks) and there's also door stops for every single door. The holes in the drywall in all of the rooms was also fixed as well. We picked up paint to do the kitchen and hallway, which will serve good purpose for updating. We kept the colors neutral as we could.

DH had the head of K&N Canada in the warehouse today and told me that there's now 6 proposals for the building's future come October. He mentioned that in several of the proposals, the current DCM (who is his boss) would be going to Vancouver. That would make DH the future DCM, which is a huge plus for us! We may not have to move after all and the house can be renovated at a leisurely pace.

Sadly, the Dometic move to Edmonton is still on the table. What's that mean? We're still possibly moving in the fall.

So now it's just a wait-and-see situation.