I am very confused right now. Here is the thing: We are not wealthy. We have enough money to do what we need to do, but not much else (there are no cruises in our immediate future!) We are a family of 5- soon to be 6 living off of one income, and not a six figure income either. So here is my problem.
We put ourselves on the list for on-post housing when we first moved here to Tacoma. We were told that we would have to wait between 6 and 12 months for a house to open up. So we set about getting a rental. I didn't want to get an apartment cause we have a dog. (a cute dog for the record) Riley is not a big dog, but he is not a little dog either. He needs more space than an apartment has. So we rented a house from a really fantastic family. They are alot like us. They have 5 kids and one income (although I have no idea how much that income is. None of my business really....)
The Landlords (names changed) need a tenant in their house. See here is the thing, they are renting a bigger house than this one from a friend. So they need a tenant to be able to pay their mortgage and their rent. Make sense so far?
Well here is the thing. A house opened up on post for us. It is available now. It is in the nicest housing area on post. It has a fantastic floor plan, a master suite, a gourmet style kitchen, and a garage! If we move on post, all of our bills are covered by our housing allowance. Plus on this post they take a percentage of your housing money and put it in a savings account for you. When you move out of on post housing they give you all of the money that they saved for you in a lump sum check. As far as I know, that money is tax free cause it came out of his paycheck once, so if we were taxed on it again, it would be double taxed ( I could be wrong on that though!)
Living in The Landlords house we spend almost all of our housing money on just rent and the bills take almost $200 out of our "living expense" money. So if we moved on post we would have an extra $200 a month! So moving on post is the best thing for my family. The problem is that I really like The Landlords! They are fantastic people. They moved out of the house two weeks before they had originally planned to so that we could spend less time in a hotel. I really don't want to screw them over by moving, but if we stay it will be hurting us!
So what do I/we do? Do we do what is best for our family? Or do I stick it out for a little longer until they can find a new tenant? (if we wait the chances of us getting another house in the best neighborhood is slightly smaller than slim to none.) I am confused. I don't want to hurt them, but I don't want to hurt us either. What would you do in my place?
9 comments:
i really can't tell you what you need to do but with a bigger family things like money gets hard.We do it with one paycheck and no outside help.I would not change it for the world.Things have its little ways of working out.I wish you and your family all the best of luck
move out and into the house with the military. you would be saving money and be living in a nice area! you would be a fool to pass that up! if they are such nice people, then still be friends with them, and they should understand!
I think you guys should do what is best for your family. Moving on post is the best option. Your landlords will understand, and if you don't have a lease with them don't worry about leaving right away. There are plenty of people looking for a place to live. Plus you won't have to worry about not having a car during the day. Take what the army will give you and enjoy the extra money, your gonna need it. Love ya guys!! Katie
Personally hun, you gotta do what's best for your family. The landlords knew you were waiting for on post housing and I'm sure they can find new tenants soon. I believe in you!!
well shoot - since you are in a military area are there people coming in all the time (rotating in and out type of thing) that means that it would be rented quickly - or can you offer to post it somewhere on base for anyone looking ....
that is a hard decision - but the housing on base sounds perfect....
sorry no help at all was I
Did your Landlords know that you were waiting for on-base housing?
Not that it matters. Landlords know that people will move on.
Is the rental agreement with your Landlords on a month-to-month basis? Or will you get popped with a penalty for breaking a lease?
You really have to do what is best for your family. It sounds like on-base housing is the best thing for you.
I think you should move and I think your Landlord should completely understand. As you stated this seems to have been common knowledge that you would be moving out when a house is available. If I were the Landlord I would understand. They should always be prepared for someone moving out of their rental property.
I also think that you should do what is best for your family and that by doing so doesn't mean you don't care for your Landlord.
The first thing I would do is talk to your landlord. They might already have someone else in mind and have the same problem... they don't want to hurt you. Just tell them like you told us and see what happens from there.
:D Carla
you should give them notice... how soon do you have to move into the new house? give them that much notice and talk to your housing person about the current lease you have (they may help you out too!) Maybe let your current landlords put the house up for rent while you are still in it so they can show it and fnid renters before you move to have less time between renters?
Post a Comment