In the "be careful what you wish for" category...

Mountains

Some of you may know that I moved from my much loved little old farm house in the country into the "big" (by my standards) city when I started grad school last year. It was what I needed to do at the time, but I'm not a city boy, and I'm not really enjoying living amidst the hubbub of city traffic, neighbors, etc. About two weeks prior to quitting grad school this summer I'd leased my house out to a couple of young people, and their lease runs to just after I'm finished with the massage therapy course I'm currently enrolled in - mid-summer of next year.

Today during class, one of my classmates asked if I was planning to move back to the country after we were done. "Yes, and honestly, if my renters defaulted and moved out tomorrow I'd move back right now." Well, after class, I went back to the car, and guess what voice mail message I had on my phone? My renter's roommate has lost his job and is moving out, and she likely won't be able to afford to stay in the house! And another acuqaintance had already expressed interest in renting my house in the city, so I called her and she's ready to move in tomorrow! Two birds with one stone!

Nothing is sent in concrete yet. The young lady may find a roommate, but she didn't sound confident. I hate it for her, but it would make me immensely happy to be able to move back to my place in the country - plus it's much closer to where I'm currently going to school, so I'd save at least half or more on fuel. And my dog would be ecstatic, since she lived the first five of her six and a half years down there, and is a country girl at heart.

So... be careful what you wish for

Hubris

Wow @Mountains! Maybe I should make more wishes of my own. Your area of this lovely state is nice, nestled in the valleys, I have been there a couple of times since I live about 3 hours away

Hope the transition goes smoothly.

zombiegirl

incredible, lol.

out of curiosity, what sort of work are you interested in looking for once you finish massage school?

Mountains

Answer hazy, try back later

Seriously, I can't get health insurance unless I'm working "for" someone (I've had cancer), so I'll have to get at least part time work as an RN to get that, probably full time until I can start to build up a client base for doing massage. I'm trying to keep all avenues open, and (more importantly) not to get too stressed about how I'm going to pay all the bills in the meantime. Easier said than done...

zombiegirl

ugh... health insurance. i hear you on that one. some massage liability insurances offer health insurance as well, i don't know if they would be more likely to offer it to you or not though.

finding massage work in a hospital might appeal to you. i would think that with your background as an RN, you would be extremely marketable to those in the health field. keep your eyes out for any doctors you can network with that could toss you some clientele. it's important to have a good referral network that works both ways.
but don't stress. over the years, my massage numbers have fluctuated extremely, from none to being my sole source of income... but no matter what, i keep up on my CEUs and insurance so it's always there for me. learning a trade is kinda cool like that.

Dakini

I didn't know some massage liability insurances also offer health ins. That's helpful.

Mts., nurses used to provide massage, before hospitals got onto painkillers, that is--pharma for controlling pain as opposed to massage. Maybe you could bring back the tradition. I think combining a 1/2-time RN job w/a private massage practice is a great idea. I wish you success.

Things really seem to be coming together for you in an amazing way. You're doing something right. Whatever it is, keep it up!

(Whatever it is, bottle it and sell it, and I'll buy some!)

Mountains

Well thanks As it turns out the person who expressed strong interest in the house I'm currently in can't remotely begin to afford what I need to get for rent, so I'm at square one on that. I don't think I'll have trouble renting it out, except for the potentially awkward timing of trying to do it in mid-winter. Houses in the neighborhood tend to rent quickly. Selling is pretty much out of the question unless I'm willing to take a loss on it. I really don't want to be a landlord again, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

compassionate_warrior

I was a landlord for a long time, and the way I handled it was to have a property management company take care of most things. They take a percentage, but it's worth it to not have to worry about collecting the rent, evicting someone if necessary (the company knows all the laws & all that, so they're better set up to deal with it), and they pay your mortgage for you from the rent, or property taxes, or whatever you need taken care of. It really takes the hassle out of being a landlord. For a price, but peace of mind is worth the price.

Mountains

I've considered that, but I got burned by a "management" company one time. Their management consisted of taking my money and not much else. Need to get some recommendations locally. I'm also concerned about whether they'd be able to get as much in rent plus commission as I'll require to make the payment/tax/insurance. It's very much a buyer's/renter's market right now.

compassionate_warrior

In my experience, how the management companies make their money is when there's turnover on the property. They charge you for interviewing applicants, advertising the vacancy, checking the applicants' qualifications. While this is going on, you're paying the rent while the place if vacant. So it's to the owner's advantage to minimize turnover by keeping the rent stable. How the economics of that play out in this market, I don't know. But I thought that due to so many people looking to rent after losing their homes, it's more of a landlord's market. Though I'm not into that anymore, so idk. I hope it all works out for you. There's nothing like having renters pay your mortgage for you!

Mountains

So I found out yesterday that my renter is indeed moving out. She's paid up through the end of December, so it looks like I'll be moving after the New Year holiday. What joy. I'll be gone for 10 days in late December, then home, paint the house inside (which really needed it in 2003..), then move in. In the middle of winter. Goody, oh boy.

Hubris

@Mountains, I will take a cold weather move over a hot one any day! Painting sucks though.

Either way, good luck with it