Just following up on this thread: thanks everyone for the great replies; it was definitely a lot to think about. I talked things over with the wife and we're going to do a two year plan. We've decided to keep the house and finish renovating it in the spring, and then rent it out. I'd also forgotten that downstairs originally had a one car garage and a studio apartment. When I bought the house I converted the apartment to a 3 car garage; but did leave the structure (bathroom plumbing, electrical, etc.) intact, in case of future use. That studio also faces the waterfront side of the house, so could be a cash-cow if done right. And the upstairs will be a three bedroom house that will be rented as a single home. Then after one year of renting, we're going to take the rental income (in addition to our personal incomes) and get a mortgage to build a new house and dream garage in Colorado. I also have a military VA house loan that I haven't used, so can apply that to the new house. Then the income from the extra house rental units will pay for the mortgage on the new house. The new build in Colorado will include a separate apartment, and the income from that will also help to pay bills. We are also planning on renting our primary house out in New York, in addition to a four-plex that the wife owns outright in Playa Del Carmen. So in the end, the person that you know in the worst financial shape is right on your screen (me), but I think things will turn out ok in the end and allow us to put food on the table and play with A bodies.
Do your math regarding the extra, untaxed income.
We had to significantly increase our W4 withholding, or else we would need to make quarterly, estimated payments after being hit with a ginourmous tax bill for the first year.
We will eventually need to do that, once we retire, but I'm not ready to start that yet.















