I've Got To Move.......

[cm11599ps]

I'm currently going through a divorce. It was her and I living in the house and her parents renting the apartment in the house. She left the house in October of 2012 and I was able to land some tenants for the apartment in my house 2 months later. I've been trying to modify my mortgage ever since because the income I used to get was my income, the wife's income and the rental income from her parents. Now it's just my income and my rental income which is about $40,000/year less than what I was getting before the divorce. That's a pretty sizable chunk of change that's gone.

The loan modification couldn't be processed unless she signed the deed over to me which she did, but the modification doesn't look like it's working so I'll have to leave. My lender is offering me money to leave the house but my real estate lawyer thinks the offer is too low and is trying to get a higher figure. If it was just me in the house then I could accept the offer and run but I have tenants with a lease till Thanksgiving. If somehow I can stay till Thanksgiving and then we all leave, well, that would be ideal. I'm not heartbroken to leave the house because it's the house the ex and I bought right before the wedding. Too many memories and such.

I'm wondering what my next step will be once I leave. My brother and his family offered to take me in as has my sister and her family and my parents. We all live about 5-10 minutes from each other.

I do have a dog so I know my rental options are limited. I'm wondering if I'll have to consider a condo. Who knows. I know whatever I get will be a lot smaller than what I currently have and that kind of sucks but there's not much that can be done about it.

I'm thinking about just having a garage sale to get rid of a bunch of stuff. Then put my important stuff in a storage place for about $180 a month and go back with mom and dad for a few months to save a few bucks. Then look at a condo or something. Any thoughts?

Finally, that brings up the issue of my reef tank. I kind of knew this day was coming so I haven't been stocking it. I currently have a small clown, a small royal gramma, a few snails and of course the coral. Oh, and lots of rock. lol

I'm not sure if I'll be going with some family members for a bit before getting my own place or if I'm going directly into my own place from here. Any thoughts on what to do with my tank? Should I get rid of all the inhabitants and just start fresh once I get settled in my new place? Should I move them around from house to house? I'm not sure if anyone is interested in my LR if I decide to sell everything. Sure, I have coral all over the rock but I also have a ton of vermitid snails.

I'm not opposed to upgrading to say a 180 once I get settled in as that would give me much better stocking and aquascaping options as opposed to my 55. How much is a 180?

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

Better to be free of anything not "needed" right no until you get to the right place.

 

[jpitch]

One thing I've learned over the years is the tank is usually one of the cheaper things you'll buy when you go bigger. If your budget starts out tight with just buying the tank I'd hesitate. Lighting, skimmer, calcium reactor (if you're going that route), etc will all be significantly more than the tank itself. I'd strongly consider starting new if you have no idea where you're going to end up. Keeping livestock in limbo is stress you don't need right. Good luck.

 

[cm11599ps]

I am leaning towards just getting rid of the livestock anyway as it's probably the easiest, least stressful thing to do.

I really would love to upgrade as scaping a 55 is difficult on a good day. lol I've always loved the idea of a larger tank with rock work located on either side of the tank with lots of swimming room in the middle.

I figure I can convert my current display into a sump for the larger tank and I already have 2 mp40's going. Also have a larger mag, maybe a mag 12 I forget, in my garage for a closed loop.

 

[Hoopz87]

If you are selling corals, please let me know.

 

[oh207]

Sorry to hear about the ordeal. Unless your family wants and/or welcome the reef tank, its probably best to break down and start new once you've settled in at your new location.
Running a tank in someone else's home, even if it is family, could lead to unpredictable inconvenience. Just the type of thing you don't need at the moment.
I really do hope that all work out for you and that you can keep the house. I'm sure a 180 would be awesome in there because finding an apartment that will allow you to have a 180 plus sump would be challenging.

 

[cm11599ps]

I've had my current tank for about 20 years now and it was originally setup while I was still living at home with my parents so they'd be cool with it. I've had this thing for so long that I think Aqua Hut was still pretty new at their current location. I think they used to be in the same shopping center, only closer to the pizza place.