Lately, I have been thinking about the real estate I own: Three apartments and 2/3 of a small house with a small garden. I actually have no use for any of them except for the apartment I live in Istanbul.
My uncle and my mom had bought one of the apartments and when my uncle's business problems got worse, I bought it from him to make sure he does not lose it. So, that is my uncle's primary residence and it has to stay. I have 69 more months of mortgage on that. My sister asked if she can make the payments from now on since he is her uncle too and I refused that. It was my decision and I live with it. I told her to pay for upcoming repairs and furniture needs instead. She can also chip in for the repair of the small house.
The small house was left to my mom and two uncles by my grandpa. With the consent of his siblings the uncle whose business finally went bankrupt has taken a loan against it. I have taken over the loan from him and have made 35 of the 48 payments and that is a lot of money for me every month. Thankfully only 5 months are left and I will be done with that in September. That house had been put on market several times and did not sell. Besides mom wants to keep it in the family. It needs a real makeover. I own my uncle's share and I recently bought my cousins' shares since they needed money. 1/3 is owned by my mom.
The two bedroom apartment in Ankara was rented but, during the last 7 months, it has been vacant. Nobody has a say on this one so, I finally made up my mind and called the real estate agent today to say that I will be instructing a contractor to make some repairs and I also want it to be listed not only as For Rent but, For Sale as well. It's value hasn't appreciated but, if it is sold at the price I have specified, I will not lose money. I am not telling my family till it gets either rented or sold. Not may be even then.
I like to be liquid and am feeling very stuck with all this real estate nonsense. It is not like I do not have savings but, still it is too much real estate for someone who lives alone and has no kids. If I drop dead today, everything goes to my 77 year old mother and 45 year old sister who has an autoimmune condition. I wish her a healthy and loooong life. She is my baby.
Tough decisions but I can see why you've made them. At least the apartment that you are thinking of selling has no family ties to it - hopefully it will either get rented or sold and you can feel a bit more free.
ReplyDeleteExactly what I thought. I have no need for an apartment in Ankara. Mom has hers and my sister and BIL have theirs. I always stay with one of them and I do not intend to move to Ankara anytime soon.
DeleteHopefully you can sell the one apartment quickly and get that one off your plate. Is your uncle not paying you back for taking on the loans for him?
ReplyDeleteHe cannot pay me back. He has no income other than a small SS payment. Mom supports that income by a small contribution and I pay for the taxes, utilities and insurance. I just bailed him out and never thought it was a loan. I knew he would not be able to pay back. Actually, I wish he had accepted that his business was sinking a few years before. My sister and I urged him but, he always thought he would bounce back. Finally, he caved in.
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