Brooke-
I LOOOVE decluttering…so this month is really fun:) I’m a minimalist already with my wardrobe so my closet isn’t an issue and hasn’t been since I read Marie Kondo’s book when it first came out….

But, I found something I want to declutter from my life that isn’t as easy. We have a rental property that we’ve owned for about 15 years…we never intended to be landlords when we bought it…but because of some other things that happened in our life at that time we ended up choosing not to live in it and rent it out instead. For the most part it’s been fine. Fantastic long term renters many times, and have positive cash flow overall.

But, now the energy of the place seems to have shifted. We tried to sell it for 3 months this summer with the top selling agent in our area…and nothing happened. So, we thought it was meant to be re-rented. This is the first time in 15 years we are having problem tenants.

(I know this is a thought in my head). They have only been in for a month and now are saying they are moving out. And want to argue about the security deposit which they feel is owed back to them (even though they broke the lease). And haven’t paid the rent yet for this month.

I have a fear that I should talk to a lawyer about starting eviction proceedings just in case they don’t move out like they said they are planning to. I’ve never dealt with this before even though I realize it’s something that can happen when you own rental properties.

I now feel even more certain that this is something that needs to be decluttered from our lives. I want to list it cheaply as a “handyman’s special” (even under what the appraisal says it’s worth) just to be done and get rid of it.

I want to be sure I’m making this decision out of faith, not fear. Although….a thought about how much more money it will cost to sit empty for another 3-6 months if we try to sell it again…keeps coming up.

How can my husband and I use the work this month to provide clarity for ourselves on pricing the home to move without being fearful of not selling it? Or being fearful of all the money we could lose on this? If we don’t sell it, it feels the energy that we are putting out around it is attracting the wrong type of renter.

C Rental Home
T Bad energy seems to exist around the home right now
F Fear that we won’t sell it or won’t get a good tenant
A Thoughts whirling about what’s going on with the rental house which lead to fear and anxiety
R More irritation at anything to do with the rental house….etc.

That model doesn’t seem exactly right. I notice I want to put lots of thoughts in there about why we aren’t getting good tenants, why we aren’t selling it, etc!

So, I’m open and willing to sell it. I don’t want it. It doesn’t serve me for sure.

Thoughts? I think it has helped me right now just to blurt this all out to you, so thanks for that!

Rebecca

PS Next month I’ll be a VIP! SOOOOO excited:)