Figuring this out has been one of the more difficult aspects of planning this move. What do we do with our North Carolina house?

First, we considered doing VRBO. This idea was actually my favorite. Using the bonus room for storage instead of renting out a space and lugging our overwhelming amount of crap there made sense. A place to come back to for short visits is quite appealing. Finding a property manager was easy. We were good to go. Until the smart property manager read our HOA Decs and the next thing I knew, VRBO was out.

Second, we are pondering renting the house out for long term which our HOA actually allows. A long term rental does still require us to rent a storage space and lug our shit across town. UGH! When I add up taxes, insurance and the cost of a management company, the financial benefit is minimal. The pro to renting is that it could be the beginning of my real estate empire. And truthfully, there is something comforting about having a house in the States even if I can’t stay in it because it’s rented.

Third, we are looking at selling our house. This is most likely the path we will walk but every so often I teeter back to long term rental. Before y’all start sending me your favorite realtor’s info – I have a Charlotte realtor who I love.

Selling makes the most sense because even if we decide Costa Rica is not for us, Chicago is where I’d want to land. That is where the majority of our friends and family reside. We moved South for Jeff’s work. Now that he is a remote employee, we can live anywhere. I like Charlotte but my people are in the Midwest and Chicago will always be home.

When my mom was alive, having her condo as a landing spot gave us all a sense of security. A lack of a landing spot causes me (and a few of my kids) anxiety. If we sell this house, we could use the money to purchase a small condo in Chicago and once again have a landing spot in the Windy City.

There is a whole lot to consider and I am all over the place. What would you do? Rent or sell?