House For Sale or Rent?

So, as some of you may know, we have a house in Dahlonega, as well as in Blairsville. We rent out the house in Dahlonega, seeing as how we can't sell it. A few weeks ago, we found out our current renters were separating and moving out. The sad part, truthfully, is that a married couple with a 1 year old is separating. However, I don't see how we could really help them out there. They have some deep rooted issues....

Anyway, this means we are going to have to find a way to foot the mortgage, #2, bill by ourselves until we find a way to get rid of it-- either by selling or renting. We have had it up for rent for a couple weeks now, no bites, and we have had it on the market for a short time now, once again.  Truthfully, though, I don't know if I can stand to rent it out again! It has been such a headache and strain for us to be keeping tabs on our house, 35 miles away, with strangers in it.

Apparently, since our tenants have lived there-- coincidence or not I don't know-- there have been 2 break-ins, one in a house in our neighborhood, and one at the carburetor shop across the road. It feels pretty stinky to have your neighbors look at you as being the cause of bringing in such things. They have even had to start a neighborhood watch! Also, come to find out, the renters we had, well the wife, was also allowing her brother, sister, and her sister's boyfriend to stay in the house with them, and of course they were not on the lease, nor did they pay rent! My husband went to the house a few days ago, kicked them out, and got the last of the rent from the husband. We thought we were done, but we were not! We got a call from our next door neighbor there who said she was scared because this strange man appeared at the house and went in. To make a long story short, we called the cops and they found out it was the husband's dad, coming to help clean up the rest of the house. Which, of course, is fine. It just caused us such a headache and such turmoil to always be stressing about this house!  I am just so ready to get rid of it and move on! I don't mean to rant, but it has just been such a constant struggle, for years now, to be looking after this house, trying to rent/sell it, scrounging to make payments, etc.

I have been praying very fervently for God to bring us a solution to this issue, and nothing yet, but until then we will trudge along and be looking for the way He wants us to go.

Also, if you know anyone who wants a house in Dahlonega, let me know ;)

We Are Moving to Blairsville!

Part 1
So, the other day when Brandon came home from work, Monday it was, he came up to me and gave me a great big kiss and said , "You are a genius." Uh, ok. It happened, coincidentally, to be the day that marked him being home for a year. I had made him a homemade angel food cake, with lots of cream cheese icing, and it said "<3 Welcome Home <3" I thought he might have been really glad that I made him a cake? Yeah I had no idea why he would be calling me a genius.... He followed this with telling me that on his way home, he had received a phone call from a military couple PCSing from Ft. Drum. They wanted to rent our house!

We had just put it up for rent about 10 days prior!! The guy came by and took pictures and put it up on his site, which would cost us a little $ if we went through him. However, I had an idea, since I was a former military wife myself, that I could put it on the site I always used to find a house: ahrn.com (automated housing referral network). It is a site that has rental houses specifically around military bases, and there is no fee! I put up the pics and gave a good description of it and BAM we get this call. SO awesome. Now. It is not like me to just get excited at the prospect of tenants; I don't get excited about something unless I know it's gonna happen. However, they did sign a 1 year lease yesterday! They were really sweet too-- they have one child, a 9 month old boy, and they were about our age. I talked to the wife for a while yesterday and I think this is going to be a great blessing! We have been praying for a way to get 'over the mountain' so we wouldn't have to live so far away from family, friends, church, etc. God truly answered our prayers!

Part 2
So if Part 1 is about getting our house rented, Part 2 I guess is us trying to find a place to rent ourselves. Why rent and not buy? Well, for one, we need it immediately and we don't have time for closing, even if we could get a loan. However, the fact that we already have a mortgage and even though we are renting it out, most lenders are not going to count rent as income... blah blah blah, boring loan stuff.  So, of course we are going to rent for a while until we can find a place to buy that we will live in until we rot. yuck. So we looked at a couple of places... the first place was an old house with a great yard, but a very outdated oven (stone age), no overhead lighting in bedrooms, and a little dirty with a funky smell. Hmm. Also a little pricey for the included dirt bonus. Place #2 was a great townhouse, small, but great. All wood floors, with some tile, basement, all new-- including appliances and granite countertops. Breathtaking! But, small. 2 Bedrooms, 1 whole bath, 1 half bath. I guess I need to get used to showering with Caylen's Boon Frog Pod.  The price is super duper too! Yes, it is a little small, but it is temporary.  I arranged to sign the lease on Friday. Woo hoo, right? Well, I looked over the lease and saw that it said the ever dreaded "no pets" clause. We have a cat. So, that is a problem. I emailed the lady I had been talking to and asked her about it, but she hasn't got back to me yet. I really hope they can work with us on this one, because there really isn't anywhere else to rent in Blairsville. and oh yeah, we move on Saturday.
THIS Saturday, the 20th. Whew!
We have already packed up a lot, but some stuff we are just gonna leave out and pack into our car. We are luckily very used to moving so this is not as painful as it would have been if we hadn't moved four six times already. This will be seven. I am so happy that we will be on the other side though so I am just trying to see the silver lining in packing all these boxes. We are one step closer! Just please keep us in your prayers as we go through this transition, and that we find a place to live soon! I know God brought us these renters and He will find a place for us to live!

Edit:

The landlord emailed me back and told me that pets are accepted on a case by case basis, and then told me she would meet to sign the lease, so I am assuming we are in the clear :)  YAY!