As you may know, we own two homes. And as you also may know, we are getting ready to sell one of them. Not the best market to sell, especially when it was purchased near top of the market.

Going into this, my thoughts were “No way we’re selling for less than what we put in! We’ll rent it if we have to.” Then I did the math. Not that I’ve given up on the idea of getting my price just yet. The house won’t be on the market for another few months, but even if we “lose” $100k (including the renovations), we still come out way ahead of the game.

And so, I’m learning the importance of letting go.

At first, when my husband said “Yeah, but we lived there for 5 years. Think of it as paying rent.” that wasn’t enough to change my mind. What did it was figuring out exactly how much extra money we would have to play with by only owning one house. The mortgage payments, the taxes, insurance, gas and electric, extra car plus insurance, gas and train to go back and forth, maintenance and renovations, even food.

So my friends, if you are thinking of selling your house in this market, do not despair. Do the math! It just might make sense to let go of your pride, swallow the loss and live happily ever after!