Unless you do a private sale (i.e., no realtors for either seller or vendor) expect to be dinged 5% of the sale price. Also you'll have all the costs associated with moving. I figure it's going to cost me $10,000 when I sell my condo in the near future.

Unless you're prepared to eat this loss, I'd say you should stay in the house for a year or so and put some work into it. Maybe then you can at least break even.

What kind of shape is the house in, pie? Can you spruce up the bathrooms and kitchen? Clean up the landscaping? A bit of updating will get you back the money you put into it, plus possibly a bit more to offset the cost of selling it.

You might consider selling it yourself. It's not all that hard, and there are a lot of websites that help. I listed mine on Craigslist, and 3 days later I had competing offers. Of course, I'm in a very hot real estate market. If you're in a slower market you might be better off going with an agent. You can always try listing it yourself, then use an agent if you don't get anywhere.

I just called my husband who is a realtor (actually he is now the sales manager at his company,yay, but I digress)-anyway, he said if you are willing to give him more details he would be happy to give you his thoughts on what the smart thing to do would be. No strings attatched! My email should be in my profile...and it might be later on tonight before I can fill him in on anything. But we'd be happy to help.

Stuff he would probably wanna know is, what's the house worth, what area of the country is it in, what'd you pay for it, etc etc. But it would be just between us bunnies. And if you want suggestions like should you fix it up, etc he can be helpful there too.

Anyway, up to you.

I don't know where the law in your area stands, but my employer's son bought a house with his girlfriend last summer, and sold it six months later - but because the house had appreciated in value over that time, he got hit with a bill for capital gains tax, as well as an estate agent's fee for the sale, legal fees, and an early repayment penalty from his mortgage lender. It left him substantially out of pocket.

You might want to consult a solicitor, your mortgage lender, and an accountant to see how you stand.

That brings up a good point: You stand to lose either way, because I don't think you have to pay capital gains taxes when you sell a home... unless you've lived in it less than 3 years or something like that. (Mabye 2? I forget.) So you'll either take a bath for the property not appreciating and having to pay commissions and fees and stuff, or you'll take a bath because it *did* appreciate and you'll have capital gains.

You obviously thought you wanted to live in the house when you bought it two months ago; my advice would be to wait it out a bit. There is something you obviously decided you don't like about the house, but maybe if you stick it out, you'll realize that it's not that big of an issue or you'll get used to it, whatever it is.

She probably still wants the house, but can't afford it now that her SO has moved out.

You know what I'd really like? I'd like him to get his ass off my couch and go move somewhere else so I am not confined to my bedroom. I can't stand having him there. I have a ton of plans for this house but nothing can be accomplished since I'm avoiding the entire downstairs area just so I won't be around him or his stuff. I want to sit on my own damned couch. I want to hang my curtains. I want to landscape my yard and put up a privacy fence. Dammit, I want to be happy in this house, but his presence is souring it and I still have 29.75 years to pay this fucker off. I think he's going to get the 'get out by the end of the month or I'm packing your shit and putting it in a storage locker and you'll get the key to it when you pay me the cost of storing it at Uhaul, comprende muchacho?'

pieoverdone,
Do you have someone who can help make sure he leaves when he says he does? Not threaten or force, but just make sure that there is someone else there when it's time for him to go so all the emotional baggage can't be used as leverage?

Also take bunnyfire up on her offer. That's very good of you and your husband Bunnyfire.

But most of all, darlin' just take it a minute at a time and give yourself a break, you're suffering. Take a few moments to just go for a walk or a drive or go see a friend or something and live a little bit of your life. It seems like you are trying to make too many decisions all at once, under too much pressure. I know there are financial pressures, but no decision you make right now is going to be worth it. It sucks that dude is still in your house, but that will pass and then you have the rest of your life in front of you.

Be good to yourself.

Oh, harsh, I had no idea he was still there. That is one of the worst things to happen in a living situation. Setting a solid date and having other people to support you are both good ideas. Best wishes to you.

With all the emotional energy you expend choosing and buying a house, it would be a shame to waste that by selling so soon, quite apart from the financial aspects and, unless you are really really lucky, you are going to take a financial bath, trust me on this.

Once you get rid of that nasty growth on your couch, you may find that you feel very differently about the house and can use the process of "prettifying" the house as part of the whole moving on thing with your relationship as well.

All the best and I hope it works out as you need it to.

I just had another thought.
Whose name is on the deeds to the house? If you're the sole legal owner, it's more than likely possible to get him removed by the police (or, for a fee, any company that "assists" in evicting problem tenants).
If you do go this route, though, I'd recommend you also change the locks, and make it clear anything of his still in the house on trash pickup day is going to be left in the street.

Malingering exes need to be dealt with firmly and fast, IMHO, especially if they're making your life miserable. I know some of what I've said sounds harsh, but it really would be in your best interests to do something similar.