I’m sorry to hear that you’re going through tough times at work, paramount. Hopefully, your job will be spared as your company deals with the sequestration and other economic shifts.
Selling the houses for at least $100K net profit might be a good idea right now. This is one of the hottest seller’s markets in RE history and now is the time to sell if you’re not planning on staying for the long run, IMHO. Of course, I’m bearing on housing in the long-run, so take that for whatever it’s worth. I believe that interest rates are going to determine what happens in the future, but I’ve been wrong about the ability of the Fed to manipulate things for as long as they have. Who knows? They might be able to carry on for a long, long time.
If you do decide to sell your houses, and if you feel comfortable handling the transactions yourself, it might be worth your while to use a broker who will charge a fairly low fee just to list it on the MLS (take lots of excellent pictures and write a detailed description of the property with all the amenities, etc.). It could save you thousands of dollars. If you’re not comfortable with that, be sure to negotiate with a realtor/broker for a lower commission, since listings are hard to get and your listings will be like gold to them right now.
It might not be a bad idea to sell both houses, sock that money away in short-term CDs and/or Treasuries, and wait for things to settle down. I really believe we are still in the middle of an enormous credit/asset price bubble that will pop within the next 10 years. You could rent a house here for as long as you can maintain a job here, and then have the freedom to move wherever you can find employment if things don’t pan out in SD/Riv. I’d wait to buy until you are retired and don’t have to worry about chasing jobs around the country and having to sell into a bad market or manage rentals from afar.
