Assignment:
Please respond to one of the following:
• 1. You have applied for a job in the Washington DC area. You live in Southwestern VA where the cost of living is lower. You and your family of five are excited about relocating. You are happy with the salary that is being offered, but you have concerns over the relocation assistance that the firm is providing. They will provide job placement assistance for your spouse, but are offering very little regarding helping you sell your current home as well as purchasing a new home. You are now at an impasse. Identify what you can propose to get around this impasse.
• Maybe you want to purchase your dream home. Maybe you want a house on a Caribbean island. Maybe you want a second home to escape to for the winter months. How do you make it become a reality? What must you be mindful of? What must you take into consideration? What steps must you take prior to calling a realtor and what must you be mindful of relative to negotiating during the searching and purchasing process? Etc, etc...
2. Please respond to the below post
Relocating comes with exciting uncertainty and outside help during the relocation process may be limited. The exciting part is all of the possibilities that exist regarding work, home, and social lifestyles. The uncertainty is wondering how or if things will go according to plan. The key is to usher in the excitement while mitigating the uncertainty. Transitioning from one home to the next is a classic example of exciting uncertainty. The excitement in packing and moving can quickly succumb to the reality of transitioning homes. No adult wants the responsibility of having two house payments (mortgage or rent) due to costs. I've had to do this over a six month time period and it does put a strain on finances and relationships. To alleviate the strain, a proposal in getting around the impasse is to consider renting something smaller (apartment, condo) at the new location on a month-to-month premise while the home at the current location is on the market. Although this is not ideal, it could go along way in reducing the stress associated with transitioning. Once the current home sells, more focus can be placed on purchasing a more permanent homestead.
Transitioning stateside is challenging in itself, but relocating to different country (temporary or permanent) will bring in a whole slate of new issues. In most places in the Caribbean, the cost of living is more than that of the U.S. On average, $2-$3k per month is enough to live off of. An income greater than $3k means that a person could live comfortably. The kicker is with the quality of life. Since the Caribbean is under developed when compared to U.S. standards, the quality of living will diminish. The threat of natural disaster (hurricanes) loom for half the year, which is likely to drive up the costs of insurance and materials needed in safeguarding. The weather effects make having sound infrastructure of consistent power and running water challenging. There is also the potential of gas shortages and food outages to consider. Nothing can be done to combat the gas shortages, but negating the food shortages entail relying on ordering items online and having them shipped to your location. Because it is the Caribbean, property for sale may be at a premium which means finding that ideal or dream home will be even harder and more expensive, let alone the question of what happens with the property in terms of upkeep when vacant. To me, the key in purchasing a home in the Caribbean is to get away from the hustle and bustle of the U.S. lifestyle. In knowing the challenges that accompany Caribbean living, I would stress to my realtor that the home must be situated away from the tourist attractions or hotspots the region has to offer. All of the other factors can be worked round, but the location is deal breaker.