I hate posting bad news on April 1st, because nobody takes it seriously

I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but the building that Mike and I live in is being sold. We live in a flat in an old, creaky house and it came as quite a shock to find out that it was being put up for sale. The landlord will give us 30 days notice after the sale, and then we have to go.

Now, I wasn't too worried. The building is in shambles, and would almost cost more to repair than the purchase price. The lot is oddly shaped. Although I knew that our landlord owned adjacent lots, there's a city ordinance saying that you can't combine the lots together and build something huge. They have to stay separate, which makes our lot undesirable. The housing market is slow. Plus, we were going to move in the fall anyway. I honestly didn't think the place would sell before October.

But when I came home today, I saw that things had changed. Somehow, our landlord is selling our place and the two next to it as a "three lot development opportunity" via a commercial real estate agent. I don't know how he can do that, but he can. And while three ugly, run-down houses might not sell, a big commercial space might go much faster. When I saw that sign outside our building I stopped dead in my tracks and summed up the situation very well.

"Ohhhhhhhh, fuck."

My friends don't know what the big deal is. "Just move now!" they say. "You never liked that place anyway!" Here are the reasons that I'd rather wait until fall:

1. I'm starting a new job and I'm not sure what my monthly salary will be. I know my yearly salary, but I don't know what I'll be taking home every month once they deduct taxes, insurance, my 401k benefit, and things like that. There's probably some way to figure that out, you know, via math, but I have no idea how. I suck at math. Also, our rent right now is seriously low, so we'll have to reallocate our spending when we move. Yes, I will be making more than I am now and yes, I won't be spending as much on gas, but I'd still rather be able to plan around a concrete figure rather than just guess. If we wait until September to start apartment hunting then I'd be able to get a paycheck or two and see how much I'm bringing home.

2. Mike's job is sort of in the air. He was going to bargain to work from home to watch Philo, but business is struggling. We aren't sure what his work situation will be, which affects where we'd buy a place.

3. Our expenses are figured out here. We know how much we spend for heat, for rent, for everything. With Philo on the way I'd like to spend a few months observing how big a dent he'll make in our budget before we move into a new, more costly living situation.

4. This is the first place I've lived in a long time that's felt like "home." We'd love to stay in this neighborhood. That might mean spending a good amount of time scouting for an available apartment since affordable housing is rare around here.

5. We have three cats. Do you know how hard it is to find a place that allows two cats, let alone three?

6. I'd rather not move while I'm too hugely pregnant to help pack and lift. I'd also rather not move while Philo is an infant and still needs feeding every two hours and plenty of naps. I'd almost have to take him to Mike's parents house and spend the day away from the moving to take care of him. Moving in the fall would mean that I could watch him more easily while Mike and everyone else moves us.

So yeah. Those are my reasons.

I'm pretty upset. I keep hoping that God will provide and all that. Meanwhile, Mike is confident that it won't sell quickly because of the sluggish economy and the fact that some developers have gone bankrupt recently after trying to build apartments and condos around here. I hope he's right. Still, I'm hitting Craigslist and rent.com in hopes of finding a place in case we do get that fateful phone call.