Update on Job/Life situation

[Phoenix84]

Some of your may remember my post on the old boards a few months ago describing my job situation.

The short version is I was fired in June 2010 from my federal job for having insufficient knowledge to perform my duties. Management had expected me to assume a job and role I wasn’t ready for, and I was expected to perform at a level comparable to my co workers who had over 20 years of experience when I had 1.5 years. The grounds for termination was that I was on probation. I hired an attorney and field a case with the merit systems protection board because I felt they violated federal law in firing me. I won the case and was re instated. They did, in fact, violate federal law in firing me because they imposed a probation period on me when I had already served satisfactorily in a previous job and met the probation requirements. I was offered a settlement by the agency. After a lot of thought, I decided to go ahead and be re instated to my old position.

Fast forward to now. I have received and accepted another job with the U.S geological survey in Colorado. This job is a promotion. I’ll be moving out there next month. I am a little worried about taking on more responsibilities after having troubles in my last job, but this time management seems to have more realistic expectations on my level of experience. They have said they will offer training, and I know I can perform well with adequate training. Also, since I don’t want to repeat previous mistakes, I’ve been studying for my chosen profession a great deal. Will it be enough? I guess time will tell, but this job seems to be a better fit.

The biggest problem with the relocation is my condo. It seems I’ll have to take a loss in selling it. Until then I’ll be losing about $1k a month until I sell it or rent it out. I’m not too keen on renting, but I think it could work if I got someone in the military (I live close to a major military base), as they are held accountable if they trash the place. And, of course, moving is expensive.

[Deleted]

phoenix, congratulations on the new job! I hope the new job suits you better. Between your studies and their willingness to train you adequately, hopefully you won't have the same issues.

Your condo....... I have no advice, just hopes that it works out for you. Good luck!

[dianartemis]

Congrats! I'm w/ Pink & can't give advice on the condo, but congrats on the new job!

[debtheaven]

Hey Phenoix! So happy to see you here and hear about the new job!!! WELL DONE!!!

Until then I’ll be losing about $1k a month until I sell it or rent it out.

Can you post the numbers on the condo / house? You should certainly be able to at least rent it out, I'm thinking there is no reason for you to keep it empty and suffer a loss of 1K per month. Can't you rent it out within your military environment to either a family or a couple of serious roommates, and at least mitigate your loss?

If so I would do that for a year and re-evaluate the situation then.

Again, I don't have the numbers. Best of luck to you! But I would try to hang onto it since I'm guessing (I could be wrong here) that you eventually want to move back to the right coast.

[Phoenix84]

Can you post the numbers on the condo / house?

Of course.

Mortgage: $861.30month
Condo Fees: $155/month
Other condo fee: $180 once per quarter

Property taxes are included in the mortgage as it's an escrow account.

[Deleted]

First, congratulations on the new job! I also think you will really enjoy CO.

Where is your condo located? Is there a reason you would return to that general area?

What kind of rent do you think you will get?

[Phoenix84]

"Where is your condo located?"

The Dayton area in Ohio.

"Is there a reason you would return to that general area?"

Well, my family lives in the Indianapolis area, so I'll be coming back there somewhat regularly. As for the general area, it's unlikely unless I got another job at the base I work at now. Given the problems I had with management, I'd say they probably won't hire me back. But who knows what the future holds? Overall I'd say it's extremely unlikely.

"What kind of rent do you think you will get?"

$1000 a month is my best estimate right now. Minimum I think would be $900/month. If using a property manager (which I would use some type of property management since I'll be out of state), they would get 10% of the monthly rent. Given that it's a condo, I at least don't have to worry about anything exterior.

[Deleted]

I think if I were you I look to sell first and rent out if you can't sell it.

You might even think about doing a lease option. I'm trying to post a link but the site's real slow. I'll come back and edit.

[TheOtherMe]

Congratulations on beating the federal government and congratulations on your new promotion. You will love CO. USGS is located in the Denver area, correct?

I fought my federal employer back in the 70's to be promoted to a position traditionally held by men after my manager told me that CPAs don't like to work with women. Well, too bad, they have to learn. I won and got my promotion and transferred to CO. I knew my career in that neck of the woods was over.

I can't give you any advice on the condo, but I can give advice on Denver if that is where you are going.

[Small Biz Owner]

Colorado and a Federal job. You just made most of us envious.
I would also try to sell first or then do a lease option. Long distance landlord usually does not work out well.

[Phoenix84]

Thank you all for the support.

"USGS is located in the Denver area, correct?"

Yes that's correct.

"As for taking a loss, in life, you sometimes take one step back to take 2 foward. Sometimes you have to take a loss to move on with your life."

Yes, I'm willing to take a loss and price it to sell. Over the long run I'll make it up at my new job. It's just frustrating that all I can do is keep it in good shape and price it well, and the rest is out of my hands. I'm not going to be a stubborn owner who refuses to drop the price.

Overall I think this position will be a much better fit.

[debtheaven]

Phenoix, given that your family is not in the immediate vicinity of your condo and you have no reason (and I'm guessing desire) to keep it as a rental, I would definitely try to sell it. Being a landlord can be lucrative, but it's not easy every day. And my guess is that you just need to "turn the page" on that chapter of your life.

Given your age and your story, I would definitely price it to sell and move on. If you can't and you have to rent it, well, you'll do what you need to do, with the idea of not keeping that rental long term. As you say, you'll make up the loss, if there even is one, with your new job.

Just curious, if you don't mind sharing: do you think going back to that job was a good or bad decision? Did it help you land the new job?

Again, kudos to you on the new job and on bouncing back so well!

[Phoenix84]

"Just curious, if you don't mind sharing: do you think going back to that job was a good or bad decision? Did it help you land the new job?"

It's hard to say, since we're getting into "what if" territory.

I think I made the right choice. I applied for this USGS position back in August, and I didn't interview for it until January. If I had taken the buyout I assume they'd have changed my record to something along the lines of a RIF (reduction in force, aka layoff or downsizing). I'm sure the question would have come up in regards to how I left federal service. Would they have found out? I can't say. All I can say is it may have lead to an uncomfortable line of questioning had I taken the buyout. Not having a break in service is nice in the overall scheme of my career, as it helps with figuring pension payments and the like.

On the other hand, I might have come out ahead if I had taken the buyout, but I don't think by very much. It will have been 4 months of pay by the time I leave vs. the 6 they were offering.

As to the question if it helped me land the new job, I don't think it mattered. As i said, I applied for the job in August and my case was settled by the time they interviewed me in January.

One thing I forgot to mention too is I got all my back pay restored, so I got a fairly large lump sum payment (about $18k). The down side is since I was technically employed during that time, I have to payback all of the unemploymnent I received. I can easily pay it back with my back pay, and pay for the move, and still have some left over.

It has caused my taxes to be a nightmare though. Since I counted my unemployment as 2010 income but I'll be paying it back in 2011. If I understand the rules right, I'll get to right that payoff on my 2011 taxes and come out even.