Hello,
I am brand new to the forum and this is my first post. I'm writing to see if anyone wanted to offer some advice. I am 27 with a decent income ($75,000), but have made some lingering mistakes. I have drasticully cut spending since then and come up with a plan of action, but there are a couple decisions that I'm unsure of. Financial details are as follows:
Debt
-Mortgage on duplex $153,000 @ 4.875% over 30 yrs. Originated at $159,000, FHA loan w 3.5% down currently paying PMI
-Car loan balance of $5,000 @ 6%.
-$38,000 remaining student loans all @ 5%
Assets
-Duplex purchased at $159,900 (live in half), put 8k tax credit towards renovation to rent out one unit to cover 120% of half the mortgage.
-Car valued conservatively at $9,000
-401k/pension $35,000
-Savings $20,000
My dilemna is that I am saving for an engagment ring and the remaining renovations required to rent out the other half of my duplex. Otherwise, the car loan would be gone. So my question to you is, should I dump about 10k into my duplex increasing the value to ~$185,000 allowing me to refinance to remove PMI and lower the rate to get it rented and cashflowing at ~$300/month? Or sell it without dumping money into it for a clean slate allowing me to focus sooner on other debt repayment? I saved before paying debt so I could get married, but I feel terrible because she is debt free with a healthy positive net worth. I've tried to clean up my finances as best as possible, but she said she doesn't care and wants to be married.
Again, any help is greatly appreciated.