Sell gear to fund home repairs/improvements?

[WA Paul]

I’ve been in this situation for nearly six years now thanks to a brutal chronic illness. While difficult, figure out your top guitar/guitars, then sell the rest. Only take on more debt as an absolute last resort.

 

[gush]

Sell me your vintage prs guitars and I'll send you monthly messages about how fantastic they are so you can stay in the fuzzy zone while you fix up your house.

Solid plan.............

 

[JasonE]

I have thankfully never had to sell gear to fund something. I would do it if I absolutely had to. I can't say this loud enough though, NEVER FUND SOMETHING LIKE THAT ON A CREDIT CARD! I have seen and heard about so many people that screwed themselves for decades because they did that and something went sideways. It will ruin your credit for a very long time and that is a big hole to dig out of. I would rather deal with replacing the gear down the road. For reference, my wife has worked in collections for decades and I have heard all sorts of stories. She told me recently that with the way the economy has been going their credit card collections have gone through the roof. The credit card is only a band aid that has a shelf life. I also don't know of any credit card that would stay 0% interest for long term. Read the fine print.

 

[Rider1260]

I am always prepared to sell gear if I NEED to , keep my favorite couple and an amp so I can play , I sold a bunch to get the cycle in my avatar but have since regrown the collection ( which is a ton of fun. )
Have you looked at a home equity line of credit ??? far better interest than a CC.
You can always sell gear over time to pay things down but I would not use a Credit card.

 

[gush]

I am always prepared to sell gear if I NEED to , keep my favorite couple and an amp so I can play , I sold a bunch to get the cycle in my avatar but have since regrown the collection ( which is a ton of fun. )
Have you looked at a home equity line of credit ??? far better interest than a CC.
You can always sell gear over time to pay things down but I would not use a Credit card.

Still got the cu22?

 

[aamefford]

Sell gear if it well net enough to help. Don’t do credit cards. 0% quickly becomes 20%+. Lots of people use Helocs. I don’t like them. I would never place a further debt burden against my primary residence.

Would plan B work? Fixe what needs fixing NOW, like the septic system. Save and scrimp and do the rest as you are able. Sell guitars as necessary, and if you can get good value for them. It seems like that $15k PS that you want $10k for isn’t going to sell until the price gets below $8k (pretty much conjecture on my part - I don’t play in the deep end). Of course that makes buying when you can a bit cheaper.

 

[László]

Discretion is the better part of valor.

I love my gear. I earn a living with it. But I'd unhesitatingly part with some of it if there were more important things to do with the money.

Obviously, I'd need to hang onto enough to do the work, but there are always things I can live without. One of the things I can't live without is a roof over my head!

 

[Black Plaid]

Always buy, never sell.

Unless it's just a little too blue of a blue-green colour?

 

[Bogner]

Sell Gear Or Interest Free Credit Card....Sell Gear Or Interest Free Credit Card....Sell Gear Or Interest Free Credit Card....Sell Gear Or Interest Free Credit Card....Sell Gear Or Interest Free Credit Card...

We Have No Idea The Repair Costs. We Have No Idea The Gear Value. The Only Info The OP Gave Us Was Sell Gear Or interest Free Credit Card. Any Time You Can Use Free Money Why Would You NOT Do It? Makes ZERO Sense To Me...Kind Of Like The Interest Rate On The Card He Mentioned....ZERO PERCENT.

Banks Are Not Lending At Favorable Rates. Banks Are In Major Trouble And Going Under In Many Instances. Branches Are Closing Right And Left And Multiple Bank Runs Have Already Happened So The Bank Isn't What They Would Have You To Believe They Are. Equity Lines Aren't Zero Percent Interest. Home Improvement Loans Aren't Zero Percent Interest. Many Credit Cards Now A Days Have Zero Interest For A Fair Amount Of Time And Also Balance Transfers For Zero Percent For A Fair Amount Of Time. Why Not Transfer A Balance If You Have That Option And Ride Out Zero Percent On A Transfer If It Ever Even Comes To Do That? Credit Score Worries Are Pointless As Your Score Changes All The Time. Any Balance Transfer Shows As Paid And That Can Actually Boost Your Credit Score Just As Payment History Does, Etc. There Are Smart Ways To Use Free Money As Long As You Are Wise About It And Have A Legitimate Game Plan Going Into It. Don't Tell Me Everybody Commenting In This Thread Has Never Used GC, MF, SW, Etc. Interest Free Financing For Some Piece Of Gear.

 

[RickP]

Quality of life, for you and your family, is worth more than gear in the music space.

On paper, low/no interest credit cards can be beneficial, and some can take advantage of that. That “some” are people who have the available reserve of cash to pay the card off if the anticipated income falls short. Credit card companies are a multi-billion dollar industry… they didn’t get that way from giving away money below market rate. Think of how many have to fall short of payback-in-time for that offer to be profitable for them, and you’ll realize how Teflon-slippery that slope must really be.

Hang on to what matters, use the rest for what also matters, but isn’t music. Missing a guitar or amp you sold doesn’t mean selling it wasn’t the right/best thing to do!

 

[vchizzle]

Tough decisions Tobe. Get your repair estimates first. Gauge everything after you have that info. It’s not a seller’s market like it was before. If you go the route of selling gear, I’d say try to at least keep your favorite guitar and an amp if you have a special one. Credit card thing can potentially go sideways quick. A refi or equity loan of some sort could be a much better option. Especially if you purchased pre pandemic. Home values jumped huge, giving a lot more room to potentially do use that if need be. If you have a bunch of disposable gear, it’s always an option. Depends a lot on where everything sits in the whole situation. Hope everything works out in the best possible way brother.

 

[archtop]

It comes down to whether a room full of guitars is more important than a yard full of poop.

(I've been staring at that sentence for 5 minutes and it really is a tough decision. I honestly don't know what I'd do. But rest assured even if your wife doesn't understand, you'll find plenty of support around here for the room full of guitars & yard full of poop)

 

[TMeury]

I appreciate all the advice everyone.

I'm going to let some other pieces go first and see how things come together.

I want to avoid any additional avoidable debt at this point.

 

[Tom Bradovich]

I appreciate all the advice everyone.

I'm going to let some other pieces go first and see how things come together.

I want to avoid any additional avoidable debt at this point.

Good choice. I lived for 5 years on property with a well and septic system, and those two were always priority maintenance systems. And, if your septic system has been declared gonzo, that's gotta be your #1 priority. #2 is avoid debt.