The stbxw reversed course and decided to not stay in the house and she plans to rent a house by Feb 1. Now I’m faced with a few options and am struggling to make a commitment to one of them. Please help me decide.

Option 1: keep the house and buy her out. She agree to take some money from my IRA so I’d have a 1 year emergency fund in cash.

Option 2a: sell the house and buy a townhouse downtown which is what I have wanted to do for the last 4 years.

Option 2b: Sell the house and rent a place. The options look sad.

My current house is too big, has high carry costs, has some repairs coming up, like new hvac, but it would be stable and familiar for me and my girls. I also just started a new job in November and the thought of prepping to sell and getting settled in a new place while working 12-14 hour days seems daunting. If I stay then she is asking for an equity distribution that is based on a home appraisal she got done without subtracting the transaction cost to sell.

If I sell the house now I cannot find a decent place to rent downtown, but could buy a place. The kids are 14 and 16, both their high schools are close to downtown. I could possibly get away with 1 car if I lived downtown and not need to buy my 16 year old a car. Minimize gas, insurance. The townhouse is smaller, easier to take care of. I don’t see how I can buy until the papers are finalized though.

Finally I could rent but in my area I can’t find a decent place for under $3500. This seems like the least appealing option.

I need help deciding to stay in my house or sell and then choose to buy or rent. What am I not thinking about post divorce that may seem obvious to those on the other side?