A freelance writer and her family have used $20,000 from their retirement savings to secure a mortgage for a new home, capping years of financial instability. The couple, who relocated to Nyack, New York, to be near their son's school, faced mounting credit card debt and an unpredictable income from turning their previous home into an Airbnb.
The decision to access their Individual Retirement Account (IRA) followed a local crackdown on short-term rentals, which ended the Airbnb business that had previously generated approximately $50,000 in annual revenue. "We pulled $20,000 from our IRA — something we had somehow managed to avoid until then," the writer stated. The funds were used to pay off credit cards and cover mortgage arrears.
From Stability to Scarcity
The family's financial pressures began when the husband lost a six-figure corporate job, reversing their primary income sources. The writer's freelance earnings became the main support, leading to periods of anxiety while waiting for invoices to clear. This instability evoked childhood memories of food scarcity and housing insecurity for the writer, who once lived in her grandmother's basement.
Their attempt to stabilise finances through an Airbnb venture was successful initially but proved unsustainable due to seasonal booking slumps and regulatory changes. Facing the end of a temporary sublet on 1 June and unable to afford another rental, the family urgently sought to purchase the most affordable property in a competitive market.
The Path to a "Forever Home"
The breakthrough came with the discovery of a house described by its seller as having "good bones." Despite the kitchen being untouched since 1948, the writer was enamoured by its original features. However, qualifying for a mortgage required demonstrating liquid assets.
In real estate, an IRA or 401(k) counts as 'liquid assets' if you're willing to liquidate them, enabling the family to use the retirement funds toward the down payment. Furthermore, neighbours offered a bridge loan for the deposit, and the seller accepted their offer based on a personal connection rather than the highest bid.
Redefining Stability
The writer reflects that stability is not the absence of need but the ability to patch together solutions from available resources. These have included a parental financial gift, freelance work, the Airbnb income, and the strategic use of retirement savings. "Stability, it turns out, is patched together from whatever holds," she concluded.
While hopeful the sale will proceed to contract, the writer maintains a resilient outlook. "If this house doesn't work out, something else will. I don't know how, but we always find a way," she said.