The Day I Spoke With a Family on the Edge of a Financial Coma

I had a call recently that shook me more than most. 

Not because the numbers were complicated. 

Not because the situation was unique. 

But because this family was seconds away from slipping into a financial coma — and they didn’t even realize it.

Let me explain.

The husband earns $178,000 a year. 

The wife is a stay-at-home mom caring for their family. 

They own two properties — their primary home in California and a rental property in Arizona.

On paper, it looks solid. 

In reality? 

It was a slow bleed.

The Real Problem No One Warned Them About

As we reviewed their financials, the truth became painfully clear:

• His entire salary was being swallowed by living expenses

• Their California mortgage

• Their car notes

• And then… the Arizona rental property

  
  

That one property — the one that was supposed to help them — was quietly draining them dry.

The mortgage on the rental was $2,000/month. 

The tenants were paying $1,900/month.

Every month, like clockwork, they were paying to keep a property that wasn’t paying them back.

After looking at everything — every angle, every scenario, every potential “what if” — the only solution that gave them breathing room, dignity, and a path forward was this:

Sell the rental property.

Sell it so they could free up capital. 

Sell it so they could lower their debt-to-income ratio. 

Sell it so they could recover, reset, and buy again — smarter and cheaper.

And they were offended.

When You Come to Me, I’m Going to Tell You the Truth

Most people don’t come to me expecting to hear, “You need to sell.” 

They want a workaround. 

A miracle. 

A strategy that makes the impossible possible.

But when the choices are:

1. Ongoing financial stress or 

2. Letting go of a rental property that is underwater and suffocating your family

I will always choose your family’s well-being.

Always.

Because here’s what too many investors forget:

Every property you buy should be solving a problem. 

When it stops solving problems, you must sell.

This husband had been covering the mortgage out-of-pocket for FOUR YEARS, hoping rents would eventually rise.

But that thinking ignores a very real truth: When rent goes up, so do taxes. And sometimes, the math just never math’s.

The Deeper Attachment

When I asked the wife why they were so attached to this property, she didn’t hesitate.

She said it was the first property either side of their family had ever owned. They built it from the ground up. It represented pride. Legacy. Progress.

And I understood that. 

Truly.

But emotional attachments don’t pay mortgages. They don’t protect your marriage. They don’t relieve financial pressure.

And this property — as meaningful as it was — had become a burden disguised as a blessing.

I prayed for them and ended the call.

The Lesson Every Investor Needs to Hear

Real estate is powerful. 

Real estate builds wealth. 

Real estate creates options.

But real estate is not supposed to drain the life out of you.

It should solve problems — not create them.

And if a property ever becomes a source of stress instead of strength, you are allowed to pivot. 

You are allowed to sell. 

You are allowed to choose peace.

Your family matters more than your portfolio.

Always.