Financially providing for Mother and sister's housing, how do I make this less of a burden?

Housing

My mother got sick in 2020 and retired from work early. She fell behind on housing payments, forcing her to sell quickly to an investor. We agreed that if she gifted me the home proceeds (75000), I would mortgage the home for her. I used all of the funds to pay off my car and credit card debt (17000) in order to afford a monthly mortgage comfortably. We found a new build 3 bed 2 1/2 bath that offered incentives, which is why I felt it was the best deal at the time. I work from home, so living in rural South Carolina at the time seemed feasible. I chose to buy the home in South Carolina because it's where she's lived the past 10 years and starting over somewhere new would have been an added stressor. Also, property taxes and housing prices are some of the lowest in the country. Problem is - I realized almost immediately after moving in that I could not be happy living there long term. I do not like living somewhere rural, and I would like to live somewhere where I can make friends and have a dating life. I just don't see any way that I can have a life of my own again. I moved to Dallas, Tx after living there for a year. My lease is ending and now I am in credit card debt again, because I could never afford living on my own to begin with, but had major FOMO and did it anyway. It's a tough pill to swallow, but I've come to the realization that I cannot continue to live here, and need to move back to the house in South Carolina.

I spent the first year getting my mom to doctors to figure out what was wrong with her. She was diagnosed with osteoporosis and needed a hip replacement. Took her to a dentist where she needed extractions and dentures. She has since recovered and doing much better now. She would like to work part time somewhere, but it is hard to find someone that will hire her since she's an immigrant from Colombia and her English is not great. I would love to live somewhere more exciting like Chicago or Florida. I am a 35 year old female with no spouse or children. I would like to date and get married at some point soon in order to start a family, but paying this mortgage is holding me back from living elsewhere. I am losing hope for my dream of becoming a mother one day, and simply living where I want to live. I've spoken with my realtor in hopes of selling, but the problem is they are still building new homes in the community and offering incentives, so if I sold I would lose around 30k in fees and for selling at a discounted price to compete with the newer homes. Also, if I sell, they would either have to live with me again or a rental somewhere that would be equal or more expensive than the mortgage.

My takehome income: 4000/month

Mortgage: $1425

utilities and lawn maintenance: 330

Insurance for my car and mother's car plus home: $270

phone: $130

Mom pay water bill and her car payment, and she's left with about $400/month since social security only gives 650/month. My sister does not work as she is moderately autistic and cannot keep a job. We are currently in the process of appealing her case for social security with a lawyer, and it could take 1-2 more years for an outcome. I am so lost I don't know what to do, I have tried to find a solution where we can all be ok financially and I just keep coming across scenarios that are not much more favorable. I appreciate any advice and thank you for taking the time to read this.

Posted Jun 24, 2026, 6:06 PM UTC

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