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Looking For Opinions...recent Inheritance And Life Transition

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Im 35 YO. In between jobs due to care for parent and estate business. Construction manager with $90k+ a year earning power. Not under duress to get back to work. I have enough runway and side hustle business to make it to the winter then I plan to return to the job market. Earned income will be minimal to zero this year.

No kids. Not married. No current family plans. Savings and 401k are zero due to getting drained during my parent's care.

I inherited a 110+ acre rural cabin property. Ownership is currently split 50/50 with my sibling. The property is worth roughly $225k–$250k, and I have the option to buy my sibling’s half for $95k. I also had the timber cruised, and the estimated timber income is $150k+gross if I decide to have it cut. Have a contractor willing to start within 6 months.

I also inherited about 50 net mineral acres of oil and gas rights in a major U.S. gas-producing basin. I’ve researched these pretty heavily and have fielded multiple offers with the help of my attorney. I’ve narrowed it down to an offer of about $300k for the entire interest, with the option to retain up to 25% at the same proportional valuation.

The mineral rights could potentially earn several times that offer over the next 30+ years if development and production go well, but obviously that is highly speculative. They could end up being worth considerably more or considerably less. 20% of portfolio is guaranteed to be drilled within 1 year.

My current debts/equity are roughly:

Primary mortgage: $140k at 5.11%, 30-year FHA financed in '23.

Down-payment assistance loan: $6k at 2%

Current home value $180k+

Still carrying PMI

Credit cards: about $15k, high-interest

Student loans: about $5k at an average of roughly 4.5%

Cash inheritance was negligible, so most of what I inherited is tied up in these assets.

I’m honestly feeling a little lost about where to go from here. Obviously the high-interest credit card debt needs to disappear, but beyond that I’m not sure how aggressive I should be.

Should I sell some or all of the mineral rights and use the money to eliminate debt? Sell the cabin instead and hold the mineral rights? Keep both and only monetize enough to clear the expensive debt? Buy my sibling out of the cabin and potentially timber it?

Part of me wants to use this as a major financial reset: clear everything to zero, potentially pay off the house, and give myself a clean slate to decide what I want to do next with my life. At the same time, I don’t want to sell potentially valuable inherited assets just because being debt-free feels good psychologically.

I’d really like to hear how others would think through the tradeoff between becoming completely debt-free versus holding onto potentially appreciating/income-producing assets in a situation like this.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

submitted by /u/Natural_Host_855
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