Shelly in VA Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Here's the situation - our house went on the market ~5 weeks ago. It showed 10 times in the first 2 weeks, all the feedback was positive, but now it hasn't shown AT ALL for 3 weeks. W telling the country the economy is all going to collapse won't help with that, I'm thinking. People were already :scared: about the economy. So, our realtor thinks we should drop the price by 10%. Part of me thinks we need to, as housing prices in our area are dropping 1.5% per month over the past 12 months anyway. Part of me says no way, b/c that will pretty much put us where we lose so much of the equity we built up from the past 2 house sales that we won't be able to turn around and buy when we move. We've only been here 2 years, so what we stand to lose is the $$ from our previous house, which we owned for 10 years. I just don't know what to do. Take the loss, chalk it up to a bad investment, and 'enjoy' renting for a few years? Wait it out, which will quite possibly mean dh coming home only on weekends for a few years once he starts his new position in January? Will it even matter if we drop the price, if no one is househunting right now? The pessimist in me thinks if we haven't had any lookers in 3 weeks, with all that the economy has done here recently, we have a slimmer than slim chance of selling. Which means I have to come up with some way to work even more than the 15 hours/week I'm currently working, while hsing 4 kids and taking care of a VERY DEMANDING almost 3yo, and that just makes me want to go back to bed. All day. Every day. Only half kidding here. Any thoughts? Anyone know if there's a huge pool of investment buyers somewhere that will see a price drop and jump on it? Thanks for letting me rant/vent! Shelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in CA Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 I have absolutely *no* hard knowledge about this, but I'll take a guess anyway, since you've had no responses. Either way, it'll bump your post up so that those who know more may reply. I think there are people looking to buy homes right now, and I'm sure there are investors doing the same thing. The problem (as I see it) is that there are so many people in REAL trouble, who are willing to dump for extremely low prices (i.e. not only no equity, but going into debt to get out). You may be unable to sell for anything close to what you want to get for your home since there are other extreme bargains to be had. Just my guess, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caitlinsmom Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 I have thought about this a lot recently. In my area (very different from CA) nothing is selling. Noting. At. All. Houses that are only 100k are sitting on the market for over 6 mo because so many people are freaked out about the economy. No one is buying or investing over here right now either. 3 yrs ago when we bought our home, we took what we could get because things were selling within 2wks of listing, now I have friends who have had their home on the market for a year. Very reasonable prices too. *Personally* at this point I would be worried about renting and losing my equity. I would be concerned that this would be a bad thing financially. Not really any advice, sorry. Good luck with everything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 After what we went through selling our last home, unless you could/want to stay where you are, I would drop the price and sell now if you can. I think things are going to get worse before they get better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missplacedalaskan Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 We are in almost the same position you are. We have had our house up for sale since Mid-July and have dropped the price from $199,000 to $182,500. We haven't had anyone look at the house. We are planning a move across the country in Feb. I feel we need to sell the house...even taking a loss on it...I really don't want to have to leave it as a rental. That being said, I think right now is a great time to buy a house for a bargain...IF you have the $$ to invest. We are not planning on buying a house at our next base though. We'd like to live in base housing and save for our "retirement" home to buy in 3-4 years. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Maybe take a look around and see what houses have sold for recently. Then make the decision of money, work, family...If it get's sold it might be a good time to buy. There just might be a house for sale where you want to live that had to drop it's price just like you might have to do to yours. What a pain. I hate these kind of decisions. I have my moments of thinking renting might not be so bad these days too. Thinking of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Home'scool Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 If you do not need to absolutely positvely sell, then DON'T. Your house is probably your biggest investment. Never sell low. The market will eventually readjust itself, and then your house will sell for what it is worth. Think how long it takes to make/save thousands of dollars. Dropping the price on a house is a lot less painful because it is done on paper, but it is no less damaging than taking it right out of your pocket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kari C in SC Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 The pessimist in me thinks if we haven't had any lookers in 3 weeks, with all that the economy has done here recently, we have a slimmer than slim chance of selling. Which means I have to come up with some way to work even more than the 15 hours/week I'm currently working, while hsing 4 kids and taking care of a VERY DEMANDING almost 3yo, and that just makes me want to go back to bed. All day. Every day. Only half kidding here. Any thoughts? Anyone know if there's a huge pool of investment buyers somewhere that will see a price drop and jump on it? Thanks for letting me rant/vent! Shelly I don't have advice for you because I am in a similar situation. We had our house for sale in Florida for about 9 months last year. We decided to rent it out in February. The tenants wanted to buy the house, but it is really unlikely they will qualify for a loan. I was holding out hope they could pull it off, but it is probably not going to work out. We have a couple of options... put it up for sale soon - with them still living there. This would mean we wouldn't have a vacant house that we have to pay payments on. Their rent covers both of my house payments. The market keeps going down in Florida. At this point we will have to take less money. I keep thinking the house won't be in perfect show condition with the tenants. Then I tell myself the money we are saving on not having a vacant house is better. The next minute I think we should see if they want to rent for another year. I am thinking they probably would because they seem to love the house. Then I worry the house price will continue to drop if we wait another year. Yes, I am right there with you with wanting to put my head in the sand! It is so hard to make grown up decisions sometimes. I will add you to my prayer list. It is just a tough time all around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 But then again, that doesn't have much to do with the economy. We just really don't have any desire to own a house. I will say that my husband just sold his parents' home in California. He was very worried that, between the drop in housing prices and the less-than-great condition of the house, it would be on the market for a long, long time. And, since values were continuing to drop, every month it remained unsold meant less money once it did. He worked with the realtor and apparently priced it well. They had multiple offers within a month and closed right on schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigitte Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Here is what we did: We had a rental property that we were hoping to sell in order to buy something for us to live in basically mortgage free (we own the rental outright and had been living in school housing). After a while on the market with some buyer interest, but nothing earth-shattering, we decided to put a renter back in. It would have sold, if we drastically cut the price, but why would we want to do that? So, we bought a place to live in in a low market and will be able to sell our townhouse when the market is better. The rental income offsets the mortgage to a certain extent. Since most people who are buying right now are looking for bargains, I would not sell. Unless the market in your area is doing well, I would pull it off the market. Consider renting it out (check with a professional property management company to see how much rent you could get and if there is a market for that type of rental) and either renting or buying in your new location. Just my .02. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staci in MO Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 But I think they're looking for bargains. From a financial position, it would probably be better to wait. I do think things will get better. But, in my area anyway, houses were so overpriced that it is going to take a few years for house prices to get back up to where they were. That being said, if my options were taking a loss on a house or my husband only being home on weekends, I would take a loss on a house. Which is exactly what we did eleven years ago when we moved from St. Louis to our current home. We lost out financially, but my dh was home to see our oldest's first year. In hindsight, the financial hit seems very small compared to the alternative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misty Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 No one has looked at ours in 3 weeks either! Ours has been on the market since around mid-July. The realtor told us we should ask $215,000, but we need to sell because we are military and we would like to join dh where he is. So we decided on $195,000. A week later we dropped it to $188,500 because dh is so desperate for us to join him. We have not had many people look at our house. I think it's because we are 30 minutes out of the city in a small town and no one wants to live this far out with gas prices the way they are. Our house is almost brand new and on a large lot. I think we paid $178,000 a year and a half ago. We have until March to sell. That's when we'll be going to our next duty station. We would like to sell sooner so we can go to where dh is now, but I doubt it will happen right now. I don't even keep my house spotless anymore because no one ever comes to look at it! Hopefully things will pick back up in the spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clwcain Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 If you can afford to wait, wait. You may have no choice as interested buyers may not be able to get financing. You may only have to wait six weeks or so. Yes, things could really turn around that quickly. If you have to sell now, be prepared to take a bath. Were it me, I'd suggest getting through the bailout and the election. Things will move after that one way or another. Why not take your house off the market for 30 or 60 days? Relist it once you have a better feel for the local sentiment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle T Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 and my answer is no, not unless you absolutely have to. You are not going to get what you need out of your sale, unless you have tons of equity you can afford to lose, or you are in one of the few areas around the US where foreclosures aren't high. There are WAY too many houses up for sale right now that are in foreclosure or short sales. Anyone looking to buy is going to buy one of those, snap up the deals. DH is a loan consultant and every loan he is working on right now is a foreclosure or short sale. He feels sorry for people trying to sell who aren't in those conditions, because their houses are just going to sit until they lower their prices below profitable. Michelle T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 No one has looked at ours in 3 weeks either! Ours has been on the market since around mid-July. The realtor told us we should ask $215,000, but we need to sell because we are military and we would like to join dh where he is. So we decided on $195,000. A week later we dropped it to $188,500 because dh is so desperate for us to join him. We have not had many people look at our house. I think it's because we are 30 minutes out of the city in a small town and no one wants to live this far out with gas prices the way they are. Our house is almost brand new and on a large lot. I think we paid $178,000 a year and a half ago. We have until March to sell. That's when we'll be going to our next duty station. We would like to sell sooner so we can go to where dh is now, but I doubt it will happen right now. I don't even keep my house spotless anymore because no one ever comes to look at it! Hopefully things will pick back up in the spring. Same situation here, but our house went from $170,000 5 years ago to the current listing price of $119K (a house on 11 acres.) We had NO showings when we listed it at $155K (we needed $146K to cover the mortgage and fees.) We've had 3 since we dropped it to $119K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Their rent covers both of my house payments. The market keeps going down in Florida. At this point we will have to take less money. Kari - if i were you, and was able to rent my house here to cover both my payments - well, i'd keep on renting it. I know you have mentioned in other threads your DH isn't sure about his job (i can relate - mine is/was a mechanic also) - and i'd be apt to keep that rental income coming in to know my house payment was covered. Make your payment up in SC when you can with DH's income - banking the rental income those months. :grouphug: To the OP - no, unless i had cash to pay for it, i probably wouldn't buy a house right now. And i'd not be wanting to try to sell one either. More :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 I think there are people looking to buy homes right now, and I'm sure there are investors doing the same thing. The problem (as I see it) is that there are so many people in REAL trouble, who are willing to dump for extremely low prices (i.e. not only no equity, but going into debt to get out). You may be unable to sell for anything close to what you want to get for your home since there are other extreme bargains to be had. This has been what our experience in our area is. No ONE can sell privately, it's all short sales and foreclosures. I agree that I wouldn't see right now unless you absolutely have to. We have been searching for a few months and the difference between the private sales and the foreclosures is so sad, but it's drastic enough that we aren't looking at the private sales. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in VA Posted September 26, 2008 Author Share Posted September 26, 2008 Thanks for the post; your situation sounds similar to ours. We are also in a small town ~30 minutes from "civilization" and I do think gas prices and commute issues are factors for buyers. Also, the issues with foreclosures and short sales are certainly hurting private buyers right now, and while we don't have a lot of new construction right here to compete with, we do have an abundance of homes on the market, so buyers can find the bargains (and who can blame them?). It's frustrating, b/c, like you, we are in a position where we *have* to move due to dh's job. If it were just a matter of *wanting* to move, it would be a lot easier to take the wait-until-things-settle approach. As for the not keeping the house clean anymore, that made me laugh! After initially driving myself (and my kids) crazy trying to keep things ready for a showing at a moment's notice, I've swung the opposite direction after our lack of showings. I'd be in a bit of a panic if I were to get a call now on a showing; I even let the kids get out watercolors and play-doh simultaneously yesterday! Life on the edge... haha. Good luck to you; thanks for posting! Shelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in VA Posted September 26, 2008 Author Share Posted September 26, 2008 Your post is the voice in my head! One minute, I think we have to take the $ loss for the sake of family time, the next minute I think about the stress of losing equity we can't afford to lose and I think we should wait! Our housing market here, too, is very inflated, which makes me think if we can't sell now, we'll be here for several years before the prices completely correct, and I can't quite get a mental picture of that. I grew up in St. Louis, btw; we just spent a week there with family in August. We had fantasy hopes of the house selling while we were there; ah, the good old days, when we still thought selling was a matter of "when" and not "if"!! Shelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in VA Posted September 26, 2008 Author Share Posted September 26, 2008 We actually spoke with our loan consultant this afternoon. He said the same thing your dh did, and looked at our listing/comps/etc. and told us not to do a thing. He said that we just can't sell in this market unless we come so far down in price as to be ridiculous, and that we shouldn't do that because we are properly priced, so why take an unnecessary loss? It's just bad timing, I guess. On the flip side, if we DID sell, we could be in the position of getting a great deal on our next house. Odd how these things work out!! Shelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty in Pink Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 we are in the same position, and have to move in the spring due to dh's job. our home has been on the mkt since aug 1 and we have had NO showings. two years ago when we bought this house it was the least expensive home we could find that suited our needs (recent construction, location) and now nothing in our neighborhood is selling. we upgraded the flooring and landscaped thinking we would recoup that money when we sold. ha! we are just trying to break even but i don't see that happening in this mkt. i just hate the thought of having it rented out and us in another state or country. what a mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 It does depend on area though. We just bought a house in the UK, where the housing market is a little protected by a structural shortage of houses (lots of people, small island, strict regulations about building on farm land). Even so, we wouldn't have bought had we not believed that getting the children settled after this intercontinental move was an overriding motivation. I'm not sure if that helps you in your current situation. Best of luck, Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 If I were a first-time home buyer, yes. I would buy. Prices are really low right now and you can find great deals! Expect to have at least 10% to 20% of the price of the home in cash as a down payment, or be prepared to pay PMI (mortgage insurance), and you need to have excellent credit scores (high 700s) If you own a home that you need to sell in order to buy, then I would NOT buy a home -- because you'll likely wind up owning 2 and that would be really bad! (We have homes in our area that haven't sold in 2 years on the market). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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