still selling

[Peace]

So are you saying you got your price after the $5000 drop? And that there are no contingencies, just the appraisal? Hope all rolls along smoothly and get on with your interests.

[socalarm]

thanks. yes. there were some contingencies. he asked for a 15k credit on repairs and upgrades. i gave him 9k and he was satisfied with that.
he wanted a very short escrow too.

[PerryChase]

The deal’s not done until it’s done. Let us know when you close escrow. I’m sure that it’s stressful selling your house in this market.

[kaycee]

I am trying to sell my house. I knew that the bubble pop was coming, but couldn’t get my house on the market until Feb ’06. Exactally the time when my market went flat. (Coastal Carolinas) I’ve put my house on on for 5% less than all the agents who saw it told me too. But it was too late. I’ve now reduced the price 10% but have had almost no interest. I had one offer, for 20% less than my (reduced) asking. I countered, ready to really try to make a deal. But they immediately walked away, clearly they are just bottom fishing. I am the lowest priced house on my street even though I have the most square footage (30% more in some cases). One of my neighbors has RAISED his asking price by nearly 15%. And I’m beginning to wonder if that is the way that I should go. That way when people lowball me by 20%, we’ll be that much closer to a deal. Does anybody have any expericence with that as a tactic?
http://www.fsbo.com/detail_list.phtml?search=2&id=80967&search.x=13&search.y=4

[lendingbubblecontinues]

“clearly they are just bottom fishing”-

When I went into the car dealer last January, I had done weeks of research into figuring the best possible price for the car I wanted. I knew exactly what I would pay, or else there would be no deal.

I had already driven the car I wanted and I knew it was available at several dealerships in the area. Once I learned that one particular dealership was changing ownership on a set known date, I went in there at 5:30 (they closed at 7:00) on the last day they were going to be owned by the “selling” ownership.

I made my offer..told them this was the car I was going to buy, whether they accepted my offer or not. I told them exactly how much I was willing to pay (to the penny) and that I would walk if they countered. This entry-level luxury car MSRP was close to $38,000 and I offered just over $33,000…”bootom-fishing, right?”. My wife stayed home because she figured the dealer wouldn’t go for it.

Guess what? I love my new car! And have been enjoying it since January ;)!!

Don’t let frustrated sellers diminish your research and determination.

Kaycee—if you need to sell…quit playing games and sell! There is a “tsunami” heading your way and I suspect your home will be well “underwater” (below the lowball offer you turned down) by this time NEXT YEAR!! Be thankful for anyone who is willing to buy your house from you, if you pocket any gains as a result! America is SLOWLY waking up from its’ drunken stupor to realize that prices are WAY TOO HIGH!

Good luck to you.

[PerryChase]

Well said lendingbubbleco. Something is worth what buyers are willing to pay for it. If there are no buyers then the price is too high.

Kaycee, you have a great house. However, you price is way at least 10% too high if you’re had not traffic. FSBO is not a good idea for sellers (this topic was discussed on this board before). I too think that by this time next year, your house will be worth less than the low-ball you turned down.

[socalarm]

thanks perrychase. i’ll keep everyone posted as it unfolds.
kaycee, i hope things turn out well for you. my only thought is, do you absolutely have to sell? if you must, then i tend to agree with the previous poster. any port in a storm.
but if you don’t have any financial desperation and you can afford to stay on for the forseeable future, you can’t really lose.
if you bought it for investment or speculation, unfortunately the bottom fisher might be your best friend.

don’t appear too desperate, unless you really are.

[kaycee]

my only thought is, do you absolutely have to sell?

Well, I’m sort of in the middle. That house was my primary residence for 4 years. And due to a job transfer, I’ve already moved. So the house is empty now. But my new house won’t be ready till Spring so I only have one mortgage, which I can easily afford. I can actually “afford” both mortgages, so I’m not desperate. But I don’t NEED the house so I do want to sell it. I certainly didn’t turn that low ball offer away out of hand. I countered a full 5% lower which I thought was a decent comeback for a 20% below asking offer. They rejected my counter 5 minutes after I faxed it back. They could have come back 50cents more. My problem is, my house is priced 300,000 less than the highest price on my street. Out of the 5 of us, I am lowest priced, and the largest. No one is looking at any of us. I really am willing to make a deal. But with who? Thanks all, for your thoughts on this. Oh, and I am not FSBO”ing. I only tried that for 2 weeks, I’ve had an agent for 6 months. I just bought a 6 month listing on that website. And I figured, any exposure was good!

[VCJIM]

Kaycee,

Have you considered renting it out using a rental agency? Since you’ve had the house four years, you would almost certainly be cash flow positive. If I hadn’t sold my house just prior to the peak, I would likely rent it out instead of trying to compete with 4 other houses and no buyers.

[socalarm]

my reaction too. if this isn’t hurting you, a rental wouldn’t be a bad idea. you will spend on management and maintenance but if you get tenants you will be assured of a regular income.

[kaycee]

Yes, VC, I have. And I might do that. I probably would be able to get close to covering my nut. I REALLY don’t want to though. Renting from 600 miles away just isn’t appealing. And what if I get someone who ruins the place? It’s not really a “rental” type property, either. I suppose I would rather make a deal then rent. But you are right, I may not have any other options. You know, I didn’t take out a “toxic” mortgage, I put 20% down. I wasn’t looking to flip. My husband did 13 years in the service and it was finally our time. Time for us to move home and put down roots. I just want to sell my house and move on with my life. I feel like I’m getting dragged down with all the bad apples. Sorry for the rant. It’s just frustrating.

[surveyor]

Hire a property manager. They will charge you about 8% to 10% of the rent. They will listen to your guidelines as to the type of people who will rent the house and will run credit checks of all applicants to see who are the best ones to choose as tenants. As long as you are picky as to who rents the property, I think that it might work out. Good property managers can provide input as to who are good tenants and who are bad tenants.

Also, remember all sorts of tax breaks are available to you when you do start renting out the property.

I think you should research this some more, but if you can make better use of your property, it can provide a lot of opportunities to create cash flow for you, beyond just giving you relief from the mortgage it currently has.

Obviously I hope you can sell it, but if not, take a look at how best to use it.

[lendingbubblecontinues]

Next offer that comes in:

Think long and hard before you decide to “counter”…I think people have been watching too much World Series of Poker and think they are good at gamesmanship. Not true. Very few people could negotiate their way out of a wet paper bag.

Good luck to you…keep us posted if you would kindly.

[kaycee]

Thank you all

I will take your advice on all fronts and let you know what happens.

[powayseller]

The downsides to renting:
1) the longer you wait to sell, the lower your house price is going to be. You may have to wait 15 years or more to get back to today’s prices. Your home value will take a big dip after the state regulated lenders have to follow the new lending guidelines and another big dip once the $1 trillion of ARMs reset next year; in a few years, a 2006 sale will seem almost like the top of the market.
2) you can’t release your equity if you rent; selling gives you equity for your downpayment on the new digs
3) if you sell after 2 years of renting, you will owe capital gains taxes on the profits, and if you sell within 2 years of renting you are sure to take a big loss compared to selling today

[Author]

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