Housing Bubble? Your thoughts, predictions (Portland, Hope: mortgage, real estate, fsbo)

[elston]

As the poet Bobby Burns said, after overturning and destroying a field mouse's burrow and all his store, while plowing his field.

But Mousie, thou art no thy lane, But Mouse you are not alone
In proving foresight may be vain: In proving foresight might be vain
The best laid schemes o' mice an' men The best laid schemes of mice and men
Gang aft agley, Go often askew,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, And leave us nothing but grief and pain
For promis'd joy! For promised joy!

Let us all hope we fare better than the dear mousie.

[Elcarim]

They are refusing to do open houses. Our current agent says they don't work in our area. No-one does them. She said they send out invites to all the agents in town, and no-one ever shows up, so they quit doing them.

She said, "It doesn't work like you see on TV. That's just for show."

I thought about holding my own open houses on the weekends, but there has to be someone wanting to see the house for it to work, I suppose.

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by elston

As the poet Bobby Burns said, after overturning and destroying a field mouse's burrow and all his store, while plowing his field.

But Mousie, thou art no thy lane, But Mouse you are not alone
In proving foresight may be vain: In proving foresight might be vain
The best laid schemes o' mice an' men The best laid schemes of mice and men
Gang aft agley, Go often askew,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, And leave us nothing but grief and pain
For promis'd joy! For promised joy!

Let us all hope we fare better than the dear mousie.

Very interesting. When my Designated Broker hired me I asked her which books to read to help me on my learning curve figuring she'd recommend the standard real estate books. Instead she recommended "Who Moved My Cheese" and Dr. Covey's "7 Habits." The former takes less than a half hour to read and is very enlightening - I highly recommend it.

[dmyankee]

The only place I've seen open houses work, were in the homes of friends in upscale neighborhoods...often resulting in bids from well heeled buyers. Many sold for more than the asking price. Those days might have evaporated recently.

[Elcarim]

I just looked at the homes sold listing again, and their agency hasn't sold a home in our area since the last of September, which is when they listed our home. That's the month they went into transition with the new company and all. They have sold several home in the next county - all much more expensive homes than we have in this area. I wonder if their activity is based on their bottom line profits.

There are two other agents in town who have both sold several houses here in that time frame. We're meeting with her next Tuesday and will be addressing that. I think at this point that we're going to have to ask to be let out of our contract. I believe they have been neglegent since day one and we're the ones paying for it. That's not fair to us.

[jenkaye]

We have had a steady stream of showings and they all seem to happen on Friday and Saturday. We had an open house and only 2 people showed up and they seemed to just be nosing around according to our realtor.

All this action and not one offer! We had a realtor tour and they all said we are priced just right but our tile is outdated. Well I just replied tell people to make an offer we would give an allowance for the tile. We didn't like it either but I am not going to replace it now and deal with all that dust and workers in my house and my furniture outside etc. I just can't believe we haven't even had a low ball offer.

It's frustrating, now I remember why I hate selling houses. Hopefully this will be the last one for a long while but that is what I thought about the house I am in now! My parents keep telling us to rent when we get to Maine but I hate the thought of moving from AZ to a rental and then again to a house. We will see what happens...but I am impatient...the thought of our hot summers approaching makes me ill. SELL....SELL.....SELL...

[corgis]

Originally Posted by WhoFanMe

When I'm initially working with buyers, we don't know whether the seller has 1% or 100% equity. If the sale of the home would create a "short sale" the listing agent either discloses that prior to showing or after an offer is received on the property that the offer will need bank approval. At that point, the buyer needs to make a decision as to whether or not they want to wait and do the extra work it would take to purchase the property. I showed one of these home yesterday that my buyers loved online by the flattering pictures, but when they saw the condition of the home were quickly turned off and crossed it off their list.

If the house does go under contract, most of the liens you mentioned can be resolved out of the seller's proceeds- if the owner has any equity, but it's not always easy and can be an agonizing process. The buyer has to decide if they are willing to go through the exercise.

To answer your question, I don't see any additional value in your home if it's paid off. You as a seller would probably prefer an offer from a buyer that is 100% cash, as those can be closed much quicker and without an appraisal. I had cash buyers in 2006 who absolutely had to have a home, which may not have appraised for the price they paid, but they plan to stay in the home for 10-20 years and unless the U.S. economy fails, they will be fine when it's time to sell.

OK, that's what I needed to know - this house in WV is fully paid for with no liens or problems on the deed. Just thinking that in this depressed market and especially in a depressed state like WV, we just want to get out of the house what we initially paid for it. All the improvements, that would be worth XXXX dollars, we're thinking could be the starting price and would include commission to the realtor, closing fees, anything unexpected (we don't have a stair railing outside for the 3 steps to the front door and it's mandatory to have it here).

Am I making sense? Or have I totally confused everybody?

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by Elcarim

They are refusing to do open houses. Our current agent says they don't work in our area. No-one does them. She said they send out invites to all the agents in town, and no-one ever shows up, so they quit doing them.

She said, "It doesn't work like you see on TV. That's just for show."

I thought about holding my own open houses on the weekends, but there has to be someone wanting to see the house for it to work, I suppose.

I sold 2 listings directly from an open house last year. The first sale came from local renters driving home at 3:10 for an open house that ended at 3 and wrote an offer on Tuesday. They had written an offer on a home the previous week and didn't get it. The second was from folks who had already had their home under contract and liked the area. They brought their agent in the following week and wrote an offer. I had a third listing sell after some interested folks did a second showing with their agent at my open house and as I was picking up my signs called me to tell me an offer was waiting for me.

We have agents in our market who will tell you the same thing, open house don't work and they won't do them. They prefer to spend Sunday afternoons doing something else and that's fine. I have a very understanding wife and do at least 40 a year.

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by dmyankee

The only place I've seen open houses work, were in the homes of friends in upscale neighborhoods...often resulting in bids from well heeled buyers. Many sold for more than the asking price. Those days might have evaporated recently.

The Westbrook condo was listed at 172,500, the Portland single family home at 439,000. Third I mentioned was also a Westbrook condo listed at 165,000.

Yes, you will get your share of nosy neighbors who want to see "what you've done with the place" and those who are a year a way from buying, but statistics show it takes 16 showings to generate an offer - that's an average. Why not increase your odds?

[Boomerang]

Originally Posted by maine4.us

Easy come, easy go as they say. We needed a housing adjustment here, because the price of homes had raced past incomes. People who live and work in the area were priced out by people moving in with more disposable income, usually from selling a home in an expensive real estate market.

I've been following mid-Maine listings for almost 2 years, and have just noticed more foreclosures popping up on MLS lately. I don't know how many people up here might be affected by ARMs resetting. (Personally I wouldn't touch an adjustable mortgage offer with a 10-foot pole --- I remember the 80's!!!)

I do know that when I was selling my house, prices fell quickly when a significant number of foreclosures entered the market. I wasn't even aware of how many foreclosed/almost foreclosed homes I was competing against, until my realtor gave me the stats. The national news outlets were talking about problems of course, but the local news basically ho-hummed the whole thing until it became painfully obvious to everyone.

I agree prices have risen out of sight. When you work steadily your whole life, it's not unreasonable to hope that you can afford a decent home. McMansions don't interest me....just a cozy little place with enough room for the gardens and maybe a few animals would be great! My one luxury wish is a 2-car garage, and having it attached to the house would make me happy to the end of my days. Oh, the decadence of not having to shovel and scrape snow/ice anymore before going to work at the crack of dawn