Sell or Fix in NJ? (agents, investment, mortgage, mortgage)

[Teeanne]

[SIZE=3]I have inherited my childhood home from my parents in central NJ. Over the past two years, I’ve installed new carpeting, re-finished a hardwood floor in the smallest bedroom and re-painted every room. However, there is still a great deal of work to be done as the house is 40 years old and other than the kitchen and the bathroom which were updated maybe 12 years ago, it’s all pretty much the same. Also, it appears to have some structural issues around the right side of the house due to water drainage problems, rodent damage. I do not have a mortgage on the house, just pay taxes. My question is with the market the way it is do I even bother trying to sell this house which would be “as-is” because I’ve exhausted the limits of what I can do personally and financially? I suppose I could get a mortgage and pay for the repairs myself which I’m actually not even sure what they would cost, just estimating 100K. OR do I put it on the market and take what I can get from it now and buy a nice condo somewhere? The house is a bi-level on a cul-de-sac and the neighbor sold about a year ago for $379K. Thank you for any and all advice...I'm lost! [/SIZE]

[JayCT]

No one can tell you what is right for you. It all depends on personal preference. Do you love this home? Do you have an attachment to it?

The problem will be that in this market it will be a difficult home to sell because of structural problems and not a lot of people will be willing to deal with them. This greatly limits the number of people that would be interested in buying it.

You are lucking to not have a mortgage. I would consider taking out a home equity loan and making the improvements. A single-family home is more valuable than a condo so holding on to it may be the wisest thing from an investment point of view. Talk to a bank to determine what would be a reasonable amount you could get in a loan and then talk to contractors about the costs to do the repairs. You may need to bring in a structural engineer to determine what needs to be done. Good luck, Jay

[shellytc]

I would look into what it would cost to bring the home up, and then look into taking a mortgage out and see what it would cost you monthly, also talk to some local real estate folks about what it could get on the market with repairs and what you could reasonably expect in rental monies. You could possibly have an income generating property for yourself. Get past the crunch right now, look into selling later and doing a 1031 tax exchange and start diversifying with additional rental properties!! You may have some opportunities.


Shelly

[Gretchen B]

I had clients moving to my area from out-of-state. They were selling their current home "As Is". There were structural issues with their foundation, and in their state, the "As Is", didn't mean a thing when it came to anything structural. Buyers wanted to lowball, PLUS have the owners repair the structural damage or else give a HUGE credit.

So, check with a realtor to see what might be the situation in your area. I know that in NJ attorneys are involved and they continue to negotiate price once the home inspection has been done. So . . . proceed with caution.

[AnthonyB]

I would sell. The house sounds like a major headache and money pit. Who cares if a buyer lowballs - you are one of the lucky people out there who can afford to price aggressively enough to sell in a slow market and walk away with a nice chunk of change.
Unless you are desparately attached to the house, or actually enjoy working on/paying for major repairs, I would suggest taking your profit and buying something maintenance free that you will enjoy living in.

[CouponJack]

Originally Posted by AnthonyB

I would sell. The house sounds like a major headache and money pit. Who cares if a buyer lowballs - you are one of the lucky people out there who can afford to price aggressively enough to sell in a slow market and walk away with a nice chunk of change.
Unless you are desparately attached to the house, or actually enjoy working on/paying for major repairs, I would suggest taking your profit and buying something maintenance free that you will enjoy living in.

Agree 100%. You have no mortgage. Unless you are emotionally attached, take your profit and sell.

[Teeanne]

Thanks all...your replies were very helpful.

I'm not emotionally attached and frankly, just want to get out of NJ at this point. I am fortunate to not have a mortage, so it is probably best to take what I can get a move on. It's all pure profit to me. Even if I stayed and did the work it's too much house for one person to keep up properly. I'm probably going to start interviewing some agents and get a better sense of what I can reasonably expect in this market and move from there. Thanks again