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My story is not a new one. My house has been on the market 13 long months, and yes I have chased the market down in price. The lowest selling price in my neighborhood was $200,000 for a total fixer and a high of $260,000 for a completely redone house. My home has a new kitchen, bath, roof, heat and AC. There really isn't anything that needs to be done to the house except for some cosmetics like paint or carpet because I know some buyers want hard woods and I have wall to wall berber carpeting. My price is now at $214,900. I am the lowest price in the neighborhood and my house is probably one of the nicest for sale right now. I was just offered $180,000 for it. It has been the 2nd offer I have ever received. The first offer was a lowball offer with a contigency in which we countered but wasn't accepted by buyer. We have now countered again at $205,000 and remember, the lowest sold price was $200,000 for a total fixer. I think we are being more than fair and really can't go lower. If the buyers couldn't afford a house in the price range, why do they look? Because it is a buyers market, are sellers supposed to take a huge loss and just deal with it? Honestly, tell my your opinions.
Keep in mind that your house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, while the lowest before may have been $200k, you don't say when that was, and if in 13 months you've only had 2 offers then you're either priced too high, or buyers are finding better values elsewhere. The buyers are probably seeing that you've been on the market so long and figure that keeping the house would cost you more than taking their reduced offer. They aren't responsible for paying off your mortgage, or giving you a profit/break even offer, they're only goal is to get the best deal for themselves.
it is a buyers market. My suggestion to you is to accept the offer, take your loss and move on. Do it now....prices will only continue to decline everysingle month. You are essentially losing equity every month. Sell while you can is my best advice to you.
Personally I would only bring a large amount of money to the table to sell a house under the most dire circumstances. When I bought a condo in 1988 and couldn't sell it a few years later, I became a landlord. It wasn't that much fun, but for me it was better to be short a few dollars each month (rent vs. mortage) than magically come up with $20K-$30K to sell a condo I bought for $60K. The OP doesn't mention his/her reason for moving, but just saying "sell now, no matter the cost" isn't good advice IMHO. What if the seller doesn't have the money to pay at the closing table, and it isn't a matter of just trying for a profit/breakeven? Prices will stabilize and rise again - in my case it took 10 years for me to be able to sell my condo for what I paid for it. A lot of that had to do with the poor choices I made when I bought it (very small 1BR condo, iffy neighborhood that later improved). The ironic thing is that the same $60K condos were later selling for $200K during the boom - no idea what they are now.
Anyhow, if you can't afford the loss, can't bring money to the table, then you have to look at just staying put or renting the house out.
[quote=RRBC;3869380] if in 13 months you've only had 2 offers then you're either priced too high, or buyers are finding better values elsewhere. QUOTE]
I am inclined to agree. If your house was value for the money it would be one of the "solds".
I am a buyer right now. I have been looking for 15 months. I keep hearing "motivated seller" but asking prices are nowhere near reasonable or realistic. So many people here either paid too much or took huge cash outs and they are unable to price their houses in order to sell. I am seeing many of these homes sit on the market until they foreclose and then are offered at 40-50% less than previous asking price as an REO, and still they sit.
I have looked at many, many houses. I have submitted a total of 3 offers, 2 of which became bidding wars that I declined to participate in and the other is a current offer on a short sale that we are waiting for an answer from the seller's lender. I am not out there making offers willy nilly just to see if a seller will bite. I am making offers based on the condition/location of the house if I can see myself living in it.
As a buyer, I do not care if you lose money on the sale of your house. As a buyer I am looking out for my best interest, not yours. If you NEED to sell then you need to figure out how you are going to get to the closing table. If that means a discussion with your lender or taking a chunk out of your savings you need to determine if it is worth it to you to do what it is going to take.
Or, you can continue living in the fish bowl and wishing & hoping & praying that someone comes along and pays what you are asking. If your market is like mine, with lots of job losses and/or pay cuts and almost 2 years worth of inventory (depending on which set of numbers you look at) it is likely to be a very long wait.
Or, if your situation allows, you can pull your home from the market and re-list in a more favorable climate for sellers.
I wish for you the clarity of sight to make the choices you need, whatever your need turns out to be.
Well, you said you can't, not you won't. So, I assume the property is encumbered higher than the $180K offer. If it isn't, take the offer and move on regardless of what sold recently. If it is, you will either need to sell at a loss, look for a tenant, or keep waiting. I'm sure you know this, but don't forget to calculate carrying costs if you wait.
If it's any consolation, sales in my area have increased and will hopefully continue through at least June and July when families with children typically move.
Last edited by TampaKaren; 05-24-2008 at 10:48 AM..
Reason: typo
I'm no expert, but if you've been on the market for 13 months and this is the best offer you've gotten - perhaps that should tell you something about the market. I'm not trying to be mean, but a house is only worth as much as what someone is willing to pay for it, and if you really need to sell it to get on with your life this might be your opportunity knocking.
Your location says "To Odessa" which I assume is Odessa TX. If so be prepared to find a real shortage of homes due to the oil market. The Midland / Odessa area is booming and there was a critical shortage of homes.
Your location says "To Odessa" which I assume is Odessa TX. If so be prepared to find a real shortage of homes due to the oil market. The Midland / Odessa area is booming and there was a critical shortage of homes.
If it's not Odessa TX, .... nevermind.
I believe the OP is headed to Odessa, FL.
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