Slash the Price! If You Can't, Take the House Off the Market (mortgage companies, mortgage)
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See now......THAT'S the problem we sellers have been trying to tell everybody!! There are those of us in rural areas of states that did not get the benefit of the RE bubble. Our properties have been steadily, but SLOWLY, rising in value over the years. But along comes the bubble in Vegas/CA/NY/CT/FL and there is a media frenzy about it. It all comes crashing down. All these properties whose values inflated by double digits in a just a few years are now only worth what they should have been worth if theirs had done what ours did. Now buyers everywhere think that they should be able to offer 30% off the asking price just because that's what is happening in those few places! Well, guess what.......we didn't have that kind of inflation, but now we are being forced to pay for it with buyer's thinking that they can buy our houses for a fraction of their asking price, just because it's happening elsewhere! Hey, if my house had been run up to $350,000, I would have no problems taking some off. But it didn't get run up that far. Yet people think that we should be able to "slash" 30-40% off our asking price just for the heck of it. Why should I be forced to throw away 30 years of equity building because some morons in a VERY few places decided to get greedy on their homes!?!?!?!?!
The people who are saying "slash this", "slash that", "give incentives" are trying to compare apples to oranges and getting lemons. We are not talking about the big "run-up" areas, here.....we are talking about honest, hard working people who invested years in their homes in middle class rural America. It's so typical of America.........a few can't be held accountable for their actions, so everybody has to pay for them instead!
Where have you been these past few months? I have been saying this, repeatedly, and FINALLY, someone with some opinions and facts to reiterate what frustration this has been for the "rest of the nation" that was not tripling in value like these states you mentioned. Thank you, very much, for posting the best post I've read in Weeks.
sheri257...it's great that you could sell without an agent, therefore avoiding commission. We tried FSBO on our current house for while between agents. Had quite a bit of interest, but I think overall a lot of people are scared of FSBO. They just don't get it! Not only can a buyer save money, a seller can set a better price, especially if no agent is involved. I think the real estate industry has somewhat brainwashed people into thinking FSBO's are dangerous, or something, yet, they can be no worse, or better than using an agent. We've been on both ends of FSBO, and with competent title companies and RE attorneys, it can be done!
But many people are leery.
Good post Rothbear
We built 20 years ago in a very rural area too that, with exceptions,didn't experience the big boom.
Exceptions being the big old colonials and victorians on acreage that the 'city people' were coming up to buy.
For some of us older folks the recapture was going to be for living expenses and the cost of consumables, unfortunately, isn't going down at the same rate.
Timing....just sucky timing. Or, as we call it in our household....the Mr Murphy syndrome. (he is the one that occupies our spare bedroom)
Hey, if my house had been run up to $350,000, I would have no problems taking some off. But it didn't get run up that far. Yet people think that we should be able to "slash" 30-40% off our asking price just for the heck of it. Why should I be forced to throw away 30 years of equity building because some morons in a VERY few places decided to get greedy on their homes!?!?!?!?!
The people who are saying "slash this", "slash that", "give incentives" are trying to compare apples to oranges and getting lemons. We are not talking about the big "run-up" areas, here.....we are talking about honest, hard working people who invested years in their homes in middle class rural America. It's so typical of America.........a few can't be held accountable for their actions, so everybody has to pay for them instead!
I'm not saying it's fair. I'm saying that's what you have to do if you want to sell in this market. If you don't want sell that those prices then, you might as well take the house off the market.
Would I have liked to get a better price for my house? Sure ... but I also know I'll get a phenomenal price when I buy again in the next year. And this time, actually, it will be in a much better area than where I bought before.
Five years ago we were forced to buy in a less desirable, semi-rural area so we could avoid the huge increase prices. Now, we can afford to buy in the central coast of California ... which works much better for us. This is where we want to retire.
So ... for me, it's definitely worth the trade off.
I am hearing now that once you get a buyer, you have to really hope the mortgage "does happen"........They ( Mortgage Companies) are dragging their feet.
Buyers also are getting spooked by the media of this fiasco. They are changing their minds............
So its not just finding a "buyer" anymore. It is also.......hoping the Mortgage Co is willing to go forward. Hoping also that your buyer doesn't get cold feet.
So...........hating to be the bearer of bad news..........but, please don't open the champagne before the day you close!!!
I'm going to give this process one more month..........and then I want my life back to normal. I want company, and dinner parties, pool parties......and kids here having fun. So.........If the magic wand doesn't work, then I'll be on the mountain for awhile longer. Not such a bad thing at all, except for in the mist of a huge winter storm.
Like I said before, I am not selling my 5 bedroom, 5 bath home on 5 acres for one penny less than I paid for it. I am not slashing anything......hence my house is not on the market. Houses in this price range in my area are not selling. I'm not giving it away. I will stay here as long as it takes (unless fate has something else in store).
We've lived in our house for 23 years. We added an addition and tore off the entire second floor, raised the downstairs ceiling height, have all new copper plumbing, new holding tank, new well pump, new roof, new kitchen, two brand new bathrooms, all new upstairs, and have probably spent $210,000 easily in reno and addition costs over the years. We paid $90,000 when we bought this place. So, if we have our house on the market for $379,000, is that alot of equity after 23 years? Take off the 4% agent's commission, and we will net about $60,000....that is if someone pays our asking price, which doesn't seem likely. I totally understand it from a sellers perspective, that price slashing is like being a total loser! We have scrimped, done without, and used sweat equity to upgrade over the years. It feels like buyers expect perfection, and we should give our houses to them. This was not the way it was back in the 80s. We were totally grateful for being able to move out of an apartment. However, I also can understand from the buyer's perspective, that you would have to be making a nice piece of change to afford a house in this price range. Also, if you are paying big bucks for a house, you would want your dream house, or close to it. If I had to buy a house today, in this area, I couldn't afford it. It's hard for all of us. I wish both buyers and sellers all the luck we can get!
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