How bad is this situation? Please give me hope... (Clayton: real estate market, apartment complex)

[itellyouthetruth]

Yeah, if you need help creating a postlet I can help you...

I agree with Highriser craigslist is a great place too start and also try backpage

[atlantagreg30127]

I might suggest that if you're going to go the scary Craigs List route, that you invest $25.00 in a prepaid cell phone JUST for that purpose. Seriously, over time I've known people who have sold or rented homes via Craigs, and it doesn't matter what hours you tell people to call on it - they will call you at 7am, 11pm, 2am... etc. You may not wish to turn your real phone off for various reasons, so having a temporary prepaid one is a good idea if you're going to do Craigs stuff.

Best Buy has a "Net10" brand LG300 prepaid phone (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9010802&type=product&id=12180089 45619 - broken link) for $25.00-$29.00 (depending on store branch), and it includes 300 minutes good for 60 days of service. The minutes are worth $30, so basically you're getting the phone free. Pretty cheap phone but it actually does work fairly well, and I think they piggyback on verizon and AT&T cells around town as reception is decent. Once you're finished using it you can just let the minutes/time expire and poof, that's it. No contract, etc.

So aside from other basic common sense tactics like making sure you have other people with you if you show the townhouse, etc etc, using a prepaid to handle the MANY off-the-wall calls is a way to go with Craigs or any classified advertising of property.

[vsmoove]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

I might suggest that if you're going to go the scary Craigs List route, that you invest $25.00 in a prepaid cell phone JUST for that purpose. Seriously, over time I've known people who have sold or rented homes via Craigs, and it doesn't matter what hours you tell people to call on it - they will call you at 7am, 11pm, 2am... etc. You may not wish to turn your real phone off for various reasons, so having a temporary prepaid one is a good idea if you're going to do Craigs stuff.

Best Buy has a "Net10" brand LG300 prepaid phone (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9010802&type=product&id=12180089 45619 - broken link) for $25.00-$29.00 (depending on store branch), and it includes 300 minutes good for 60 days of service. The minutes are worth $30, so basically you're getting the phone free. Pretty cheap phone but it actually does work fairly well, and I think they piggyback on verizon and AT&T cells around town as reception is decent. Once you're finished using it you can just let the minutes/time expire and poof, that's it. No contract, etc.

So aside from other basic common sense tactics like making sure you have other people with you if you show the townhouse, etc etc, using a prepaid to handle the MANY off-the-wall calls is a way to go with Craigs or any classified advertising of property.

When I sell on Craigslist, I only leave my email... they are on the computer anyway so if they are interested, they will drop you a note.

[noah]

For small time landlords Craigslist is your greatest asset. Yes, use common sense. Phone screen well and you'll be fine. Let them know up front you do background, credit and employment checks. That will scare off most of the applicants looking to take advantage. If your new to this you really need to do some reading up on the basics and read the landlord/tenant laws. If you don't want the phone ringing at certain times then hire a mgmt company.

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

I might suggest that if you're going to go the scary Craigs List route, that you invest $25.00 in a prepaid cell phone JUST for that purpose. Seriously, over time I've known people who have sold or rented homes via Craigs, and it doesn't matter what hours you tell people to call on it - they will call you at 7am, 11pm, 2am... etc. You may not wish to turn your real phone off for various reasons, so having a temporary prepaid one is a good idea if you're going to do Craigs stuff.

Best Buy has a "Net10" brand LG300 prepaid phone (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9010802&type=product&id=12180089 45619 - broken link) for $25.00-$29.00 (depending on store branch), and it includes 300 minutes good for 60 days of service. The minutes are worth $30, so basically you're getting the phone free. Pretty cheap phone but it actually does work fairly well, and I think they piggyback on verizon and AT&T cells around town as reception is decent. Once you're finished using it you can just let the minutes/time expire and poof, that's it. No contract, etc.

So aside from other basic common sense tactics like making sure you have other people with you if you show the townhouse, etc etc, using a prepaid to handle the MANY off-the-wall calls is a way to go with Craigs or any classified advertising of property.

[noah]

For rentals I would disagree with this. For other items it might work but for rentals I discount any responses I get via email instead of phone because it usually means they are either scams or they are not very interested or serious. And the most serious people are not going to respond if you dont provide a number and pictures. Running a rental is essentially running a business and should be treated as such and a phone number is essential whether you use your current one or get a new one.

Originally Posted by vsmoove

When I sell on Craigslist, I only leave my email... they are on the computer anyway so if they are interested, they will drop you a note.

[cityrover]

you are pretty much done for unless your area improves. there was a lot of hype couple years ago with lenders and developers upselling the things nobody wanted before, banking on some unrealistic property value gains. well the crash came and things are back to 1998 levels or so. if an area sucked in 1998, it will suck in 2008/9, regardless what they told you in 2004-2007.

anyhow, management companies will typically charge you a major fee to rent it and most won't deal with anything less than upscale. not really worth it. you need to decide whether it is more fiscally viable for you to

- abandon the mortgage
- sell for whatever you can and still owe money
- rent it out at discounted rate and hope the place isn't trashed.
- stay in the home you like and ignore the surroundings as much as you can


currently the market is flooded with rental homes due to weak sales.

[grneyedmustang]

I've thought about this for the last four days. I have to be honest, at one point I was very serious about possibly just "walking away". I don't want to just walk away from the mortgage though for a number of reasons, so I think I'm going to try and stick it out.

I do have the house up for rent on a military rental site, but I haven't had any responses so far.

After thinking about this all week, I think I'm going to just try and stay in the house for another year or two, and once I've paid down the mortgage another 20K, trying to sell it waaaaaaay below what I paid. It sucks, especially because I want to move (like yesterday), but honestly, I don't want to deal with the potential hassle of attempting to rent it out and I don't want the credit hit of a foreclosure.

Cityrover, I'm sure this area isn't going to improve...so it is what it is. *sigh*

[sweetbrooklyn]

People are so judgemental. Become a section 8 landlord. Gasection8.com. get a working section 8 family. Single mother with "small" children . Screen them. Owning a home does not make better than anyone. You can make this your last choose, but don't wait too late.

[pellur]

I don't know your situation but have you considered getting a roommate?

You can still stay in the house and get some much needed money out of it.

[StPaulEastSider]

Originally Posted by sweetbrooklyn

People are so judgemental. Become a section 8 landlord. Gasection8.com. get a working section 8 family. Single mother with "small" children . Screen them. Owning a home does not make better than anyone. You can make this your last choose, but don't wait too late.

@sweetbrooklyn - I agree with your sentiments about not pre-judging Section 8 families, I volunteer with a group which helps families seeking housing, I've known many Section 8 recipients I would be more than happy to have as tenants. In my observations, Section 8 families often make very good long-term tenants.

HOWEVER, why would any family with children choose to rent in the Clayton County School District given the recent problems with accredition and morale?

Also, Section 8 may not pay what the OP needs to cover her mortgage. If, however, the OP can find a Section 8 family, this may in fact buy her a considerable about time. The prime time for advertising rental properties to families would be towards the end of the school year. Families with only small children may not have a large enough voucher to be able to afford this property.