Can't sell the old house! (Austin, Shady Hollow: renting, countertops, condominium)

[Trainwreck20]

My in-laws are moving down from Indiana (near Louisville KY) to Texas to retire - this weekend, actually. They put their house in the Louisville area up for sale last spring, got one look and then nothing, even through the rebate program. Lowered the price a bit, still no interest all summer. Since the house is paid off (and taxes are minimal) it is not a huge dead. They actually bought a place here already and proceeded with the moving plans, although with a bit of additional stress.

On the bright side, this fall they suddenly got a flurry of activity, and it looks like they have final gotten a buyer (option period just ended).

[herewecome1125]

Easier said than done, but our realtor on the selling side emphasized price above all else... of course, takes some wincing to accept a big loss. But her comment was - "you can sit here trying to sell it for a year or you can sell it tomorrow... it's all about how much you are willing to lose on the sale". Again, that may be "duh" advice.... but we actually took it to heart. I am quite sure if we were willing to wait 12 months on the selling side we would get more money. But we just want out and hope to make it up on the buying side in Austin...

[G Grasshopper]

So I thought I would post an update. We put our house, which was in Marin County, just north of San Francisco, on the market in March, 2010 for $789,000. That was considered to be a good price at the time. No offers. We took it off the market for a month in July so that we could comfortably move out and so that we could start over with the "on the market" days on the MLS. When it came back on, we took the price to $769,000. No offers. We again took it off the market for about a month and a half, starting in the beginning of December, coming back on at the end of January. By now it was obvious that market prices had sagged, so we put it back on at $695. This time, we got some offers. We signed a contract for $680. Unfortunately, we got buyers who were jerks (or their agent might have been), as they played all kinds of games to get the price down after the contract was signed, but we held fast, and it still sold. (We think that they must have thought we were desperate in this market, but we really weren't. We got used to the house not selling.) At any rate, we closed in April. We had already bought a house in Austin. In fact, we closed on the house here the day before we signed the contract in CA. I do think the price was important, but really, I think it was getting the right buyers in a market where buyers can afford to be picky. Our back yard was not the usual yard, and it turned some people off. The really great thing is that our agent stuck with us, or we stuck with her for all 13 months, and she was extremely helpful in closing that deal and assisting us in all the arrangements we had to make to clear things out of the house, working with inspectors in our absence, etc. She deserved every penny of the commission she got.

[PittsburghAustin]

TexasGirl@Heart, put it on the market and move down here. I took a loss when I sold my house in Pittsburgh less than a year ago. I don't see the Pittsburgh Market coming back anytime soon.
You will enjoy Austin and wish you moved here years ago. I love it here and will never move back. There are even Steeler Bars down here to watch the games.

[timfountain]

I have a different theory on why houses aren't selling. Although price is a major factor, there is a much more pressing issue at the moment.

Simply put, there aren't any buyers out there. Period. The market is dead, and the only signs of life are smaller, lower cost homes. If you have a nice, reasonably sized home in the burbs, forget it for the next few years, there just isn't anyone interested in buying.

It took me 6 months to sell a very well priced and appointed house in a great area of Round Rock. During that time we had very low traffic. Not a single piece of feedback about price. Just very few people looking. The only way it would sell was to price it under $200K, which apparently where the market is.

- Tim

[malsch]

Originally Posted by IC_deLight

Second, with respect to the condo, a condo purchase is the worst possible purchase you could make - especially with the anti-homeowner condo laws in this state. If you are from another state, you probably have no idea exactly how bad the condo and HOA laws are in this state.

OK... so, does everyone agree with IC_deLight's assertion about condos & HOAs in TX? This um, scared me because I AM looking at condos right now simply because prices & interest rates are so low... And I don't want a yard to mow LOL. Would I be better off looking at houses? I think I definitely need to pay attention to foreclosures, as I haven't been.

Maybe I shouldn't buy at all but find a nice owner managed rental and stay for years on end... Although owner managed rentals are damn hard to find here IMHO. And I do NOT want to live in a huge apt complex where they jack your rent every year.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by malsch

OK... so, does everyone agree with IC_deLight's assertion about condos & HOAs in TX? This um, scared me because I AM looking at condos right now simply because prices & interest rates are so low... And I don't want a yard to mow LOL. Would I be better off looking at houses? I think I definitely need to pay attention to foreclosures, as I haven't been.

Maybe I shouldn't buy at all but find a nice owner managed rental and stay for years on end... Although owner managed rentals are damn hard to find here IMHO. And I do NOT want to live in a huge apt complex where they jack your rent every year.

I have not seen anything here or in the news indicating that there is an epidemic of huge problems in the industry. It can't hurt to do some internet searches to familiarize yourself with the potential problems and what to look out for.

[IC_deLight]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

I have not seen anything here or in the news indicating that there is an epidemic of huge problems in the industry. It can't hurt to do some internet searches to familiarize yourself with the potential problems and what to look out for.

How could you not see any of the highly publicized legislative activity that has been in the news regarding HOA (and condo) reform? The real question is "why are some legislators actively opposing any reform"?

Here was an interesting story by a Dallas reporter who asked Senator Carona about the "priority of payment" practice. This is a practice whereby the HOA vendors (management companies, HOA attorneys) divert homeowner payments to the vendors and away from the client HOAs. This unscrupulous practice is designed to artificially create delinquencies to pyramid late fees, collection fees, and various junk fees for the benefit of the management companies and HOA attorneys to the detriment of the client HOAs and the victim homeowner. Senator Carona claimed his companies don't do that ... but when the reporter pulled out a copy of the "priority of payment" practice in one of the HOAs managed by one of Senator Carona's management companies, Carona turns tail and runs into the Senate chambers and asks the Sergeant at Arms to keep the reporter out. Read the story and watch the video:
Sen. John Carona defends controversial HOA rule

Senator Carona is founder/owner/director of one of the largest legion of HOA management companies and affiliated businesses in the U.S. Do you think he has been authoring/amending/voting on legislation for your benefit or his?

There were highly visible stories in numerous papers about the abuses in HOAs as well as the attempts by management companies and HOA attorneys to prevent any reform that would curtail these practices. Texans for Public Justice authored and published (June 1, 2011) an excellent article showing the flow of money to legislators who voted against meaningful reform. See the story here:
Bob the Builder's DNA Soils House Floor Where HOA Reform Was DOA

Claiming that abuse in these HOA/condo properties doesn't exist or suggesting that it is rare is ridiculous. There are ample stories about the abuses by HOA/condo boards, management companies, and the aligned attorneys in Texas.

In fact, the abuse is rampant and institutionalized - there is an entire industry built upon profiting from the abuse. The industry even has its own trade lobby group which claims to represent "homeowners" when in fact it represents the interests of the management companies, HOA attorneys, and other vendors. One can't claim the abuse doesn't exist by refusing to acknowledge the stories.

Try this article and a followup video where the attorney was trying to collect $25,000 in a "payment plan" from a homeowner over a $390 debt to the HOA that the homeowner tried to pay but was thwarted by the HOA attorney:

Homeowner beats HOA lawyer in court|News 4 WOAI (WOAI.com in San Antonio)

Homeowner Wins Court Battle With HOA - Video - KSAT San Antonio (http://www.ksat.com/video/23600232/index.html - broken link)

[JayBrown80]

Originally Posted by malsch

OK... so, does everyone agree with IC_deLight's assertion about condos & HOAs in TX? This um, scared me because I AM looking at condos right now simply because prices & interest rates are so low... And I don't want a yard to mow LOL. Would I be better off looking at houses? I think I definitely need to pay attention to foreclosures, as I haven't been.

Maybe I shouldn't buy at all but find a nice owner managed rental and stay for years on end... Although owner managed rentals are damn hard to find here IMHO. And I do NOT want to live in a huge apt complex where they jack your rent every year.

I would recommend that you click on IC_Delights name on their posts, and take a look at some of their previous posts concerning HOAs. Then you can make an informed decision on whether or not this particular posters is maybe a bit biased in this regard.

You may find his/her arguments to be right on point. I on the other hand find it suspect that a source has 387 posts, and a majority of them bashing HOAs, posted in almost every city board on City-Data. Really it's up to you on whether or not you want to trust an anonymous internet source. Do the research and be informed.

Either way, I don't see the point of you being "um, scared" by IC-Delights argument. If you buy a condo, you will have to deal with an HOA. But if you buy a house, it will most likely be in an HOA too. There are not that many houses in the Austin Area that are not part of some HOA. Either way you will probably be dealing with an HOA.

It comes down to the HOA, and how restrictive it is. If you don't feel comfortable with it then don't buy, if you do, then buy. I personally have lived in one condo and 2 houses, and owned land, all 4 of them in an HOA. I have never had problems with their restrictions and have never had trouble with resale on the property. But I make sure to really read HOA contracts and make sure I am okay with what they are asking of me.

Best of luck to you in your home search though.

[TexasHorseLady]

To be accurate, there are quite a few houses in the Austin area that are not in HOA's. In new subdivisions, no, but they are out there - and sometimes they ARE in neighborhoods that anyone who didn't know would swear was an HOA neighborhood.