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I assume that your new employer is not offering any sort of relocation home sale assistance? That's tough. You might want to talk with them and let them know that you are having difficulties selling. Your situation is precisely why there is a relocation industry out there.
Get an accurate appraisal on your home and take a close look at the comps used in the appraisal. Use a bank approved, licensed appraiser. Do not rely a real estate agent's opinion. Some inflate the listing price to get the listing.
An appraisal will cost several hundred dollars and be worth every penny. You absolutely need to know what your home is worth in your market before you can make a reasonable decision on your next step.
If the appraisal comes back at anything over $180,000 price your home at least $5K under this and note in your marketing material that it is being listed under appraisal value for a quick sale.
Get your home in tip top condition. Finish any projects. Paint neutral colors. Clear out the clutter. Wash the windows. Hire a stager to come through and give you pointers on furniture arrangement. Put stuff in storage. Pour on the coal. Make your home the best looking place out there in your price range. Musty smelling foreclosures will be no competition for your home.
Many people still cling to the quaint notion that a home is an investment and should increase in value. Not always the case.
If the appraisal comes back under $180,000 you need to ask yourself what it is worth to you to move on. Your HOA sounds like a mess. Even if you weren't locating, you might be better off by getting out there.
Your home should not tie you to a location, it should provide housing security not a chain to keep you somewhere. You bought in 2003 you paid down the mortgage, it was your living and housing expense, don't look back. Do you really want to be out of state landlords, if you think the HOA problems will be cleared up in the future and materially impact the value of they place then rent it, but if the are too many places for rents and you have other types of lawsuits with the HOA, it could be hard to sell and bring down the value.
Guys, you're quoting data from the city of Hartford, CT.- major ghetto overall with not a lot in the way of single family homes. It's like using Detroit as an example of Michigan.
. . . My husband has a thick skin...me, I'm quite sensitive . . .
I even wonder if we should put the brakes on the relocation and just stay here to avoid all of this...
May I respectfully suggest that you toughen up a bit? At the moment you decide to sell your home, it becomes a building, a house, a commodity, an object to sell. It is no longer your "home", the place you have brought your babies home from the hospital, the place that you have lovingly tended for years and years.
It's a house.
Time to put your feelings and emotions aside and approach this coldly and logically.
1. Is the new job a good move for your family? If so, then it's time to move
2. Find a price that the house will sell for NOW. Stop comparing it to 10 years ago or to even two years ago. You're selling it NOW. NOW is the only time that matters.
3. Do what you need to do in order to get the house ready to buy.
Interview several real estate agents, find one that isn't telling you what you want to hear, price-wise, but can back up their pricing with hard numbers. Fantasy pricing is NOT your friend now.
Have the agent tell you what needs to be done in terms of staging, repairs, enhancements, etc. Come up with a checklist and knock 'em out methodically.
Have a VERY good friend tell you, honestly, if they can smell "dog". Carpets may need to be cleaned or replaced, etc. Be ruthless.
If you can't sell it and end up having to lease it out to get some income coming in, you CAN find something to rent in your new location with dogs, it will just take a little bit longer to find something, and you will have to put down a deposit. It might not be ideal, but just tell yourself, "It's only temporary." Never allow an object (a house) keep you from pursuing your family's dreams.
If, however, you are using the house as an excuse not to move . . . that's another thread.
If you don't think you can even break even, I suggest you buy in your new location, tell the lender you intend to rent out your current home...then, if necessary, you can let the first one go back to the bank, and file bankruptcy and still keep your new home, if I understand bankruptcy laws correctly. It would be a way to get into the new home BEFORE it hits the fan with the old one.
Lenders have caught on to this all-too-common scam. When we were going to buy our new house, we actually intended to rent it out (not dump the first home into foreclosure). Lenders today will require a valid lease in hand (that covers the cost of the mortgage) before they will give you money for a new house.
Lenders have caught on to this all-too-common scam. When we were going to buy our new house, we actually intended to rent it out (not dump the first home into foreclosure). Lenders today will require a valid lease in hand (that covers the cost of the mortgage) before they will give you money for a new house.
Well, truly that's only right. I'm trying to remember if my daughter had a renter yet in her first house in Salinas when she got the loan on her home in Oakland... No, actually, she was living in an Extended Stay Hotel at her new job location (which was Walnut Creek at the time). She didn't move her stuff out of her home in Salinas until she bought the new one in Oakland, then rented out the first one afterwards.
She also really intended to keep the 1st home as a rental, and it wasn't a problem. She also made enough money to afford both mortgages, so maybe that was partly why they allowed it? Or perhaps it was still acceptable 2 years ago...
Well, the OP would still have better luck buying a new home without a foreclosure already on the books..is what I'm thinking.
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