thoughts about buying, selling, moving...

[MommytoTwo]

Where I live the housing market is just absolute crap right now. We are ready and willing to move asap. We need more space, we would like a pool.
I am so torn on what to do. Sit tight and wait 2-3 years? Or do we sell it now, for a lot less than it was worth 2 years ago and then rent till we think prices have bottomed out and then buy? Sell and then buy right away?
Even if we sold it for a rock bottom price right now, we would still make a profit enough to buy something else, but I dont know if that will be the case in a year ...but if we put it on the market now, even at a great price for the buyer, I just dont think anyone is even looking and we have some fixing up to do first... sigh ... but I guess as our price goes down so does all the others...
I dont know.



WWYD?

[wombatclay]

How urgent is the need for more space? Are there other pros/cons to moving right now? Is there a specific place you already have your eye on?

We sold our house and bought a smaller/more rural place so that I could SAH and so we could have a smaller eco-footprint. We were lucky to find a buyer very quickly and lucky that the place we bought had been on the market a while (and was vacant) so the seller was willing to put it under contract while we tried to sell.

Have you spoken to a real estate agent? They might be able to give you a more realistic picture of how your market is moving... both in terms of buying and selling. And it wont cost anything to talk with an agent.

[xmysticprincessx]

i'd talk to a few different agents to get a bunch of different opinions on how the market is in your area. you can have an agent come over for no charge and do a "real market analysis." he/she will give you an idea of how much your home is worth based on the sales of similar homes in your area. you can also find out how long it took for those homes to sell. check out open houses in your area too (especially on comparable homes). the disclosure form will say when it was listed, the current asking price, the original asking price (ie, if they lowered the price), square feet, etc.

what about expanding your current house? like maybe an addition on the back? maybe call up some contractors and get an idea of how much that would cost. or would expanding the house just turn the house into a money pit?

what kind of fixing up do you have to do? just minor things like painting, etc?

how long would you plan on being in this new house? we had the itch to move, but decided not to for a variety of reasons, one being that we want to move out of state in less than 2 years and the cost of selling this house and moving to another in the same area wouldnt be worth it (ie, by the time we paid real estate agent fees, closing costs on a new house, moving van, storage unit, etc).

[Blue Tulip]

We just went through this as well. Our area's housing market is suffering as well.

We contacted a few real estate agents and had them do comparative analysis'. They all came back about the same. We decided to hold off 1 year and then sell early next year instead. In the meantime, we'll use the time to spruce up the place even more.

I have heard that many people are trying to sell now and then taking advantage of the low prices when they buy again. Thus, taking a hit on the sale, but getting a deal on the buy. It makes sense.

I'd look, specifically, into what the time commitment would be to sell right now, and whether or not you can handle it. How long will it take to get the house ready to market? Will it make sense, time wise, to go through the hassle of selling now, or in a year or two?

Money-wise, I think as long as you have enough equity, anytime is a good time if you're planning to buy again. Just because you don't get as much profit this year, doesn't mean you won't get an incredible deal on another house.

[MommytoTwo]

I think the idea of getting some CMA's is a good one. I think we will start there. It is such a hard thought. I guess one huge thing stopping me is that we are kind of cramped, and I feel like in this market we would really have to stage our home, this making it quite impractical for us for who-knows-how-long. For example - we use our kitchen eating area as a playroom. And I imagine if I wanted to sell the house I would have to put some sort of table and chairs in there to show what it is, kwim? And to do that for a year or six months would be really annoying. Just one example.

what about expanding your current house?

We do have the space for it, but we want to move out of this area -be it now or in 2 years- and so it would not be worth the cost.

what kind of fixing up do you have to do? just minor things like painting, etc?

Yeah basically. A few pieces of our fence needs to be replaced, some paint and touching up of dents in the walls, that sort of thing. Nothing huge.

how long would you plan on being in this new house?

We really really hope to move into a house that we love enough and that suits us enough to stay in for the rest of our lives.