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Buying or Selling a Home/Should I sell my home?
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Question
We bought this house in Allen, Texas in 2002. I have always spent my time cleaning up the house and also missed a chance to buy the house of my dreams. I am bitter that I missed such a great house for such an awsome price and came to this one. This house was 200,000 at that time, and today it is 245,000 according to some online site. We did 20K down. The time has come to replace the carpets, change and update the bathrooms,yesterdays storm borke the whole fence, replace the dying appliances and so on. Looks like about 100,000 worth of work in the near future (to make the house to my satisfaction). The house seems to be bulging in the bathrooms and the living room, and also some chipping near the stairs. My husband thinks that the house is settling. His job is in downtown and he has to travel two hours up and two hours down. Instead of spending all the money in fixing and maintaining this house, I want to sell it and get whatever I can and move to an apartment close to my husband's job and also look for a job for myself. He thinks we will lose money, and the children might not be happy in the apartment. Also safety in Tx apartments is a huge concern. He is willing to travel and keep on investing to better this house. It is almost impossible to find a house for 200,000 or even 250,000 (in the 3000 sq ft range that we are presently living in). All the prices have gone up. The newer houses in the neighborhood are too expensive and make our community look a little bleak.
I strongly feel that moving to an apartment will help me save money on repair, maintenance, and property tazxes. My husband thinks we will be wasting our money on the apartment and we are better off here. I feel that I don't want to wate my time and money on this piece of property on which I have several little complaints (like the laundry is downstairs and all the bedrooms are upstairs, two car garage instead of the three car, back yard too slopy to do anything......)
We are confused right now. So please help me gain perspective so we may make wise choices.
Thankyou in advance,
Anu.
ANU--
Wow, you and "Hubbie" aren't "on the same page" with this one, are you? Having once been in a similar situation, my Wife and I opted to sell and move into an Apartment for a while And for her to go back to work to help get us "back on our feet!"
We sold--and as it was a "weak" and "declining" Real Estate Market at the time, we had a "long-and-hard" time selling & lost mon ey when we did! Apartment living was "unbearable" for us and the kids, as we had become accustomed to having more room, more privacy, and a two-car garage. We had none of that in the second story apartment we lived in for a while. Her job helped some, but the money paid for child care minimized the extra money and played havoc with the raising of our kids!
All-in-all,we both wished we'd just "hung in there" until the Market "came back to life" and we could have made a better sale of the property--in terms of less time on the Market and a good Price!
Your Texas Real Estate Market is experiencing difficulties right now. Your sale will likely be a lengthy process, and you'll probably have to take less than what it's worth to get it sold. Real Estate Markets are cyclical, they go in "Peaks and Valleys." You're in a "Valley" now; in a year or two it'll be "Peaking" again, most experts feel.
Maybe your getting a job, remaining in the home & using some of your income to fix or upgrade your house over the next few years would be better than losing much or all of your equity with a sale now.
And I guarantee you, you won't like living in a small apartment with the neighbors right through skinny walls on both sides of you,above and below you, too! With no garage, maybe a carport for one, maybe just a parking spot (that others will "borrow" whenever you leave it empty)! You think that your current home has "inconveniences,' like the laundry room down & bedrooms up, just a two-car, not a triple-bayed garage, and a sloppy yard? At least you don't have to feed quarters into you washer & dryer, you have an enclosed area for your cars, and a yard!
If it sounds like I'm siding with your "Mate," I guess I am! Sorry! Please think carefully about this before you two take any actions. If you don';t make the right choice it could be disastrous! While living in that small apartment with two kids manyh years ago, my Wife --of now 50 years--and I came closer to a Divorce than we've ever! GOOD LUCK!
--JIM
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| Rating(1-10) | Knowledgeability = 10 | Clarity of Response = 10 | Politeness = 10 |
| Comment | Jim, You are absolutely right. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. My neighbor is trying to sell his home and move to a smaller home somewhere very far from here. He is trying to sell by himself w/o a realtor and his home has been on the market for over a month now. I can see them become stressed and worried all the time. My realtor is ready to sell my home, but also told me that the market is not good, and I would be very dissappointed if I tried to move into an apartment or decided on an other home as I won't get anything decent for 'my money.' My husband is very happy commuting and never complains. He gets a chance to catch up with other collegues and plan ahead, or reads a nice book. He travels by train, and is not complaining one bit. I made some improvements around the house, and with hubby's handyman work, we were able to solve a lot of 'little complaints' that I had. We put up extra shelves for clothes storage, cleaned out the garage (more space after throwing away all the junk! yay!), and are next planning to build a big fence where we can include the garage within it. That way, we can park the cars outside, and I can have all that extra space for another Fridge and some 'important things' for myself. My backyard is not 'sloppy'; rather it is slopey, at a 45 degree angle. I could roll without much effort from my back door to the fence. Hubby bought me some organic seeds for the slopey backyard, so it can become a source of fresh fruits and veggies, save some money, and not look 'sloppy' in my eyes anymore. I have two very active sons, I guess the neighbors in the apartments would be more mad at us, than us at them. Assuming you are about dad's age (OK, I'm 29), who had actually gone out and done what we were about to do, was a big wake up call. I am very grateful for your proper input. Our sincere thanks to you for helping us in this decision. Kind of got saved from a self made disaster!! Hugs, Anu. | ||
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Jim Root
Expertise
How to select the right Real Estate Salesperson & Loan Officer--ones who will serve your best interests! House-hunting tips & suggestions on selection of the home best for your family needs. Introduction to the Home Buying Process & all the "Players" involved.What is of utmost important to the Homebuyer? Real Estate Contracts & Negotiations, Appraisal needs, Title Co. involvement, Home Inspection issues& the Closing/Escrow systems, etc. Whatever your question, the answer will follow, whether from personal knowledge or research! Gale, shown here with me, has been a Real Estate Office Administrator, licensed Realtor & has served as my Research Assistant over the years!
Experience
Over 30 years as a "Real Estate Professional." including Real Estate Marketing & Sales, Appraisal work, Mortgage Banking & as a Realty Officer with U.S Dept. of HUD's FHA Homeownership Division in Alaska, Washington & Idaho! Some experience in Montana, California, Utah & Nevada markets!Knowledge of National Markets by continuous Research!
Organizations
Former member of Nat'l Ass'n of Realtors (NAR) & Mortgage Bankers Ass'n of America (MBAA). Currently with National Association of Review Appraisers & Mortgage Underwriters (NARA/MU).
Publications
Published in various local, state, regional & national Real Estate-related magazines & newsletters!Co-author of various Govt. publications on Homeownership, Appraisals & Mortgages while with HUD/FHA.
Education/Credentials
Associate Degree in Real Estate Studies plus:
Numerous Real Estate-related Courses conducted by the U. S. Government & Private Industry over the past 30 years.
Bachelors Degree in Mass Communications,
Masters Degree in Education/Teaching
Awards and Honors
Professional Designations: Certified Residential Originator (CRO) from MBAA, Registered Mortgage Underwiter (RMU) & Certified Review Appraiser (CRA) from NARA/MU. Outstanding Peformance Awards for 10 of the 12 years with HUD/FHA & numerous Sales/Listing Awards while a licensed Real Estate Agent.
Past/Present Clients
No longer selling/listing Real Estate, nor Appraising properties, nor working in the Mortgage business, this "Real Estate Pro" serves as Director of a Company that provides Professional Development Seminars & Workshops to the "Real Estate Industry" and provides free (as needed) & fee-paid (on a sliding scale) consulting & inspection services to members of the general public.Your questions will be answered without "salesmanship" & with your best interests in mind!
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