Expert: Matt Heisler - 1/27/2009

Question
We own a condo less than 2 miles from downtown Plymouth and the historic waterfront district, you can walk there we're so close. It's a 950 sq ft first floor condo, garden style. We have our own patio with storage closet off the living room. living and dining room have cherry pergo flooring. We have 1 full bath and the half bath is private for the master bedroom. We have 4 year old windows and 3 panel glass slider system. They are thermo-pain, double hung glass. All appliances are almost 4 yrs old but look new.(stove is glasstop and built-in microwave. new fixtures, new paint, great neigborhood, great neighbors.Central a/c. Condo fee includes hot water, maintenance, trash, snow, landscape, etc. Will we ever be able to sell? We have a toddler and want more kids we only have a 2 bed room. We paid $190k in June 2006. We owe $170k on 2 mortgages. We want out. Our mortgage is too high, I lost my job. My family is living off my husband's firefighter income, which isn't much. We don't want to make a profit, or even get what we paid. We just want to sell it to break even on what we owe now. This is a great vacation location too. So close to everything. We bought it planning to buy a house and use this as a seasonal rental property. Units in this development rent for $800-$1350 per month based on the size. The complex is more than 80% owner occupied. How long will it take to be able to get out of here?

Answer
Hello Lauren:

I'm sorry to hear that the deteriorating financial conditions have affect you and your family.  I'll start with an overview:

You've given me some information about your unit, but there's a great deal you haven't told me.  You haven't told me how old the building is, and I haven't seen it.  The bottom line is people pay not just for infrastructure, like new windows, but they also pay for how efficient and useful the floor plan is.  How updated the kitchen is.  They pay more for hardwood than carpet, more for town houses than garden style.  So, I can't figure out the most important part, which is what it's worth.

But let's say that it was worth 190K when you bought it (Did you have an agent do a CMA for you?  You should have).  And let's say in two years your down 8% (a reasonable assumption).  That means your place might be worth 175K, which leaves a almost enough for commission to sell it, and pay it off.

SO: How Long to Sell?

Well, if you sell it for $125 it'll be gone tomorrow.  Try to sell it at $200K and you'll never get an offer.  In the middle somewhere is the market, and that means you can't say for certain.  The lower the price, the faster it sells, but you can't lower the price very much and that's the problem.  There's a lot of competition - about 40 units as of today - and the average sale time has been 150 days.  I would estimate that it would take 150 days at a listing price of $180K  to achieve a sales price around the low 170's.  This is all based on the assumption that you didn't overpay, of course, and if you got a "deal" and underpaid, then it will sell quicker, and for more money.

I can refer you to a Plymouth expert, who does a number of transactions in Plymouth and will know how to get you top dollar if you want to sell.  Just contact me and we'll work on making that happen.

Best of Luck-

Matt Heisler