Buying or Selling a Home/Recently Purchased home

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Expert: - 6/30/2007


Question
Hi Jessica,

My husband and I recently purchased an existing home in May 2007.  However, I am not 100% happy with the home in  regards to layout.  It is a 4 level split home and even though there is about 1500 sq. ft. of space, it feels quite congested to me.  I am interested in already looking for a new home, however, my husband tells me that there is no way that we could profit on doing so right now.  Could you offer any advice into my issue?  Do you see a way that we would be able to sell our home with the ability to purchase a new one without actually losing money?  Any suggestions you have to offer would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Deirdre

Answer
Dear Deirdre;
Your husband is right.  By the time you pay closing costs, transfer fees, recording fees, attorney fees and make any financial concessions let alone any brokerage fees, you will be losing money.  The home has not had time to appreciate in value.  I suggest that you "make do" for at least a year and probably more like two years before selling.  If you absolutely can't stand it and must move then try renting out the home until you see enough appreciation to make the move worth while.

Best wishes,
Jessica Bryan

Buying or Selling a Home

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Jessica Bryan

Expertise

buying and selling process such as:
General questions from first time buyers
How to market a home
Why choose a REALTOR
How do I find a REALTOR
Should I consider buying or selling without a REALTOR--how much can I save
Should I remodel or move
How much can I expect to gain by fixing up my home before selling
Helpful tips when selling
Helpful tips when buying
finding a good mortgage loan
what is the difference between banks, mortgage bankers, and mortgage brokers
Questions from the general public, people thinking about getting their real estate license, newly licensed.
Fellow professionals who have interests in networking and how to get started
What is a market evaluation and how does it differ from an appraisal what are the different loan programs
services a REALTOR can perform
when to use a lawyer
when to use escrow
what are the regional differences in the buying and selling process
what is the MLS and how does it work
how can the layman access information on the web--listings and other information
These are just a few of the questions. I can suggest that if I am unable to answer a question I will refer the inquiry to a source that can.

Experience

Anyone who is in this business and who dedicates oneself to professionalism has continued to take classes and along with it,additional credentials, awards and honors. I can list a host of them, but my greatest accomplishments happen to be those of getting first time buyers (who didn't think they could afford to buy a home)into a home of their dreams. The look on their faces when I hand over the keys is worth all of the hard work.

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