WWYD? Downsize now or later?
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| Sun, 07-19-2009 - 6:23pm |
I have a decision to make and would appreciate opinions.
Our home has always been a little too big for us: too big to clean, too big to heat, and just not cozy. We have started looking for a smaller home, but our current home isn't quite ready to be put on the market. This was always intended to be an investment property. It needed tons of work but was cheap and we have now added so much value we're taxing ourselves out of here. One thing we are hoping to do is take our home equity from the sale of this house and buy another fixer-upper, though a smaller one. We aren't really looking for a "forever" home.
DD is leaving for college in the fall, DS is going to be a junior in high school, and I'm tired of all the housework and yard work. Having said that, we haven't found a house we like yet and we still have a couple projects we are working on here.
Is there ever a good time to sell or do you just know that now is the time? I should add that home prices in this area are holding steady.
Dee


I would start looking. You need to be happy and if they are holding steady with the kids changing school positions, it might be the best time. It doesn't sound like it will hurt the pocket book either.
What is your fresh beginning if you don't mind me asking?
I don't think it matters what time of the year you try to sell a house. Everything now a days is the house. And with the 8,000 being offered in Louisville the market is really opening up.
I have sold houses in May and September.
Just watch a lot of Home and Garden shows take notes, stage your house big time and don't do what I did this last time and sign a contract that you will be out on closing day. Fight for a least a 7 day period between closing and moving day. I would hate what happened to me happen to any one else.
The old house when three realators gave up on it. I found the lady
I would start looking around to get a feel for what you would really like in a home.
One thing to consider is that in two years you will be empty nesters and it may be a good time then to start looking for that forever home.
Ask yourself or a real estate friend, how much value those few unfinished projects could add to the house.
Norma
"Patience is the best remedy for every trouble"- Plautus
Thanks for all the advice. I sure have a lot to consider. I think we'll take the next few weeks and do some minor touch-ups and then list the house by the end of August. This will be just in time for the leaf-peepers and we're on a main road. The worst that could happen is it doesn't sell right away and we just keep plugging away on the few projects we have left.
My big fear is that something will come along that I love and we won't be able to make an offer because we have to sell first.
Thanks also for the advice on 7 days between closing and move-out. I'll need that time and I never see that on fact sheets. I'll definitely do that.
Dee
I believe that you sell when the circumstances of your life dictate that you sell. If the market were bottoming out and you had the time to wait, so be it, but if the prices are holding steady and you've improved the home considerably, get out when you find something else you like!
As for remaining projects, if they're small enough, tackle them now. No one is going to appreciate what the place looked like when you bought it compared to now. They're simply going to point out that you haven't fixed X or Y.
Also, if these are small enough projects to finish before you sell, remember that you're not going to live with them, so you don't necessarily have to do them to your personal specifications. I'm not saying shoddy, but it's okay, for example, to buy a less expensive faucet fixture that may not be to your taste, but is "fine." You know?
Good luck with your decision, and happy home hunting!
Danni
cl-phocid, Debt Support Group
All my best,
Danni
Hey All:
Just thought I'd do a little follow-up on this.
We met with our realtor friend yesterday (who may no longer be my friend if we continue to be so indecisive) and based upon all that she told us, I wasn't ready to take the plunge to sell. There aren't that many other properties around, for one thing, and if we sell we'd still want to live in this area. She also said that it has really become a buyer's market and that some of these transactions lately have been pretty stressful. That is certainly one thing I don't need right now: added stress.
We then did a drive by of one home that looked great online but was not nice at all and then went to an Open House of a lovely home that was just a little too small for our family and had more land than we could use. All in all, I think the decision is to stay put until and unless things change in some way.
Thank you all for your advice.
Dee