Comments on: Our Neighbor’s House Is For Sale!

By: Funny about Money

Funny about Money — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:50:26 +0000

What they ask and what they get usually not the same. And one house selling above market price doesn’t necessarily push all the other cookie-cutter houses back up to market value.

The loan officer at the credit union where we hold a mortgage for a small house we bought when we thought (wrongly!) prices had dropped as far as they would go said that foreclosures usually depress prices for several months, but then as people sell houses in a more normal way, prices return to normal. However, in our case ALL the sales of surrounding houses have been foreclosures. No one has made a regular, normal sale in two or three years. No one has tried. Consequently, prices are very depressed and have stayed depressed, while in other close-in districts prices have remained stable or even risen.

If you’re not planning to sell, the fantasy sale price doesn’t matter. You don’t realize a loss until you sell, and as a commenter above remarked, at least you have a shot at lower tax rates. That’s not true in our neck of the woods: the assessor lowered tax valuations, all right…but then the strapped state and county raised tax rates, so our taxes will go up even though our houses are worth less than we paid for them.

By: Single Guy Money

Single Guy Money — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 00:22:55 +0000

I know how you feel J. It seems like there is a new foreclosure in my neighborhood everyday. Most of the homes up for sale now are bank owned and are listed for unreal prices. There is one that is exactly like mine that initially sold for $198k, it’s now listed by the bank for $129k. Even at that price, it’s been on the market for a few months. I wish you luck man.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:43:45 +0000

*JUST FOUND OUT THE HOUSE IS SELLING IN THE LOW $300ks!*

This seems MUCH more reasonable than the $375k I heard the other day. If they can close anywhere above $300k you better believe I’ll be one happy bastard. I’m deathly afraid if it dropping under that level…not because we’re selling anytime soon, but just so we can have OPTIONS to at least do so if we want.

Thanks for all the well wishes, friends :) Fingers crossed indeed…

By: Lucille

Lucille — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:00:06 +0000

Oh that sounds like me. I bought at 429 in 2005 and have watched that Zillow graph go down and down and down….now it’s at 300 like yours. But I wonder about that. Should have sold 3 years ago when I could have but didn’t (sentimental).

By: donkee

donkee — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 11:23:15 +0000

Keep us posted! Curious to see how much foot traffic your neighbor will get and what the final sales price will be.

Sounds kind of like snooping, eh? Nah, call it being neighborly and enthusiastic!

By: Ninja

Ninja — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:30:07 +0000

Keepin’ my fingers crossed that house sells for more than $2.80, oops I meant $280,000 :)

By: jake

jake — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:25:43 +0000

Anthony: Simple must mean Debt to Income.

What did a recent foreclosure sell for? Is there any reason that a non-foreclosure is worth more, except perhaps for some minimal damage that can be repaired for a few thousand?

By: Anthony

Anthony — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:40:23 +0000

@simple in france: I’m curious. The bank will only provide you a loan for 1/3 of your income?! That seems awfully low (from a USA perspective). We purchased our house for $160k, and our income is $100k/year. I would wager to say that almost all Americans buy a house greater than their annual income.

Am I missing something here?

By: Samurai

Samurai — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:38:18 +0000

Good luck J! It gives hope and fear. One of those things where I’d rather not know until I plan to sell.

At least you’ve set your expectations low at 280K and have moved on from our a&& kicking we got (i feel your pain too as I have a vacay property). But, tis life!

Best,

Sam

By: ctreit

ctreit — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:52:07 +0000

I will keep my fingers crossed. We also bought our house during the real estate frenzy, but we did not top-tick it. When we refinanced recently our estimate says that we are back to the purchase price plus almost all the money we put into the house. No loss for us, at least not so far. But we never bought a house to make money. We bought the house because we loved it and because we wanted to live in it. It is primarily meant to be our home.