Thursday, April 9, 2009

Growing Up Is Hard

I'm going to blog about something that I told myself I wouldn't. I wasn't going to discuss this on my blog because I frankly don't like to tell people about (major) things that I am doing, but rather things that I have done or accomplished. However, this is what is going on in the Longmire household right now and I'm conflicted about it, so really seems like perfect blog material. Also, if you have any related experiences or knowledge, I would love to hear your insight. (Because seriously, is there any better place to get your questions/concerns answered than on google or your blog?)

Ben and I met with a Realtor tonight - we're thinking of putting our condo on the market. Stupid? Probably. But we need a house. We need more room. We cannot stay in this condo forever and the market isn't going to get better. Interest rates are rock bottom right now and it seems like the best time to lock in at an attractive rate. Anyway, with trying to sell a property brings about so many questions.

The Realtor happens to be a really close friend of Ben's mother. So of course I think she's looking out for our best interests. But at the same time, there are questions to be considered. Of course my main concerns are how much should/can I negotiate her commission down? (Especially considering we are already going to have to take a loss AND we'll buy through her once we sell). Also, we don't quite see eye to eye on the listing price -- she thinks we should back into our bottom line number based on what we'll need as down payment on our next purchase while I'm more concerned with only taking a certain amount of a loss. Also, she has encouraged us to contact mortgage brokers and talk about pre-qualifying and how much down payment we'll need. I'm not worried about that yet. Is that not putting the cart before the horse?

This is all probably way too personal for me to put on my blog. But its what we are dealing with at the moment. I know others have been through it, so please ... give advice!

And also, I do realize there are people out there with much larger problems than this. I'm not that shallow. Like I mentioned earlier ... I'm just reporting on what is going on in my life!

2 comments:

Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks said...

I sold my condo last year (when, at the time, we thought the market was pretty bad), so I definitely get why you have so many questions. To be honest, you have to take all the personal stuff out of the equation.

First, you need to look at recent comps in your area to get an idea of what other like properties sell for. Then, you should determine your sales price based on how much the market values your place (not how much you think it's worth, nor how much you want to put down on your next place).

If you list it any higher than that, you risk having a unit on the market for a long time, which will be compounded by price reductions (both make buyers drool because they think you're desperate). However, you may also decide the value of your property is not high enough to allow you to afford to buy a larger place, in which case you should definitely reconsider selling it right now.

Also, it's not a bad idea to talk to a mortgage broker. You're not committing to a new mortgage. You're just getting an idea of what you'll need post-sale in order to buy a new place ... and whether a sale in these market conditions will enable you to meet those numbers.

Equis said...

I can't offer any help. I don't want to buy a home because I feel that'll solidify my being an adult and I don't want to grow up.