I am trapped in my home, and so are millions of other Americans.
I am not underwater by any means, however, I would not be able to sell without losing thousands of dollars of hard earned down payment. Factoring in taxes, Realtor commission, and the necessity of lowering the price thousands below the sales price I paid in order to compete with other comparable units. I would lose 10-15K in order to insure a good chance of a sale. (I know in bubble markets like California this is a laughable sum, but to me this is a lot of money)
I have a 30 year fixed loan, and the price I paid is actually LESS than comparable rent in the area. Nonetheless the psychology has turned, and people have so much fear of buying a house right now that there is simply no way I could sell without wiping out most of my 20% down payment equity.
I am getting married next summer, and I see an endless amount of great deals on much larger houses I could afford and would love to move into. That however is just a fantasy because I am trapped, I am a prisoner to my mortgage and a victim of the housing bubble collapse.
I can't move up and buy a bigger house, because my down payment, which exists in the form of equity in my current home, would be lost by selling the condo at market value.
I can't be comfortable in my 1 bed, 1 bath condo because it's really two small for 2 people and all of our stuff once we get married.
I am trapped, and that is what inspired me to create this blog.
That is my story. What is the reason you come to this website?
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Imprisoned by my Condo
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5 comments:
I saw this current problem happening all the way back in 2001. I just could not believe the increases in real estate and was totally blown away. I had many friends who bought their homes between 2002-2007 and was baffled at the prices they payed. I too bought my condo back in April of 2006. But in a gentrifying area because it was about a third of the price of were I was looking in Brooklyn NYC. I then started to google real estate sales problems and viola! There were many bloggers and others who were calling out the NAR and Mortgage companies on the lunacy. And they further confirmed what I saw happening.
Now my suggestion is to make sure your condo is in good shape. In my building there is another unit that is comparable to mine but is selling at $15,000 less than what I bought mine for. The difference is that I redid my bathroom late last year and am now doing the floors in the unit. We are in no hurry to sell, but we know that if we are to break even in a few years our unit needs to be better than the others in our building. And the surronding area.
Worse case scenario, rent it out and take a small loss each month. Don't put your life on hold. 2008 will bring unbelievable prices back down to 1999 levels.
Being 66 years old I can remember a time when one bought a house to live in, and not as an investment. It is very unfortunate that you (and millions of others) believe that you should be able to live in a home free, and actually make a profit. NOTHING is free and in the end someone pays. It can't always be the other guy. Accept your lose as the cost of waking up in the morning. Did you really think that prices go up forever, or did you simply want to get out one day before the peak?
I come here for the drinks.
My deal is similar to yours, bought at 'x', have put another 17% of x in in repairs and remodeling, need to put another 5% of 'x' in to finish. A house similar to what mine is now, just sold down the street for 90% of 'x'.
Cash wise I'm out 15-20% of a year's salary. Stuck like you, would like to move up if I hadn't bought near the peak.
C'est la vie.
(la vie)
Typical Michigan Behavior. I left
so many of these Michigan dumbasses think their silly houses are these great investments that will appreciate like the realtor said so...
Some other Mich tards are holding out to capture the price appreciation that is surely there in their used cars..... LOL
But the sign of a true chump is one who refuses to see reality and holds out for a peak level price during this historic unwinding of hte biggest ponzi scheme in history. I saw it all around my old neighborhood in Roal Oak. Houses sat for 1-2 years!
The original listing realtors needed cash & went back to pole dancing 6 months ago- but still never convinced the RE clients that the house needed to be discounted.
I got real and updated/upgraded the house. I got feedback from showing agents. Made list of suggestions and executed it. made it real nice and discounted. And sold it in MArch this year while MI tards were complaining that they couldn't sell and sitting on their fat asses.
MI was full of this breed of lazy pot bellied self assured and surely -entitled half-tards who expected housing price appreciation to make their ownership experience cost-free. Too bad soo sad. And others expected the houses to appreciae by like 10k because of a fresh coat of paint.
Bulls Bears can make money but these especially stupid Mich-tard pigs got/get/ arre gonna get slaughtered.
Dud you had to know that those condo projects were a colossal sucker's bet. What were you smoking???
Why don't you rent it out and get a new house. Didnt you say in your blog that your mortgage is less than you could rent it for? Then raise the rents 5% every year on the old place to help you pay your new mortgage. You haven't really lost any money until you sell. Start saving up a new down payment. With all the blogs recommending renting Rents are going nowhere but up. Have somebody else pay for the condo. Who cares if the value goes up if you've got cash flow.
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