Anyone selling a house/townhouse/condo right now?

[seriousthistime]

It seems like things are selling pretty quickly in my neighborhood and in town generally.  That always makes me think of selling.

I want to downsize.  I bought this house after my divorce and still had a child coming home during college vacations.  It's about 2200 sq. ft. and I could comfortably live in about 1500 sq. ft. I'm getting sick of mowing the lawn.  I think I want a townhouse. 

But two things are stopping me.  First, my job.  I can't be sure I'll have a job here for the next four years.  If I don't have work here, I'll want to move someplace else entirely.  Second, this house is perfect for my dog (an old black lab who's not in the best of health) and if I move someplace without much of a yard she won't have room to run.  So things are coming to a point where the stars will align, job-wise and pet-wise, but I'm not quite there yet.

Yet this is the best market I've seen in a few years.  And I wonder if other people are seeing the same thing where they are.  In the meantime, I'm doing things to make the house more market-ready without spending a lot of money.  Anything else I should be doing?

[gooddecisions]

I lived in a townhouse for 9 years and it was great not having to maintain a yard. I planted flowers twice a year and grew a few veggies in my small backyard. Otherwise the lawn crew cut the grass, trimmed the hedges, mulched and even weeded. I had tons of neighbors with dogs and I knew it because they walked them at least twice a day everyday. Just watching those dog shows, I've always thought walking them was more important than a big yard. The corner lots in my neighborhood had much bigger yards and they were fenced in. So, you will probably be able to find something that works. Bonus, if you're social- you'll meet a lot more people walking your dog.

[Deleted]

It's always tough to time the real estate market.

Not only are there national trends like interest rates but also local trends.

I'm in a hot, hot market (SF Bay Area) and we've been experiencing about 20% annual appreciation. Prices are within 10% of their historical highs, especially on the lower end. The craziness is being driven by a strong jobs market, very, very low inventory and a significant move of Chinese money investing in West Coast real estate. I expect the rate to really slow as folks who bought at the high start putting their properties on the market and we have more inventory. But I don't foresee another correction for another two years unless interest rates jump significantly. And I don't see the Feds making a radical change but other world events can affect rates too.

If I were going to sell in the next year or two to downsize, I would consider selling. But trying to find a local rental would be problematic. DH and I have significant "baggage" plus we have two pets. Our rental market is equally nuts and no one who has a nice property has to take a tenant who has pets.  

If I were in your shoes I would make sure to do my homework regarding the local rental market. If you don't need top dollar for your next move I would probably stay put to avoid the hassle of moving twice!

 

[seriousthistime]

Bonny, moving twice is exactly what I hope to avoid. Not only is it a hassle, it's expensive. 

But I have gotten into the mentality of selling sooner rather than later.  Closets are being cleaned out, stuff is being donated or FreeCycled, and I'm bringing fewer things into the house. I'm more into the repairing/maintaining mode than upgrading.

gooddecisions, we used to live in the country so my pup used to be able to run free.  When we moved she never got the hang of walking on a leash.  It's better for me to let her run in the yard than injure myself trying to teach this old dog new tricks.  Next dog will be smaller (condo size) and taught to walk on a leash from the get-go.

[Deleted]

Anything else I should be doing?

Maybe I'm just a real estate junkie, because we're not planning on selling in 9 years, but I make a point of checking out what's coming on the market and seeing a couple of open houses once a month. Not only am I checking out the inventory and seeing what people are doing to their houses but also talking to the agents about trends. Who's buying, how long is stuff staying on the market, et cetera.

So sounds like you won't make a move until you know about your job?

[seriousthistime]

Jun 8, 2013 14:00:08 GMT -5 @bonnap said:

So sounds like you won't make a move until you know about your job?

Right.  Because if my job does end and I landed a new one with the same employer, I might have to work at another location which could be as "close" as 1.5 hours each way, or could be out of state.  I have a 15 min. commute each way now.  So I would want to find another place closer to the new job.  And if instead of finding a new job I decide to retire instead, this place is going on the market in a NY minute.  And I've also been applying for other jobs with my employer, in state and out of state.  So there are a lot of balls in the air. 

I do go into open houses in my neighborhood and approximate price range, so I've seen some SFH and some townhouses over the past six months or so.  I need to make a point of doing that more consistently. 

[kent]

Getting solid offers is easy - I got two within one hour of posting 

notmsnmoney.proboards.com/thread/33159/zillow-trulia-people-crazy

[taz157]

Jun 8, 2013 14:51:54 GMT -5 kent said:

Getting solid offers is easy - I got two within one hour of posting 

notmsnmoney.proboards.com/thread/33159/zillow-trulia-people-crazy

[Deleted]

Yes. Open house is tomorrow.  I'll let you know if the market is hot or ho-hum!  I'm simplifying and letting go of an extra house.  Our prices are down so it's maybe still great for buyers, but not awesome for sellers.  I just don't want to hold this particular property anymore.
On the plus side, prices are better than a year ago.

What's crazy here are the rental rates - prices have been on a run up over the last 5 years. Rather frightening!!  I was going to start working on my primary home to get it ready for sale, but I'm gonna re-think whether I can convert it into a duplex and rent half of it out.  Just have to get a really visionary contractor to evaluate whether it should be an up/down or side to side split.  If I spent $100K on the renovation the rent would cover that refi + the taxes on the whole house.  Might make sense.