Purron
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2007
- Messages
- 5,596
DH and I have two homes in the DC area. Our plan was to move into our rental for two years to avoid capital gains taxes then sell both our properties and find a retirement home. Well, like most areas, the real estate market is awful around here. Therefore, we have decided to stay put for a while. We are fortunate to have great renters and positive cash flow in our 2nd home.
I'm wondering if others have decided to put off the sale of real estate, and if so, when you think the real estate market might improve. I know this varies a lot depending on the area of the country you live in, but am just curious on when folks think real estate sales will improve in general.
I would also be interested in opinions on if this overall strategy is sound. Our rental property is unusual for this area in that it sits on two acres of land and is only about 25 miles from DC. Even with the big lot, it's a very modest home and would be attractive to first time home buyers, particulary those who want enough land for horses or dogs. I wonder if it would be a good idea to put it on the market, take the capital gains hit if it sells, invest the proceeds, and sell our current home when the market improves. Our current home is far from being a McMansion type of place, but is worth quite a bit more than our rental.
We look at our rental as an investment and just wonder if it's the best place for our funds now. On the one hand, selling in a down real estate market would be like selling stock when the stock market is low. On the other hand, I wonder if it would be smart to cut our losses now and move on.
I'm wondering if others have decided to put off the sale of real estate, and if so, when you think the real estate market might improve. I know this varies a lot depending on the area of the country you live in, but am just curious on when folks think real estate sales will improve in general.
I would also be interested in opinions on if this overall strategy is sound. Our rental property is unusual for this area in that it sits on two acres of land and is only about 25 miles from DC. Even with the big lot, it's a very modest home and would be attractive to first time home buyers, particulary those who want enough land for horses or dogs. I wonder if it would be a good idea to put it on the market, take the capital gains hit if it sells, invest the proceeds, and sell our current home when the market improves. Our current home is far from being a McMansion type of place, but is worth quite a bit more than our rental.
We look at our rental as an investment and just wonder if it's the best place for our funds now. On the one hand, selling in a down real estate market would be like selling stock when the stock market is low. On the other hand, I wonder if it would be smart to cut our losses now and move on.