A glitch for some retirement plans

[Khan]

Planning to relocate/downsize?

Unsold Homes Tie Down Would-Be Transplants - New York Times

A house that he thought would bring $200,000 — its appraised price three years ago — in fact might bring only $90,000 if he were to sell it today. That was the selling price for a similar 2,500-square-foot home on the next block, and Mr. Kirkland wants more than the $125,000 in debt that he and his wife still have on their house.

[Jake46]

Not planning to relocate or downsize. I relocated to my present location after a lot of thought. I own my home (no mortgage) and consider it my home, not an investment. If it appreciates great, if not, it doesn't matter because I plan to live here a long time, God willing.

[UncleHoney]

I've been watching an older couple just three houses from me. They are both about 90 and want to move into an assisted living facility. The house was on the market last fall for 90 days and they didn't even have a nibble. Three years ago the house would have sold in a few weeks.

They are not in dire need of selling, but life doesn't get any easier for them as time goes on. Currently the house is off the market and I don't know if they have changed plans or not about moving.

[Want2retire]

Frank and I plan to sell our houses, relocate to Springfield, and buy new houses there after ER (which will be next year).

On the one hand, if our houses here sell for reduced prices, and if houses there are also low in price, we have lost nothing.

If we decide to rent for a year and housing prices increase in the meantime, we could lose a little.

What concerns me more is the spectre of having my house on the market for a YEAR before it sells. I don't like living in a house that looks perfect, and has people peering through it all the time. Ugh! So if the housing market is still slow, we might wait a year.

[Moemg]

My sister's house in Long Island ,NY has been on the market for over three years . Twice they got offers that did not close . That would drive me nuts .

[podey]

Originally Posted by Moemg

My sister's house in Long Island ,NY has been on the market for over three years . Twice they got offers that did not close . That would drive me nuts .

That would be a huge pain in the *ss

[Want2retire]

Originally Posted by Moemg

My sister's house in Long Island ,NY has been on the market for over three years . Twice they got offers that did not close . That would drive me nuts .

Me too!!

[Walt34]

I went through that in 1983. Sold the house due to divorce, she moved out and I was hanging on by my financial fingernails. It took six months, there were two mixed Shepherd/Siberian Husky dogs who shed like Pigpen so I had to vacuum every day just before leaving for work.

Ultimately the guy who bought it had never been inside! His wife went in with a Realtor and he knew me from work so he knew the house was well maintained. I don't think he even had an inspection done.

[Goonie]

Originally Posted by Want2retire

What concerns me more is the spectre of having my house on the market for a YEAR before it sells.

Perhaps I can offer you at least a glimmer of hope. About a month after Katrina, my sister put her house up for sale over in Algiers. It had sustained no damage at all from Katrina or any of the other related catastrophes in the NOLA area. It sold in 3 weeks! The lady who purchased it, had lost her house and all of of her personal belongings to the hurricane, and didn't want to leave the city.

My sister was elated to have sold it so quickly, and the lady was elated to be able to find a home in such good shape so quickly. It was a 'win-win' situation! After living in NOLA for over 30 years, she's now living about 200 mile west of Unclemick. She'll probably never have to go through another hurricane.....'cause the twisters will keep 'em away!

[Want2retire]

Originally Posted by Goonie

Perhaps I can offer you at least a glimmer of hope. About a month after Katrina, my sister put her house up for sale over in Algiers. It had sustained no damage at all from Katrina or any of the other related catastrophes in the NOLA area. It sold in 3 weeks! The lady who purchased it, had lost her house and all of of her personal belongings to the hurricane, and didn't want to leave the city.

My sister was elated to have sold it so quickly, and the lady was elated to be able to find a home in such good shape so quickly. It was a 'win-win' situation! After living in NOLA for over 30 years, she's now living about 200 mile west of Unclemick. She'll probably never have to go through another hurricane.....'cause the twisters will keep 'em away!

Thanks, Goonie! That was before the subprime mortgage problem, and the local housing market has undergone some changes since that time, but still it gives me a little hope. I'm glad she did so well.

I thought of selling my house at that time, too, since they were in such high demand then. But since almost all of the apartment buildings in my area were either uninhabitable or full of FEMA workers and insurance adjusters at the time, I needed it to live in until I could retire.

[chinaco]

We were planning to downsize when we ER. ER is still about 4 years off, so we have time for the housing market to recover. But... the timing was a bit arbitrary so we could wait longer... The general location will be the same.


Now is probably the time to buy if you are looking for a second home or vacation home.

[SteveR]

We are in the process of downsizing. We have the house listed and had an open house today. 25 people came through in a three hour period and I have a showing tomorrow and on Tuesday. We priced the house to sell so it is a bit below the market and is in a prime area.

Keeping a house ready to show is a royal pain. We did a lot to get it ready including putting a fair amount of stuff in storage, gave a bunch away, sold some and tossed some. The house looks great and all we need to do is keep it that way.....easier said than done. It takes about an hour to get the place ready to show...put the dogs in the crate...vacuum, raise all blinds, turn on all lights, clean and put away dirty dishes, straighten the bedroom and kitchen ( the only two rooms we live in for now)...etc.

It is a pain but we have little option short of buying an other house, moving all our stuff and carrying two mortgages...no thanks!

Time will tell. The housing market here is slow but not dead. The area we are in is close in to the city but also secluded so it is desireable and there are only a couple of other houses here for sale, both for much more than we are asking.