IF you bought a home in the heigth of the real estate market...would you sell now at a loss?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. We bought our first home in the height of crazy DC real estate market (July 2004)....we had put multiple bids with escalation clauses on about 10 prior houses and they'd get sold to someone else within minutes. We were determined not to escalate more than what WE thought the home was valued at. I think that principle,,,plus finding a FSBO that most of the realtors wouldn't show (we didn't use an agent) is the main reason. It is a rowhouse in Georgetown with comparables selling now for about $50-75k more than what we originally paid. We are keeping it as an investment anyways so long term outlook is good. Already renting about $700/month more than our mortgage on it.

What is the point of your post? If comparables are seeling for more than what you paid, how are you taking a loss (unless you put a ton of money into it). I think you just wanted to show off about your good fortune. Boo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. We bought our first home in the height of crazy DC real estate market (July 2004)....we had put multiple bids with escalation clauses on about 10 prior houses and they'd get sold to someone else within minutes. We were determined not to escalate more than what WE thought the home was valued at. I think that principle,,,plus finding a FSBO that most of the realtors wouldn't show (we didn't use an agent) is the main reason. It is a rowhouse in Georgetown with comparables selling now for about $50-75k more than what we originally paid. We are keeping it as an investment anyways so long term outlook is good. Already renting about $700/month more than our mortgage on it.

What is the point of your post? If comparables are seeling for more than what you paid, how are you taking a loss (unless you put a ton of money into it). I think you just wanted to show off about your good fortune. Boo.

I just read the subject line....i thought it was just asking how many ppl bought at the top and would their house still be of the same value or more? Sorry for the confusion.

[Anonymous]

Not to hijack, but when (if) will the real estate market recover??? Will it ever?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. We bought our first home in the height of crazy DC real estate market (July 2004)....we had put multiple bids with escalation clauses on about 10 prior houses and they'd get sold to someone else within minutes. We were determined not to escalate more than what WE thought the home was valued at. I think that principle,,,plus finding a FSBO that most of the realtors wouldn't show (we didn't use an agent) is the main reason. It is a rowhouse in Georgetown with comparables selling now for about $50-75k more than what we originally paid. We are keeping it as an investment anyways so long term outlook is good. Already renting about $700/month more than our mortgage on it.

false

[Anonymous]

When was the height of the market craziness? 2005? 2006? Just wondering...

[Anonymous]

I bought in 2005 and considered it the height...however, a realtor told me that if you look at the original purchase date of a house in foreclosure, it is almost always 2006.

[Anonymous]

I agree the height was in 2006 (probably spring); we bought in fall of 2007, right before the first turmoil in the financial sector hit. Little did we know ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I bought in 2005 and considered it the height...however, a realtor told me that if you look at the original purchase date of a house in foreclosure, it is almost always 2006.

It was late 2004/2005 for Georgetown. It had already stabilized/with minor declines by 2006. Arlington/Clarendon the height was definitely later-- mid-2006 (this had to do with much of the revitilization of the Wilson/Clarendon corridor). We picked up a home in Clarendon in 2009 for less than it would have been in 2006---but we still faced MULTIPLE contracts and the houses are still selling in under 1 week.

Each zipcode is slightly different.

[Anonymous]

We are actually not planning to sell our overpriced TH - so we'll rent it out instead and save up a new downpayment for a new house like we never had this one. That way, once TH mortgage is paid off, it will roughly coincide with college for the munchkins. Will use proceeds from TH to pay for that.

This only works b/c DH and I are ok with doing a starter type home again for the next house and our income / savings is reasonably healthy - not awesome, but good.

[Anonymous]

Rent the property - then you can deduct the loss on the property against your ordinary income when you sell it.

[Anonymous]

OP - Your mortgage payments are worth more than your house. It'll be really really hard to get another loan to buy another house.

[Anonymous]

OP, have you considered selling or renting out your home, and then renting a lower cost one?

[Anonymous]

Forgive me please, if this is a stupid question, but if you're selling at a loss, do you have the 30k to just write a check to the bank for the difference, then you write another hefty check for the new downpayment, or are you somehow rolling in the 30k loss to a new loan?

We're also in the hole, and would like to refi to make our rate more reasonable, but I am afraid the house is too far underwater to be considered. We love the place, don't want to move any time soon, but will in all likelihood only ever break even when/if we move. We're in a 2/br 2/ba townhome in Falls Church.

[Anonymous]

We would just lose the 30K alltogether. We would receive less at settlement due to the decreased value of our home. In the past few years we have been very diligent to overpay our mortgage bills such that when we do sell it (hopefully) will not be a short sale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We would just lose the 30K alltogether. We would receive less at settlement due to the decreased value of our home. In the past few years we have been very diligent to overpay our mortgage bills such that when we do sell it (hopefully) will not be a short sale.

huh