So this afternoon I had a conversation with my agent and I asked him to be brutally honest with me. He advised that at the price I'm asking, potential buyers are expecting to see new paint with brand new flooring throughout. I'm not prepared to spend the money - in reality I don't have either the savings or sufficient credit to pour a bunch of money into the house in the hopes that I'll make at least a portion of that back. So tomorrow we'll do up the paperwork to cancel the first listing and set up a new one at a much reduced price.
A close friend recently had her home appraised, unfortunately because of an impending divorce, and her home was appraised at the amount I currently have mine listed. But her home is bigger, has a large yard, and has new windows and doors, in addition to other updates. That was the eye-opener for me as I had to realize that I won't get out of this house what I've invested in it. In fact the new asking price will be several thousand less than I paid for it in 2010. Sadly, because of the glut of properties on the market and that I haven't been able to invest as much as buyers would expect the value simply isn't there.
But when I think back, to the old house I realize I'm still ahead of the game. I bought the 920 square foot, three bed, 2 bath property in 2000 for around $80,000. I sold it in 2010 for nearly 3 times that much! Today similar properties are on the market well under $200,000.So despite the fact I'll "lose" money on this sale, I am certain I will still recoup the down payment I made on this house, plus a decent portion of the principal payments I've made over the past nine years. (This is the net amount after commissions and legal fees).
While I could wait for that perfect buyer, there is no guarantee that house values won't drop even further in the next year. In fact, our local real estate board is forecasting another 4% drop in the next 12 months. With that in mind, coupled with my desire to move on, I'm prepared to swallow this bitter pill. It is going down much smoother because I realize unless I go back to work I can't afford to do the changes most buyers would expect. AND there ain't no way that's happening, I can assure you of that!I'll be back in a couple of days with an update on the rest of my week. Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!