From the sounds of it, renting it will be delaying the inevitable. It'd be different if you could realistically expect the market to improve noticeably in a year. Do you expect that to happen? Do you want to be renting it in 3-4-5 years?
Also, renting it will make it HARDER to sell. No matter how nice they are, they will not take care of it like you will. And it is NOT fun or easy to sell a house that's rented. Think they will make it show really well?
Quote:
Originally Posted by mepstein
I'm a Realtor and know NJ real estate. Lower the price until it sells. Price sells houses. Renting will be a pain and the market is not coming back in NJ for a good long time. Taxes will keep going up and in 2 or 3 years, after you have a renter or 2 bail on you or stop paying rent but not leave, or a pipe burst or storm flood or kitchen fire, you'll wish you sold when things were better. Sell now, move on and have a good life. Don't think about what you paid, what you once were able to sell for or how much you are "loosing".
Lower the price, lower the price, lower the price.
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Amen. I'm a Realtor in New Brunswick, same advice. Get a good agent, get the place staged, get it priced RIGHT.
Also agree that if you owe 310k, then you are in a better position than many... sounds like you can come out clean. Don't get hung up on what it used to be worth... focus on what it will be worth a year from now.
I have dealt with homeowners in your situation. It's really tough. You want the equity that was there when the market was good, and it's hard to let go of that number. You HAVE TO, and eventually you WILL. It's a question of time, and how much suffering you will be able to handle before reality sets in.
My advice: Get a great agent in NY and get him/her to do this:
Host an agent open house & lunch, inviting PRODUCING agents to come view the property. Make sure they invite agents with competing listings, and agents who have sold similar properties. Get them to set up a contest: every agent has to guess what the house will sell for. The agent who guesses the closest to the actual sale price will win $500. Take all the entries, average them out and list your house within 2% of that number. Find out what the average buying commission is (usually half of the total commission) and post a buying commission 0.5% above that. By the way, offer to pay that $500 prize, if you get 10+ entries from strong agents, it will be the best money you could spend.
Also do this:
Tell your NY agent that when your house sells (in 30 days
) you are going to buy in NM, and you want him to refer an agent. He will probably get a 20-25% referral fee from the NM agent, which is his bonus for a job well done. But tell your NY agent that you expect him to call the broker, and interview a few agents until he finds an aggressive one who is
familiar with the types of homes you like. Make sure it's very clear that because you took a lickin' on your house in NY, you are looking to lay a terrible lickin' on a home in NM. Ask for lists of homes that have been stagnating on the market, relisted a few times, etc. Take out all your frustrations on the NM market and get a good deal. Make that part of your "fresh start" story, and take solace in it.