Selling your Home

[RoJoHen]

To me, credit is no longer a reasonable indicator about someone's viability as a rental candidate. Our credit is shot all to hell, but wherever we live, when we move out, we leave it better than when we moved in, going so far as to touch up walls, repair faucets and drains, etc. My father is an expert landscaper, and adds value to the property whenever he landscapes around the house (which he always does).

I realize it's difficult to find a good tenant, but credit isn't the indicator it once was, particularly in this economy.

I completely agree. In fact, in all the places I've lived, I've never once had my credit checked before being allowed to rent.

I'd rather take the referral from a previous landlord than a credit check. My credit is awful, but I'm the best tenant you could possibly ask for.

 

[Squiggy]

They check credit in the DC region. It varies from area to area depending on local regulations and market particularities.

 

[JoeZhang]

Do people rent their own houses? Here in the UK, I simply get a letting agent to do it for a cut - far less hassle.

 

[RoJoHen]

Do people rent their own houses? Here in the UK, I simply get a letting agent to do it for a cut - far less hassle.

People rent their own houses all the time. It honestly wouldn't cross my mind that there would be another option.

 

[Snaploud]

After 17 months of unemployment (laid off from IBM, along with thousands of others as IBM offshores everything not nailed down) I am moving back to Anchorage, Alaska, where I have already secured a good job. For 17 months, I shot thousands of resumes into black holes and networked my ass off here in Atlanta, to no avail. I have a really great resume, but there are simply no real jobs, even if one is willing to take a huge cut in pay. Once I started looking in Anchorage, however, it was 1 week before I got my first interview, and less than a month before I secured a job (including flying up there for interviews).

As the OP may be aware, however, in addition to very high unemployment, Atlanta has one of the worst housing markets in the country, so my house here is like a anchor chained to my leg. I bought it 6 years ago for $200K (3BR, 3.5BA, garage, large finished basement including a rec room and gym) with a $50K 25% down-payment. Now, assuming I could sell it AT ALL (which is unlikely) I'd be lucky to get out of it without having to write a check. The Atlanta housing market has fallen an average of 35%, and over 22% of our homes are now sitting empty after foreclosure.

But the thing is, there are no buyers - at ANY price. Everyone who could qualify for a home before the recession was in one...and now, the only people who are NOT in a house they are chained to like a ball & chain are people who are even LESS likely to qualify than they were before...and people who have been foreclosed on and are thus ineligible.

Because of these circumstances, I am moving into a 1BR apartment in Anchorage, and although I'm moving a bunch of stuff up there (my new company is paying for my move), alot of it will go directly into storage so that I can afford both the mortgage here in Atlanta AND rent in Anchorage. And even then, I will have to live on a university student-level budget with few extras and no luxuries at all. All because I cannot get out of this damn house and will have to maintain it to the tune of about $1,300+ per month (including basic utilities) when I'm not even living in it.

I hope to rent out my home here in Atlanta, thus giving myself a reasonable standard of living again. But time will tell what I can get in rent. I have read that nationally, rents have been going up because there are so many people who have been foreclosed on and are thus in the rental market, ineligible to buy. But we'll see how that works in my case.

I don't have much choice though. In Anchorage, there are jobs aplenty for professionals (I'm a CPA). In Atlanta, there are hardly any - HR managers I know tell me they get over 800 resumes for every opening they put out there...and many of those 'openings' aren't even real - only being advertised for legal reasons, despite the job having already been promised to someone within the company.

I may have to live like a pauper in Anchorage...but at least I'll have a job again, which is better than the situation I'm in now. I can't go another 17 months unemployed - I'd lose the house in any case, if I had to do that. And no one I know here in Atlanta expects the employment situation to improve any time soon. So there is not much of a 'choice' to be made here.

I think what you're doing takes a lot of courage. I hope it works out for you.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Has lot to do with the people, who often feel entitled and superior and tons of other adjectives I could add. It also feels like you are living on top of each other, little to no room. The traffic, takes forever to get anywhere.

It gets us away from Long Island, which we both hate.

Any particular reason?

 

[Guartho]

Oh you're on Long Island... Ok, I'm guessing it's still worth a touch more than 250k then.

 

[JiNX-01]

Be very, very careful about renting. When you get the applicant's credit report, scrutinize it thoroughly, ask the applicant for an explanation for every negative on it and then confirm what they tell you. My agent didn't do that and I got stuck with a deadbeat.

So are you still renting out your house then? How have you found that? I mean, besides the deadbeat? Did they just not pay? Or did they destroy your house too?

I would actually be willing to take a lower rent from someone who was reliable and who would not destroy the house. My sister is acting as my 'agent' for that reason: because most of the property managers simply run a credit report and that's it - if the person has money, they can rent the house - no references from former landlords about how they treated the property, etc. There are a few rentals in my subdivision now (several people have had to move out of state to get jobs), and a few of them are going downhill quick. Which is, of course, not helping any of us who want to sell or rent our own homes.

And propita, thanks so much for your kind words. I really appreciate it. I'm just doing what I have to do, before it's too late and I have no money left for a move out of here. I did everything I could here...but the job market is just flat. I really worry about the long-term future of Atlanta. This city has been all about the construction industry and the real estate industry for a very long time...but nothing is coming back to life. I know engineers and architects who have been out of work for over 3 years here...and no end in sight. It's pretty grim.

No, I'm NOT renting the house anymore.
The family was removed by sheriff's deputies in March. She still owes me $5,000 in back rent and and more then $900 in court and various other expenses to get an eviction judgment against her. She didn't take away her property until six weeks after the family was removed.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Renting out the house is not a reality for us. One, we will be almost 300 miles away in upstate NY. There is no way we could get rent to come anywhere close to covering the mortgage. We also don't want to be landlords and all the headaches that come with it.

One of the other reasons to get out of here is, we don't really belong. Were more open country type folk. We like to grow our own things, we do jarring and canning. We love to go hiking and camping. All that stuff is at least an hour away from where we live.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

No, I'm NOT renting the house anymore.
The family was removed by sheriff's deputies in March. She still owes me $5,000 in back rent and and more then $900 in court and various other expenses to get an eviction judgment against her. She didn't take away her property until six weeks after the family was removed.

Wow, that's a major bummer. Sounds like it ended up costing you money to try and rent out your house!

So is your house sitting empty then? How are you able to afford that? If I could afford it, I wouldn't mind leaving my house empty. It's better than having the sort of experience you had!

Sounds like you are not planning to move back to where your house is though...bummer that you have this house with no plans to ever move back there. At least in my case, my sister and her family is here in Atlanta. So I guess I have a reason to come back - at least to visit.

What do you plan to do? I'm really curious as it sounds like we are in much the same boat.



And Tom, trust me...I don't have any interest in being a landlord either...and I'm moving over 5,000 miles away - not just a few hundred! But in today's market, there is not much choice - at least here in Atlanta. Real Estate is simply not moving at all, so I am stuck with this house.

But getting a job here is equally impossible. This town is completely stagnant - which is why we have the highest foreclosure rate in the country right now. People lose their jobs and can't even sell their house to save themselves. They can't find a job here...but they can't get out of their house so they can move where the jobs are either. So they sit around until they go through all of their savings...and then lose the house anyway. Atlanta is a pretty grim picture.

The bottom line is that in today's economy, lots of people are having to make some really hard choices. Lord knows that I've had a pretty terrible 17 months, and the immediate future is not looking to be a picnic either, since I'll be supporting two homes. But at least I have the blessing of having lived in Alaska before. which made securing a job up there a lot easier. Alaskans don't really like to hire out-of-state, because they are afraid that people will get a month into winter and high-tail it back to the Lower 48. But I lived there for 11 years and know what I'm getting into, weather-wise...and I have friends up there still. So that made me a more attractive candidate. Thank goodness for that, because I really need to start making some money again.

 

[JiNX-01]

No, I'm NOT renting the house anymore.
The family was removed by sheriff's deputies in March. She still owes me $5,000 in back rent and and more then $900 in court and various other expenses to get an eviction judgment against her. She didn't take away her property until six weeks after the family was removed.

Wow, that's a major bummer. Sounds like it ended up costing you money to try and rent out your house!

Yup. She called me last week and claims she'll be sending me money eventually when her finances work out. I'll believe it when it happens.

So is your house sitting empty then? How are you able to afford that? If I could afford it, I wouldn't mind leaving my house empty. It's better than having the sort of experience you had!

Yes, the house is vacant. I had it boarded up (you can't get vacant-property insurance unless it's boarded up).

Sounds like you are not planning to move back to where your house is though...bummer that you have this house with no plans to ever move back there. At least in my case, my sister and her family is here in Atlanta. So I guess I have a reason to come back - at least to visit.

Not much point to moving back into the house. I'm making arrangements to give the bank the deed in lieu of payment. I'm behind on the mortgage. Unemployment ran out in June.

Anyway, I'm living in my parents' home (mortgage was paid off back in the '80s. My parents are gone and my dad told my brother (the executor) he wanted me to live here for the rest of my life.

And Tom, trust me...I don't have any interest in being a landlord either...and I'm moving over 5,000 miles away - not just a few hundred! But in today's market, there is not much choice - at least here in Atlanta. Real Estate is simply not moving at all, so I am stuck with this house.

You might look into turning the deed over to the bank in lieu of payment. Depending on your financial situation, the bank might accept it. Consult a financial advisor before making such as decision. Not sure what it would do to your credit rating.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

Yup. She called me last week and claims she'll be sending me money eventually when her finances work out. I'll believe it when it happens.

Yeah...I wouldn't be holding my breath, unfortunately. If you get anything at all, at this point, it's a gift.

Yes, the house is vacant. I had it boarded up (you can't get vacant-property insurance unless it's boarded up).

You mean there are literally boards covering the windows and everything? I don't think they would let me do that here...not to mention the fact that my window frames are not wood, so it would destroy my windows and probably the vinyl siding as well....

Not much point to moving back into the house. I'm making arrangements to give the bank the deed in lieu of payment. I'm behind on the mortgage. Unemployment ran out in June.

Yeah...I still have some time left on my unemployment as I was able to drum up a bit of contract work here and there over the past 17 months (about 18 weeks, total). But my COBRA ran out from IBM, and the contract work didn't come with benefits, of course...so right now I have no medical insurance. It REALLY sucks, since I've had some health issues lately, and no doctor will see me in this town without insurance. Never thought that with a resume like mine, I'd be in this situation. In accounting, you pay a LOT of dues early in your career with the idea being that it will all pay off later and you'll make some big bucks. But this recession has really kicked the shit out of that idea. Now, they don't want people like me - I'm overqualified (translated: too expensive).

So far, thanks to the contract work and extremely frugal living (I've lived off of spaghetti, rice and PB&J for 17 months, do not use my car except to go to the store and for job hunting, have not left the city of Atlanta at all, had NO Christmas at all (and likely won't have one this year either), and with the exception of a few CDs, have purchased no extras of any kind), I am still current on my bills. But this is not living - what I have been doing for the past 17 months is merely existing. I don't go anywhere, I don't do anything that involves spending any money at all. And there is only so long you can live like that. Plus, even the contract work has pretty much dried up now...so I had to do something drastic in order to survive. So off to Alaska I go.

Hey...when I went there the first time after college, I arrived in Anchorage with only 2 suitcases. At least this time, I'll have more than that!

Still, I feel like a refugee. Thank goodness for my friends up there, who are letting me live with them for a month while my stuff is in transit...because I have no money for a month-long stay in a hotel. I'd have been living in my car if it wasn't for them!

Hard to imagine that 2 years ago, I was making $100K a year and hadn't a financial worry in the world.

Anyway, I'm living in my parents' home (mortgage was paid off back in the '80s. My parents are gone and my dad told my brother (the executor) he wanted me to live here for the rest of my life.

Well, that's good, anyway - at least you have a place to live! What are the job prospects where you are living now? Hopefully, better than where you were... What do you do, anyway? Is your field of work picking up at all where you live now? I hope so!

You might look into turning the deed over to the bank in lieu of payment. Depending on your financial situation, the bank might accept it. Consult a financial advisor before making such as decision. Not sure what it would do to your credit rating.

Yeah...I think giving your house back to the bank really screws up your credit. And I have the unfortunate circumstance of being an accountant, by profession...a profession where they routinely run background checks on job applicants and outright reject those applicants whose credit is bad. No one wants to hire a financial adviser whose own finances are FUBAR, you know?

So giving the house back to the bank will only be my last resort.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

Renting out the house is not a reality for us. One, we will be almost 300 miles away in upstate NY. There is no way we could get rent to come anywhere close to covering the mortgage. We also don't want to be landlords and all the headaches that come with it.

One of the other reasons to get out of here is, we don't really belong. Were more open country type folk. We like to grow our own things, we do jarring and canning. We love to go hiking and camping. All that stuff is at least an hour away from where we live.

Tom, i'm on LI too. And....i hear ya. We recently went through so much rigamarole and bullshit trying to sell the father in law's house, which was in a great part of East Meadow (not far from you). His house was worth WAY MORE than we had to sell it for. AND we gutted it and updated the entire thing. It megasucked verily.

I hate to say it, but unfortunately at that price i don't think you're gonna sell. You're gonna have to come way down on the price in this market. I know you aren't looking for advice and really just wanted to vent, but the reality is, nothing is going for that much on LI unless you have lots of property.
And your area doesn't have it.

We also hate LI. Unless you're somewhere in one of the really upscale neighborhoods on the north shore or out east, we are all on top of each other here. I have one friggin' tree on my property. That's it. And i can hear my neighbors blow their noses.

LI sucks. And im with you. If i die on LI i will kill myself. I want to go out west where i can breathe.

Good luck hon. I hope you guys get what you're looking for.

 

[Holdfast]

And Tom, trust me...I don't have any interest in being a landlord either...and I'm moving over 5,000 miles away - not just a few hundred!

Look into JoeZhang's advice below. It's what I do too, and the small percentage they take is totally worth it. Plus it negates the distance issue completely, as your involvement in the process is limited to an occasional email authorising repair budgets or whatever. Good luck with the new job!

Do people rent their own houses? Here in the UK, I simply get a letting agent to do it for a cut - far less hassle.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

And Tom, trust me...I don't have any interest in being a landlord either...and I'm moving over 5,000 miles away - not just a few hundred!

Look into JoeZhang's advice below. It's what I do too, and the small percentage they take is totally worth it. Plus it negates the distance issue completely, as your involvement in the process is limited to an occasional email authorising repair budgets or whatever. Good luck with the new job!

Do people rent their own houses? Here in the UK, I simply get a letting agent to do it for a cut - far less hassle.

Holdfast, I thought about a property manager, but in these parts, they don't have very good reputations. All they do is get someone into the house who can (theoretically) pay the rent. They don't get rental references from former landlords - only a credit report.

As a result, there is a huge problem with renters destroying the homes they rent - sometimes even gutting a home and stealing the appliances, etc. And the property manager is not liable for any of that. As the owner, you simply have to come up with the money for new appliances, new carpets, etc for the next renter, replacing everything the first renter trashed or stole.

My sister is going to watch over the property after I'm gone and rent it out. We are hoping to find someone who is reliable and responsible - I'd give a cheap rent to someone I could rely on. I'm really just interested in the renter covering the mortgage...

Do you guys have a problem in the UK with renters trashing your homes?

 

[Guartho]

There are a lot of shitty property managers in the US. Everyone I know that has used one has regretted it. One guy was so pissed off at the level of service he received that he became a real estate agent and property manager himself because he saw an opportunity to make a lot of money by being competent.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

There are a lot of shitty property managers in the US. Everyone I know that has used one has regretted it. One guy was so pissed off at the level of service he received that he became a real estate agent and property manager himself because he saw an opportunity to make a lot of money by being competent.

Yeah...that's about the same reputation they have around here - all they care about is getting their cut of the rent. They don't care if the tenants they put in there destroy your property - after all, THEY don't have to pay for the extensive repairs. The owner does.

If there were reliable property managers around, I'd use them...but like you, I have yet to meet the person who had a good experience with a property manager.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

A little update. We had our first offer on the house, a little more then 6 months on the market. The offer was 439,000, that is 160,000 less then our asking price. Yeah, we rejected it right away without even a counter. Secondly my wife is going to be speaking with the person who would be her boss about the situation tonight. So will have more info later on.

 

[Scout101]

Couple things:

-Just running the math, 439k offer + 160k means listed at 599k, right? And you listed it at 80k less than you paid, meaning you paid 679k for this house? No idea what the market is like in Long Island, but that just seems like a ton. Can't tell much about the interior, how many bed/bath, but yikes. Also a ton to spend if you don't love the area, i guess.

-I don't get the point of not countering. I mean, 160k under the list price is pretty damned low, but at least responding with a counter-offer that's close to your list price shows you're engaged in the process, and not just rejecting things waiting for full price. If the offer wasn't even countered, they're just as likely to walk away as they are to put in another number.

-Have you had an appraisal done? Not the realtor going through and deciding to list for X, but the same kind the buyer is going to get if an offer is accepted. Might be worth the $400 or so bucks. You'll find out what you can actually SELL the house for, and what a buyer can really pay. Original price is meaningless, as sad as that is to say. If the appraiser says it's worth about $450k compared to other completed sales, you couldn't get someone to pay you 599k even if they lined up with offers; the bank wouldn't give anyone that loan. At least, not without them coming up with 150k in cash to start the process.

-Along those lines, what's the market really like there? Not what people are listing things for, but prices homes are SELLING at. Maybe your $599k price is in line with that, but I'm guessing that if this is the first offer in 6 months, and it's that far below asking price, the asking price might not be lining up with other properties.

 

[Snaploud]

I wish you luck. Ouch.