Sell now, buy when???

akim997

New member
I'm thinking of selling our 1500sq ft place now, and purchasing up. I think it's a good time to sell since rates are still down (thanks fed) and the credit is still there. im going to guess that housing prices will drop later this year, and that it will be a decent time to purchase. even if mortgage rates go up, I wouldnt be opposed to taking out a 5/1 @ ~5.5-5.75%.

The reason I ended up down this path is that 99.99% of current sellers don't want any part of a contingent sale. Cash in hand is what counts. Even the finance guy @ Woodbury said, "Oh... I see that you have a home, is it sold? On the market? He seemed to not like the fact that we would be a contingent seller.

I will say that it is a bit scary going down this path. Let's say we sell and close escrow by the end of March. We'd be out of a place for a while. Even though not very likely, what if Irvine RE continues to skyrocket? These are the thoughts that worry me. Is anyone else in this same position? What are you thinking about at this moment in time?

Thanks.
 
is it 2 years that you have to buy before the gain off the sale is considered capital gains?

If it was me, I would sign at least a 1 year lease for now, then rediscuss your options when the lease is up on whether you want to renew or not.
 
We were in your shoes last October. Our house was also 1550sq ft. Once our house was on the market, it was sold within two weeks. Escrow closed 30 days after. Like you said, it was scary and it took me a while to soak it all in. One thing that I didn't count on was that deals wasn't all that great for resells, short sales(or owner filing BK) and REO(kept getting postponed). Keep getting out bid was beyond frustrating. Towards the end of the year, there was nothing really good on the market. If I were calling the shots, I would be renting for a little longer and maybe only jump in when there is a good deal. It's so hard to pin point a time. Anyhow, the wife wants to settle down quick with our little one so we went with the 2010 collection. Overall, we are happy with our choice, can we do better? for sure. Believe me, we were also looking in Orange. There were a few deals but either the deal isn't all that great meaning still about 300 per SQFT or wife thinks the house is too old. But then, it's something we need to get done so we can move on to other things instead of constantly house hunting.
 
[quote author="akim997"]I'm thinking of selling our 1500sq ft place now, and purchasing up. I think it's a good time to sell since rates are still down (thanks fed) and the credit is still there. im going to guess that housing prices will drop later this year, and that it will be a decent time to purchase. even if mortgage rates go up, I wouldnt be opposed to taking out a 5/1 @ ~5.5-5.75%.

The reason I ended up down this path is that 99.99% of current sellers don't want any part of a contingent sale. Cash in hand is what counts. Even the finance guy @ Woodbury said, "Oh... I see that you have a home, is it sold? On the market? He seemed to not like the fact that we would be a contingent seller.

I will say that it is a bit scary going down this path. Let's say we sell and close escrow by the end of March. We'd be out of a place for a while. Even though not very likely, what if Irvine RE continues to skyrocket? These are the thoughts that worry me. Is anyone else in this same position? What are you thinking about at this moment in time?

Thanks.[/quote]

Some options:

1. Find out who says they know exactly what the future holds, and run as fast as you can away from them.

2. When you write "we," who is that referring to? Is that two of you, three of you, or more? I ask because it makes a difference to your situational risk tolerance. For example, I enjoyed skydiving (3 minutes) and bullriding (0.75 glorious seconds) as a single guy. As a married father of two, those items have slid way down on my "acceptable behavior" profile. You need to keep in mind how many mouths you are gambling with.

3. You seem to be aware of the risks of your timing. I believe you wrote previously that you hold other income properties, as well. You can increase, decrease, or hold steady at your RE position, and the decision really has to be up to you.

Whatever you decide, I wouldn't dwell on the "shoulda/coulda/woulda" scenarios. Act decisively and decide make the best of you new situation.

Good luck,
-IrvineRealtor
 
[quote author="akim997"]I'm thinking of selling our 1500sq ft place now, and purchasing up. I think it's a good time to sell since rates are still down (thanks fed) and the credit is still there. im going to guess that housing prices will drop later this year, and that it will be a decent time to purchase. even if mortgage rates go up, I wouldnt be opposed to taking out a 5/1 @ ~5.5-5.75%.

The reason I ended up down this path is that 99.99% of current sellers don't want any part of a contingent sale. Cash in hand is what counts. Even the finance guy @ Woodbury said, "Oh... I see that you have a home, is it sold? On the market? He seemed to not like the fact that we would be a contingent seller.

I will say that it is a bit scary going down this path. Let's say we sell and close escrow by the end of March. We'd be out of a place for a while. Even though not very likely, what if Irvine RE continues to skyrocket? These are the thoughts that worry me. Is anyone else in this same position? What are you thinking about at this moment in time?

Thanks.[/quote]
I was in your shoes back in 2008 when I decided to sell my Irvine condo. For me it worked out great because the same floorplan would sell for about 10% less than what I sold it for. It's hard to say what the market will do in the next few years but I would bet that prices won't skyrocket up (too many economic headwinds out there). If I had to make a prediction it would be that home prices might fluctuate from 10% down to 10% down for the next 2-3 years. At the end of the day it comes down to your personal financial situation. For example, if you have a very low mortgage then you are paying less a month than you would be if you were renting. Where would you put your net sales proceeds (in terms of investments)? Would you and your wife be comfortable enough to rent for the next 2-3 years? It's true that Irvine is in a strong seller's market right now with new listing prices heading up so you could hold out to try to get your price.
 
thanks for all the advice. right now our payment is prob eq. to what u could rent a 2BR apt for. my general feeling is that i can get an extra 30-40K out of the prop now than what i could later this year. as far as what we would do with the money, it would have to stay in cash/eq. im in the investment mgmt biz, and am weary of cap mkts as well as RE. after much thought, im not going to time the market, but i just want to be comfortable with the price im paying for the house we expect to be in for the next 15-20 yrs. also for that reason, we really want to get a house we really love.
 
im going to look at a couple of places today. i've ventured into "old northwood territory"... a bit more bang for the buck. yes, houses are built in the 80's, but lots are decent, no mellos, and some homes have been redone.
 
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