Comments on: Housing Market of Horrors: A 20-Something’s Guide to Buying a Home

By: Prozac.

Prozac. — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 22:24:07 +0000

Prozac….

Prozac side effects. Prozac side effects night sweats….

By: Dagger Article on Housing Market « Teacups & Tabbies

Dagger Article on Housing Market « Teacups & Tabbies — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:31:37 +0000

[...] January 31, 2008 by kloh Another one of my articles was published on The Dagger today. I may be doing an interview with the Baltimore Sun about housing trends. I got an email from the real estate reporter there. I’ll keep you updated. Check out The Dagger to read Housing Market of Horrors: A 20-Something’s Guide To Buying a Home. [...]

By: Helen

Helen — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 21:26:44 +0000

Kristi what a great article, we just love reading your stuff.

By: Brian

Brian — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 15:17:31 +0000

Here’s my unique situation: I’m a buyer, a seller, an owner and a landlord all rolled into one. I live in a house. I rent a townhouse. I may be looking into selling the townhouse to buy some forested acreage behind the house I live in. It’s a delicate dance because, as real estate prices drop, so too drops the price of the land I’m trying to acquire. But the profit I can make off selling my townhouse (which I need to buy the land behind the house I live in), also drops.

That’s not even taking into consideration finding a new renter (my old renter just moved out after getting laid off from his job) to cover one of my two mortgages, but who also understands I may be forcefully evicting them if and when I can sell the townhouse.

Truth be told, I’d be happier leaving all these dwellings behind and sleeping in a tent out here in the woods, or in a cave. Or in a tent in a cave.

By: Kristi

Kristi — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 22:01:47 +0000

Dell, I think it really just depends on how flexible you’re willing to be about the price and how long you mind sitting on the market. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with FSBO, but a lot of owners are stubborn about their offer and won’t come down in price. Right now, the best way to sell is to be willing to give a little. People who own homes are having trouble selling, and people who are buying (mostly young adults) are unable to afford a lot of the offers. The houses getting the most tours are the ones lower on the market. People are just too nervous about the economy to be thinking as big as they once were, in my opinion.

By: Dell

Dell — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:29:54 +0000

Clutter is key, when you’re getting ready to show your place. We wound up moving three pickup truck loads of “stuff” out, and it really made a difference. Since we’re on this topic, I’d like to see people’s opinions on For Sale By Owner. Given the economic situation, that 6% commission looks pretty huge about now. Anecdotally, we sold our THS FSBO, and had a contract in less than 14 days.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:25:25 +0000

Great article. Thanks for the insight. Shortly, my wife and I will unfortunately (?) be trying to sell our house in Baltimore because we both recently got new jobs in the DC area and can no longer stand the commute. We love the place, but it is easier to find a good house than 2 good jobs. We’ve already bought some new appliances and are getting ready to spruce it up to be shown. Clutter will be my sworn enemy.

By: Dagger Article on Housing Market « Conjuring Ink

Dagger Article on Housing Market « Conjuring Ink — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:20:58 +0000

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:55:17 +0000

Great article Kristi! One thing that does work to your advantage in this market is that you don’t have to sell an existing home first in order to buy your new home. I know many people whose houses took over a year to sell, or are still on the market approaching 2 years.

By: Dell

Dell — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 13:03:24 +0000

Coming up on the one year anniversary for house number two. We started in a townhouse eleven years ago. I didn’t like the direction the neighborhood was taking, so we decided it was time to move on. Both the wife and I were in much better positions at our jobs, and there were a lot of single family homes really close by that were languishing on the market.
And, as it would become readily apparent, many of them were languishing because they were, um, untidy, and in disrepair. In one house, the floor slanted down in both directions from the center beam of the house.
Noticibly. Slanted. Like a funhouse at a carnival.
Another home had apparently been the home of a precocious teenager, who saw fit to write her name on all four walls of her bedroom. With a Sharpie. Several Sharpies. Big, cursive writing. “A” for penmanship. “F” for asthetics.
Went into one house where the family decided to all just wait on the back deck while we toured inside. Almost all. The daughter was engaged in an animated discourse on the phone in her room and could not be disturbed. Imagine our surprise when we were told to “go away.”