St. Paul Real Estate: Timing is everything

There is a right time to sell a home and a wrong time. I have written on this topic before but because of the phone calls I have been getting lately I think I need to repeat myself.

Some how people have gotten the idea that buying and selling real estate, frequently is a good idea, or even a way to get rich. It didn't used to be that way. People looked at homes as a place to live.

I get phone calls from people who bought homes two years ago and are kind of thinking they might like to move. I hate to get all parental with them, but I do. Sometimes I even say no, you can't move you have to stay where you are.

I know they can move any time they want to, and it is their decision but I want them to really think about it and listen to what I have to say. If they still want to move I will be there for them. I have lockboxes and contracts in my car, and can maybe even find a pen.

Sometimes people have to move and that is different. This is about people who kind of think they want to move because maybe they kind of want a change. They want to know how much their home is worth, which is always good to know, and they look at me in shock and disbelief when I say, oh about the same as it was worth when you bought it two years ago. (I always take a step back at that point too, just in case)

Don't even think about buying a home if you can't live in it for at least five years. I know you can move any time you want to and when you do I make some money. The truth is that it costs money to buy a home, and it costs money to sell a home and it may not be the best use of financial resources to move around for the heck of it. Again it is your money and your choice. I would choose differently.

This post is not aimed at the wealthy, it is aimed at the average Joe. Buying a home is expensive, and not just an investment but also a place to live. Consider living in it for a while, and building some equity. Call me in 4 or 5 years and I won't give you a lecture, and will be nice no matter what you say because I really do like to sell homes.

The clock in the picture is the Land mark Center Building on 6th Street downtown.

Comments

Las Vegas Guy said at September 05, 2007 at 02:37 AM

Not to mention that there aren't as many loan programs available as there once was.
Erik Hare said at September 05, 2007 at 08:58 AM

Las Vegas Guy, you raise a very good point. A side-by-side comparison of all the programs and products available, say, in 2002 and now would be very enlightening.

Perhaps mortgages and banking are getting a lot more boring again. I still say that's a good thing overall, because the last thing a mortgage company needs is a very exciting loss mitigation department. Heck, that's the last thing anyone needs.

Thanks for saying it again, T. Perhaps you should have a post that is automatically repeated every month, just to be sure. :-)
Teresa Boardman said at September 05, 2007 at 09:43 AM

Good point Las Vegas Guy. Maybe I should ask them to get pre-approved for a mortgage before I talk to them about not listing their home. :) Now if I could just find a way to get paid for not listing a home.

Erik - it doesn't work that way. I just keep repeating the same thing over and over. As I wrote this last night an email came in from a homeowner who bought their home in 2005.
Bubble_Up said at September 05, 2007 at 11:06 AM

Good advice, Ms. Boardman -- in a better system, you WOULD be paid for such counsel, since you're saving the would-be sellers thousands of dollars, not to mention time and stress.