Pay Attention to your Home Value
Real Estate and Trains
Don’t be hit by the train…Pay attention!
I recently gave a talk to some local business folks. In that talk I described the distressed market, explaining short sales, foreclosures and REO’s. During the talk I was amazed to see that everyone was on the edge of their seats, and this was somewhat surprising since most of these folks were well heeled, and presumably not experiencing the market distress themselves.
After the meeting, a young couple approached me to say that they had enjoyed my talk, and would I be kind enough to talk with them further about listing and seling their condo. We talked briefly, and they indicated that they thought the home was worth about $300,000, and had been purchased some time back for $265,000. Good news, I thought. These folks CAN sell, and they are one of the lucky ones.
Then, once back at my office, I brought up their home, the comparables in their condo project, and that’s when I heard the bells ringing, the horn blowing, and watched as the gates came down just before the train blew through the intersection.
They hadn’t been paying attention, and unfortunately this train was not going to stop with good news for them. In their complex 10 condos were for sale with the same rooms and square footage. Asking prices were $155,000 to $180,000, and not one penny higher. These folks were just hit by the market decline train, and because they hadn’t been paying attention at the railroad crossing, their hopes of selling were dashed and crashed.
Pay attention, people! Real estate happens, and it’s happening to you, around you, and because of you right now. When markets are declining or rising rapidly, that’s when it is most important to pay attention. Stray from that attention, and the train that left the station with your money on it won’t be coming back through town for quite some time.
No related posts.
Equal Housing Opportunity. Equal Opportunity Employer.