681 replies to this topic

[monkey islanders]

Just thought I would throw this out there....may not be much interest. We are stuck in our stix and bricks waiting for it to sell and I thought there were probably be others in the same boat. I like to read about where everyone is in the 2009 Class but I feel we are in a different situation as we have yet to hit the road. In our case we have to sell the house before we can buy our 5th wheel and truck. The house has been on the market for about 3 weeks, shown twice...not bad but not sold. I have cleaned out closets, told the family and our friends our plans (that is a whole different topic)and done tons of research.... now we are just waiting. HELP!!! Someone keep me from going crazy!

[Paul Weaver]

Hi Christy & Paul

Three weeks huh......we've had our house on the market over a year (two summers - off over winter). Nothing is selling in our area in our price range. We've reduced the price by 25% this summer over last summer. We watch the title transfers listed in the paper and have concluded we may be stuck waiting for quite awhile. Ohio real estate market is very depressed. We have had numerous "lookers" but no "buyers." I believe we average at least one showing a week. We thought we sold it last November, but the buyer was unable to get bank financing (he was a self employed building contractor). This has been a very "trying" experience. I always believed when the time came to retire, I would sell the house and travel. Guess I was mistaken! Believe we missed a window of opportunity that died about 2 or 3 years ago. The American dream of home ownership has become a nightmare.

Good luck to you. Hope you have more success than we have experienced.

[Newt]

Stuck a sign in our front yard yesterday. Had a showing this AM for the listing companies agents. In our neighborhood in a small town S of Houston, recent sales haven't been bad. Just have to wait to see how ours does.

Newt

[Hopeful]

Just thought I would throw this out there....may not be much interest. We are stuck in our stix and bricks waiting for it to sell and I thought there were probably be others in the same boat. I like to read about where everyone is in the 2009 Class but I feel we are in a different situation as we have yet to hit the road. In our case we have to sell the house before we can buy our 5th wheel and truck. The house has been on the market for about 3 weeks, shown twice...not bad but not sold. I have cleaned out closets, told the family and our friends our plans (that is a whole different topic)and done tons of research.... now we are just waiting. HELP!!! Someone keep me from going crazy!

[Hopeful]

OK, this is my second try at replying and I think I sent a blank one. Sorry. Anyway, we've been lurking for years. I think we joined Escapees a few years ago, but we've been planning, saving and researching for 13 years. We had to get our son thru high school, college and then grad school. He now works for the State Dept. and is married... so we are free!!! Gee, that sounds awful... lol.
We've tried to go full timing a few times, but one thing or another put the brakes on. We've had the house for sale 2 or 3 times (in the last 2 years) here on North Padre Island in Corpus Christi. It's very slow here and we get very frustrated, but our time will come.
Our plan now is to buy a fifth wheel (Mobile Suites) or a Tiffin Phaeton motorhome (change our minds on an hourly basis) in the fall. We'll move into the RV and stage the house. That way the agent can put a lock box on and it should get shown more often and we don't have to keep the house in perfect showing condition all the time. Then if it doesn't sell by next April, we will rent it out and take off. We are NOT going to stay here for another summer!!!!
So, that's our story. I'm interested to see how many people respond. I bet there are many of us (those stuck with their sticks and bricks) who are going thru many of the same feelings and worries, such as "are we ever going to sell this place", "are we doing the right thing", "are we crazy", "are we going to have enough money", "are we going to be able to live together in 400 sq ft of space", "what are we going to do all day", etc., etc. We'd like to hear from you and could use the support as well as share what we have. All the best and good luck. Christine and Alex

Edited by Hopeful, 25 June 2009 - 02:14 PM.

[monkey islanders]

Christine and Alex:
WOW! ALL those questions actually went through my mind at one time or another today. We are very determined to make this work...our last child is leaving for college this fall and we are going to cut and run. In college orientation she was told that mom and dad may make some changes to their old room....she blurted out that we are selling her old room and hitting the road. That really got us some questionable looks. We are planning on a 5th wheel and 3/4 ton truck. They just seem to have more room and I don't want 2 engines to keep up. We are doing this all on a very tight budget so everything will be used but paid for.
It is so nice to hear from all those in that are in the same boat and are waiting and wanting like us. Good luck to everyone, it looks like the market is picking up some. Just remember all houses will sell.....for a price. Right now everyone is looking for a bargain. We just can't budge much on our price or I will be living in a pop up!!!
Good luck everyone!

[monkey islanders]

Paul,
I am so sorry for complaining after only 3 weeks when you guys have been going through this for two years. I am pretty impatient. I feel like I have waited a long time and now we are ready but can't go. I hope your market improves up there. Ours here is really pretty strong. I sell real estate here and have had 4 closings this month. Of course we live in a lake community and most of the sales are seasonal. I am sure you have done this but have your agent do another CMA to see what IS selling and for what price. Here most homes that sell are entry level...the mid level home sales are a little stagnant. Owner fianancing is helpful if you are in a position to do so. And maybe trying an agent bonus.....sorry, you probably have done all these things already but in todays market you have to do extra. Make SURE your agent has it on craigs list in your area....and get the house staged......ok I'll shut up now.
Christy

[sugar & spice]

You are not alone! The dh and I just got married about 6 months ago and are planning to hit the road in 2011. But we each had a house so we are going to have to sell 2 homes. We just moved out of my house and into his because my house is the one most likely to sell. We are in the last stages of getting it ready for market and I just hope it goes quickly. Can't afford 2 mortgages much longer. Fortunately I had been planning to sell the house for a while now and everything in it is new from the furnace and a/c to the sump pump, complete kitchen remodel, doors, windows, roof, gutters and on and on. Now the realtor says can you do something with the fence. I sure didn't plan on buying someone a new fence too. Oh well, I guess it will be worth it if it sells. Good luck to all of you and hope to see you all on the road SOON!!!

[Sigzy]

We also have been planning on fulltiming for about 5 years now.We too feel like we missed an window of opportunity about 3 years ago when the market was gang busters in our area.Our thoughts at that time were we didn't want to move twice as I was unable to take early retirement until this year. At that time we were told we would not have any trouble getting our price as we have a great location(acreage across from golf course).We are currently trying to market it on our own to keep price reasonable although we may have to reconsider.The frustrating part is that interest in the property is there but the Banks are not loaning money readily.Do not want to do financing our self but may have to reconsider that also.We have our fulltime rig ready to go so will just take short 2 or 3 week trips until it sells.
As you can see you are not alone in these frustrating times. I just keep telling myself it will all work out even if I have to adjust my plans along the way. I do know we will not give up our dream of traveling.Hope to see you all on the road somewhere.

[monkey islanders]

Wow! I guess there are a lot of us in the same boat. It is really nice to hear from everyone and maybe we can continue to lend support to each other. I do think the market is getting a little better, as long as interest rates stay low. It is a really good market if you have a home a first time home buyer will qualify for because they can use that $8K from the gov't as part of the down payment. The problem is that most of us have homes that are not in their budget.
I guess I have to be more patient.....not my strong suit. We need to sell the house no matter what, so we will reduce the price after the 4th.....it just means we may have to rent and save for our RV. Just thinking the other day that we would take a 5th wheel and truck as partial trade.....anybody ever heard of that?

[janaquilts]

Mike and I also got married 6 months ago and will be selling both houses. We have been busy getting mine ready to list. When the realtor said the outside needed to be painted before listing, I started to panic! Guess they don't give "paint allowances" anymore. So for two weeks with every spare moment, we have been scraping, caulking and painting. Boy is my arthritis speaking these days!! Should have the outside done by the end of the weekend. Also have some friends lined up to move a few of the pieces of furniture over to Mike's. Need to start moving out the stuff for the RV (whatever that might end up being) and get the small items and cleaning done on the inside. I hope to have it listed by July 1, but that might be too optimistic with still working full time. I am in a price range that first time buyers might look at -- and I have done some major updating to my house in the last three years. So we are praying that it will sell quickly. I don't have a feel for the flow of the market here -- it is slower than it was and is defiinitely a buyers market. I will let y'all know when the For Sale sign in in the yard. z z z z z Jana

[Hopeful]

Christine and Alex:
WOW! ALL those questions actually went through my mind at one time or another today. We are very determined to make this work...our last child is leaving for college this fall and we are going to cut and run. In college orientation she was told that mom and dad may make some changes to their old room....she blurted out that we are selling her old room and hitting the road. That really got us some questionable looks. We are planning on a 5th wheel and 3/4 ton truck. They just seem to have more room and I don't want 2 engines to keep up. We are doing this all on a very tight budget so everything will be used but paid for.
It is so nice to hear from all those in that are in the same boat and are waiting and wanting like us. Good luck to everyone, it looks like the market is picking up some. Just remember all houses will sell.....for a price. Right now everyone is looking for a bargain. We just can't budge much on our price or I will be living in a pop up!!!
Good luck everyone!

Christy and Paul and everyone else, We will all have to check in from time to time and try to support each other. We had our house "For Sale by Owner" and on Craigslist. Some action, but there is a few more showings with our agent. She's getting a lot of "lookers" and not many buyers. It's tough after dreaming about being able to do this and now that we want to cut loose, we can't. However, I'm finally learning that things happen for a reason and some things need time. Alex is a retired Marine. He still works on base here in Corpus. We are both in our middle/late 50's, so we are trying to retire early. We are able to do this only because he has his Marine Corps retirement. And, very important, low cost health care. So we are lucky there. We also have a dog, a greyhound named Pilot. He's a retired racer. Now he's a 40 mph coach potato. Good luck to everyone. I'm going to go out on a limb and say one us will sell in July!!! Hey, it could happen. Christine

[Paul Weaver]

Hopeful

I talked to my realtor today. She said historically July and August are VERY slow, even in a normal economy. Some of her busiest months are Sept through Nov. My contract with her expires in Oct. so maybe she's preparing me for an extension....LOL

[???]

NOT ANY MORE.

We listed our property June 10th. Yesterday we got an offer, today we countered and they accepted and want a closing date of July 8th.

Now, I guess I should say that what we had for sale was acreage plus an older model mfg home. We're not high rollers, never owned anything worth much but the land. With the sale, it will enable us to buy the fiv'er of our choice . . . already got the truck.

So . . . looks like we will be houseless, but not homeless in the next two weeks.

Charles T

Edited by One Way, 25 June 2009 - 08:00 PM.

[Paul Weaver]

Congratulations Charles.....it's guys like you that increase my feeling of depression.....LOL

You are a fortunate guy......I wish you were nearer, I'd shake your hand for some good luck!

[acoupleofboomers]

One Way, Congratulations on the sale of your home and welcome to the class of 09!. We had ours for sale for over a year. We were leaving with or without the sale to make it to the Escapade in Sedalia MO. We kept lowering the price and the house sold, with closing May 15. Some issues came up, we left anyway. It finally closed this past Wednesday. What a relief. So, Charles, hope to meet up w/ you some day.

safe travels and enjoy the ride

eric

[kc64]

We just put our house on the market last Monday and have shown it twice. The market in our area (Western MA) is still pretty good, so we're hopeful and optimistic. Plus, our house is awesome!

Anyway, we also can't buy our RV (we're wannabe full-timers) until we sell, so we're in a similar boat.

We want a diesel RV that we can convert to run on vegetable oil (if we can find the right rig), so it should be an interesting experience all around!

Keith

Just thought I would throw this out there....may not be much interest. We are stuck in our stix and bricks waiting for it to sell and I thought there were probably be others in the same boat. I like to read about where everyone is in the 2009 Class but I feel we are in a different situation as we have yet to hit the road. In our case we have to sell the house before we can buy our 5th wheel and truck. The house has been on the market for about 3 weeks, shown twice...not bad but not sold. I have cleaned out closets, told the family and our friends our plans (that is a whole different topic)and done tons of research.... now we are just waiting. HELP!!! Someone keep me from going crazy!

[Mike and Gerri Jones]

Hello Everyone,
Gee, all those stories sound just like our story! I'm so confused I don't even know what class we might be in???? We have been working toward fulltiming for several years and had to put it on the back burner several times. Our son graduated from college last May (2008) and we have tried to sell our house off and on for about 3 years. We have taken it off the market during the winter a couple of times. We have been showing it on average about once a week since March but no contract. We are also hopeful but it does get soooooo discouraging. I feel like all I do is clean the house.

Christine and Alex, we too have asked ourselves all those questions! It is so nice to know others have the same thoughts and questions.

We all need to support each other through this real estate mess. This too shall pass!

[Mike and Gerri Jones]

Charles,
What can I say !!! Congratulations!!! You have inspired me to keep plugging!

Hope to see you on the road SOON!

[Earl]

We put our house on the market about a month ago but don't have much hopes of it selling for awhile. We've also heard summer is a tough time--fall will be better. Sales have picked up here but it is in the low priced houses--under $200,000. Unfortunately ours is more. But we're leaving in Oct no matter what. We can afford it for awhile. If the house doesn't sell within a year we will have to either tighten our belts on the road or return home.

Good luck to the rest of you.

Earl