5/28/09

Geez Louise

Let me preface this post. We are spur of the moment people.
The past 72 hours we thought about selling our home, had a realtor come over, and have looked at 5 other properties.
I guess to start it never hurts to see what's out there. Thats our philosophy (if we have one.)
So, here are some current real estate facts:
The market is flooded with foreclosures and short sales.
You CAN get up to a 14,000 tax credit for buying a bank owned property.
(Also, if you are a first time home buyer, which don't qualify b/c this is our second home so far, you can get an 8,000 tax credit as well)
Interest rates are crazy low right now, depending on your credit between 4.5% and 5.5%.

So, all that in mind....we thought it wouldn't hurt to see what our house would go for and move into something bigger and cheaper....crazy, right? Also, a better interest rate without having to refinance. We started looking because we are maxed out over here. We built it in 06 and it's in a really nice neighborhood and great school district. Those are the pros. We have a 3 b/2.5 bath. Vacancy full. My dining room is a playroom and our office has now become a corner in our bedroom.
So...... these houses have already sold that are listed below, but look at some of the crazy deals out there.....
Before you think we are completely unstable, take a look.

This one will just make you sick to your stomach. A foreclosure in the Kennesaw area. It was a 5 b/ 2.5 bath for 107,000. Ridiculous. Just ridiculous.


Another one. A short sale in the Woodstock area. 4 b/ 2.5 bath for 148,000.


Here is another one. Short sale in woodstock area. 4b/2.5 bath for 148,000. Crazy.


It is also a little depressing for us. We are in a smaller, more expensive house and could possibly break even, but could possibly have to pay out to sell it......which nobody wants to do!
I am not trying to be a snot. I am very content where we live, I just want to be smart. If we can crunch numbers right, why not take advantage of the market right now and get a better deal on a house??

I don't get attached to homes really.....I just want a good deal and practicality. We are big Dave Ramsey fans, so a mortgage is something we'd like to pay off and not hang out with our whole life. That, and I am also a little obsessed with real estate and the housing market.
So, we are between a rock and a hard place. To sell or not to sell......that is the question?? We shall see...

In other news, and in Tim's spare time ( I still can't figure out where this comes from), he started a blog for his artwork. I just love my man of many talents......now if he could just create a buyer that would come in and pay full price for our house....

TIMS ART BLOG: www.timwillisart.blogspot.com

6 comments:

Ashley said...

Oh, thanks for the product tip. I'll have to check it out. :) We definitely need to meet up. Now that I'm out of school for the summer, I'm totally free! Yipee!

natalie said...

oh those houses make me sick..I'm literally feeling nauseous!!!

The Partins said...

Do you live in Kennesaw?? I'm in Powder Springs!!! (Off to the side of Marietta). We should have a play date!

And I think it would be very smart to buy bigger and pay what you are paying now if you can get some equity out of the sell (we are Dave Ramsey people too).

Unknown said...

those are STEALS on homes! what a tough decision! Tim's such a great artist...I should get him to draw/paint something for our baby room:)

Brandon and Jamie said...

this is awesome. lets def. do lunch this week... i'll call you about a day when i figure out our schedule!! maybe thursday?

Cecilia said...

Our house in Texas was a bank foreclosure, and we saved a lot of money going that route. You definitely have to watch out for hidden issues, but I know you and Tim are smart cookies so you shouldn't have any issues. We used this website to scout out things (mostly government foreclosures): http://www.firstpreston.com/

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