Need real estate advice for Pa

[shortz]

So the housing in south central Pa is still in the shitter. Lots of foreclosures, and not a lot moving otherwise. We know we are going to take a huge hit, but we are trying to prevent having to take a huge hit on the equity. We still owe a lot of money on the house compared to what it's potentially worth.

My question is, we are probably going to sell to our renters. We want to keep real estate agents etc out of the deal because it will rack up fees so much that we won't be able to afford to sell the house at all. My question is, how the hell do you get comps? Zillow and Trivia only show what THEY think the house is worth, not what the market says it's worth. Anyone able to help us out a little? Other than asking what we owe, we are at a loss and need a little firm ground to stand on while negotiating.

 

[woodswise]

In this situation I would hire an appraiser and pay them the $400 to $500 it takes to get the fair market value. If you don't want to pay for a full appraisal, ask a realtor for a market analysis and pay them about half as much. Tell the realtor you want to know what the house will sell for, not what to list it for. Good luck bro.

 

[Tiny]

You have any local friends or family in real eastate? They can look up comps from local sales in the mls.

Or or hire the appraiser.

Have you considered a seller financed rent to own with your tenants? Great option unless you need to free up your debt load.

 

[FLBB89]

What is your motivation for selling? Are you upside down in the house with a market that is getting worse? If thats the case, pay the small amount of money for the appraisal or find a friend that is a real estate agent and get him/her to give you his approximated sale value bottom line. This all assumes you just want OUT and want to be away from the debt and potentially a real estate situation about to get worse.

if you are able to be more patient, seller financed rent to own is a great idea as mentioned earlier.

 

[NavyChief]

There is alot more to this than what's being said. You also need to do this properly with the renters. They are the ones who should be paying for and doing an appraisal. I have been in mortgage banking for quite awhile. PM for my secure email if you want help. I'll even give you a sales contract for this I have had many clients use before. There is lots involved also with filing the contract at the pva and such.

 

[shortz]

Not really much more to it. Market sucks, so the renters rented a lot longer than they originally planned. They volunteered to raise the rent twice to help relieve the stress for us as well. We agreed to get an appraisal on the house. If the market is still bad, we will stay in the current situation. if it has recovered enough for us to not take a huge hit, we will sell.

Thanks for all the replies and advice. We will have an attorney involved in the process as well, so it's not like we are going blind.

 

[dangerouscurves]

Any real estate agent will give you a current market value for free to try and earn your business...

 

[shortz]

Any real estate agent will give you a current market value for free to try and earn your business...

I tried that route earlier in the year. They are charging for everything now it seems.

Regardless, in the end. the appraisal is what matters. If the bank won't finance because of the appraisal, then its a no go, even if the comps say otherwise. Also, it's my understanding in markets like that, banks will appraise a little high to try to let the sale happen easier. We will see.

 

[JR Ewing]

I agree with hiring an appraiser - that's the most likely way to get an accurate opinion of the value of the home. They are independent and not allowed to be influenced either way by lenders, brokers, agents, attorneys, buyers, sellers, etc, etc.

Be careful when dealing with any realtor / real estate agents - they're pretty shady overall as a group in my experience.

If you do decide to owner finance, be sure to go through an attorney and have everything written in blood, title insurance, a clean title transferred and filed at the courthouse, etc.

 

[woodswise]

I agree with hiring an appraiser - that's the most likely way to get an accurate opinion of the value of the home. They are independent and not allowed to be influenced either way by lenders, brokers, agents, attorneys, buyers, sellers, etc, etc.

Be careful when dealing with any realtor / real estate agents - they're pretty shady overall as a group in my experience.

If you do decide to owner finance, be sure to go through an attorney and have everything written in blood, title insurance, a clean title transferred and filed at the courthouse, etc.

Well said. Excellent advice.

 

[uphillclimb]

Shortz, dc knows real estate and I was an executive for a large residential lender for over a decade. I haven't read through all the comments/posts but if you need a candid opinion, I'll help you.

 

[Get Some]

I am a commercial real estate broker and have to agree with the residential agents being rather shady, at least out here on the west coast. Apologies to anyone who is an agent themselves but they tried to get involved in my side of the business and usually just create a big headache.

Appraisers are also shady out here. 99% of the time they will appraise the house for EXACTLY the purchase price during an escrow. This is just not possible considering all of the factors in play. I may be able to look for recent comps through my title rep website if you want me to go that route. Send me more info via PM if you want and I'll see what I can do.