Quote:
Originally Posted by DementedReality
so ... for a guy with a house in the NW, considered a slighly better than entry level type of house, with about 50% equity.
we want to upgrade ... sounds like a good time to buy, bad time to sell though.
advice on how to not get killed?
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Make sure you have a good realtor, and be prepared to sit on your house for a minimum 90 days. Don't be desperate to sell.....as in don't run out and buy a new place without selling your existing one first. You'll end up dumping it and that's when the sharks start to circle. When you sell it, make sure it's spotless and possibly even staged. These things didn't really matter the last few years but they sure do now. With all the listings right now there has to be something that sets your house apart from other listings in the area. A good realtor will pay for the stager, and tell you what to hide/change in your house to make it more attractive.
If all goes well you can expect to take about 10% off your list price when you sell, and if you look hard enough and find a place with a motivated seller, expect to start with an offer 30% lower than their list. I've seen a lot of listings from people with quite a bit of equity in their house willing to deal just to dump it.
If you can accept taking less than you thought for your house, right now it's actually a pretty good time to sell. If you list aggressively and free up some equity when it moves you can absolutely rape somebody who's stuck and is trying to ditch their property.