Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Frustation For Sale

Have you checked out the link to our house that's for sale back in Atlanta?  It's a very nice site, but I am open to any suggestions to improve what our realtor has done with it.  My reaction is biased. I easily get sad when I look at the pictures of various parts of the house--especially Will's room, which V. and I painted together, and the family room, where we spent many hours watching Will--first lying on his back, then crawling, and then finally walking.  We have had barely a nibble from a potential buyer in the past 12 months.  The most common complaint is that it needs extensive "updating," which we concede, but that's also why it's listed at more than $100K less than anything else in the neighborhood.  Lowering the price isn't much of an option, as we are already looking at barely paying off our mortgage if it were to sell close to the asking price.  A few of my colleagues here have suggested that we contemplate just declaring bankruptcy, especially in light of the mortgage payments we send back to the U.S. every month.  Of course, we now live in Australia, where we would be immune to the hit such an action would take on our American credit history. But that would also mean that we really couldn't move back to the States for at least seven years.  And, perhaps more importantly, I would have to get over the whole stigma attached to someone who doesn't pay off his debts.  For now, we have decided not to think about this option until September 1.  Hopefully, someone will come along and fall in love with the place the way we did.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I guess I have crappy tastes because I think your house in ATL is very nice. I'd be proud to have a house party there and claim it as my own. Uncle Sven

Mooselet said...

The link isn't working for me, but it's probably just timing. From what my parents tell me, the housing market is horrible. Maybe pull it off the market and rent it for a while? At least you could cover the mortgage payment.

Mooselet said...

Uh, that would be "timing" in the sense of selling your house, nothing to do with the link. I hate it when my sentences don't make sense. :-)

Darron said...

I think the link is very nice. Maybe it is time to move back home.

The Prof said...

I should have mentioned that we are also advertising our house as a rental. However, it's probably way too big for anyone to rent.

Anonymous said...

What the hell is wrong with people? I've very surprised that hasn't sold.

You're lucky to get a three-bedroom house for that sort of money here, even if you look at non-inner-city suburbs. That is a nice house. No wonder your current place feels small in comparison.

But you shouldn't move back to the US. Honest.

Author! Author! said...

First of all, I feel your pain. We took our house off the market because prices were just dropping like crazy in our 'neighborhood' and we were about to lose our equity. When we add up the payments over time, it starts to make it worth it to just take a loss (but we have 80K in cash tied up in it! Yikes.)

You do not have to declare bankruptcy to default on a mortgage, and one bad debt doesn't mean you CANNOT move back to the US, so don't think in silly absolutes like that. People recover from bad debt all the time, and if you were saving the money you are spending on interest, how much better off would you be in 5, 10 or 15 years?

Mind you, I am not advocating foreclosure, and I can appreciate the stigma and attitude adjustment it would require. But weigh your idealism carefully against reality and know that it is ok to screw up...just ask my 40 year old crack-head of a best friend! (She keeps all of my blunders in perspective for me!!)

Anonymous said...

That is a really nice home and I really didn't see any problems with the site. It has all the essential information up front with plenty of good pics of the house.

My buddy I work with here in Australia has been trying to sell his house in Savannah ever since he came over here about two years ago. He decided to try and rent out now but hasn't had any success because similar to you it a large four bedroom house.

I wish you luck trying to weather through this current housing crisis.

Anonymous said...

I think Audra has good advice. The US housing market sucks right now - that's all. What is your Brisbane situation in terms of owning / renting? Real estate there is of course, booming, as you well know.