Hi, We have been trying to sell our home for over a year, our property taxes have more then doubled in the past 4 years. We had the house appraised before we listed it, it appraised for 408,000. We listed it at 389,000, which was much less then the realtor thought it should be. We have it currently listed at 339,000 & still no bites. We owe 273,000 the payment is 2475.oo including taxes & insurance. My next door neighbors house sold after 14 months for 410,000. We have had realtor open houses they have nothing but good reviews, they say there is nothing more we can do to increase our chances of selling the house. I have never paid the mortgage late until last month now we have a 30 day late on our credit report. I don't know what to do! We have about 35,000 in credit card debt, 5,000 in medical debt. I always had good credit until recently my score averages 640 now. I don't know what to do. I have been looking for a job with no luck. I have been a stay at home mom for 15 years. I feel like the walls are closing in on me & can't stand living like this. The interest rate on the mortgage is 6.6 fixed. I thought we should lower the price on the house again the realtor said no we should leave it where it is that it is priced low, we need to have some room for negociating. If there is any advice you can give me I would appreciate it. I don't want to destroy my credit because we will need to buy a new home if ours ever sells.
Thanks,
Elizabeth
Elizabeth,
Other than the real estate taxes going up, you didn't say why you want to sell your house. You have a fixed rate mortgage, which is good. If you have to sell your house at $60,000 less than what it was worth recently, how does that help your financial situation? You still have to live someplace, and it will be hard to get back into a home when the real estate market recuperates and the prices go up again.
The best solution to this money crunch is to raise income and cut expenses. Try the following:
* If prices are dipping that much where you live, try to see if you can get your property taxes adjusted. The tax may be based on the peak of the market - in which case it should be less now.
* Interest on $35,000 in consumer debt is probably killing you more than real estate taxes are. You've been faithful making payments - you deserve better rates. Read my article on CreditCards.com to see how to ask for it: http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/herigstad-lower-credit-card-interest-rates-1272.php
* If you can't find a job quickly, consider offering services that are needed in your community. Can you do summer day care, tutor some kids to get them up to speed for the coming school year, or do landscaping?
* Have you tried temporary agencies for work? It's often easier to get started back to work that way, and many "temporary" jobs become permanent.
Don't sell your house at a fire sale. If you can get your tax and interest expense lowered and start making a second income, you can pull through this difficult time. You can do it!
Good luck,
Sally