townhome in Apex. paid 120K for it. as of now they're going for around 140K. it's been on the market since september and hasn't sold. i think it's mostly due to the weather and winter just not being a good time for sellers. priced it to sell @ 135K and still no sell. lots of interest, but no one has closed the deal.

i told my realtor i'm reconsidering selling and I'm thinking about just keeping it. paying the mortgage is starting to be a pain cause I'd rather use the $900 for spending money and saving. i'm considering renting it out.

NOTE: I live in miami now. i also own other real estate. it's somewhat sentimental, it was my first property I owned. I bought it at 21 after getting out of the army.

should I a) suck it up rent it and keep the townhome till I own it flat out (15 yrs) . . . b) keep it on the market till it sells.

1/24/2006 5:38:08 PM

How are they going for 140 when yours isn't selling at 135. That's some Miami math right there, b.

1/24/2006 5:43:48 PM

If I were you I'd just rent it out and use the rent for the mortgage, it lowers the cost for you and allows you to keep the property. Plus the property value is only going to go up more over the years, Apex is continuing to grow. I'd hold onto it as a rental property. But certainly talk to your realtor first about what the best options might be.

1/24/2006 5:45:44 PM

advertise rent and keep it for sale til one of the two happen... I wouldn't take it off the market for the sake of advertising it in a different pool. sometimes it takes more time to sell a townhome than a single family home.

1/24/2006 5:47:19 PM

$140K is the average/fair price. we dropped it to like 135,900 and we've gotten alot of walk throughs and all, but no one has closed the deal yet. i just think the market sucks right now in NC.

I think I should hold on to it as it's the most inexpensive piece of real estate I own and if my life suddenly starts to be a living hell and I have nothing more going for me I can always move back to NC and live the mundane, boring Raleigh/Durham lifestyle again.

1/24/2006 5:48:15 PM

90,000 cash tonight

1/24/2006 6:04:37 PM

Jan is the worst time to sell your house, wait until spring.

1/24/2006 6:07:08 PM

Quote :

" I can always move back to NC and live the mundane, boring Raleigh/Durham lifestyle again. "

Man, life is what you make it, doesn't matter where you are.

There are some legal ramifications if you rent it out and are not a live-in landlord. Might want to consult a lawyer if you choose to go that route.

1/24/2006 6:07:31 PM

going to have a property management group take care of everything.

1/24/2006 6:18:15 PM

How many peices of property do you own?

1/24/2006 6:21:42 PM

I thought about buying in Apex, but the roads are just so choked that I can't help but to wonder if it has grown about all it can grow in the last few years.

When the 55 and Davis Dr. widening projects complete you'll probably have better luck selling it. I know this goes against the grain, but I don't think there will be another big (read "above average for the area") real estate gain in that area until 15-20 years from now when 540 opens up and gets all those Holly Springs/Fuquay people off your roads.

1/24/2006 6:26:33 PM

Isn't the 540 loop supposed to come sooner than that?

1/24/2006 6:37:34 PM

It will make it to Knightdale pretty soon, but Holly Springs/Garner are 10 years away at best. They are saying 10 years if they make it a toll road and 20+ otherwise. What are the odds of it being a toll road? Isn't the nearest toll road 150 miles away?

There is no way I'm going to deal with that shitty ass traffic for 20 years just to make a couple hundred grand on house appreciation. I have a feeling more people would feel the same way if they knew it was that far off.

My opinion Amsterdam...I'd get rid of it and buy a $135k house as an investment instead if you want to be in real estate. Your homeowner's dues will never go away in that townhouse and the appreciation will never match a similarly priced house. Twenty years from now that townhouse will be run-down and full of undesirables. Buy a house in Arbor Creek or Sunset Hills (or preferably somewhere without a neighborhood association) and rent it out instead and you will come out way ahead. Within 10 years you'll be turning a profit on the rent even after paying the mortgage/maintenance/property manager and 30 years from now it will be a nice inflation-adjusted $1000/month that you can use to pay whatever Medicare doesn't cover.


[Edited on January 24, 2006 at 7:05 PM. Reason : s]

1/24/2006 6:57:27 PM

you bought on the low end in apex

you're off the map on both counts for most people

the market is really strong right now, i know they're "going for 140" but you may be priced out

what has your realtor said the feedback from other agents is? they should be telling you every time a client comes though.

1/24/2006 7:45:47 PM

Ill rent it for 600 a month, and let you stay there anytime you want to come to Raleigh, and have high grade nugs and a bottle of Goose waiting for you.

Deal???

Deal.


Sign on the line below

X________________________________ Date:_________________

[Edited on January 24, 2006 at 8:41 PM. Reason : .]

1/24/2006 8:40:54 PM

Quote :

"i just think the market sucks right now in NC."

actually, it is a buyer's market right now so yes, it sucks for the seller. you're asking price is too high.

1/24/2006 8:49:20 PM

in certain areas - areas nobody really wants to live in

in NW raleigh and cary you can pretty much price out whatever you want (within reason so it appraises and it'll be gone quick).

january is typically a VERY strong month, and this is after a VERY strong winter - there were lots more buyers in the market than last year, they're just looking at the bread and butter price point for the area (~180,000-200,000) and closer to RTP

again, i'm saying your realtor should really be after the agents showing your place - it takes a few phone calls to actually get them to do their feedback like they're supposed to, but that'll pretty much tell you how to handle things


THIS PART IS IMPORTANT FOR THE OP

in this market you typically have 15 days to test the waters with an initial price, after that a price reduction is cool, but it HAS to be 5,000 and then you leave it on the market for 60 days. after 60 days you need to pull it and re-list so you get a new MLS number and reset the clock. people assume that after that long there is something materially wrong with it.

if your realtor hasn't pulled it and relisted to show a lower days on the market, it's time to cut them loose

couple of questions:

- have you ever made a claim against your homeowner's insurance? if you have, ESPECIALLY if it's water damage of any sort/degree you can almost kiss selling it goodbye because it makes it nearly impossible for a company to sign on to insure it

- how long have you owned? i know people don't like to hear it, but with new construction in the area you're talking about, the norm is to break even or even take a loss if you've been in for less than three years


[Edited on January 25, 2006 at 1:01 AM. Reason : other question]

1/25/2006 12:57:25 AM

I need to speculate on a house. someone tell me where to do it.

1/25/2006 1:01:52 AM

1) NW raleigh (~180-200k)
2) cary (~400k and up)
3) inside the beltline (any price in most areas)

i'm selling a place in NW raleigh right now as close as it gets to RTP (won't be listed until end of march), if you can do a contract before then to close at the end of june and we can go FSBO i'm offering a $10,000 discount + some other stuff (that's under appraisal value = instant equity for you for making the timing right for me) - most homes in our development are selling in under 10 days so i know i can sell it whenever i care to, i'd just like to get it set up on my terms so i'm offering an incentive

it's in one of the only areas appreciating right now and is unique for the for the area for size/type of home/price - i'd say there's another 20% appreciation in it over the next few years (accounting for the difference in where the next price point in the development is and the rate those are appreciating), then it might stop accelerating and appreciate at a slower pace, i've seen increasing rates of increase for the last three years (built in 03 and still has new house smell!)

or you can come be my neighbor smack in the middle of downtown, you can't go wrong there (but it costs a good bit more to get in on it)


[Edited on January 25, 2006 at 1:21 AM. Reason : march]

1/25/2006 1:18:46 AM

^ I'm actively looking at real estate right now. PM me some details on the NW Raleigh house...Sq. footage, neighborhood, asking price, etc.

1/25/2006 10:52:42 AM

http://msweb01.co.wake.nc.us/realestate/Account.asp?id=0251162&stype=owner&owner=Saifudeen&spg=1

1/30/2006 12:50:52 PM

^^^

OK, if i wind up with some creepy ass TWW neighbor next door, I'm going to cut you. I swear to god man.

1/30/2006 1:16:28 PM

move to cali, b

housing bubble has yet to burst and people are laughin all the way to the biznank

1/30/2006 1:58:19 PM

Quote :

"NOTE: I live in miami now. i also own other real estate. it's somewhat sentimental, it was my first property I owned. I bought it at 21 after getting out of the army."

I would hang on to it if you can generate positive cash flow renting. Here is why.

If you can keep this property and generate even a small amount of cash flow, but enough to cover all of your overhead owning it you will make more off of speculation. The outer loop is going to reach Apex at some point. Apex is already seeing some awesome commercial development and will only become more desirable over time.

If you PM me the address and of the house I will go in the MLS and find you some rental comps so you can see what they are renting for. Your agent is probably not going to want to consult with you about this because he/she wont make a dime if you pull it off the market and put it with a property manager. You may not even want to give them the impression you are considering this right now because they may cut back on their advertising/promotional spending if they think the listing will be pulled soon. This is not true for all Realtors but there are plenty out there that would.

The last subdivision I sold was in Apex and all of the investors in the community used the same property management company. It is a small company and the manager used very agressive internet marketing and landed good tenants while minimizing vacancies. I can get you in touch with her if you like and she could do some of the preliminary research to see what your rental market will be like. Once you know that you can run numbers and see if using it as a rental works for you.

If you want those comps emailed to you just PM me.

1/30/2006 2:11:40 PM

See the link I posted for the address to the place.

1/30/2006 2:17:18 PM

drtaylor

i need to holler at you about your downtown property



also,

this weekend i saw some lots that were walking distance from Lakeshore golf course on Lumley Rd., and had a view of the water.
-they were Centex homes in a subdivision called Bradbury.
-the smallest of the homes was around 2k sq ft, and went for about 160k
-and the largest (Hawthorne type) was around 2.5k sq ft.
-the Hawthorne's went for 190K, but included few options
-i'm guessing 20-30k would get you all the upgrades you would like (short of being too lavish)
-5 minute drive to my work at most
-can't envision more than a 10 mintue ride to anywhere in RTP from there


i thought it was a pretty good deal & location

1/30/2006 2:22:50 PM

hmm, i've played at lakeshore before, and those houses in the surrouding area look pretty nice. maybe the school district is shitty? don't really know much about that area tho..

1/30/2006 2:27:54 PM

maybe someone should start ***The Official 2006 Real Estate Thread***

1/30/2006 2:28:08 PM

^^ yeah, i think the pricing may be a function of the branding that comes with it being "a Durham neighborhood that's not baller status"

i wonder if the houses in the Woodcroft area went through the same thing? those same houses are at a premium now.

1/30/2006 2:30:47 PM

I've driven through Bradbury recently and wondered about pricing too. I was assuming the smaller homes would be more in the $185k range. $160k seems pretty good.

I hit at the driving range at Lakeshore after work sometimes. I've only played the course once though.

[Edited on January 30, 2006 at 2:39 PM. Reason : s]

1/30/2006 2:39:29 PM

apparently there was a special that Centex was running on all their homes this past weekend

and my mom told me there will likely be some President's day specials coming up in February (there were a lot last year)

1/30/2006 2:47:43 PM

Quote :

"maybe someone should start ***The Official 2006 Real Estate Thread***"

It would be too confusing all in one thread. I think a section of the forum dedicated to real estate buying/selling/renting is in order though. It would definitely be used.

1/30/2006 2:51:10 PM

As a property investor who owns two units, I suggest

b) keep it on the market till it sells.

while

a) renting it

Unless your sitting on a gold mine, holding onto some random property when you live hundreds of miles away is generaly not a great idea

1/30/2006 3:49:18 PM

Quote :

"As a property investor who owns two units, I suggest b) keep it on the market till it sells. while a) renting it Unless your sitting on a gold mine, holding onto some random property when you live hundreds of miles away is generaly not a great idea"

(assuming this was a %100 loan) If he sells it now hes only gonna walk away with like 10k. It is a good idea to keep your investment properties close enough by where you can manage them or at least supervise the management of them. However by selling it now he will probably have pay out 6-10k in comissions, closing costs, repairs, and taxes. He has an oppertunity here to have a house paid off over the course of time by tenants, while waiting for the area to reach its peak. If he gets in a tough spot and needs to cash out his equity it would make sense selling, but I just dont see the point in dumping a solid investment when he is obviously not hurting for the cash at the moment.

What needs to be done here is this property needs to be converted in to a revenue generating investment. Making money off real estate investments takes time, but its also very low risk. The $160,000+ in equity he may have fifteen years from now will probably be more useful to him then than the substantially smaller amount of cash he will walk away with now.

If a good property manager is used (there are good ones out there) this property could be very worthy of holding on to, and should not be too much of a headache for him.

[Edited on January 30, 2006 at 5:41 PM. Reason : ]

1/30/2006 5:32:27 PM