Consider selling when others don’t
Each year at this time, one question pops up like lighted
reindeers on the rooftop. Should I have my house for sale during
the holiday season or take it off the market until after
January?
The correct answer depends on you. If it is going to drive you
nuts having to leave the premises during showings and having to
keep it clean during a season practically dedicated to the creation
of pine needle piles, paper scrap collections and calamities in the
kitchen then you’re well-advised to hold off.
Consider selling when others don’t
Each year at this time, one question pops up like lighted reindeers on the rooftop. Should I have my house for sale during the holiday season or take it off the market until after January?
The correct answer depends on you. If it is going to drive you nuts having to leave the premises during showings and having to keep it clean during a season practically dedicated to the creation of pine needle piles, paper scrap collections and calamities in the kitchen then you’re well-advised to hold off.
Consider, however, the idea of showing your home when it is at its finest. No doubt the twinkling lights outlining windows and welcoming wreath on the door has heart-warming curb appeal. Inside brightly wrapped packages, holiday baking smells and jolly designer touches showcases your home and creates an emotional response impossible to replicate any other time.
Because the holidays tend to be a time of frenetic activity, it is more likely someone seeing your home is a buyer, not just a Looky-Lou. Only people who HAVE to buy a home are taking the time to tour when they should be busy gobbling a five-pound See’s candy box while addressing holiday cards and listening to Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas.”
By having your home available over the holidays you could get it sold before the For Sale signs of spring pop up with the daffodils in neighbors’ yards in the spring. But if it’s going to take away from your enjoyment of friends and family during this special time, don’t do it.
I am a firm believer each real estate transaction has a life of its own. Sometimes an agent will list a home and think, “This one will sell quickly: Looks fabulous; great location; awesome price.” And it sits and sits and sits. Other times a house, unwashed, unloved and overpriced will sell in a day. As in all aspects of life, it isn’t fair. It doesn’t make sense. It is impossible to predict with any certainty. Don’t you just hate that?
Speaking of impossible to predict, what’s up with the economy? Well, we’re still growing. The National Association for Business Economics forecasts growth next year at 2.5 percent. The Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, told Congress recently the U.S. economy would be lethargic for a short time. However, former Chair Alan Greenspan has spoken out that the underpinnings of our economic system are strong and indicate good things to come. The Feds meet for the final time this year on Dec. 11. Don’t look for rates to go lower as two cuts have been made earlier this year.
The bond market has reached a two-year low this past week as investors seek a safe shelter for investment dollars. This could lead to lower mortgage rates in the coming days. We are seeing a tightening of lender requirements, but given our recent mortgage woes that is a good thing, right? One of the reasons people are defaulting on loans is the funds were approved with a “stated income” application. Very simply, the person just told the lender what they make annually, and no documentation was required to prove it. SURPRISE! In many default cases, the borrower made about 75 percent of what they claimed they did. They just couldn’t make the loan payments.
We live in a culture of Got to Have It Now. Look at that great house! If I could live there, my family would be so happy. Why, we’d all be willing to eat beans and rice for a year to make it happen, wouldn’t we? We could do without new clothes or trips to Starbucks or lunch at McDonald’s or anything, really. Couldn’t we?
No, we can’t. Humans are hard-wired to quickly adapt to what is and then want more. So for a month or two you “make sacrifices” for the new home. Then it’s just home and you miss all the old stuff you used to do, the things you used to buy. And the house becomes a huge burden.
A month later your kids accidentally lob a ball through the back window and you can’t afford to replace it so you board it over. Finances are tight, and the stress level rises. Tempers are short, and someone kicks a hole in a flimsy interior door. It stays there, a silent scream. Whoa, doggies. You see where this goes. Luckily you don’t have to go there. Just because a lender says you can afford a certain payment or a purchase price doesn’t mean you want to live that way. You have the choice to create the lifestyle you want within the parameters you have set for yourself.
One last snippet of advice. This holiday season keep your spending within your means. Give gifts of love and time rather than glitter and gold. Read The Gift of the Magi by O.Henry, a classic short story of giving and loving. Download it free from Project Gutenberg at http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/7256.
And be kind to your Realtor. He or she just might be teaching a teenager to drive a stick shift.
