WWYD? - Real Estate related

[tone.def]

Okay... here's the dilemna:

In April 2007, my ex and I bought a new construction house in Ajax on paper with a closing date 13 months away. Smart me, everything was in my name and the downpayments were from the sale of my condo which was bought with inheritance money so he has no legal claim to any of the money or proceeds. Over the course of the 13 months, we choose the interiors, some custom designs, etc so there's a lot of both of us in the house. Right after the closing date in May 2008, we split. I got the house and everything in it. The only problem for me at that time was that I was suddenly single, alone and an hour away from my former life. I thought no big deal, I'll install air con, garage door opener, central vac, do up the interior and get it ready for sale. House went on the market August 2008 simply because I just wanted to move back downtown and start my life over and this relationship was gone and moving to the burbs was his wish, not mine.

So here I am January 2009 - I now need to move, it's not just a want anymore and it truly does suck to be desperate in this current economic slump. The cost of carrying the house alone and bills is manageable, but my career is downtown Toronto and the cost of commuting is putting me in the hole every month, not the mention the lack of sleep I'm subjected to as I work long hours normally, but since I have no real reason to go home, I don't unless I need to oh and I have fallen asleep on the Go Train and ended up in Whitby and Oshawa - ooops. I advertised looking for a roommate for months at a largely discounted rent price, no takers. I also tried renting the whole house out for months too, again no takers. I can stay with friends a couple nights a week downtown, but I can't keep couch surfing and imposing myself on them.

I borrowed some money from family to make it through the winter. I have dropped my asking price 4 times since August in hopes of luring a buyer, still no takers. My agent has held several public open houses and agent open houses. Feedback has always been positive but no offers to buy. I'm truly at my wit's end and have run out of ideas. Staying is not an option for my bank account nor my emotional well-being.

What would you do if you were in my position? I've personally been putting ads on craigslist, facebook, kijiji and now toronto online (free classifieds). I've even put the word out to all my friends that I'm offering $500 cash to anyone who could find me a buyer, but all my friends have their downtown lives and downtown friends... And the ex doesn't have 2 dimes to rub together so forcing him to buy the house off me wouldn't work, hahahahaha.

Any suggestions at this point are welcome!

 

[tone.def]

I should also add - I am listed with a real estate agent who has told me I can't invent a buyer. My seller's contract is with her until end of March.

 

[drag n' fly]

If the house won't move have you considered contracting the house out to a reputable property mananger. They have a huge acess to potential responsible renters. Once the economy picks up....and it will you can list the house.

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

try to get out of the contract with your agent. also, why are you contracted so long with her/him? ouch!

good luck with whatever ends up....it must be stressful!

 

[tone.def]

A property manager is a good idea... i did try researching some in my area in the fall, but mainly they dealt with condos. I guess I didn't look deep enough... Anyone in Durham have any contacts???

If I was to get out of my contract with my realtor, what should I be looking for in a new one? The reason I've been so long with this one was the listing ran out in December and I'm too pig headed to take the house off the market, so I re-listed.

Thanks for any help/advice/suggestions!!!

 

[ferris198]

Most agents will make you sign for three months.
It sounds as you renewed for a futher three months.
You can't get out once you have reknewed.

 

[alohamom]

tone.def, it will happen, the house will sell and there is a buyer for every house you just have to figure out a way to wait it out financially. Have you talked to the bank about a re-finance solution? You would be surprised what they can do for you temporarily. Just hang in there, the spring market will begin soon and more buyers will be out looking. The interest rate cute this week may help as well. I would also be on my agents case night and day, make them try some different marketing than they have before. It may also help to take it off the market for one week and then re-list so it comes up as a new listing, people look at a new listing differently.Wishing better luck to you...

 

[bubba]

Tone.def - Where is the house located ? I see you commute to Toronto and you've slept on the train through to Oshawa and Whitby (done that myself!) so I'm guessing Burlington or Oakville ... ?

 

[Meeska Mooska Mom]

You're in Ajax and in a new build so you can't be to far from me. I know that in my subdivision there's a brand new school going up which should help generate interest in the area and a ton of stores going up around the other new subdivisions nearby. Hope once some of those things are in you have some interest in your home.

I might take it off the market for a bit. As I understand it people see all the price drops and wonder why your trying to get out of it. If you can hang on until all this snow melts you could have some real interest out there. Good luck!

If you feel comfortable you could always post the MLS listing for people to give you some honest feedback on the ad and the pictures.

 

[tone.def]

You're in Ajax and in a new build so you can't be to far from me. I know that in my subdivision there's a brand new school going up which should help generate interest in the area and a ton of stores going up around the other new subdivisions nearby. Hope once some of those things are in you have some interest in your home.

I might take it off the market for a bit. As I understand it people see all the price drops and wonder why your trying to get out of it. If you can hang on until all this snow melts you could have some real interest out there. Good luck!

If you feel comfortable you could always post the MLS listing for people to give you some honest feedback on the ad and the pictures.

Maybe we're neighbours??? I'm in South Ajax in a cul de sac built by Tribute Communities... right behind Ajax High School.

Feedback on the ad and pictures would be great! My MLS# is E1513299. There's more pictures on my agent's website which there is a link to on the MLS listing. Thanks!

The only hesitation I have about taking it off the market (even for a week) is that I might miss that one potential buyer, guess I'm what you could call paranoid and desperate all at the same time ;o(

Have you talked to the bank about a re-finance solution? You would be surprised what they can do for you temporarily.

That was actually something I tried in November... I have a fixed rate, 20 year mortgage, I wanted to basically change it to a 25 year mortgage at the interest rate that was at that time because it was better than what I have. They calculated I would owe them $3,300 to break my current mortgage!!! ING baby. At that time I thought I was best sticking it out until a sale happens, thinking back then it would happen sooner rather than later. Maybe now it seems a bit more worth it...


Thanks for the well wishes guys! I'm sure I'm not the only one in this boat right now and I just have to remember that some people are worse off than I am.

 

[cdnmickeylover]

That was actually something I tried in November... I have a fixed rate, 20 year mortgage, I wanted to basically change it to a 25 year mortgage at the interest rate that was at that time because it was better than what I have. They calculated I would owe them $3,300 to break my current mortgage!!! ING baby. At that time I thought I was best sticking it out until a sale happens, thinking back then it would happen sooner rather than later. Maybe now it seems a bit more worth it...

I might try to go back to the bank. Usually if you stay with the same bank they will waive the pre-payment penalties esp. if you are increasing your mortgage (which you are as you want to increase the amortization). If the bank isn't willing to waive the pre-payment penalties (and ING is sometimes funny about this) then I would go to another bank. Sometimes banks are willing to pay the pre-payment penalty for you just to get the business.

I would also suggest taking the house off the market for a bit -- sometimes people won't look at it because it's been on the market so long and they figure that there's something wrong with it.

Good luck.

 

[disneynuts777]

Been there and have done everything that you are doing and have done. We ended up owning two homes for over six months. It nearly crippled us.

The things that I have learned is-

-price dropping several times will make any potential buyers wait to see if you drop it more.
-having it on the market as long as you have will make people question "why" and will likely skip over your listing.
- If you had listed with a new agent at the end of your contract or even waited a week and re-listed with the same agent it would have come up as a "new" listing instead of a renewal.

Good luck ...I know how stressful this can be. We are once again getting our house ready to sell....hopefully. It will all depend on the appraisal if we can.

 

[Terapin]

Hiya -

I second most of the suggestions. I know it made a difference to me when we were buying our house that it had been on the market for awhile and I was super-aggressive with the price with that in mind. I think you need a new agent. Our agent was awesome, super-nice and determined but not pushy. His name is Ross Taccone and he is in Pickering. Some agents just work harder for you than others. It's a hard market, but you owe your agent nothing more than the contract you signed. I think the spring market will pick up.

Good luck to you.

 

[tone.def]

Well I was about to contact my agent to try to cancel my listing (also so I could start interviewing new agents)... and then I got a call from the office she works for that a showing has been booked! First one since early November! I'll see what this brings... Guess it was the federal budget yesterday?

Terapin - I google'd your agent - turns out he's at the same office as my current agent...

 

[alohamom]

Good luck-keep us posted, we are all rooting for ya!!

 

[tone.def]

Good luck-keep us posted, we are all rooting for ya!!

Thanks!

Unfortunately, they didn't like the neighbourhood (not sure what's not to like, it's brand new)... Anyway... am back to debating removal from the market for a week...