Time Lord Chronicals..."Four"...Hurry Up An Wait

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Time Lord

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 15, 2011
Posts
45
Less see?where?d ah leave off? ??home-work?, fuel prices, vehicle prices, fifth wheel prices?

One-Ton vehicle prices have dropped as fuel prices rose. Fuel prices leveled off and have actually dropped off considerably (roughly 40 cents a gallon) since Memorial Day Weekend and after the annual Memorial Day ?Gas Gouge?. Coincidentally, the government sold off some surplus reserves at record high prices throwing more fuel into the market. Coming into 2012 and time for newer models to come out?fifth wheel prices have dropped as well, but to a seemingly lesser degree. This may change. There were many brand new 2011 models still sitting on the lots and moving slowly?and priced comparably  (within $5,000 of a 2012 model). If you buy on eBay?a brand new 2012 can be had for the same price (or less) then a new 2011 that is sold for on a dealer?s lot. The ?advertised price? of a new 2011 varies as much as $30K for the exact same rig?depending on what part of the country you buy it. A ?negotiated? cash/trade-in price reduction can turn a good price into a GREAT price. This is the path we choose to take?BUT?ahhhhhh the proverbial ?Butt?. Waiting for the trigger event?It?s a buyer?s market??ain?t it da troott. There is only so much we can do to expedite this process. Trolling for a home-buyer is taxing on ?patience?. 

Three houses?not tree houses member? Yeah?our primary residence and two rentals. Not counting the cabin and 2 ? acres that we are hanging onto as our ?home-base?. Update?

Rental  #1...It?s been vacant now for a month and a half. We?ve had it listed on the market since May with very little activity despite the advertising and promotional efforts by our agent and a $10K reduction in our selling price. We fixed up the house, cleaned out our garage, and disposed of ?stuff? we didn?t need at the Estate Sale and gave it a final polish shine for showing. I keep telling myself??it only takes one?. Meanwhile, the mortgage and utility bills keep coming in, and the lawn needs to be mowed and watered at least once a week. ?Sale pending buyer??

Rental #2?Dealt with.

Primary Residence?where to begin?? There are times when I?ve been overwhelmed with the details of what has to happen in order for things to come together. The magnitude of it all sometimes kicks my boggled brain into neutral. Who knows?maybe it?s the ADD? Maybe it?s the LSD? Maybe it?s the PTSD?  What do these things all have in common?? They are all acronyms?acronyms with the letter ?D?? in them. Then again?it might be the brownies.

Meanwhile back at the ranch?the downstairs bathroom now has a new cabinet and vanity mirror. A new shower stall and tile floor are soon to be on the agenda and the innards of the toilet need to be replaced. Pruning?lots of pruning. My wife believes I?ve become neurotically obsessive with the clippers and pruning sheers. It?s like ?cleaning my space?. Cleaning and clearing out the dead growth that is impeding the new growth. The home school program sent books for our two kids. Now we?ve jus got to carve out the time to become familiar with the program structure and build school time? into the day to day.

The Cabin?well, I finally finished fixing all the leaks that resulted from frozen pipes last winter?that resulted from not properly draining the water system last fall, that resulted from the flooding in my primary residence and the flooding in Rental #1 last fall. ?Water? has sure played a significant factor in my life this past year wreaking havoc. I?ve spent a lot of time this summer carving out living space in the brushy greenery along the creek.

The estate sale went well. We got rid of a ton of ?stuff??met a lot of great people and converted stuff into $$$. It was a lot of work putting it together and I have to give my wife credit for much of it. She is the ?organizational? wizard, juggling six babies while changing a ball. We continue to make headway on our To Do list to get prepared for departure. The real estate market sucks, but it is what it is?I?m not going to change that. So, we?ve been working to find ?Plan B? options to optimize our financial success in this crappy market. One option is to short plat our primary residence property, of course Lease/Option is also a consideration for one or both properties. Move out to our cabin and expand the living space before our departure...??? I?m not sure about the details of how it will all eventually unfold. We?ve been looking more seriously at the 5th Wheel Toy-haulers and 3500 dualie pick up trucks and considering different purchase options. Each decision moves us closer to departure. Each project completed moves us one step closer to weighing anchor and setting our sails in the wind. We?ve become very focused on where we are going. Our energies and effort are synched with our will and intent.

Our optimism may waiver, but our resolve is strong. It?s not a matter of ?if??at this point, it?s more a matter of ?when? and ?how?. I have faith the "way" will manifest.
 
Good luck to you, I understand the market up there is a problem, so hope you get an offer you want.
 
There are several things going on simultaneously that are adversely effecting the real-estate values.

1. The market is saturated with foreclosures, and distress sales that are driving down property prices.
2. Banks tightened up on their loan requirements creating fewer "qualified" buyers.
3. With low mortgage rates, many people are re-financing their homes to capture the lower interest rates. In that process, the banks are sending in their appraisers who are appraising properties 10 to 20% under market value to reduce the banks liability and the amount of cash an "owner" can pull out of their homes. This further drives down the appraised property values for not only house being appraised...but "devalues" the neighboring homes as well.

I have no intention or desire to "give away" the improvement assets in our property.
 
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