Serious advice needed about debt?

Question

My parents are in serious debt due to the total standstill of the real estate market. They own two properties in Florida.. one in the Port charlotte area that is a newly built house and one in the Sarasota area that is a old house but totally newly renovated with a huge lot. Also the house that they live in has been for sale for almost a year with no success. NOTHING is selling with little interest. Is there any help they can seek to try to "ride out" these horrible real estate times until things get better? All they need is to sell one property and it will save them. Also their income is low. Thank you for the help.

Thank you for all your advice. Yes they are working with realtor and no, there asking prices are bare minimum. "Minimum" meaning the costs of building + very little additional profit. Still, seems the the housing bubble did not "burst" but EXPLODE.

Answer 1

The conventional wisdom about properties that have been on the market a long time with no interest is that they are overpriced. Your parents might want to evaluate the prices they are asking in light of the current real estate market.

Some real estate experts advise that if a property has been on the market unsold for a long time, it's a good idea to take it out of the listings for a while because the property is what realtors call a "stale" listing. After a period of time, they advise re-listing the property.

You don't say whether your parents are trying to sell the properties themselves or are using a realtor to handle the listing. For Sale By Owner ("FISBO") listings are difficult to sell even in good times. Many realtors steer clients away from FISBO listings because they get a smaller commission from the seller and sometimes the seller will refuse to negotiate with an agent at all. Also, FISBO sales are notoriously difficult to put through because most FISBO sellers really have no idea of what's involved.

FISBO sales can also be difficult because unlike an agent, an owner usually has an emotional investment in the property and it may be hard for an owner to listen to someone who speaks objectively about the flaws and problems a property might have.

If your parents are trying to "do it themselves" in order to save the sales commission, they might want to reconsider and hire an agent.

If your parents ARE working with a realtor, then they need to light a fire under the realtor's fanny and ask him/her why the properties aren't selling, and what the realtor will do to actively market the properties. That means a full formal presentation about advertising, open houses, etc. and whatever else the realtor will do to get the buyers looking.

Your parents may also want to consider hiring someone to "stage" the houses for a sales blitz. This means decluttering all rooms, cleaning/painting/repairing the homes as necessary, improving the "curb appeal" so that the properties look inviting. Sometimes it's just a matter of cleaning things up so a property looks inviting.

Good luck to you!

Answer 2

Don't take this personally but some sellers are in denial when it comes to sell their property. They are very stubborn, meaning that in this market today they have to come down substantially in the price if they want a quick sale . The housing market is over priced because of the greed that there is out there. Believe me, in the situation you are decribing they are better off if they make a loss rather than loosing everything. Think obout it. Good luck.

Answer 3

If they are over 65 and retired, and live in one of the homes, they can consider a reverse mortgage. Evaluate them carefully--- there are a lot of different programs out there--- but basically a reverse mortgage means the mortgage company assumes the title to the home, pays any outstanding balance, and pays your parents some income every month. Some allow you to buy back out of the program, some don't, so do your homework very carefully. There are a lot of good programs out there and a lot of bad ones!

Answer 4

Actually the real state market in Florida is hot right now, your parent's just need to price their property competitively. Prices aren't going to jump up like they did for a short time last year, so they need to just do it.

I'm sorry if my advice isn't what you wanted to hear, but that's the way it is.

Good Luck!

Answer 5

Any thought to renting one of the properties out to cover the payments of mortgage, insurance, taxes, maintenance, etc??? They could examine a rental with option to buy with a family that may want the home but not have the down payment.

Answer 6

before everything, have you ever phoned your catalogue up and totally defined the priority? some lenders will settle for a token fee of £a million each month as a stable-faith gesture which you're a minimum of attempting to pay what you owe. it would desire to be properly worth chatting with them and seeing in the event that they're going to artwork with you in this - yet under no circumstances in simple terms quit paying. it is going to temporarily injury your credit status, yet a approaches below in case you in simple terms quit paying and talking altogether. 2d, bailliffs can not take something in case you do not enable them to with the aid of your door, and that they have no authentic to tension their way in - so under no circumstances enable one in in the event that they knock on the door. while they are interior the path of the door they'd help themselves regardless of the incontrovertible fact that. 0.33, it would desire to be relatively properly worth your at the same time as talking with electorate suggestion with regard to the above factors, and notice in the event that they have something better to function, alongside with templates of letters you may write to lenders. better of success alongside with your concern!