Sell or not to sell???

Question

I bought a house in So. California for $430,000.... the market seems to be changing left and right... what the right thing to do... SELL or KEEP? will it be harder to get a house later? it is a 3 + 2.. pool... big yard n all...

Answer 1

Are you living in it? Do you like it? Have a good mortgage?

If you have a fixed rate mortgage (3-5 years fixed at least) and can afford the payments, why not keep it?

Costs you money each time you buy or sell. If you are happy with it - no reason to sell it.

If you are renting it, the rental marketing in No Cal is getting much tighter, you might be able to get more rent. If you are carrying a small loss each month, that cash loss might equate to positive cash flow after taxes...Pay the bank or pay Uncle Sam...

Conversely, if you sell it and start renting - where does your money go? Not toward an investment...And you lose tax benefits.

Without more info, kinda hard to give you information that might help you make a decision.

Good luck

Answer 2

Advising you on the future market conditions in California, or anywhere else, is as difficult as telling you where the DJIA will be in six months. I wish I had that magic crystal ball which would give us that information.

Generally, I can only tell you that mostly everything I read in the assorted real estate publications indicates a continuing softening of the California market for some time to come.

If you sell now, in a soft market, you will realize less sale value than you might have realized a year ago. As to future purchases of real estate, it certainly would depend on WHEN and in what type of market you decide to purchase.

Hehehe...if you find that magic crystal ball anywhere, I would appreciate a clone of it.

Good luck !

Answer 3

Right now in many areas values have come down a bit and the market seems a little sluggish, I think you should hang on to it if you can and are able to pay the mortgage. At least the equity will continue to go up and in the future if you sell and buy another it won't be a problem if you have a good amount of equity to use as a down payment.