selling a run-down house

[Fudgie]

My bf and I have hit a snag.

 

We both want to be together in the future and live together. He currently is stuck in his old home, alone. It's REALLY run down and needs repairs badly. He would have to sink a ton of money into it to make it desirable. He had to re- mortgage the house during his divorce and he has over a decade left on it as a result.

 

I cannot be where his house is due to my career and such. He needs to move and he wants to. He's currently looking into options but I am just confused.

 

So how does one sell a "junker" house? He doesn't think it would be worth all the money for repair trust me, it needs a LOT. He bought it "junked" and it stayed that way. And what would be the cheapest place for us to live? He has 2 dogs so he wants a small yard.

 

He hopes to keep working for about 10 more years. Then he'll get SS money and a pension, so some money will come in. Besides the mortgage, he will have no outstanding loans so if he sells the house, that's gone, right? I'm so new to this house stuff. If I am working too, I can't imagine why we wouldn't be able to find a small house to live together, either buy or rent. My parents have already told me that they would help us.

 

I want to live in a small town and commute to the city. Property prices are very low here. I don't care so much where we live just as long as we are together, safe, and have necessities.

[avman]

There are people who want to buy fixer-upper houses in order to try to turn a profit. The house has to be priced very attractively and it should be advertised straight out as needing help. That will get those types of buyers to notice the house and then make offers probably even less than the attractive price it is listed at.

 

If you don't price it right though, nobody will even give it a second look.

 

There are even some commercial groups like link removed. Of course you'll find the prices that you get from them will be even lower. But they'll usually close the deal quickly.

[Fudgie]

Yeah he probably wouldn't make much off of it. We both know that.

 

Once you sell it, the mortgage is gone though, right? Regardless of how much you make off of it?

[BriarRose]

Yeah he probably wouldn't make much off of it. We both know that.

 

Once you sell it, the mortgage is gone though, right? Regardless of how much you make off of it?

 

 

No, that is why people are stuck in their homes in this market. If his mortgage is "upside down", meaning he owes more than the home is worth, he will take a hit and lose money. What does he owe vs. what is it appraised at (or what are houses going for in that area)?

[lavenderdove]

If a house has little to recommend it, it has to sell based on price/location (i.e., it must be a very attractive price to the buyer, or be in a really great location where the location really is the attraction).

 

So you need to contact a real estate agent and get a realistic estimate of what price it would need to be to sell. A house will ALWAYS sell if the price the right, but it may not be a price you like.

 

The mortgage is gone IF you pay off the bank. That the the sole way the mortgage goes away. So if the house sells for $100K and the mortgage is $80K, it goes away and you get $20K minus the agent's fee. But if you can only sell it for less than the mortgage (mortgage is $80K and you can only get $60K for the house), then you owe the bank $20k, the agent their 6% fee as well (i.e., you have to come up with the difference between what the house sold for and what the bank is owed, or go into foreclosure and his credit gets wrecked.

[Xylitol]

If i were him i wouldn't leave, i would get cheap material and do the most essensial repairs myself. Once paid off, id dump the house and live together with you whilst receiving pension.

[BriarRose]

How much does he owe on the mortgage? What is the house currently appraised at (not that he'll get that)?

[u4me]

Can we back up a bit? You said you two want to live together in the future. How far in the future? How long have you been together? Is there as age difference - you refer to his pension, but you are new to mortgages? How about he keeps his house and rents it out, cheap, to a construction-type person for upgrades? That buys you some time and maybe he can turn a profit.

[Fudgie]

Yes, he's 38 years older than me.

 

We are talking about living together in 2-3 years. I'm stupid - sometimes I psych myself out over the future.

 

His pension and SS will provide some money but I will be the primary breadwinner for sure. No problems here. He does have health insurance so I know that as he starts to age and his health worsens that I will be able to help him get the care he needs.

 

I've talked to him since I made this post. He told me that we will look into all options in terms of housing and living together. He's determined.

 

I didn't think of the renting out idea. Thanks. I will mention it to him.

 

Really hope we can find a 1 story house. Going up lots of stairs is difficult for him now and it will only get worse.