[JGatti]

My wife and I would like to move. The market is in the tank, and our home is worth 50,000 less than we could have got 5 years ago. We are lucky though that we still have a lot of equity in our home. If we can sell it for a little less than what it's appraised value is we still have about 50,000 in equity. That's selling well lower than what the homes in our area are still going for. ( worse case).
I was laid off from work. Not sure how long I'll be off. So to take some steps to make sure we don't lose everything we are planning on doing some work on her parents house and living there for a few years to save $$$ and both of us finish school.
So what would you do? I'd like to rent. I feel if things go well with a good renter we can put money back into our home and still have ownership if and when the market rebounds. Other people are saying renting is a nightmare and our home will get trashed. For what we can save in a year not paying our mortgage we could fix anything good as new in the home.
My wife on the other hand wants to just sell it, take our loss and be done with it. I'm not against this idea but it's hard to do knowing how much we'll lose. But then once we're out we're socking money away day one, not to mention the equity sitting in the bank. What would you do?

[skyl4rk]

I think that there are a lot of others in your position who are waiting for prices to go up before they sell. This will slow the rise of prices. I think that 2009 will be the low point but home prices will stay low for a long time in MI, especially in former factory towns.

Renting might be a way to make the best out of a bad situation but you will have to have the mindset of a professional landlord or it could be a royal pain.

[eureka1]

I DON'T live in Michigan (yet) but in California you can get a competent property manager for 10% of the rent which is really a good deal when you consider that 1)THEY will screen for a good tenant and b)they don't get paid if you don't c)it's a tax-deductable expense of renting. In the Michigan market you may even be able to negotiate for less than 10%, just a thought. I had to rent my house out for a year,was traumatized at the thought but the agent found a wonderful Asian family whose entire damage was one phone jack that wasn't in the best shape anyway. They even blessed my house before they moved out with a Hmong chant and incense. Good luck to you whatever you decide. These are hard times for all of us.

[walls]

...rent it......share the misery.....this state is set up where once the renter is in then falls behind....well....getting Moses to come down from the mount would be easier.......remember....the renter is a victim and you are a cold hearted capitalist pig in the eyes of the courts.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by walls

...rent it......share the misery.....this state is set up where once the renter is in then falls behind....well....getting Moses to come down from the mount would be easier.......remember....the renter is a victim and you are a cold hearted capitalist pig in the eyes of the courts.

Not really. How long has it been since you read and looked at rent laws here? It used to be a pain, but is much shorter time frame for booting people out now. Used to look after a few rentals, and it is much easier to boot somebody now.

[walls]

I have a rental right now, and I had many in the past. Please explain! My last renter moved out voluntarily after 6 weeks behind in Nov. If it has changed let us know, that would be good news.

[Bydand]

If you think it is bad now, you should have seen it years ago. Sheesh talk about renters rights. It is paradise now compared to then. 6 weeks is quick just about anyplace right now.

[walls]

I did see it years ago, I had rentals in the 70'80'90's...sold them all. Now I have just one.....so you are saying 6 wks is fast???? then the rental biz and the courts are not as good to the landlord as you say.... so how long does it usually take to get them out?

[Ivorytickler]

If you can afford it, rent. Where I am, the only thing selling is foreclosures and they go for a song. That's driving the prices down. If you can wait until the foreclosure crisis is over, you'll have better luck selling and, probably, will get a better price.

It's so bad where I am that I'm 5 years into a 15 year mortgage I put 20% down on and the best I could hope for would be to pay off the mortgage if I tried to sell now. We're trying to hold on another two years just so we'll have a down payment for a new house when we move.

[Cliffie]

Originally Posted by JGatti

My wife and I would like to move. The market is in the tank, and our home is worth 50,000 less than we could have got 5 years ago. We are lucky though that we still have a lot of equity in our home. If we can sell it for a little less than what it's appraised value is we still have about 50,000 in equity. That's selling well lower than what the homes in our area are still going for. ( worse case).
I was laid off from work. Not sure how long I'll be off. So to take some steps to make sure we don't lose everything we are planning on doing some work on her parents house and living there for a few years to save $$$ and both of us finish school.
So what would you do? I'd like to rent. I feel if things go well with a good renter we can put money back into our home and still have ownership if and when the market rebounds. Other people are saying renting is a nightmare and our home will get trashed. For what we can save in a year not paying our mortgage we could fix anything good as new in the home.
My wife on the other hand wants to just sell it, take our loss and be done with it. I'm not against this idea but it's hard to do knowing how much we'll lose. But then once we're out we're socking money away day one, not to mention the equity sitting in the bank. What would you do?

I would rent it out if possible. Frankly, trying to sell a house in MI right now is a fool's errand. You'd just take a beating on the closing price and lose a big chunk of your investment. Your plan seems very sound to me.