forgetme said:Green for being responsible about the situation. Wish I had experiences to share.You wish you could have sold your home at a loss?

I'd be happy to help you out with that...

I think you need to think about why you are still holding on to the house.

If you enjoy living there, that's one thing.

if you are thinking that the housing market will turn around - While it may turn around down the road, these cycles are generally very long. You will probably be holding for another 5-10 years (minimum) before the market turns around.

Of course, YMMV.

I am also a "responsible" type, I own my condo free and clear, and I'm debating selling now also - but only because I am no longer happy living here. If my neighbors were less annoying, I'd probably be holding indefinitely, as it is very convenient being able to walk to work. Problem is -- if I sell, I have no idea where I'll go...

ClaimsGuy said:What I would like to know how does a seemingly responsible person get caught up in the housing debacle?

Just like many of the other thousands of people in their situation, they certainly didn't do it on purpose. Do you think they would have put 20% down on a house that they knew was going to lose value?

No, they simply got caught up in something at the wrong time. That doesn't make them irresponsible. In fact, the fact that they are considering selling at a loss and downsizing speaks volumes towards them being responsible.

hate2work said:No, they simply got caught up in something at the wrong time. That doesn't make them irresponsible. In fact, the fact that they are considering selling at a loss and downsizing speaks volumes towards them being responsible.I would argue that buying more house than you can afford is irresponsible, regardless of whether or not you are "caught up in something".

Of course, considering downsizing and selling at a loss is definitely a responsible move (good decision on the OP's part), but that doesn't mean the irresponsible behavior that caused the problem in the first place never happened.

berlinsmommy said:I don't have any experience, just an opinion. If your current house doesn't meet your needs, find something that does. Who knows, maybe you take a $10-15k hit, but think about it this way: You boght low and sold high a few times, and this time you bought high. It was bound to catch up with you sooner or later. Overall, it sounds like you have still done okay. So, maybe you find someone else selling a smaller, less expensive house that is undervalued. Maybe you make up your $10-15k right there and stop paying less money on interest, HOA, taxes, insurance, etc.

Agreed. Just take the emotion out of it and look at it as a series of trades. You had a win, win, loss. But as far as I can tell the net result is still a win. What was your ROI over the period since your first move even if you take this loss? Hopefully this will help you feel better about restructuring your housing situation.

jayK said:Of course, considering downsizing and selling at a loss is definitely a responsible move (good decision on the OP's part), but that doesn't mean the irresponsible behavior that caused the problem in the first place never happened.

And it's been a very valuable lesson that we'll not forget going forward. If anything, I'm glad we're learning this now, early in life, so we can get over ourselves & make more conservative decisions in the future. We're just blessed to have some equity to help us out of the situation compared to so many who are upside down.

I did sell a house at a loss, or a condo. My father-in-law owned a small condo in an old 70's era building when he passed away a few years ago. He had recently refinanced and had very little equity. The condo ended up selling for a small loss, but I was happy to be rid of the monthly mortgage payments and the hassle of dealing with a property on the other side of the country.

OP, the only other advice I would give is if you were not getting any views it's probably because you were asking for too much. In this market you're only going to stand out if you price right. Keep hacking away at the price until it sells or it becomes too much of a loss for you to be able to sell. If it sits on the market for another three months it's just going to be worth that much less. Good luck.

I would sell at a loss if I can afford to. Take the loss like a loss in stock.
The problem is that you guys have zero slacks in your finance.
The way the economy is going, there are known/unknown risks everywhere with inflation driving up your necessities.

Housing is supposed to be a long term investment and an improvement of your lifestyle.
If your lifestyle actually gets worse due to tight budget, then what's the point?
And I think the risks are too high right now to justify the investment.

It is much better to sell when you can and be conservative instead of being forced to sell.
Now is the time to be conservative.

Having sold a condo for a loss last year, I can offer a little advice. After buying and living in the condo for about a year, my wife and I decided to relocate to a different state. We unsuccessfully tried selling the condo on our own before moving and after another unsuccessful attempt at selling with an agent, we ended up renting it out for the next 16 months and acted as remote landlords. We were able to rent the condo for enough to cover the mortgage and some of the HOA fees. Sensing the turn in the market, we enlisted the same agent again and sold the condo for a loss last year.

We would have loss less if we had been willing to lower our selling price in the first attempt to sell. As mentioned in previous posts, this behavior is common among people who don't typically invest in real estate. However, the one upside was that, because we rented the property, we were able to deduct the loss (along with taxes, insurance and after factoring in depreciation and rental income) from our 2007 tax return. So we'll be getting a portion of the loss back in this year's return. This deduction is only allowed the year that you dispose of the property (ie sell it) and you must have rented to someone for at least 15 days who is not friend nor family. In addition, if you rent for several years and accumulate a loss, the accumulated amount can be deducted in the year you sell. I don't necessarily recommend this as a primary strategy but keep it in mind if you're looking to reduce a potential loss.