Can I Sell My House Right Now?

It's no secret to anyone, the housing market has taken a wallop in the past few years.  Lots of folks have had trouble keeping up with their house payments and have had their homes go into foreclosure.  Tight lending standards and high unemployment have cut into the pool of qualified  buyers. 

So, where do you stand if you want to sell your home right now?

Well, it depends...

Although the Kansas City area did not suffer from the great swings high or low in the housing market, prices are generally lower than they were a few years ago.

If you bought your home at the height of the market, or if you purchased your home with little or no down payment, and have owned for fewer than five years,  you may have a hard time selling today without bringing money to the closing table.  In other words, if your mortgage payoff, real estate commissions, title insurance, pro-rated property tax and other miscellaneous seller closing costs add up to more than a buyer is willing to offer for your home, you might as well plan to stay put.

If you bought your home a few years ago, have made no changes or improvements to the property and live in a neighborhood with flat or declining property values, it is unlikely that you will be able to sell your home for a profit or even recoup your down payment and closing costs.

If you really need to sell because of a job transfer or change in life status (marriage, divorce, birth of a child, death of a spouse), it's important that you sit down with a real estate professional and figure out the realistic market value of your home and the estimated selling costs. 

Many times seller's find it more cost effective to sell their house for a loss and bring money to the closing table rather than continuing to make mortgage payments and pay utilities, insurance, taxes and maintenance.

It's important to have a firm grasp on the numbers before you stick a sign in the yard.

If you'd like information on selling your home, please let us know.  We'd be happy to meet with you and discuss your situation.

Morgan Rathmel (913) 269-2075  mrathmel@gmail.com
Marianne Damon (913) 221-5272 mariannedamon@gmail.com