Maybe you guys can help.....

We're not sure what to do so maybe some of you who may have some experience can help with this one:

We have had our 2 bedroom co-op on the market since july and finally have an accepted offer. Unfortunately, the offer was $14,000 below our purchase price in 2005. (FYI, In our complex there has not been one 2 bedroom unit sold since 2007 and there are 12 for sale).
Since we are having baby #2 soon, our plan was to sell and use the money from the sale to help with the down payment on a home.
Unfortunately, we were not expecting to take a hit on the sale, so/but our agent told us to take the deal since the market is going to continue to decline for at least another 6 mos and this could be the best deal at this time .

My question is, do we accept the offer knowing that we will have to rent for a while, but having the piece of mind knowing that we sold. Or do we stay and possibly continue to build equity (or not) and sell in 6-8 months hoping the value of the co-op hasnt dropped even more?

Sorry so long, any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you for listeniing.

Re: Maybe you guys can help.....

Sorry I don't have any advice but good luck.

Re: Maybe you guys can help.....

Its really a difficult call, and there are alot of veriavels.

Can you deal with the $14,000 hit?
How long will it take you to recover this loss plus save additional $$ for a down payment? Can you save $ while you are paying rent? Would you absolutely have to rent if you sold at this point.

vs.

Ride it out for maybe a year or two with 2 babies in a 2 bedroom. The time will go so fast. Many people do it especially when the kids are small. Can you continue to save $ if you stay?

Re: Maybe you guys can help.....

Re: Maybe you guys can help.....

oh boy! I would hate to take a hit on my coop and I would probably live here crammed until it was worth more OR buy a home and rent my coop out. we are in a JR 4 with our baby, but I would not sell at a loss

Re: Maybe you guys can help.....

I don't know your whole story but I wouldn't rent the same exact apartment that I live in. If you are living in your own 2 bedroom condo and then sell it and have to move to a 2 bedroom apt and rent that is a double loss IMO.

I would stay and ride it out for 18 months or so. Yes the market may go down more but eventually it goes up.

Have you found a house you want to buy?

If you stay, you could continue to save toward a downpayment.

I think unless you absolutely have to get out of there, I wouldn't sell right now. Selling it isn't getting you your downpayment. It's just getting rid of the condo at a loss.

Good luck with your decision and do what you feel is right. Only you know your whole financial siutation.

Also, the RE wants to sell something, anything is this market so she/he may be a bit biased.

Re: Maybe you guys can help.....

How much are those co-ops selling for?

It's hard to believe that a 2br co-op hasn't sold in over a year at your complex. Bad market or not, that's just BAD.

They are either insanely overpriced to begin with, or the co-op must be in some financial trouble. Or maybe the location is just bad.

I know plenty of co-ops where units are still selling well. I wonder why your cooperative is having such a hard time selling.

Re: Maybe you guys can help.....

I don't really have an advice, but it seems the market is supposed to continue to go down and not come back up for about 18 months, if you can wait it out, that would probably be best - if you can't, I would say take the offer because people just aren't buying.

Re: Maybe you guys can help.....

With 12 other units for sale, I would probably take the deal and get out.

Good luck.

Message edited 11/30/2008 7:59:53 PM.

Re: Maybe you guys can help.....

I am thinking that if the market is down for coops, that the market would be down for houses as well.

So while you might be losing 14k for your co-op, the house you want would probably be about 10% less in cost compared to last year this time. Since its winter, if you wanted to move right away, you might be able to negotiate even more.

Re: Maybe you guys can help.....

This is totally just my opinion, but I really believe that real estate will drop for a long time. There are some crazy crazy crazy things going on with the economy and I don't see it getting cleared up any time soon. I never believe forcasts about when things are going to change. I know $14,000 is a hit, but I feel that if i could afford it, i would take the money, especially if I knew i was saving money with rent. That is something you should consider though. Will you be saving money by renting or not?

Re: Maybe you guys can help.....

is it a 14K loss before or after commission?

it's a very hard decision - we are just trying to think of our bottom line as well.