Sell or not to sell?

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

mailmandan

Senior Member
Apr 7, 2014
25,043
13,050
113
58
#1
My wife and I want to sell our house and buy another house, but the housing market right now is insane! Every time we go to make an offer on a house (offer them the asking price) 5 other vultures have already offered around $30,000 above the asking price. My wife's realtor friend told her there are a lot of houses coming up in foreclosure by the end of the year when the CARES act runs out (numerous people who were hurt by the coronavirus pandemic did not make payments for extended periods of time) and can be foreclosed on after that and maybe if we sold our house now and rented until January, we could get a good deal on a house that has been foreclosed on, but relief measures may be extended and we will find ourselves in the same boat in 6 months with $7,000-$8,000 less in our pocket from payments we could have still been making on our house if we did not sell it. What should we do? Our house will be payed off next summer and my wife is driving me crazy to move! o_O
 

shittim

Senior Member
Dec 16, 2016
13,629
7,658
113
#2
Take it to the Lord, just heard of a family who sold theirs, the new house deal fell through, they were living in the car.
 

OneOfHis

Well-known member
Mar 24, 2019
1,430
2,208
113
#3
My wife and I want to sell our house and buy another house, but the housing market right now is insane! Every time we go to make an offer on a house (offer them the asking price) 5 other vultures have already offered around $30,000 above the asking price. My wife's realtor friend told her there are a lot of houses coming up in foreclosure by the end of the year when the CARES act runs out (numerous people who were hurt by the coronavirus pandemic did not make payments for extended periods of time) and can be foreclosed on after that and maybe if we sold our house now and rented until January, we could get a good deal on a house that has been foreclosed on, but relief measures may be extended and we will find ourselves in the same boat in 6 months with $7,000-$8,000 less in our pocket from payments we could have still been making on our house if we did not sell it. What should we do? Our house will be payed off next summer and my wife is driving me crazy to move! o_O

Hard to say brother. I would continue to pray about this one with my wife. I think if being patient is what's best it will pay off and if there is a deeper reason to be moving I think God can certainly bless you two.

I will be praying for you both man.
 
Jan 25, 2015
9,213
3,188
113
#4
Hi brother Dan :)

With the world markets in turmoil I think I would either sell and wait for a while or wait until all of this craziness is over. The nice thing is in an active market you might get a bit more for your house, but if you have to rent you might just use your surplus on renting accommodation.

Sit down and do a calculation (with the help of your realtor friend) with the following scenarios.
1) Keep the house and estimate what you will be able to sell it for is 12 months time. Take into account your bond payments and expenses on the property.
2) Sell the house in current market conditions and rent for 12 months. Keep in mind your higher price if applicable.
3) Sell the house and buy immediately at $30k over the asking price.

The answer is always in the figures and so you are making an informed decision. And then like Shittim said, pray about it and ask Abba Father for wisdom.

:) Hope this helps you my friend.
 

gb9

Senior Member
Jan 18, 2011
11,730
6,319
113
#5
My wife and I want to sell our house and buy another house, but the housing market right now is insane! Every time we go to make an offer on a house (offer them the asking price) 5 other vultures have already offered around $30,000 above the asking price. My wife's realtor friend told her there are a lot of houses coming up in foreclosure by the end of the year when the CARES act runs out (numerous people who were hurt by the coronavirus pandemic did not make payments for extended periods of time) and can be foreclosed on after that and maybe if we sold our house now and rented until January, we could get a good deal on a house that has been foreclosed on, but relief measures may be extended and we will find ourselves in the same boat in 6 months with $7,000-$8,000 less in our pocket from payments we could have still been making on our house if we did not sell it. What should we do? Our house will be payed off next summer and my wife is driving me crazy to move! o_O
a good friend of man, her mom has been looking to buy a house in here in ga.,( she lives in south carolina), and is experiencing almost the same thing..
she has been going through this for almost a year.

you are not alone in your frustration..
 

shittim

Senior Member
Dec 16, 2016
13,629
7,658
113
#6
The frustration may be the answer to the question.
 

jb

Senior Member
Feb 27, 2010
4,940
589
113
#7
My wife and I want to sell our house and buy another house, but the housing market right now is insane! Every time we go to make an offer on a house (offer them the asking price) 5 other vultures have already offered around $30,000 above the asking price. My wife's realtor friend told her there are a lot of houses coming up in foreclosure by the end of the year when the CARES act runs out (numerous people who were hurt by the coronavirus pandemic did not make payments for extended periods of time) and can be foreclosed on after that and maybe if we sold our house now and rented until January, we could get a good deal on a house that has been foreclosed on, but relief measures may be extended and we will find ourselves in the same boat in 6 months with $7,000-$8,000 less in our pocket from payments we could have still been making on our house if we did not sell it. What should we do? Our house will be payed off next summer and my wife is driving me crazy to move! o_O
Heb 13v5: "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
24,914
8,167
113
#8
Just curious: Why is your wife so impatient to get out of Dodge?
 

mailmandan

Senior Member
Apr 7, 2014
25,043
13,050
113
58
#9
Just curious: Why is your wife so impatient to get out of Dodge?
You know how women are. When they want something, they want it now! :giggle: It was very tough on her during covid when we could not travel to our usual destinations. She said she needs water and decided she wanted a pool. Well, apparently so did everyone else. We called the nearest swim center to see about having a pool installed and the prices had sky rocketed ($40,000 for the most basic in ground pool) and there was a waiting list of 2 years to get one. :( There are certain features in a house that my wife wants that we cannot have in our current house, but it's still a nice house. Shoe loves more modern homes. I suggested we buy a house in a neighborhood that already has the features she wants and a community pool and it sits right on a bike trail. We have two subdivisions in our city like that. The trick is to get a house in those subdivisions for a reasonable price without having to get into a bidding war with other vultures!
 
Jun 22, 2020
1,231
740
113
Australia
#10
My wife and I want to sell our house and buy another house, but the housing market right now is insane! Every time we go to make an offer on a house (offer them the asking price) 5 other vultures have already offered around $30,000 above the asking price. My wife's realtor friend told her there are a lot of houses coming up in foreclosure by the end of the year when the CARES act runs out (numerous people who were hurt by the coronavirus pandemic did not make payments for extended periods of time) and can be foreclosed on after that and maybe if we sold our house now and rented until January, we could get a good deal on a house that has been foreclosed on, but relief measures may be extended and we will find ourselves in the same boat in 6 months with $7,000-$8,000 less in our pocket from payments we could have still been making on our house if we did not sell it. What should we do? Our house will be payed off next summer and my wife is driving me crazy to move! o_O
Hi Mr Mailman Dan. Hope your doing well...

Look don't take my advise literally because im not a real estate expert.
I would love to be living in a house that is paid off... Yours will be next summer. Is it too small? Is there a big problem with it?
Then why put yourself into more debt, especially in such unpredictable times... We live in a material world where we buy ourselves too much crap. We replace our cloths, phones, cars and homes for no real reason...

So i guess my question to you would be why does your wife want to move? I just saw your answer to that above but anyway...
If there is no good reason then why not be happy with what you already own?

Whatever decision you make i wish you and your family all the best
 

shittim

Senior Member
Dec 16, 2016
13,629
7,658
113
#11
"we buy ourselves too much crap."
SO TRUE! Can you get the Dave Ramsey show on your radio? He emphasizes Godly financial resonsibility with such words of wisdom as "Debt is dumb, cash is king".
Start playing a lot of Dave Ramsey and get her on the same Godly living page as you, is she getting House Beautiful and stuff like that? Dump them quick.
Being solvent and secure should be a position that brings peace rather than wanting teporal "stuff" that counts nothing toward eternity.
 

mailmandan

Senior Member
Apr 7, 2014
25,043
13,050
113
58
#12
Hi Mr Mailman Dan. Hope your doing well...

Look don't take my advise literally because im not a real estate expert.
I would love to be living in a house that is paid off... Yours will be next summer. Is it too small? Is there a big problem with it?
Then why put yourself into more debt, especially in such unpredictable times... We live in a material world where we buy ourselves too much crap. We replace our cloths, phones, cars and homes for no real reason...

So i guess my question to you would be why does your wife want to move? I just saw your answer to that above but anyway...
If there is no good reason then why not be happy with what you already own?

Whatever decision you make i wish you and your family all the best
Our house currently is not too small, although I would like a larger man cave. My wife is mainly looking for a more modern house with some amenities. Plus she already has friends living in one such neighborhood that has a community pool that sits on a bike trail. They often meet at the pool and go bike riding together and she would love to join in with the group. Our neighborhood now is too boring for her, I guess. Whatever house we buy, we'll make sure that our new mortgage will be comfortable for us. We don't buy new expensive vehicles with large payments attached, which makes a big difference.
 

shittim

Senior Member
Dec 16, 2016
13,629
7,658
113
#13
What would the Lord want you to do? He always has the best plan, getting out and staying out of debt seems a lot more like His direction, being content with what we have is also our guidance. Not coveting where others live or what they have is also in His plan for each of us.
Women tend to do a lot of "But I want".......
 

mailmandan

Senior Member
Apr 7, 2014
25,043
13,050
113
58
#14
What would the Lord want you to do? He always has the best plan, getting out and staying out of debt seems a lot more like His direction, being content with what we have is also our guidance. Not coveting where others live or what they have is also in His plan for each of us.
Women tend to do a lot of "But I want".......
That's why we are waiting on the Lord and not making any hasty decisions.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
7,177
113
#15
It does sound to me like your wife is a being a bit covetous. I dont mean to be all judgy but..thats just what it seems based on your post.

Who will buy your home you have now anyway? If you offered it to the Lord to use as He sees fit then maybe He might see to it you can move into a 'more modern home, with a pool' but otherwise if its a perfectly good home are you just discarding it to someone who wants a less modern home without a pool?

or will, a vulture buy it, bust it down, and build a more modern home with a pool. Or maybe a block of flats to maximise returns. Is the house that bad...?
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
7,177
113
#16
I think if her new friends offered her a place to stay or live, then that might affect the decision, but if not, well. I dont know about moving house just so she can be with them. How about they move to be closer to her lol.
 
T

TheIndianGirl

Guest
#17
Yes, I have been told by a realtor friend that home prices are too high now and that there will be foreclosures soon.
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
7,177
113
#18
I actually do find it kinda weird or even disturbing that as soon as you paid for your house you immediately want to sell it and buy another one.

I mean what kind of crazy covetous person does that. The only people that buy stuff just to sell it again are retailers who are trading. Or stockbrokers. Isnt there meant to be some kind of ethic around property flipping?
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
7,177
113
#19
In the Bible, what the apostles did was sell all ther property and give to the poor and then go round spreading the gospel, they didnt sell it just to buy another one. (or keep some of it back, which was what got Anais and Saphirra in the creek without a paddle)