Real estate quagmire

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Brudaddy

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I need some non-trad advice STAT!:laugh:

I'm accepted to an OOS med. school and just found out that there's zero chance of me coming off my state school's waitlist. The OOS school is great and I have no personal issue with attending except that huge anchor holding me back being my mortgage. We were holding out on selling it in case I got in at my state school but now that's a bust and we are feeling the pressure of having to either sell quickly or find renters quickly and try to rent it until we have more time to sell it next summer. Is deferring at all possible this late in the game? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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I need some non-trad advice STAT!:laugh:

I'm accepted to an OOS med. school and just found out that there's zero chance of me coming off my state school's waitlist. The OOS school is great and I have no personal issue with attending except that huge anchor holding me back being my mortgage. We were holding out on selling it in case I got in at my state school but now that's a bust and we are feeling the pressure of having to either sell quickly or find renters quickly and try to rent it until we have more time to sell it next summer. Is deferring at all possible this late in the game? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

The only ones who can tell you whether deferring is an option would be your school. The advice of anyone here regarding that question is worth what you pay for it. Call your school, and if you cannot matriculate, I would try to find a renter and try to sell the house next summer. Good luck.
 
I need some non-trad advice STAT!:laugh:

I'm accepted to an OOS med. school and just found out that there's zero chance of me coming off my state school's waitlist. The OOS school is great and I have no personal issue with attending except that huge anchor holding me back being my mortgage. We were holding out on selling it in case I got in at my state school but now that's a bust and we are feeling the pressure of having to either sell quickly or find renters quickly and try to rent it until we have more time to sell it next summer. Is deferring at all possible this late in the game? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Call and ask, but don't get your hopes up. It takes a good excuse to defer and having held out hope somewhere else would admit you isn't a good excuse.

That said have you at least looked at the market? Can you sell your house? I sold one in January after 14 months on the market and for 35% less than what i paid in '05. Likewise the rental market most places sucks, do you know what can reasonably get for yours?

I wish you the best but these are decisions that should have been planned out well in advance.
 
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You should seriously consider renting the property. Find a property management (fees are typically about 6-10% of the rent so it's not too much), which will take care of all the work of finding a tenant and managing the property until you're ready to sell or return.
 
Price the house well below market for a quicker sell. Had mine on the market for 3 years. Finally priced it at a sweet point and sold it within 6 months. Had to bring thousands to the table to get out of it though. It is a huge weight off my shoulders. Right now the point is to get out, not to make a profit. It may even cost you to get out of it. Good Luck.
 
I need some non-trad advice STAT!:laugh:

I'm accepted to an OOS med. school and just found out that there's zero chance of me coming off my state school's waitlist. The OOS school is great and I have no personal issue with attending except that huge anchor holding me back being my mortgage. We were holding out on selling it in case I got in at my state school but now that's a bust and we are feeling the pressure of having to either sell quickly or find renters quickly and try to rent it until we have more time to sell it next summer. Is deferring at all possible this late in the game? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
There is little chance of you unloading that house between now and school, unless you are REALLY lucky.

Quickly, this was my situation a year ago. As crappy as it may be, you can always rent a small place near school until you sell, and spend time away from your wife/family if they cannot afford to move. Not Ideal. I know this firsthand to be true.

Another option: Find a short sale expert, with a reputation of selling quickly and with many (dozens+) of sales to show for it.

It's a tough call about renting. Renting probably will not cover the mortgage. Also, there's nothing like studying for the boards and getting called at midnight to be told there is crap backing up into in your basement. You don't need the extra stress.

You shouldn't be seeking advice here about finances per se, but there is also deed-in-lieu too. For what I understand this is best explained and dealt with by a realtor with short sale expertise who is familiar with your lender's policies and reactions to people who go down this road.
 
Do you have any reliable friends or family who are going to remain in the city you'd be leaving? If so, what about renting the house and paying one of those reliable friends a couple hundred dollars a month to serve as an informal property manager for you? You could give your tenant their phone number, and they could be in charge of unstopping toilets at 11 pm and/or calling the plumber if something goes seriously wrong.

You're unlikely to get a fair price for the house if you try to sell it before heading to school next month. A better idea would be to rent for a year and use all of next summer (which I'll presume you'll have off) to get the house sold. Unless, of course, you find that renting the house is producing a positive cash flow, in which case why not hold on to it for all four years of school?
 
Thanks for the advice everyone

We've decided as some have mentioned to try to rent the house first and then try to sell when we have a little more time on or hands. We do have family in the area that can check in on the property for us. I'll check back and let you know how things turn out.
 
Another option: Find a short sale expert, with a reputation of selling quickly and with many (dozens+) of sales to show for it.
.

I have a similar situation and am renting my condo. I have also looked into doing a short sale but my understanding is that will affect my credit for 3-4 years, which is still better than foreclosing, 7-9 years. I am in my 4th year of med school and am seriously considering a short sale once I am done with school.

Good luck, this is a tough time for a lot of people.
 
I know your focus is your property, but.... CONGRATULATIONS on getting into med school! It doesn't feel like it now, but this house thing will be the least of your concerns in the upcoming years. :)
 
I'm coming in a little late here, but I did have a couple of points:

1. Unless the family is leaping with eagerness to be your local property managers, I think that mixing family with business, especially when that business is landlording is a recipe for disaster...

2. Think hard about the decision you're going to be making 4 years from now if you don't get a residency spot in your home state. Only that time, your house will have had 4 years worth of tenants in it.

Overall, my recommendation would be to sell, unless you really have some fundamental reason to keep it (like a lot of equity, inability to buy a similar house for what you could sell for etc.)

Good luck with your decision and congrats on making it into medical school!
 
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