Linda wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked me her question below. If you have a question that you would like for me to answer for free, just use the online form and ask me your question . “Dear Steve, Last year we put our house which is paid for on the market expecting it to sell quickly, and purchase another house with a mortgage. Our realtors say to lower the price $75k to sell it, but we feel that won’t give enough to invest for our retirement. Would we be better off to rent our house to cover the expenses and wait out the market, or lower the price and see if it will sell? Linda” Dear Linda, It seems like you are at a crossroad or cross purposes. You can hold out for a higher sales price but if your house has been on the market that long you probably are not going to get it. But you might, stranger things have happened. At the same time $75,000 of perceived value that can be turned into real money isn’t really investable money for your retirement fund if nobody wants to pay that price. Right now you’ve got $75,000 of nothing. The true value of something is that value at which the buyer and seller agree and based on what your realtor is saying, that’s a lower number. There are a number of factors that come into play to determine value. Many of those factors are beyond your control. The things that are hurting the sale of your home now are the slowdown of mortgage lenders and the poor economy. This leaves more unsold houses sitting on the market and that just depresses the value of all the homes trying to sell, including yours. If you sell your current home for less now, you will probably be able to purchase your new home for less as well. If home values rise again in the future, which they always do over time, you’ll potentially recover your $75,000 when you sell the next house. If the decision you make is that you’d rather sell the house now that let it continue to linger on the market waiting for a buyer that may never appear, lowering the price and good marketing by your realtor is probably the best bet. Besides, no realtor is going to aggressively market a home that is overpriced and not going to sell. Why waste their time. Thanks for the question. Big hug. Steve Other Related Articles to Read Steve Writes In “I Want to Cash Out My 401(k) And Pay Off Debt.”

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If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed right now, before you forget, to get the latest posts. Thanks for visiting! I just saw the YouTube advert for the new Sprint phone offering people $20 for a blatant product placement in a YouTube video. You’ve got to applaud ...[Read More]

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I couldn’t pass on this news out of the U.K. today. A new study out by the Fawcett Society says the practice of entertaining clients in lap-dancing clubs is increasingly commonplace in the City of London. The manifesto, entitled Sexism and the City, condemns the “widespread” ...[Read More]

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Now here is a very interesting approach to marketing a product, belittle your customer. “Let’s get something straight. I’m a jerk. I’m obnoxious. And I’m lazy.” The Rich Jerk purports to be able to show even the dumbest novice how to make money online. For ...[Read More]

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So I was just reading this post by Rob about making money online and his trepidation about being invited to a big event where their might be reporters and his concern about what he would say if asked about his online empire. I can almost imagine the small talk now…. “Hi, I’m ...[Read More]

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Airport credit card marketing is an effective way for credit card companies to secure new customers, applicants and consumers as cardholders. It is an effective way to gather new applications as well.

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So I had this theme song commissioned to use for a new section of the site that I have not gotten around to just yet. I don’t know about you but it makes me smile when I hear it. Helen and I were just sitting here in my office listening to it and laughing. A fun way to start the day. I hope ...[Read More]

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For those of us that write blogs there is an avalanche of information out there that purports to make our blogs more visible and accessible. Be it Digg, Reddit, /., Technorati, etc. Who knows. I’m beginning to think, nobody really knows. My issue is that I come across so much good ...[Read More]

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Attracting RSS subscribers to your blog is a bit of a mystery to me, I’m not going to lie. I read a lot of tips and I read a lot of blogs and no magic answer has appeared yet. I suppose it is like almost everything else and just takes time and the ability for people that like what you have ...[Read More]

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