Hopeing Mr.Yourdon can help on this issue. If I were you and your house was on the market but wasnt selling how would you feel about forclosure? Have good job waiting in state of oregon but cant unload home. Currently reside in Southern Ca. Hoping you will help. I am pretty convinced in my mind already. Just curious as to another opinion. Thanks

-- jon (sk8erkut@aol.com), March 05, 1999

Answers

I wish I could help, but I'm not sure what kind of miracle you think I can perform for this situation. I don't know whether your problem is that you've priced your house too high, or that the local real estate market in your part of southern CA is turning soft, or what ...

Seems to me that you need the advice of a good, savvy real-estate professional. It may require dropping the price on your house; and as someone else said on this thread, it may require you to make the really tough decision to take a loss on your house in order to wrap things up.

The only two thoughts that I can contribute on this one are: (a) IMHO, the real-estate situation is going to drop sharply at some point this year when/if people finally take Y2K seriously and decide to unload, and (b) unless Y2K knocks us all the way back to the Stone Ages, you should assume that creditors are like elephants: they never, ever, EVER forget the fact that you owe them money.

Wish I could offer more help. Best of luck with your situation...

-- Ed Yourdon (ed@yourdon.com), March 06, 1999.

Given Murphy's influence on our lives, it could be that of all the things that could gang aft agley, the credit reporting system won't be one of them. I'm not Ed Yourdon (and I couldn't possibly play him on TV) but I wouldn't risk ruining my credit if I were you. We were in a similar situation--we took a loss on the house and it took us several years to recoup, but we finally did it. And we are a credit to our credit report.

-- Creditworthy Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), March 05, 1999.

This is what most likely happen during Y2K to the housing market. We all know that only at the most about 20% of the population will have prepared for Y2K. The other 80% are at grave risk of dying from hunger, thirst, cold, disease, lack of medicine, killings by hungry marauding gangs, etc. etc. This will cause millions of homes to sit empty by 2001. That will crash the housing market to rock bottom prices!

My advise is to just walk away from your mortgage, unless you can just drop the price drastically and still manage to salvage a few thousand dollars. Move to Oregon, stock up on food as much as you can, so you can wait it out until the housing market hits bottom. With so many houses for sale, the fact that you walked out of your mortgage, most likely will not hinder you, because most likely that will happen to many others. Millions will be stuck to their high cost home with high payments, unless they just walk away from their mortgage and purchase a lower priced home. Nobody will continue paying for a $200,000 home when you can buy one for $20,000. You will love Oregon!!!!

-- Freddie the Freeloader (freddie@aol.com), March 05, 1999.

Thanks Freddie and Anon for your input but am still not sure.From what I understand So. Cal. has none of its own water,its all pumped in from somewhere else and so is frightning not to leave. Read the book Economic Doomsday by Gene Edwards. Really tells the story. Still hopeing Mr. Yourdon will answer. THANKS AGAIN

-- jon (sk8erkut@aol.com), March 06, 1999.

There are real estate people that will buy your home. Search for one.

-- Scotty (BLehman202@aol.com), March 06, 1999.

COnsider doing what we did when we moved across the country. L.A. real estate prices were depressed and we couldn't sell it without taking a huge loss, so we decided to rent it (become landlords). There are advantages: 1. Someone else is paying your mortgage 2. If you have to sell for a loss, at least you can deduct the loss (because it's a rental). You can't deduct the loss if it's your residence. 3. Your credit stays intact.

Good luck!!

-- lisa (lisa@abc.com), March 08, 1999.