Plot Complication!

It's official, Christy has formally accepted the Cryptic job, in writing. We're planning to be heading California way the first of July and allowing a week to get there and find at least temporary housing. We're going to be using one of those P.O.D.S. you see advertised on TV to move most of our stuff and the car for the cats, important records, the computer and any other essentials. The P.O.D.S. looks to be our best option at about $4K for drop off at the house, we load it, they pick it up and ship it to CA where they will store it for up to one month (very important!) and then deliver it to our apartment once we've picked one. We had a lower estimate but some quick Internet searching turned up many tales of scams perpetrated by that unnamed company. Note for any potential movers: always do your research! So, we've got the essentials of the move taken care of and all that's needed is to pack and prioritize because whatever doesn't fit in the POD or the car isn't going! Oh well, we both come from long lines of pack-rats so we need to clean out stuff anyway.

Our big Plot Complication comes from our house. Back in November, we refinanced and had an appraisal done that showed us having about $30K in equity. As our house needs some cosmetics (painting, trim replacement, carpet) for ideal saleability and we just don't have the time or money to do that and pay deposits and other moving expenses, I thought we could talk to an investor who we could sell our house to for what we owed plus a few $K and they could do the cosmetics quickly and get a profitable flip. We had a nice guy from Home Vestors come out and talk to us. Like I said, he was a nice guy, very professional and honest. Sadly for us, he honestly gave us some bad news. He'd run a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) and had three home listings that had sold most recently in our neighborhood. The bad news was that since our appraisal in November, property values had dropped $30K! There went our equity and there went the possibility of a quick flip for Home Vestors. I did some research of my own and found that this wasn't just a freak occurrence. List prices are down all over Franklin Township and most of Indianapolis as well. It seems to be due to the recent sales of the numerous foreclosures of which Indiana has had record levels the past few years, combined with the loss of many manufacturing and other well paying blue-collar jobs in the area. Indy is a buyer's market with a dearth of buyers! Yet another sign of the economic downturn in Indy that makes the CA move a smart one on our part.

So, we sat down and asked ourselves "What's the worst case scenario?" Our answer is that we move to CA, can't afford mortgage and rent and so we get foreclosed on and lose our house and get cruddy credit and won't be able to get a new mortgage for at least 7-10 years. Then we asked ourselves if we were willing to accept that outcome. Well, we're moving to CA where the housing market is so inflated we can't afford a house anyway and will be having to rent an apartment. The credit hit won't be good but it can also be explained and thus is dealable. Plus, in this day and age, less than ideal credit is a good defense against identity theft! Additionally, we know that if we talk to our mortgage company before things get bad we can probably just surrender the house to them without a foreclosure if we list it and can't sell. Combined with our not likely needing a mortgage until near retirement, or in the event of a massive drop in CA housing costs, we still have plenty of time to repair any credit damage done. As such, we decided we can accept the worst case scenario.

So, now we need to at least try and sell the place. A mix of Craig's List posting and Internet searches turned up a few possibilities.

First there was a Realtor who said he represented an investor was interested in talking to us. He worked for one of those offices that have their people wear distinctive colored jackets and use what's arguably the biggest yard signs in the biz. Long story short, he had an appointment to meet us at home at 2:00 this afternoon. At 2:03 he calls to "confirm" our appointment and after I do so he says he'll see us at his office! "Waitaminnit!" I say, "we're supposed to meet here." "Oh, I can do that." he says. "I'll be there in half an hour." Hmmm... This doesn't bode well. 2:30 comes and goes... "I'm giving him until 2:45 and then we're leaving. I'm hungry." Christy says and I agree. 2:45 comes and goes, so we leave. Turns out he shows up about 3 minutes after we leave, according to a friend. How unprofessional can you be? Even cutting him slack on messing up where the appointment was still puts him over 15 minutes late! I'd be mortified! Not to mention how stupid such a mistake is in a 100% commission business. It's not only a lack of professionalism but also a total lack of respect for us and our time.

Then we heard from a guy wanting to buy on contract with us maintaining our mortgage, with him paying our expenses, until he can arrange financing in about a year. This isn't an uncommon arrangement, often referred to as seller financing, but we decided it was just too complicated and risky with us moving so far away. Besides, with the market being what it is, what if it dropped more over the next year and he couldn't finance enough to pay off our mortgage? Even with the help of one of our attorney friends, it just seemed a bad idea.

Lastly, we've heard from another Realtor who thinks he can list our house for enough to sell it for what we owe, provide an allowance for the cosmetic repairs to a buyer and pay commissions and related costs. He's also willing to offer a guaranteed buy program, which covers us if he's wrong. Additionally, he might be able to refer us to an agent in CA who could help us find a place to rent out there. We're going to make an appointment and see how things look. Being a former real-estate agent myself, I'm sure I can look out for us and spot a scam, plus this guy would be contracted as our listing agent and so owe us fiduciary responsibility such that any scam or dishonesty could cost him his license and/or Realtor status. As long as he doesn't turn out to be like Mr. 45 Minutes Late for an Appointment, above, things look good.

As the axiom goes, "Expect the best, plan for the worst." Once you're ready to accept the worst case scenario, anything else is a step to the better! Most of all, take the advice of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and "DON'T PANIC"

Our adventure continues.

Next up: Packing and Prioritizing!