I've been in the housing market for 22 years. This year was the worst July in sales I have ever seen. I'm starting to wonder what I should do; I still make more money than I'd make in a factory or flipping burgers and I get the convenience of working out of my home. However, I'm scared that sooner or later, this is all going to completely dry up. Things are just not moving like they use to and it feels more like the winter in sales than the summer here.
I've kind of made a decision that when I move to the second home, I'm looking for a part time job waitressing or bartending somewhere. Maybe just a few nights a week for backup to help with the housing expenses.
I'm getting a check this week from the insurance company on my run away car that got dented and scratched on one side ($4,100) and I've decided to use it to buy fuel for the winter instead of fixing the car. The car is stored for the winter so I will worry about it next year. Also, the car is a 1999 convertible, if I have it fixed with paint and labor, the cost will only be about $2,000 and with the miles and the year and what I have already spent on that car, it can wait. The car doesn't look so bad I can't drive it and still enjoy having the top down and the wind blowing through my hair. Lately it has been a lot of rain in my hair; that is all it does here - looks like we are going to have a wet and damp summer and then go right back into a cold winter. Summers are never long enough here.
The house I'm in now hasn't even had a bite on it. So I listed it on line, bought some fancy signs with a brochure box to put flyers in and have been advertising it weekly in the local paper. I'm going to have an open house in another week and see how that goes. If I don't sell this house by October 1st, I'm renting it and moving. I'll wait until the market comes back next spring maybe, but I can't heat two houses all winter and the heat in this house is propane gas which is about $2.85 a gallon right now; last year I used 1100 gallons and that was for my furnace, cook stove, fireplace, dry and hot water tank. I don't think that is too bad, the fireplace uses the most gas and someone could cut back on that, but these winters are cold and long.
Let's all hope the housing market rebounds soon; maybe after the election something will change.
Real Estate Market Slow Down
July 16th, 2008 at 10:09 am
July 16th, 2008 at 11:22 am 1216207350
July 16th, 2008 at 12:27 pm 1216211274
July 17th, 2008 at 10:25 pm 1216333521