Comments on: It’s Time to Estimate the Market Value of Your Home http://toughmoneylove.com/2009/01/04/time-estimate-market-value-home/ The Hard Truth about Money and Personal Finance Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:37:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: kitty http://toughmoneylove.com/2009/01/04/time-estimate-market-value-home/comment-page-1/#comment-2010 kitty Tue, 06 Jan 2009 04:40:31 +0000 http://toughmoneylove.com/?p=962#comment-2010 I am not disagreeing with this list either, there are definitely situations when you are very interested in your home value. Only not always. (3) if you intend to keep both properties "forever" how is this different from one property? I used to have two properties, but I was renting out one and wasn't planning to hold it forever so its value was important. But had it been a vacation home, I am not sure if I'd have cared. Am I missing something? Regarding (5): yes, you are interested in your home value if you plan to upgrade. You may want to rent out, but knowing the value will help you decide whether renting out makes sense. In one respect, low real estate values is often a great opportunity to upgrade. In my purely anecdotal experience when the market declines the differences in prices between more expensive and less expensive properties tend to shrink. It also makes sense mathematically assuming they decline by roughly the same percentage. I am not disagreeing with this list either, there are definitely situations when you are very interested in your home value. Only not always.

(3) if you intend to keep both properties “forever” how is this different from one property? I used to have two properties, but I was renting out one and wasn’t planning to hold it forever so its value was important. But had it been a vacation home, I am not sure if I’d have cared. Am I missing something?

Regarding (5): yes, you are interested in your home value if you plan to upgrade. You may want to rent out, but knowing the value will help you decide whether renting out makes sense. In one respect, low real estate values is often a great opportunity to upgrade. In my purely anecdotal experience when the market declines the differences in prices between more expensive and less expensive properties tend to shrink. It also makes sense mathematically assuming they decline by roughly the same percentage.

]]> By: Andrea http://toughmoneylove.com/2009/01/04/time-estimate-market-value-home/comment-page-1/#comment-2003 Andrea Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:22:51 +0000 http://toughmoneylove.com/?p=962#comment-2003 Not disagreeing at all, TML, just pointing out that ... well, what you said in your comment. :) Not disagreeing at all, TML, just pointing out that … well, what you said in your comment. :)

]]> By: Mr. ToughMoneyLove http://toughmoneylove.com/2009/01/04/time-estimate-market-value-home/comment-page-1/#comment-1995 Mr. ToughMoneyLove Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:53:07 +0000 http://toughmoneylove.com/?p=962#comment-1995 Andrea and Kitty: There is logic in your position but real estate valuations do matter for several reasons: (1) for empy nesters who are likely to downsize into a smaller property; (2) people who are looking to relocate to an area with a lower standard of living; (3) people who own more than one property; (4) retirees who have suffered severe market losses and may want to use a reverse mortgage strategy; and (5) those who are younger and maybe looking to upgrade into a larger property, taking advantage of valuations and favorable mortgage interest rates. If you don't fall into any of these categories, you may not care what your home is worth. I fall into categories (1) and (3) so it's something that I need to keep an eye on. Andrea and Kitty: There is logic in your position but real estate valuations do matter for several reasons: (1) for empy nesters who are likely to downsize into a smaller property; (2) people who are looking to relocate to an area with a lower standard of living; (3) people who own more than one property; (4) retirees who have suffered severe market losses and may want to use a reverse mortgage strategy; and (5) those who are younger and maybe looking to upgrade into a larger property, taking advantage of valuations and favorable mortgage interest rates. If you don’t fall into any of these categories, you may not care what your home is worth. I fall into categories (1) and (3) so it’s something that I need to keep an eye on.

]]> By: kitty http://toughmoneylove.com/2009/01/04/time-estimate-market-value-home/comment-page-1/#comment-1994 kitty Mon, 05 Jan 2009 05:22:56 +0000 http://toughmoneylove.com/?p=962#comment-1994 I'd like to second Andrea. Unless you plan to sell or refinance, why would you care? Even if someone is "upside down", as long as one can afford the mortgage, what is the big deal? Even if one wants to move, if one is OK financially, one can simply rent out the place and wait for better times - much as I did in mid-90s. The only reason I check my home value is for fun: I want to see if adding it would bring my net worth to the right side of 7 digits. So last year I could feel "rich" because it was "just above", and now I can feel "poor" for its falling "below" - because of stock losses, the home value is still holding (I'd rather it had been the other way around). So according to Willow, the asking price for a similar townhouse in my condo complex is 425K which is higher than I thought. But I know it's going to fall: so far the prices in lower NY state haven't fallen quite as much, but with all the companies in NYC laying off people, it's just the matter of time. In reality, the high value of my home doesn't make me "rich" - I still have the same amount of spending money. Normally I look at 3 numbers: a) total of retirement and non-retirement investable assets, b) non-retirement investments c) only savings in cash/CDs/government bonds. I don't think other numbers matter. I’d like to second Andrea. Unless you plan to sell or refinance, why would you care? Even if someone is “upside down”, as long as one can afford the mortgage, what is the big deal? Even if one wants to move, if one is OK financially, one can simply rent out the place and wait for better times – much as I did in mid-90s.

The only reason I check my home value is for fun: I want to see if adding it would bring my net worth to the right side of 7 digits. So last year I could feel “rich” because it was “just above”, and now I can feel “poor” for its falling “below” – because of stock losses, the home value is still holding (I’d rather it had been the other way around). So according to Willow, the asking price for a similar townhouse in my condo complex is 425K which is higher than I thought. But I know it’s going to fall: so far the prices in lower NY state haven’t fallen quite as much, but with all the companies in NYC laying off people, it’s just the matter of time.

In reality, the high value of my home doesn’t make me “rich” – I still have the same amount of spending money.

Normally I look at 3 numbers: a) total of retirement and non-retirement investable assets, b) non-retirement investments c) only savings in cash/CDs/government bonds. I don’t think other numbers matter.

]]> By: Elain http://toughmoneylove.com/2009/01/04/time-estimate-market-value-home/comment-page-1/#comment-1992 Elain Mon, 05 Jan 2009 02:11:54 +0000 http://toughmoneylove.com/?p=962#comment-1992 Thanks for the informative post Mr. Toughmoneylove. Trulia also provides comparables to your home by alerting you of properties similar to yours that get listed or sold. All you have to do is enter your city, your home's criteria (bed, bath, approximate $ range), and sign up for email alert at the top. It takes 30 seconds and helps you monitor your local market! Elain Trulia Consumer Marketing Specialist Thanks for the informative post Mr. Toughmoneylove. Trulia also provides comparables to your home by alerting you of properties similar to yours that get listed or sold. All you have to do is enter your city, your home’s criteria (bed, bath, approximate $ range), and sign up for email alert at the top. It takes 30 seconds and helps you monitor your local market!

Elain
Trulia Consumer Marketing Specialist

]]> By: Elain http://toughmoneylove.com/2009/01/04/time-estimate-market-value-home/comment-page-1/#comment-1991 Elain Mon, 05 Jan 2009 02:11:18 +0000 http://toughmoneylove.com/?p=962#comment-1991 Thanks for the informative post Mr. Toughmoneylove. Trulia also provides comparables to your home by alerting you of properties similar to yours that get listed or sold. All you have to do is enter your city, your home's criteria (bed, bath, approximate $ range), and sign up for email alert at the top. It takes 30 seconds and helps you monitor your local market! Thanks for the informative post Mr. Toughmoneylove. Trulia also provides comparables to your home by alerting you of properties similar to yours that get listed or sold. All you have to do is enter your city, your home’s criteria (bed, bath, approximate $ range), and sign up for email alert at the top. It takes 30 seconds and helps you monitor your local market!

]]> By: Louis Cammarosano http://toughmoneylove.com/2009/01/04/time-estimate-market-value-home/comment-page-1/#comment-1989 Louis Cammarosano Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:56:15 +0000 http://toughmoneylove.com/?p=962#comment-1989 HomeGain also has two complimentary tools for our instant home valuation tool. -the "what if" feature that allows you to recalculate your home's value estimate if you add some rooms or square footage. - Homesalemaximizer (under seller tools tab) which allows you to see which home improvements will best improve the resale value of your home. There are also home improvement checklists and a downloadable pdf. HomeGain also has two complimentary tools for our instant home valuation tool.
-the “what if” feature that allows you to recalculate your home’s value estimate if you add some rooms or square footage.
- Homesalemaximizer (under seller tools tab) which allows you to see which home improvements will best improve the resale value of your home. There are also home improvement checklists and a downloadable pdf.

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