Consumption and Real Estate
My employer is transferring my job… What should I do about housing in this market?
Question : My employer is transferring my job… What should I do about housing in this market?
My employer recently announced that I have 6 months to relocate from Boise, ID to Seattle, WA in a consolidation move. I believe I am resigned to accept the transfer, considering that 80% of the office was terminated without any transfer option, and because there are no jobs in my field available in Boise.
THE DILEMMA:
The housing market continues to trend on a deep downward slope, as it has for a year and a half now. Should I sell both homes that I own in Boise (my mother lives in one of them, but I think we’ll need to consolidate households in order to weather this financial set back), or rent one/both out? Should I buy outright, and hope the market will regain its losses? Should I settle for nothing more than a short sale, in order to minimize my entry cost? Or should I rent until that downward slope starts to level off?
BTW, I should’ve mentioned that I have just a couple of weeks to make the decision, but my employer isn’t closing the office for another 6 months, so I don’t have to move until the end of summer. Another thought I’ve had is to sell both of my houses now, and rent in Boise until having to move to Seattle. That will get me out of a downward housing market for 6 months and get an even better deal when moving to Seattle.
boise homes for sale
Best answer:
Answer by JT
Look at comparable houses in your area that have sold within the past few months, and if they’re selling for much less than you were hoping to sell yours for I’d recommend renting the houses out.
Seattle is an expensive place to live, and they haven’t been hit as hard yet as the rest of the country has by the housing crisis. Unless your relocation package requires you to buy a new house in Seattle right away, I’d recommend renting for a year to get a feel for where you’d like to live, how traffic will be for your commute (traffic can get bad there), and wait for the housing there to catch up to the rest of us as far as prices dropping goes. Good luck!
I like your idea to “sell both of my houses now, and rent in Boise until having to move to Seattle.” It may take some time to sell both places.
I would consolidate both households now and put as much stuff into storage as possible so both houses are de-cluttered. Spruce them both up and stage them carefully. Get an agressive listing agent and be flexible in your expectations.
If you get an offer anywhere near what you need grab it quick.