Retirement and Coronavirus

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dave123

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I have a question and would like some opinions from you fine people.

I'm coming up on retirement at the end of June. I've already bought the retirement home and I'm counting on the sale of my current home to pay for the new one.

Seeing the spread of the coroanavirus beginning in the USA, I'm worried about the possibility of home sales crashing as people start to protect their assets. Yesterday, we had our first death in Washington state. This morning, the news says we have our first infection (as far as we know) on the east coast, Rhode Island.

Would you, if you were in my position, accelerate the sale of the current home to beat a possible pull back in home sales? Do you think that the difference between selling now, and selling in June will be significant? There are several cons to selling now:

If I quit now and put it up for sale immediately, I'm going to lose several months of full pay, one year of service (1% more retirement pension) and the annual leave that I would accumulate to sell back. This adds up, for me, to a significant amount of money.

Perhaps I could rent an apartment for a couple of months? But apartments are quite expensive here, and most likely would require a 6 month commitment; so that is iffy at best. Perhaps I could put the home up for sale now and require the owner to allow me to stay through June (If I could)?

Am I overthinking this? Do you think I should stick to my original plan to stay until the end of June (putting the home up for sale in April)?

Opinions?

p.s. I feel for those who are directly impacted by this virus. Please don't think that I'm minimizing this crisis, or turning it into something that is nothing but an economic question for dave.
 
dave123 said:
I have a question and would like some opinions from you fine people.

I'm coming up on retirement at the end of June. I've already bought the retirement home and I'm counting on the sale of my current home to pay for the new one.

Seeing the spread of the coroanavirus beginning in the USA, I'm worried about the possibility of home sales crashing as people start to protect their assets. Yesterday, we had our first death in Washington state. This morning, the news says we have our first infection (as far as we know) on the east coast, Rhode Island.

Would you, if you were in my position, accelerate the sale of the current home to beat a possible pull back in home sales? Do you think that the difference between selling now, and selling in June will be significant? There are several cons to selling now:

If I quit now and put it up for sale immediately, I'm going to lose several months of full pay, one year of service (1% more retirement pension) and the annual leave that I would accumulate to sell back. This adds up, for me, to a significant amount of money.

Perhaps I could rent an apartment for a couple of months? But apartments are quite expensive here, and most likely would require a 6 month commitment; so that is iffy at best. Perhaps I could put the home up for sale now and require the owner to allow me to stay through June (If I could)?

Am I overthinking this? Do you think I should stick to my original plan to stay until the end of June (putting the home up for sale in April)?

Opinions?

p.s. I feel for those who are directly impacted by this virus. Please don't think that I'm minimizing this crisis, or turning it into something that is nothing but an economic question for dave.
Click to expand...

Put the home up for sale now, and note that you can’t move till June. That shouldn’t be a problem.

I’m in exactly the same boat- bought my second house last July, plan to retire this May or June. Put the house here on the market in August last year. Have had 15 showings, but so far no offers. I’ve dropped the price twice. That increased traffic, but not offers.

I wish I was in a better position- I can’t retire until the old house is sold. Two sets of house bills is a killer.


Sent from my iPhone using TSP Talk Forums
 
I have been eyeing the local (Central Illinois) housing market for the past year and listening to friends stories as they retire and move. My perception is that the $250k houses and under are still selling OK while the under $200 are in steady to high demand. Those listing over $250k are harder to sell.

Of course there are exceptions. A friend of mine just sold near Madison, WI for a significant profit after 6 years. He got a house in SC that is 7 years old, 3200 sf living space, lots of little extras (attention to detail stuff) 4br/3.5bt for a marked down $239k. Point is that Madison seems to be holding up well while Columbia SC area seems to be dropping. Your local realtors association should post monthly sales data so you can approximate what is happening in your areas.

Another think to think of...and from what I can see (reading what little information is out there but is largely in agreement) this virus doesn't like warmth and humidity. Hopefully as we transition into warmer weather conditions will improve.

Good luck!
 
Dave, sounds like you have a solid plan for retirement. If you start messing around with dates, etc. you may screw up your plan at least in the short term. Probably won't make much difference long-term. Nothing wrong with starting the sale process 3-4 months early for your current home. Might actually be a good idea since it gives you more time to work on last minute fix-ups, etc. As far as closing dates, etc. lots of buyers are flexible in their move in dates, etc. Good luck! JMHO
 
Dave,

I wouldn't overreact to the CV situation. If the housing market is good in your area (rents expensive), you might want to look into renting vs selling your home. If you are set on selling the house, James makes a good point.
 
The Feds cut the interest rate, and rumor is that they are going to cut it again soon.. Hopefully this will help.

I've got a couple of things to do (replace a carpet, etc.) then I'm putting her up for sale a little early with the caveat that I need the place until the end of June.

Heck, if this keeps up, I may consider refinancing the new home down from 3.5% :)
 
IMHO I would stick with the original retirement plan. I think this Coronavirus is way overblown by an overly bias media. I heard today that the numbers coming out of Asia are getting smaller and people are beginning to recover. I think people are overreacting due to fear of the unknown. By the time you are ready to sell your house, this will all be forgotten.
 
Called my realtor today; can you believe it, she's leaving on a 2 week cruise to Panama tomorrow and said she would put it up for sale when she returns! I told her I wouldn't go now on a dare, and if she gets stuck under quarantine, I would have to find another realtor even though she is a friend of 30 years. ;)

So I'm going to wait at least 2 weeks.

I hope you are right, Raven. I do believe it is overblown, but I must play my hand with the assumption that, overblown or not, many people are going to be locking down their finances until it blows over.

Things just might be much worse following my original game-plan..
 
dave123 said:
Called my realtor today; can you believe it, she's leaving on a 2 week cruise to Panama tomorrow
Click to expand...

That's hilarious.

I've been using this a lot lately. :D

iu
 
Thanx for the comments. Here is a related quandary; I would appreciate opinions!

Before the virus, the realtor was just about 100% that I could get a quick sale on my home at or very near asking price. Of course she is in Panama, and the virus is making me worry about what will happen if everyone stops their life for a while. I really really don’t want to have 2 homes for months after I retire!
So I called “Zillow offers.” They made a conditional offer including all fees (need a home inspection, but I’m not worried, the home is in great shape) of 17K less than my realtor’s math thinks I will get after all costs are figured.
So, I can roll the dice and try for that 17k (or very close) in a couple of months, or take the easy Zillow money guaranteed.
Some Pros and Cons:
Zillow: no buyers, no showing the home, no inspections (just the one and it’s free), no contingencies, no failed financing, no cleaning up the home, no negotiations, no stress. Everything guaranteed and done.
Cons: Money.
Realtor: Significantly more money.
Cons: What if the virus stops the housing market and I’m stuck?

What would you do?
 
Mercy. First we are all losing our asses in the stock market and if that is not enough, you could get hit with an additional 17K loss for the sale of your home. I'm starting to believe the pundits who say the system is rigged against the little folks.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do. That is a tough call.

God Bless :smile:
 
Of course see what your actual offer is and what you will actually net off of the Zillow deal. but a bird in the hand …….!:smile: Good luck Dave!
 
Nothing like sticker shock to wake you up! Received my mortgage bill in the mail Saturday. The breakdown includes 750.00 in interest. Suddenly, riding a mortgage and a new boat looks irresponsible. Even 3.5 is tough on the wallet. I've not had a mortgage for several years so now I'm suddenly leaning towards paying off the home, or at least a re-fi (if i can get it in these crazy times) with a HEAFTY down payment (200k or more).

Attaching an interesting link I found:

https://www.realtor.com/news/real-e...eeklyNL-blog3sellingcoronavirus-blogs_finance
 
Update:

Zillow came and inspected, the inspectors found nothing negative, so I expect, and will most likely accept the original offer.


Here is something I found about projected upcoming home sales in the new reality:

https://www.realtor.com/news/trends...0_0320_WeeklyNL-blog1coronavirus-blogs_trends

Despite the extremely low mortgage interest rates, the nation could be in for a rocky home-buying season. A recession triggered by COVID-19 appears to be on the way, and the stock market has plummeted, giving many buyers pause. There are also likely to be fewer homes on the market, longer closing times, and plenty of unanticipated delays in the coming weeks, say experts.
 
dave123 said:
Thanx for the comments. Here is a related quandary; I would appreciate opinions!

Before the virus, the realtor was just about 100% that I could get a quick sale on my home at or very near asking price. Of course she is in Panama, and the virus is making me worry about what will happen if everyone stops their life for a while. I really really don’t want to have 2 homes for months after I retire!
So I called “Zillow offers.” They made a conditional offer including all fees (need a home inspection, but I’m not worried, the home is in great shape) of 17K less than my realtor’s math thinks I will get after all costs are figured.
So, I can roll the dice and try for that 17k (or very close) in a couple of months, or take the easy Zillow money guaranteed.
Some Pros and Cons:
Zillow: no buyers, no showing the home, no inspections (just the one and it’s free), no contingencies, no failed financing, no cleaning up the home, no negotiations, no stress. Everything guaranteed and done.
Cons: Money.
Realtor: Significantly more money.
Cons: What if the virus stops the housing market and I’m stuck?

What would you do?
Click to expand...
I may be too late responding but before accepting, have you considered checking with another realtor? What type of market analysis did the one realtor do in coming up with her figures? Is there anyway to counter Zillow's offer with a higher price?
 
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