| | Today I had a conversation with a client towards the end of the day. She had given her notice and today was her final day in the office. She went on about her house, how the mortgage was so huge, and that they wanted to sell the house, but they could not because she still owes more on the mortgage than what the house is worth. She wants a new house closer to the suburbs and sees some good deals.
I thought about it for a second and then initiated a conversation about this with her:
Me: Have you considered renting out the house and then buying the dream house you would like to live in?
Her: Well...I don't know if we could get enough to cover the mortgage.
Me: Really? How do you know?
Her: I checked on Craigslist and it didn't seem like I would get enough.
Me: Well, have you worked out the numbers? See what the mortgage would be on the new house, find out how much comes out of your pocket after rent is collected on the old house, and add those two together. It could possibly be less than what you are paying now if good deals out there exist.
Her: It's an old house, and when things don't work as it should, like the toilet, we just deal with it. If we get a renter in there, I don't think we can deal with it like that. We'd have to fix it right away.
Me: Well...yeah, you're supposed to.
Her: We'd probably have to hire a property manager...and...well we don't want to do that.
It's seriously all about the mindset. It's easier to give your reasons as to why you can't have what you want. It takes courage to go after what you want and not ever look back. I only asked her if the numbers worked out...but I think she didn't seriously calculate anything. And the thing about the rental price...there's obviously a maximum threshold of what you can charge, but there's a lot a person can do to make the perceived value of a home go up dramatically. Price isn't everything. And how does she know that those posts on Craigslist are even done professionally? Numbers could be made up.
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| | Posted 6/10/2009 11:22 PM - 6 Views - 2 eProps - 2 comments
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