Keith, have you considered renting it? I don't know what your market is like, but with mortgages being difficult to attain, rentals are booming in many places with rents skyrocketing. It might not be *that* great in your area, but maybe you could make it work until the market improves. Just a thought (which I am sure you already had)...

Not really sure that would be something i would wanna deal with. Plus how would this affect me obtaining a new loan? Not sure many would make a 150k+ home loan on top of a 50k current loan while only making just over 100k household income.

I also only have about 5-6% down payment on hand so the rest of my down payment would be coming from the sale of my home.I am assuming i need minimum 10 to 15% down in these current times.I have even heard many are wanting the 20% down from many years ago?In which case i may need to wait a year to accumulate.
We have spent the majority of our last year paying down debt and just recently began saving cash.

Keith,

Let me know if the other 2 agents you are interviewing don't work out for you. I would be happy to refer you to an agent in my network that is located in your area. I am also with Prudential and we are a great company with a great reputation.

"Keith,
Let me know if the other 2 agents you are interviewing don't work out for you. I would be happy to refer you to an agent in my network that is located in your area."

I'll be more than happy to do the same, and I don't charge a referral fee to the receiving agent, to make sure that you will receive the best service you can negotiate for your money.

pikes peak, I am not sure what your intention was by writing this. Are you trying to make me look bad or something? Because I never said I was going to charge a referral fee either. It's a very small amount. I am just willing to help this person by connecting them with one of my contacts in their local area.

Len I wouldn't take it to heart. We all have different ways and views of running our business.

Ultimately the poster will decide what makes the most sense and is the best choice for them.

I use to have people call me a MONSTER for preying on people facing foreclosure! That's how they said it to me anyways.

I told them the real monsters were the people who promised things they could not deliver and left the people facing foreclosure at the last second. If I didn't help these people they would have gotten taken by someone else. The horror stories I heard day after day from people that did them wrong was mind-boggling.

Perception is everything and either your a demon or a saint.

Me personally I wouldn't spend alot of time and energy on a MAYBE that someone is going to send me a refferal back with no strings attatched once I send them one.

It all goes back to BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY.

Everyone keep doing there own thing and everything will stay right as rain in your own worlds.

So am I! It's a competitive business, isn't it?

Since Keith's Property is in Illinois, I think someone from Illinois should handle the Referral. If all else fails, Rod Bagojevich knows the Territory better than any of us, and his Wife, Patty Bagojevich, is also well known in Illinois Real Estate Circles. I think Rod would be willing to use his power and influence to nominate someone to fill this vacancy in Southern Illinois.

For the record, I'm happy to pay a referral fee when someone offers to give me business. Most agents are. The agents who don't want to pay a referral, are also ones who will probably turn it down.

Just because an agent pays a referral fee doesn't mean they're not going to do a good job. So don't be afraid that a referred agent won't do a good job. Ultimately, you have to feel good about the person you choose, and that agent has to feel good about you. Some people go together like oil and water, and it's best to back away. LOL

There is nothing wrong with referring people or taking referrals. The problem comes when agents simply look up an agent on some internet roster and don't do their research, or don't have personal experience with that agent. And all they do is fill out the referral form and call it done.

A good referral is generally born out of an established relationship, both with the client being referred and with the agent getting the referral. It's my practice to only refer people to agents that I have experience with or that my friends or family have had favorable transactions with. And then I follow up, help how I can and earn my fee.

Keith you sound like a dream client. "realistic and motivated"

Geez. Good luck!

Thank you all who replied to this thread.

We sat down with a realtor. She explained a few things to us and gave us a realistic picture of the market.
She said she was optimistic about selling our home if we do a few things.She said it would go a long way if we resided it (which we planned) replaced all exterior doors(we planned on doing including both garage doors.)
But one thing i didnt expect was a new roof needs to be put on. Lucky for us its a very small home and shouldnt be too awful expensive.
She asked what we were wanting to sell it for i said 75k-77k. She said it should be hard to get that in this market. And possibly closer to 80k once all work is completed.
Although inquiring about my credit report and score i found i owe more on my home then i thought. Thought i owed 52k but its 55 not a major difference but all of the profit from the sale will be going towards a new home.
But good news is both our scores from all three agencies are in the 750 to 800 range so i hope abtaining a new loan should be a snap.

"Although inquiring about my credit report and score i found i owe more on my home then i thought. Thought i owed 52k but its 55 not a major difference but all of the profit from the sale will be going towards a new home."

Keith it's good you have great credit. The balance of your loan reported on credit means nothing as to your payoff. For that you order a payoff from you mortgage company or there servicer sending you the monthly payments. The payoff is usally good for 30 days.

Keith, make sure that this Realtor provides you with a net sheet to make sure you know EXACTLY how much you will be getting once all commissions, fees, taxes, etc have been taken from sale proceeds. Since you are planning on using these funds, it's important to know what they will be. And she should provide you a revised net sheet with each offer you receive and counter offer you make.

And super realtor is right - I have been through some nightmare closings where sellers thought they knew their payoff, but had completely the wrong number and netted far less than they thought they would. You need to provide your Realtor with accurate info as to what you owe or it will get really uncomfortable down the road.

Good luck!

Gosh Keith . . . . with all those improvements you're planning, especially the removal, disposal and replacement of that Asbestos Siding . . . . I don't think there's going to be much left over to apply to the purchase of your new Home.