Chris,

The last two answers are the best scenario for you - to rent your property out. Yes, you'll likely have to rent at your next destination, but unless you like losing money, renting your present house is the best idea. The rental market is good in South Orange County, at the moment.

You might even find that you'll be able to purchase a home at your next destination with no money down, or, if things are tight, it would probably be best to rent there, for a year or so.

It also depends on whether you will ever be coming back to Lake Forest. If there's any chance that you would, it would be best to have a place of your own to come back to.

I started my career in Lake Forest over 32 years ago, and have numerous local clients that I work for in getting their places rented. I would be pleased to sit down with you to discuss all the merits of each choice, to help you make the best decision. Please feel free to call me at 949-643-2100, or send me an email to Bob@BobPhillips.net.

Good luck in your decision making!

Chris

Since the Market has gone down in the past few months its a safe bet to say you would lose money if you chose to sell your property at this time. if you chose to move to a diffrent location your are better off renting your property out even if you have to rent it for less than of the cost of your mortgage, HOA, and Taxes are.
Property values will start rising in the next few years and you would be very happy with the amount of equity you have gained in your property.

Could you rent it and cover your monthly costs? Things have really tanked between April of '08 and now. We bought a house in May of '08 for below market at $430K and a Jan appraisal with improvements came in at $395K... add in the 6% costs to sell along with other fees and it's pretty ugly if you want to sell now.

You will most likely lose some. Make sure to get everyhting together for cost when you bought, cost of condo, taxes, closing cost, down payment and anything that you have put into it. Now we will have to look at the costs going out (selling). Will the agent that helped you when you bought ,give you a lower % on the commission?
It doesn't hurt to ask.
As others have said you need to give someone the address to get the answer how much?

Hi Chris, My guess at this point would be around 15-20% if you paid a peak price, but it's a guess and I don't know your property or the exact location and it also depends on the price you originally paid for your property. If you could provide me with more details on your location and # of bedrooms and baths, etc. I can give you a more realistic estimate. I don't know if renting/leasing your property is an option for you. Again my guess would be it won't pencil out (as an investment property) if you only bought 8 months ago and you would have to take a loss if you were to lease. If this is something you can afford, it might be worth your while to wait out the market and wait for it to bounce back...you know it will eventually. You can contact me directly at: cfleming@coldwellbanker.com

Chris, because the market was probably already low when you bought your condo and if you paid a well negotiated price for your unit you may be able to sell for a very similar price, but you will still incur the closing costs involved with selling a property.
To give you a precise answer I need to know your address, size of property, the price you paid for the unit and then a much better decision can be made on your part.... The market evaluation that I would e-mail you will show you what other similar units in your subdivision or building have recently sold for, and we can go from there.

Edith Karoline Jasser
Century 21 SGR
if I can help further e-mail me edithsellshomes@century21.com or edithdoesitright@yahoo.com

The answer to your question really depends upon 1. the community in which you live and 2. the price you paid for the condo. You should contact an agent who can take a look at the comps for your community and then provide you with an estimated closing statement based upon your target price to see if you can break even. Another option, as Jeremy mentioned below, is to see if a monthly rental would cover your expenses. Let me know if you need help.

Chris -

Obviously, it really depends on what you paid at the time and what other units are now selling for. If you want, any of us can do a quick CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) if you send someone the address.

Best of luck,

Thom Colby
Broker & Realtor http://www.1800sellnow.com
1-800-SELL-NOW
949-887-5500 CELL-OC

The market has certainly taken a fall since you bought. Can you rent it for what you pay or are you looking to just get out? Each property is different, and we need to take each community into consideration to come up with market value. Email me the address and I can give you some detailed info.

Jeremy Lehman
Century 21
Jeremy@lehmanhomes.net