Greater Hartford Real Estate Blog

Have you heard of the term “jingle mail?” It’s hipster lingo for someone mailing their house keys back to the bank and walking away from their home. A less amusing term is “ruthless default.”

Calculated Risk has an interesting blog today that consolidates a few articles that cover a rising trend of people abandoning their mortgages and, subsequently, their homes. I saw an article last week that claimed that 10 to 15 million households may walk away from their homes.

But will it really be that bad?

One of the regular contributors at Calculated Risk questions the lack of data used to support these claims.

At what point would you consider walking away from your home?

If you could still afford your mortgage payments and had no real reason to move, but your home was now worth significantly less (say 30%) than what you owed the bank, would you consider walking away?

Do you believe that there is a moral or ethical obligation to repay the bank when you take out a loan? Or is the bank’s ability to be “repaid” by taking back the house enough?

Loyal readers and lurkers, I have a new listing that I’d like to tell you about. It’s located at 782 Asylum Avenue in Hartford’s Asylum Hill neighborhood. If you know anyone that’s looking for a nice condo near Downtown, please tell them about it.

I’ll be having an Open House this Sunday, March 2 from 1:00-3:00. Feel free to stop by and learn more about it. It’s a 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath townhouse style, listed at $129,900. Condo fees are $179/month. This home would be a good opportunity for a first time buyer or an investor. Here are some pics…

The condo is located at the corner of Asylum Avenue and Sumner Street, immediately adjacent to the historical Asylum Hill Congregational Church. If you’d like more specific information, or would like to see a few more pictures, you can visit here or give me a call on my cell phone, 860-655-2125.

The past two Sundays I have hosted open houses at two different homes in West Hartford. One was in Bishops Corner, the other was in the Elizabeth Park area. They were both fairly busy with 15 and 19 groups of people, respectively. The amount of pedestrian traffic was somewhat surprising given the fact that they occurred on both ends of the February school vacation week. The listing prices were in the ranges of $290,000-$330,000, right around the median price for West Hartford.

So, what did I see at my open houses that is worthwhile enough to blog about? Well…

1. There were sellers that were scoping out “competitor” homes to try and understand if their homes were priced correctly. This is a really smart move if you can look at homes objectively and honestly. The game of “Who’s Prettier?” can help you decide if you really should make a price adjustment on your own home.

2. There were lots of first time buyers looking with their parents. I like seeing this. If Mom and Dad are going to have a say in your purchase (either financially or emotionally), then it’s better to have them involved from the beginning. Don’t wait until you’ve found the house you want to buy, only to have them come in and disapprove because they haven’t seen the other 60 houses you passed up before finding “the one.”

3. One of the open houses generated an offer shortly after the open house ended! Who says open houses don’t sell homes?

As a seller, is an open house a worthwhile endeavor? Absolutely. Often a home will not sell as a direct result of an open house, but it does influence the “buzz” around your home.

Sometimes buyers that have seen your house earlier in the week need the additional viewing opportunity to push them over the edge into writing an offer. I’ve actually seen this occur several times. Additionally, it gives your neighbors a chance to see the home and tell friends and colleagues about it that might be interested in the neighborhood.

Remember, as a seller, no matter what town you live in, the more visitors you have to view your home, the better. An open house is an excellent way to increase market exposure and give you a leg up on the competition.