Reader doesn't like advice to lower sales price

Q. I disagreed with your answer regarding the reason for a house not selling. In a buyer's market, when people fail to show at openings or fail to answer an ad to see the home, the market is just not there and no one is interested based on a failing economy. The owner did not mention whether or not they had the price in their ads … not a good idea to do so. Hint at location, especially if the neighborhood is good for kids with a nearby playground, a park or a school.

When the house has a price that can be well justified, it lacks compassion and is thoughtless to advise an owner to lower the price time after time. I'd say to take it off the market for six months to 12 months and try again. The market could have shifted by then. You say “anything will sell if the price is right,” but that's only in a healthy economy!

A. They weren't asking me for compassion, and they didn't have the luxury of waiting till the market improved. They needed to move right away, and the only solution was to drop their price until they hit a level that attracted buyers.

If nobody will buy at the price being asked, that's not a “justified price.” The definition of market value is “what someone will pay.”

Q. With a recent pay raise (I'm in the Army, so job security isn't a concern lately), I'm trying to decide how to use the extra income. I could pay more on my home's mortgage to clear it ahead of time. Or while making the minimum payment on my home note, I could purchase a nearby renovated condo below market value.

Should I just pay off the present mortgage early and then later invest in other properties with the available cash? Or snatch a deal when I see one?

A. If you plan to be a real estate investor, you should have your own certified public accountant lined up ahead of time, and that's the person to look over the figures and help you decide. Meanwhile, here are some of the things to consider:

What are rental levels and vacancy rates where the condo is located? How's the financial health of the homeowners' association? And is the condo really such a steal? If it's on the open market, how come someone else hasn't snapped it up?

Are you sure you can get a loan to buy it? For investors, loans are more difficult to obtain than for owner-occupied properties. And if a condo organization has too many rental units, too many vacancies or too few different owners, it can be just about impossible to get a mortgage to buy one.

Then again, while you have job security with the Army, is there any question of relocation? If you ended up as an absentee landlord, that's asking for problems.

Q. We recently met with three different real estate agents to discuss the possibility of selling our home. All three brought information with them, including a standard sheet with details about our home, such as square footage compiled from “public and private sources.”

Directly from the building blueprints, my calculations show we have an additional 240 square feet in floor space compared to their data sheet. If we do list for sale, are we obligated to use the “official” numbers or can we use my calculations? How do I correct the records? Is it worth trying to change it?

A. I can think of several possibilities:

Ÿ Blueprints might have been modified during construction.

Ÿ The tax records may simply be in error.

Ÿ An earlier owner may have made an addition without a building permit, so the assessor's office never listed the new space. (That would need clearing up before you sold.)

Ÿ You may be measuring differently than appraisers do. To check on your own, multiply outside measurements. Do not count finished basement space, finished attic less than 6 feet high or unheated space. Those can be listed as “plus screened porch” or whatever.

You're free to advertise what you believe to be the true figure. You can discuss this with the local assessor's office, but be prepared: If they find you really have more square footage, your assessment and property tax bill can go up.

Ÿ Edith Lank will respond to questions sent to her at 240 Hemingway Drive, Rochester, N.Y. 14620 (please include a stamped return envelope), or readers may e-mail her at ehlank@aol.com.

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