{"id":462,"date":"2012-03-26T17:16:31","date_gmt":"2012-03-26T17:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=462"},"modified":"2012-06-17T11:20:00","modified_gmt":"2012-06-17T11:20:00","slug":"forced-to-move-forced-to-stay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=462","title":{"rendered":"FORCED TO MOVE, FORCED TO STAY"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a topsy-turvy housing market, it\u2019s more important than ever to know the facts before buying or selling.
\nBy Kerry Hannon
\nRead Published Article<\/a><\/p>\n

From California to the Carolinas, homebuyers are snapping up some of the best home prices in decades. Sellers, on the other hand, grapple to get what they believe is a decent offer. The housing market may be on the mend. But things aren\u2019t likely to change drastically overnight.<\/p>\n

Jim and Karen Kahrl of Burke, Va., never did get the price they wanted for their $599,950, four-bedroom home. After seven months on the market, and lowering the asking price to $575,000, these USAA members gave up and decided to stay put. \u201cWe had tons of lookers, but no offers,\u201d Karen says. Army Maj. Kevin Crooks, 35, faced that situation in the spring of 2008 when he received orders to move to Fort Sill, Okla., from Richmond Hill, Ga., outside of Fort Stewart. Without delay, he put the family\u2019s three-bedroom, 1,400-square-foot home up for sale. Asking price: $189,000.<\/p>\n

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No buyers surfaced. But the move couldn\u2019t wait. So in September Crooks and his wife, Tara, closed up the house, piled their two young children in the car and headed west.<\/p>\n

Their home finally sold for $184,000 in January 2009. \u201cWe didn\u2019t lower the price,\u201d recalls Tara, who covers military issues like this on her weekly Internet broadcast, Army Wife Talk Radio. \u201cWe took what they gave us.\u201d
\nWhile they didn\u2019t take a bath on the sales price, they did get slammed with two housing payments for four months. Luckily, they weren\u2019t under pressure to buy a new home. They moved into government quarters \u2014 a four bedroom home at $1,425 a month.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a tough time between September and January when we were paying double,\u201d says Tara.<\/p>\n

\u201cChristmas was definitely slender.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a tough time between September and January when we were paying double.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hope for the future?<\/p>\n

There are glimmers that the housing market is beginning to lift out of one of the worst slumps since the Great Depression. In 2009 low home prices pushed sales higher in many parts of the country. But the encouraging news should be met with caution. Why?<\/p>\n

The boost was fueled primarily by:<\/p>\n