Are You A Duplex Equity Hostage?

If you’re waiting until the real estate market rebounds to sell your duplex, do you feel a little stuck?

Many duplex sellers I visit with do.

In most cases, one of three things happened:

1. They made a large down payment when they bought their Minneapolis duplex, only to see that money disappear as duplex values continued to decline.
2. They watched the value of their duplex rise by tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars on paper, only to those gains disappear with the crash of the market.
3. They refinanced their duplex at the moment is was worth so much more than what they paid for it in order to buy another duplex, pay off debt, or make improvements to the property and now owe far more than the duplex is worth.

These duplex owners cling to the belief the market will rebound soon; that if only they hang on a year or two or three, the money they lost will be found and they can continue on with the plans they had for their lives.

The trouble is, the market isn’t going to bounce back next year, or the year after.

And with today’s incredibly low vacancy rates, rents are sure to rise. When they do, and it becomes more expensive for people to buy a house than rent, vacancy rates will rise, and rents will fall.

Granted, lending standards are tight right now, and it seems most people don’t qualify for a loan. Remember, however, that many of the foreclosure crisis’ earliest casualties have been renting for several years now.

Many of them have been working on repairing their credit.

So the question for duplex owners is this…is the hope of regaining the money you “lost” worth any other plans and dreams you might have had for the next decade that didn’t involve duplex ownership?

There are very few Minneapolis duplexes for sale right now. Thanks to low interest rates and demand from both owner occupants and investors, it remains a great time to sell.

No, you won’t get what you paid for it in 2005…or, what you lost on it in 2007.

But if you had other plans for the next decade of your life, remember, you will be free.