SAN DIEGO — When the housing market here was red-hot 18 months ago, Alex Flores could buy a downtown condominium with as little as $5,000 down and sell it six months later for a tidy profit of $200,000.
Now, Flores says, those easy-money days are over.
Flores, a self-described real estate "flipper," is trying to sell two condos. But neither has drawn an offer after being on the market for more than a month, even though he's willing to break even on one and reduce the price on the other.
Here's a little bit of free advice: if you have less that 20% equity in your home, take EVERY penny you can find and pay it towards your principal. If you took a home equity loan and bought a bunch of "cool" (albeit unaffordable) toys, sell the toys and pay back on the principal. If housing prices slip/burst, the last thing you want is to be paying a mortgage that's more than the current market value of your house.
Food for thought: Equity is equity only AFTER you sell you house. Until then, its theory.
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