Everyone has seen the news reports lately chronicling the roller coaster ride that the stock market has recently been on, with more valley’s than peaks. These stories as well as any others on the current state of the economy have investors concerned about all their investments.  Real Estate has historically been a fairly sound investment, but the stories regarding Real Estate have not been any better focusing on unsound lending practices and foreclosures. 

For the average homeowner their home is the largest investment that they will ever make.  Protecting that investment in these turbulent times is at the forefront of many minds.  Real Estate will always have at least one advantage over any other type of investment, you can live in it.  The following are a few more things to keep in mind when thinking about your home as an investment.

If you are struggling with the mortgage and refinancing is not an option, talk to your bank. While bankers are in a stingy mood, many will talk with you about reworking your mortgage if you are under particular stress. There are many negotiating options, such as paying only interest for a period of time or making partial payments.  Banks would prefer to work something out, if possible, and keep you in your home rather than foreclose. They’ve got plenty of empty homes on their books already.

In addition, get creative about extracting more cash from your home. An obvious way is to rent out the basement or a room. Defer putting in that new kitchen, instead putting that money into your investments to build a larger cash cushion to weather the hard times.

Ultimately, if you need to sell, it’s important to know that the housing downturn cuts both ways. You may not get the price you once could have, but buying a new place will come cheaper than in the past.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.