Seems as though entering the market during a period of very low rates puts you at a perpetual competitive advantage compared to someone 5 years from now who's forced to borrow at double your rate.

I am a part time agent in an extremely competitive area.

Add to the fact that there isn't a feeling of competition (unhealthy, withholding facts) on the site, but one of total support/cooperation and a given person's honest opinion on how they see your deal or question.It certainly benefits to read everyone's reply to see if you may be thinking wrong and missing an opportunity!

Turns out there were already multiple offers on the place so to be competitive we would have had to go conventional which would've required 25% down.

When I ask how and where do I sign up to list, they tell me honestly they won't help me because I'm future competition.

.: I would not stage a 200k house, I look at as many properties as I can and hardly ever see them staged In that case, staging will certainly allow the OP's house to stand out among the competition...

@Chai SagIn all of my "family oriented" houses it is MUCH easier AND I can get higher rent during the "may-aug) season because I don't have to lower the rent to stay competitive.

Recently I have been more inclined to publish dual purpose sites in vertical niches where there is little or no competition.

Our analysis shows many home sellers are thriving in the Bay Area, San Antonio and Los Angeles metro areas, where price cuts are sparse and homes often sell at or near their asking price.On the other end of the spectrum, the Cleveland, Philadelphia and Tampa metros are buyers’ markets, with homes taking longer to sell, less competition in the marketplace and more room for bargaining on prices.

Seattle is a very competitive market and finding properties that cashflow can be difficult unless you are buying very large multis.