With flagging house prices and low buyer confidence, selling a house in Lowndes County can be intimidating.
But former Columbus High School teacher Justin Sutton and his wife, Meg, are among the young couples braving the housing market now.
The couple have recently put their three-bedroom, three-bathroom Victorian-style house at 422 Fifth St. S. up for sale, priced at $133,500.
Sutton, a 29-year-old Brandon native, taught at Columbus High from 2006 until earlier this year, when his wife took a job at the Gulfport Humane Society.
The couple, who have a 10-month-old son, Benjamin, are renting now, waiting to sell their house, which was owned by former Mayor Bob Harmond in the early 1960s.
Eventually, they plan to buy another house in Gulfport, Sutton said.
With record low interest rates on mortgages and lower prices, there has rarely been a better time for buyers to look at houses.
The economy definitely affected their asking price, said Sutton, who still considers owning a home a good investment.
The Dispatch talked with Sutton about what it was like for a young couple to sell and buy a house in a troubled market.
What led you to pick the house?
We started looking at houses and we liked a lot of things about (the one we chose) — the layout and where it was located — so, we bought it.
We looked at a few, most in the downtown area, some in the county. We could tell the house was going to require a little elbow grease when we bought it.
One of the things we did was look at what the houses in the market are selling for and some recent appraisals.
The layout was, by far, my favorite thing about the house. It just gave it its very character.
It”s also cool with the house being an older house with the history of it. I bet it was built in either 1927 or 29. I found out a former mayor lived there. It”s neat to think someone was living in the house when the stock market crashed, when John F. Kennedy was shot.
And it”s a good spot. Anywhere you need to get, you can pretty much walk, downtown or to the “W.” In that way, it”ll really come in handy.
I wasn”t going to find a shorter drive, so I took advantage of MUW being seven blocks down the road.
How much “elbow grease” did the house require?
We put a lot of work into the house. That”s been real rewarding. And it”s great to know someone else is (also) going to enjoy the improvements.
We went through the house and took up the carpet and finished the walls.
It makes you feel like your work is worth a little bit more, knowing that it”ll be someone else”s house one day.
When did you put the house up for sale and why?
We just really got it on the market two weeks ago. We kind of moved out of nowhere. My wife got a job with the South Mississippi Humane Society in Gulf Port. That”s what kind of got the ball moving. We weren”t looking to put it on the market or sell it.
With a troubled economy and a unsettled home market, are you worried about selling your house?
It”s one of those things you got to keep in perspective. My wife and I are fortunate enough to be able to move and sell the house. But there”s always someone worse off than you.
You”ve just got to stay patient and look at it in the long run. Eventually, the time”s going to come for it to sell.
We”re not looking to become wealthy — we”re looking for something that”s reasonable and will let someone else get into a house.
But making the two payments at one time — paying rent and for the house — isn”t fun.
So, what do you have in mind for the future?
I would love to find a similar house. It”s really cool, really wide open.
A lot of the houses you see being built now are kind of cookie cutter. If we could find a house the same, I”d love to get it. I love the way it”s laid out.
Eventually, we want to buy a house down here. We definitely want to buy. Buying is a good investment over time.
Once our (house) in Columbus sells, we”re going to get going buying a house. It”s a wonderful time if you”re a buyer right now.
I”ve been shocked just looking around town down here how many houses are for sale at good prices.
Do you think the home market is going to start recovering soon?
Overall, I think it”s going to bounce back. A lot of people were exceeding their budgets and buying houses they couldn”t afford. That”s what caused the foreclosure crisis. It”s correcting itself right now.
With better lending practices and smarter borrowing, and I think we”ll see the house market get better.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
