I’ve been reading this website/blog with great interest off and on for a couple of years. I realize people have short memories for the real estate market so I am going to relay my experience.

I moved to San Diego in 1992. The real estate market was in the tank. I bought a foreclosure condominium in La Mesa in 1997 for $100K. The owner who was foreclosed on paid about $146K. The place had some cosmetic damage that didn’t cost much to fix. I made some upgrades and lived in it until 2003. I moved to Northern California to take a promotion. I rented my condo to someone I knew and I was a renter in NorCal. I figure it was worth about $300K in early 2003. I sold it in three weeks in April 2005 for $400K.

I am still renting. I have all that equity sitting in the bank earning 4-6% in CD’s and I am waiting for the crash.

I was addicted to those TV shows about flipping and I figure if there are that many novices out there who know nothing about flipping, making money, then something’s got to give. Plus, the irresponsible lending practices convinced me that things were going to change to a down turn. I got burned in the stock market crash in 2000. It rose the most quickly right before it crashed. I think the RE market is (was) doing the same.