Agreed… glad I purchased back in mid 2009 as well. Although not our preferred location, we purchased in San Marcos @ $160/sq ft and the house recently appraised for $208/ sq ft. With the FHA loan and $8K tax credit available back then, my wife and I were able to purchase our first home only a year out of college(and with 1 year job history) with approximately 1% down (net of the tax credit). Looking back it seems like a very risky loan for the bank to make, but it all worked out in the end. After a recent refinance out of mortgage insurance, we now have a property that can yield $500-700/month free cash should we choose to rent it out and find a “move-up” property.
Makes me want to quit my day job to become a full time speculator :). But commonsense prevails — timing is everything, the previous owner/speculator had purchased the home new from the builder back in 2005 at $257/ sq ft before being foreclosed on in 2009.
