[quote=bearishgurl]Yes, I agree that in the case of multiple heirs, usually one or more of them needs the cash right away. However, I know an “only-child heir” and group-of-two heirs here in SD whose last parent died within the last 3 years. Both immediately cleaned out and leased their parents’ home after their deaths due to all the bottomfishing buyers out there. All had decent pensions they were happy with and were residing in paid-off homes themselves. The only-child heir lives less than a mile from mom’s old house and manages it himself.
CAR, in your 2007 sales of your parents properties, were they long-time rentals in underserved areas? I won’t mind if you don’t want to answer. Even though you sold under market, it was still smart of you to sell when you did, IMO.
I DO think properties in PL that were overmortgaged in past years which are now unaffordable to their owners are now being “unwound.” And I do believe the degree of distress in a micro-area DOES matter. What I’m inferring here (anecdotally) is that very desirable micro-areas of 92106 (i.e. Roseville, Fleetridge, La Playa) didn’t have the distress to begin with. By that I mean, the vast majority of persons who purchased these properties (even during bubble era) did not overmortgage them. Did some overpay?? Maybe. Depending on the exact property and whether they need to sell now, overpaying may or may not have been a mistake. I believe a the majority of PL properties in desirable micro-areas have been and are currently purchased with a mortgage of 60% LTV or less, or all cash.
Of course, you know that a current appraisal only includes comparable sales within the last six months. “Bubble-era” comps would not be part of these. So, buyers today aren’t paying “bubble-era” pricing.
Due to the rarity of exact views, lot sizes and configurations, house design and possible noted architect, how the lot is situated and what it faces, etc., there are many properties in PL where value is completely subjective and in the eye of the (often well-heeled) beholder. I’m not saying PL buyers are stupid and will pay anything. I’m saying that certain properties there offer amenities that can’t be found anywhere else. They are one of a kind and today’s fully-developed SD city skyline is truly “one of a kind.” You can’t buy this view for any price in LJ or DM or anywhere else, for that matter :=][/quote]
We agree about certain *truly special* properties commanding their own price. The problem is that every seller thinks they have one of these “truly special” properties, so they list at bubble prices (or higher!!!), and play the list/relist game, sometimes for years, as they chase the market down. If they had priced correctly in the first place, they’d end up with more money, but they refuse to acknowledge that the prices they cling to only existed because of a CREDIT/housing bubble, and are not going to be seen for a long, long, long, long time, unless we have a currency collapse (IMHO).
In the case of my parents’ homes/properties, the homes were their primary residences; they had sold off all their investment real estate as they aged. We also sold some land in the Sierra foothills and farmland in another state.
My mom’s house would have made a great rental, but my dad lived in a senior community, so it was best to sell that ASAP.
At the time we sold my mom’s house, there was a house across the street that was in escrow for about $60-70K more than what we were priced at (much to my realtor’s chagrin…she didn’t like that I insited on pricing so low). A year later, the next-door neighbor’s house (slightly smaller than mom’s) was listed for ~$160K less than we had sold my mom’s house for, as this was one of the neighborhoods that got slammed very hard and very fast before the PTB intervened. The house that was in escrow when we were selling mom’s was foreclosed on within a year or two, and sold for ~$60K less than what we sold for. Selling was the right move, except for the fact that the rental would have given us a much better return than our savings/investments, which I’ve been keeping liquid in case we find a house we want to buy. Can’t win them all, I suppose. 😉
