BG, I ask because “over-priced” usually only provokes a reaction from Realtors.
Not only did I look in all the places (and others), but lived in three of them. Yes, I’ve pretty much hung up the coat, and my wife draws a pension. I can afford to buy in all of these places, but one or two are not worth the bother. Santa Monica for example. We looked at fixers, REO’s, short sales, the court house steps …everything. We pounded the streets looking for deals, hammered sellers and lenders relentlessly wearing them down, looking for opportunities and weaknesses, even went against our brokers best advice. We were much more aggressive than most buyers, and were considered “savvy” by all those who represented us. Interestingly, our SB broker who put a lot of pressure on us, in the end relented, and agreed with me totally.
I really did my homework, and therein probably lies the problem. The more I became aware of the issues, the more skeptical I became.
We looked, and looked in Santa Barbara for two years. The situation actually got worse. In 2010, there may have been one or two opportunities, since local housing was depressed, but there were very visible efforts to stop price declines at all costs. It was a sacrosanct, protected haven. Ojai was an option and we saw many homes there, but it was ludicrous what sellers wanted in such a remote little place.
We did want to live in CA, but the poor choice of homes and asking prices was such a deterrent. If you are a cash buyer, it’s your money and you are much more reluctant to part with it than when using someone else’s. I once said to a broker who scorned us for our tactics; “Have to ever paid $x cash for anything?” You could see the penny drop.
If you have trouble understanding why we struggled so, I can only repeat that our experience is probably broader based than the average CA buyer, so our perspective is going to be shaped by obvious comparisons. One thing I have noticed with Californians is a reluctance to acknowledge that there are alternatives. Until you have lived them you won’t know.
