[quote=CA renter]Call me crazy, BG, but I’d say that when interest rates are at their lowest point, it is time to SELL if you ever intend to sell/move.
Don’t project the price trends over the past ~50 years to continue. Asset owners have had the effects of baby boomers entering their peak purchasing years (they are going to be entering their peak selling years now), and continuously lower interest rates over the past ~30 years. I think there is a definite danger of a prolonged period of asset price declines if interest rates ever get away from the Fed, or even if they start rising in a “controlled” fashion.
I think this is a dangerous trap that many are getting into. Just my 2 cents…[/quote]
I understand your logic, CAR … however, if my mortgage interest rate happened to go thru the roof (>7.5%), I could retire the balance upon retirement. This would take at least two years, even if it began to rise today (due to my 2% annual cap).
Being a “soon-to-be `retiree'” ~2 years from now, I have a lot to think about.
I cannot qualify for a mortgage in the traditional way and I’m sure I’m not alone among my brethren in this regard. Even though I have GREAT credit, I would HAVE to go limited or no-doc in order take out even a small (~150K or so) mortgage. Not sure if the very favorable rates, terms and closing costs actually exist anymore on these types of programs.
If I sold and bought a “retirement home” in a same cost or lower cost area as ChulaV, I would likely have to pay cash.
I want to try out 1-2 (mountainous?) places that have four seasons for perhaps 1+ year each before I make a final decision to leave permanently. If I decided on one of these places, I’d like to buy a one-story log cabin with a deck. I have to see if I can hack dry cold air for the long haul and if living there will exacerbate my (minor) joint problems.
I’m currently paying <$1200 mo P&I for a 2200 sf SFR with a large yard.
I'm afraid if I sell too soon, I won't be able to get back to SD County if I want to without buying something far inferior to what I have. I've seen this happen to too many "retirees" who thought the "grass was greener" elsewhere but didn't actually try it out first.
And no ... a week in a motor lodge or timeshare doesn't qualify as "trying the place out."
I still like Fleetridge/Roseville (92106) for "retirement" but I now believe I would need to buy a fixer over there with a co-buyer. Even if I could manage to purchase on my own over there, I couldn't manage the annual taxes or rehab/repair by myself.
I just feel like SD County is built out and the Big Development party is over. If it begins to substantially grow again, even due to immigration (due to its coastal location and the best weather in the country), its RE prices will rise everywhere and inventory for the best homes in the best locales will remain very tight. The presence or lack of "professional" jobs in the older established communities of SD County really has nothing to do with how fast or for how much a property there will sell. There are too many buyers with cash coming from everywhere and too many people who want to retire here from more expensive locales (ex: LA/SF Bay area).
I'm not so bullish on lizardland. The saleability and prices in those areas are dependent on many factors which it's buyers and owners can't control, since most are younger (growing?) families who depend on 1-3 steady W-2 income(s) to pay the monthly bills. These factors (among others) render these homeowners vulnerable to having to make quick decisions regarding disposition of their property (w/o regard to current mkt conditions) and having insufficient income down the road, no matter what their income was at the time of their purchase-money mortgage qualification.
In other words, I've seen families with $250K+ annual income spiral into prolonged unemployment and watched their UI run out.
This is just my .02.
