It’s unfortunate that people such as this think it’s a good time to buy and believe they “can’t go wrong”. Maybe they will be fine, but I think I’d put a little more thought into it.
This particular person is 27 with what sounds like a good career. He’s moving into a downtown condo with is girlfriend. I don’t know if it’s a 1 or 2 bedroom place, but it’s very likely that his life could change very drastically in the near future. Marriage, children, and many other things all seem to happen right around this time for most people. Is downtown the best place for that? Maybe, but your perception changes very quickly when you have to lug a bunch of baby stuff to the top of a condo complex.
Point being that he seems to think being young gives him time to wait out anything that happens. It’s probably the opposite as his life is more likely to change in the next few years than someone who’s 45.
He also said the following: “At that time the news was forecasting condos in downtown and everywhere were suffering,” Cabuago said. “I thought that was a perfect time to buy.” I’m a little confused as to his thinking. They weren’t saying that the condos were at the bottom now. They were “forecasting” that in the near future these condos could tank. The “suffering” had JUST started. How does that make buying NOW a good choice? He knocked $40k off the asking price, which is very good, but that should have been a sign to him so shortly after such a large boom market. Seemed a little too easy, right?
I’m also very curious what kind of loan this person took out. If you’re in a position to buy and hold long on a fixed rate loan, by all means buy that house and live in it. I’m just very scared for the people who really want to, or have to get out of a place in the next 1-7 years.
