I’ve been registered here for 2.5 years and lurked for a while before that.
I’ve spent the last decade with my life “on hold” because of the ups and downs of the housing market. I’d originally hoped to buy around 2000-2001 but that was derailed by the dot-com bust. At the start of the RE bubble I decided the gains were unsupported by economic fundamentals, and figured I would pick up a nice REO around … 2004 or so. As the bubble neared its peak I decided the market had hit a “permanently high plateau” but changed my mind yet again in ’05 as prices went from outrageous to ridiculous.
Around that time I started researching the subject in earnest … found some of the early sites like AFB, Patrick.net and Piggington. I have to thank Rich and other pioneers for spreading the word and arming us against the onslaught of REIC propaganda. Wish I’d managed to convince more friends and family that the bubble would have an unhappy ending.
I hope to buy as soon as I find something I like at a reasonable price. My standards of “like” have fallen as my standards of “reasonable price” have inched upward, but I’m doing my best to stay hopeful.
Now that many of us are actively looking I suspect we’ll turn into an emotional support group of sorts … I had no idea the house-hunting process exacted such an emotional toll, and changed one’s outlook on life in so many ways.
