There will be some benefit for those few who didn’t have neg/ams or interest-only loans in not paying property taxes to additional savings from insurance, HOA’s and other “owner” costs. On the other hand they don’t get the mortgage write-off. There is too much inventory driving prices down faster than many “experts” thought and more rentals are appearing as well. With the cost of living so high in Ca. at some point there will be competition among landlords to sign qualified renters that can last six months to a year. We’re just warming up. We’ll be seeing a few thousand more homes from brand-new developments on the market this year and next.
People who try to time it and get in early (like now) on foreclosure “deals” will be experiencing the “catch a falling knife” syndrome as prices continue declining 25-30% from current levels. Some renters may end up paying more for less but there will also be a number of these unsold homes being rented (by banks, lenders etc.) when they finally decide to get some form of cash-flow out of their portfolios. How many other agressive/inexperienced flippers like the Temecula area guy with 15 NOD’s ready to wreak comp sales havoc on neighborhoods and communities are out there? Its going to be an interesting Summer and Fall. Unless there is a fire sale by this October I”m on the fence until next Spring at the soonest before I even think about buying more property.
