Downtown Condo Stats

[NotCranky]

Nodunk,
You might consider getting help from the participants here towards working out a best case scenario lease for downtown?
Maybe get your feet wet with a one year lease with an option to renew?(with a landlord who isn’t at risk for foreclosure)

[SD Realtor]

Nodunk – Everyone has different impressions of downtown. There is also a fair amount of variability to select from in that area, places like Little Italy, East Village, etc… The one facet that holds true is that downtown is definitely getting hit as hard as any of the locales in San Diego. Don’t get scared because one guy shows a picture of a bum sleeping on the street. Yes there are bums but there are bums in nice coastal areas as well as downtown areas. With that said, I feel that downtown condos have a ways to go. That 800k condo you are thinking about will most likely be in the 700’s next summer and will be less then that in 2 years. The trends do not lie and there really is no reason to doubt that they will not continue. My recommendation would be to rent a place downtown to get the feel for it next year, see if you do REALLY like it down there or not. Then in 2009 or 2010 snap up a great deal.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

Nodunk – Everyone has different impressions of downtown. There is also a fair amount of variability to select from in that area, places like Little Italy, East Village, etc… The one facet that holds true is that downtown is definitely getting hit as hard as any of the locales in San Diego. Don’t get scared because one guy shows a picture of a bum sleeping on the street. Yes there are bums but there are bums in nice coastal areas as well as downtown areas. With that said, I feel that downtown condos have a ways to go. That 800k condo you are thinking about will most likely be in the 700’s next summer and will be less then that in 2 years. The trends do not lie and there really is no reason to doubt that they will not continue. My recommendation would be to rent a place downtown to get the feel for it next year, see if you do REALLY like it down there or not. Then in 2009 or 2010 snap up a great deal.

SD Realtor

[NotCranky]

At the risk of sounding morbid, sometimes I wonder if it might not play out better for seniors to rent it out for the duration if they sell? It’s something to consider relative to timing a purchase.IMO.

[NotCranky]

At the risk of sounding morbid, sometimes I wonder if it might not play out better for seniors to rent it out for the duration if they sell? It’s something to consider relative to timing a purchase.IMO.

[SD Realtor]

Rustico perhaps. I guess it depends on age/health/mindset. Also if they do get a good deal on the condo and the market has bottomed out then appreciation of the home for the children is something to consider.

Your point as always is well made.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

Rustico perhaps. I guess it depends on age/health/mindset. Also if they do get a good deal on the condo and the market has bottomed out then appreciation of the home for the children is something to consider.

Your point as always is well made.

SD Realtor

[PerryChase]

Rustico, not morbid at all. We’ll all die so it’s good to think about it.

My auntie sold her house at 82 years old because she couldn’t deal with the garden anymore. She’s now 84, does not take any pills and is still alive and kicking. If I had not talked her out of it, she would’ve bought some overpriced condo.

Anyway, she now shares my dad’s house and spends 1/2 of the year traveling. I told her to enjoy herself, spend all her money and not leave anything for anyone. But that’s very difficult for her to do because the only thing she spend money on is food. She loves to eat all kinds of exotic (but healthy) stuff.

She’s too old to travel by herself now, but if she were younger, she could rent in London, or Sydney, or Paris for part of the year. Wouldn’t it be great for a senior to rent in Rome and study art and Italian (universities are virtually free in Europe and the rent/buy delta is even greater than in America)?

I do think that seniors who sold should rent because in a market that will stagnate for 10 years +, there’s no upside to buying.

Nodunk, you can rent a downtown condo for 1/2 the cost of buying and use the difference to enjoy your retirement ($3,000/mo for $1 million condo at The Grande). Then watch the listings for the right time to re-enter the market. If you’re worried about decorating requirements, decorating a downtown condo you rent vs. decorating a condo you own is exactly the same thing. The advantage of renting is that when your current kitchen is out of date, you can easily move to another unit that has better cabinets and granite. 🙂 If your view is ever obstructed, ask for a rent reduction or move to one with a better view.

——–

Homeownership is like a religion that is deeply ingrained into us. But if we think of housing as a commodity called shelter, we can then more easily look for the best value for our money.

[PerryChase]

Rustico, not morbid at all. We’ll all die so it’s good to think about it.

My auntie sold her house at 82 years old because she couldn’t deal with the garden anymore. She’s now 84, does not take any pills and is still alive and kicking. If I had not talked her out of it, she would’ve bought some overpriced condo.

Anyway, she now shares my dad’s house and spends 1/2 of the year traveling. I told her to enjoy herself, spend all her money and not leave anything for anyone. But that’s very difficult for her to do because the only thing she spend money on is food. She loves to eat all kinds of exotic (but healthy) stuff.

She’s too old to travel by herself now, but if she were younger, she could rent in London, or Sydney, or Paris for part of the year. Wouldn’t it be great for a senior to rent in Rome and study art and Italian (universities are virtually free in Europe and the rent/buy delta is even greater than in America)?

I do think that seniors who sold should rent because in a market that will stagnate for 10 years +, there’s no upside to buying.

Nodunk, you can rent a downtown condo for 1/2 the cost of buying and use the difference to enjoy your retirement ($3,000/mo for $1 million condo at The Grande). Then watch the listings for the right time to re-enter the market. If you’re worried about decorating requirements, decorating a downtown condo you rent vs. decorating a condo you own is exactly the same thing. The advantage of renting is that when your current kitchen is out of date, you can easily move to another unit that has better cabinets and granite. 🙂 If your view is ever obstructed, ask for a rent reduction or move to one with a better view.

——–

Homeownership is like a religion that is deeply ingrained into us. But if we think of housing as a commodity called shelter, we can then more easily look for the best value for our money.

[NotCranky]

Thanks SDR.

You bring up several intersting topics Perry. I am reluctant to get this thread off track by responding. Seems like we come back to these themes again and again.Something like, “less is more”.

Downtown is going is going to be very interesting IMO. I walked around there today with my better half. I think I will do a couple of “broker caravans” and get caught up to date. Who’s putting out the good eats SDR? Can civilians go on the caravans?

[NotCranky]

Thanks SDR.

You bring up several intersting topics Perry. I am reluctant to get this thread off track by responding. Seems like we come back to these themes again and again.Something like, “less is more”.

Downtown is going is going to be very interesting IMO. I walked around there today with my better half. I think I will do a couple of “broker caravans” and get caught up to date. Who’s putting out the good eats SDR? Can civilians go on the caravans?

[Anonymous]

Who’s putting out the good eats SDR? Can civilians go on the caravans?

I have been wondering about this, too. When I had my house in CV for sale in 2005, my Realtor ™ took me to many an open house with great food every Wednesday. Now that things have slowed, are the agents still doing this?

[Anonymous]

Who’s putting out the good eats SDR? Can civilians go on the caravans?

I have been wondering about this, too. When I had my house in CV for sale in 2005, my Realtor ™ took me to many an open house with great food every Wednesday. Now that things have slowed, are the agents still doing this?

[SD Realtor]

covered_10 see my post on Caravan information… yep some of them are still putting out eats. I don’t see any problem with you going to visit them.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

covered_10 see my post on Caravan information… yep some of them are still putting out eats. I don’t see any problem with you going to visit them.

SD Realtor

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