Help! – I rent and landlord wants to sell to me

[23109VC]

ok…i know I lose the standard deduction…but since I can itemize…doesn’t that open the door to write off my state income tax…which winds up being quite a bit at my income level? I’ll have to pull my old tax returns to see how much I actually had in terms of itemized deductions when I owned my last house vs. now that I’m renting….

my gut tells me that if I pass on making any offer…the owner will list it for sale out of deserpartion…they are losing money on the property… and it’s not going to sell. it will sit and sit. or they’ll get lowball offers that they can’t take. then when my lease runs out they’ll ask me to stay… which I”ll happily do…and just wait for the perfect time to buy…

from looking at the charts on thsi site..showing the last real estate down cycle… it looks like prices could realistically go down VERY low… almost as low as they were before they shot up…

man..up here in Temecula…if prices dropped that low….hosues that right now are 800k…will be selling for 400k…. and up here… 800k is a NICE house…

i see people in carmel valley spending 1.5 million on what looks like a really nice tract house… up here 1.5 gets you a freakin ESTATE… i mean MANSION stuff… acres of land with a mansion on it… you’d feel like “king” of Temecula.. 😉

[exeunt]

in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king…

[PerryChase]

There’s a possibility that $800k houses will go down to $400k. You’ll be able to live the lifestyle you want. 🙂

A more likely event would be $800k houses dropping to $550k (about 30%) and stagnating there for a long time. At that time, you’ll have many choices to pick from — perhaps that amazing deal at $500k. Save your pennies now so you can get what you want when prices drop.

That’s what happened the last time and I’m willing to bet that it’ll happen again.

[hipmatt]

Harveston is way overpriced, I live there too, also rent, you get a big ego on a small lot. The homes are nice, the lake..uh pond is nice with reclaimed water, you can’t swim in it, you have to pay to rent a paddle boat, wow! Looks nice there, yes, HOA is at least $100, I heard $132. Taxes are high!!!! 2% get real Thats $8k per year IF you get the house for $400k, which you won’t. These sellers are smoking crack here, they have more pride than brains.

IMO you should never buy a home with 0 down, no offense, but I just don’t get it. How can you make so much and have no down payment? My wife and I make half of what you make, pay more for rent and we could still save up for a down payment. I also expect you to use an int. only loan.. completely bad news. Still your payment would be lucky to be under $3000 per month even if you got the place for $350k. YOu will be paying at least twice what you currently are, plus you will loose all the money as the housing crashes. Are you prepared to owe $350-$400k on a house in 5 years that could be worth $250k? or less?

RENT RENT and RENT!

[(former)FormerSanDiegan]

For most renters their single largest deduction is State income Tax. You have to have taxable income of about $100K (single) or $160K (Married-Joint) for your state income tax to equal the federal standard deuction (5K single 10K married)
http://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/tax_table/index.asp

If you have more than this amount in taxable income or if you regularly itemize anyway, you can ignore the loss of standard deduction in your calculations of comparing
renting to owning.

[booter1]

SD Realtor,

We are possibly relocating to North County Coastal area from midwest. Definitely intend to find long-term rental of an executive-level home (5 Br/3000 sq ft plus)if possible
as opposed to buying.

What is the best way to go about finding inventory of rentals? I have been viewing craigslist, rentclicks. backpage and rental section of realtor.com.
Am I missing anything?

Also had another question I thought you might know the answer to-if one obtains a long-term lease for 3 years and the home goes REO can the bank(as the new “owner”) remove the tenant before the lease expires? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Decline sorrowfully that you just aren’t in a position to take up such a “great deal”. Go with the advice to offer to stay at a lower rent while he sells. Mention that the landlord has the right idea: there are companies in California that line up tenants to house sit otherwise vacant properties who pay a few hundred a month in rent to keep the places occupied while being sold. Agree with him that he should sell soon anyway at that price. Especially if he doesn’t have to centend with the “vacant house – must be a desparate seller” phenomenon. Given a rent reduction, you won’t mind keeping the place looking nice for buyers and putting up with showings.

Point out that occupied dwellings have much less chance of burglary or other mischief. I’ve also been given to understand that standard home owners insurance does NOT cover a vacant home.

[Anonymous]

Harveston is overpriced- however I think it’s unrealistic to expect the market to crash that low..I don’t know SF of the house you’re talking about, but The market today in Temecula, Murrieta, etc, expect to sell for about what it would be sold for in June of 2005..I’ve been following the market…I’ve even put several offers on “Short Sales” and Bank owned, and despite the several Bank owned properties, the banks are not really dealing…just a little bend…The taxes are high in all the new areas..I’ve been renting for 2 years after selling my home-waiting out the market, which went up and now down..It’s summer so owners are holding their prices just a bit, but I would expect end of Aug-Sept through the end of the year to continue to soften a bit more..IF you get a great deal now on a home & you plan to stay in for years, you’ll be OK..Temecula should hold it’s price a bit better than surrounding areas…Check out French Valley for bigger deals…The best deals I’ve found: Norrington Ridge starting at $300K range-& I just bought 1 home in Stratton Pointe..

[Anonymous]

continued–If you’re planning to get into a house w 0 down..well, that’s probably impossible to near impossible! The market has changed in the past month…the banks have been burned badly by people just walking away from their homes (ShortSales-Bank Owned all over!) So, it’s a differnent animal now… The $350K is prob a cheap price..for what they’re going for now..April prices..that’s if the owner will sell at that price..I’ve found many holding their prices..so, I’d say between what they paid in 2005 to a bit lower, you’re pricing it right..It doesn’t hurt to try the $350- sure he’d counter…The owner probably got $ back at closing when he purchased..why it’s saying $440K, vs what the neighbor is saying..so did they put the money into upgrades (back into the house?) or used it towards buying another property..Who knows??

[AK]

I’d be tempted to buy at $350K … if your neighbors seem like long-term residents.

As others have noted 100% financing may not realistic these days. But at that price I think you’d be just under the FHA limit, which might get you to 97% LTV.

[Anonymous]

You can still get 100% financing but you will need good credit, verifiable income, and seasoned assets.

[FormerOwner]

Prices are continuing to drop at Harveston:
xx096 PASADENA DR, Temecula, CA 92591
1991 s.f. cottage with upgrades
Price Reduced: 06/13/07 — $419,900 to $389,900
Another 150K price drop and it might be an OK deal!

http://www.ziprealty.com/buy_a_home/logged_in/search/home_detail.jsp?listing_num=K07072587&page=1&property_type=SFR&mls=mls_so_cal&cKey=3jb97hbx&source=MRMLS

[FormerOwner]

Prices are continuing to drop at Harveston:
xx096 PASADENA DR, Temecula, CA 92591
1991 s.f. cottage with upgrades
Price Reduced: 06/13/07 — $419,900 to $389,900
Another 150K price drop and it might be an OK deal!

http://www.ziprealty.com/buy_a_home/logged_in/search/home_detail.jsp?listing_num=K07072587&page=1&property_type=SFR&mls=mls_so_cal&cKey=3jb97hbx&source=MRMLS

[zk]

23109VC:

I’m ATC at SCT (zk). Do I know you?

[zk]

23109VC:

I’m ATC at SCT (zk). Do I know you?

[Author]

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