“INVESTORS” who haven’t learned their lessons?

[temeculaguy]

SD, you had the balance of understanding of the big picture a few years ago to ignore the rhetoric that R/E always goes up, it’s nice to see that you are somewhat immune to the opposite rehetoric that nobody will have a job and houses will cost less than cars, that nobody will buy. But don’t get upset about the rigging of the game. Those investors are playing with cash, not gov’t loans, that is how they can buy and flip, they offer both assurance and speed to the bank or go trustee sale where they are somewhat alone, they can buy places that nobody can finance, fixing them to the point that they can be financed and clearing a profit in the process.

You have an advantage, you get to see what’s happening before everyone else, you see money moving and it contradicts what people write on the boards about everything going to hell and we will all sell apples on the corner. We need you to tell us but we also need you to interpret it, why are these investors going into r/e, what are we aremchair quarterbacks missing.

On the inventory front, it’s weird, I don’t have an answer, I need yours. In my zip there 160 non shorts for sale, 160 shorts (shorts are impossible to tell if they are pending) and 160 pending. 40 sales a week, it’s dropped to a 1 months supply from an 18 month supply, what the hell is happening and why are people with boatloads more money than we have doing what they are doing and more importantly, why aren’t they listening to to the same music we are. piggies are supposed to be ahead of the curve, we used to be. Are too many buying and fading off, leaving the more bearish behind to sway the overall sentiment.

Aren’t the cash investors supposed to be smarter than us? they didn’t win that money in the lottery, they got it by getting in front of the curve. Did you actually believe the gov’t and powers that be wouldn’t put a floor on things, or that the market’s invisible hand wouldn’t step in. Do people here really believe that macro economics matter more to buyers than affordability. So it’s rigged a little, now that you realize it’s there, how do you make it work for you or for us.

The most important question isn’t what is going to happen to the economy, it’s which laker team will show up tomorrow and how does a basketball game relate to investing. I’ll tell you, Denver will double Kobe and leave Ariza free, and he will go off, if uncontested, his 3 pointer is on target, if you ignore him defensively he will slash. How does this matter? The lesson is the same, going blindly bearish is like doubling Kobe, you’ve seen what he/it can do, you’ve watched the film so you ignore the other forces at play, don’t ignore the role player with the open look from outside, Ariza is the inventory (doing things that defy logic, how does he hit the outside three when he is a horrible outside shooter, why is inventory at record lows when we are supposed to be in armageddon), Shannon, Fish and Jordan are the investors (you thought they were gone or they would fight over starting, but they aren’t), Pau is the government (steady and predictable) and Bynum is the banks (they looked to be injured and stupid, they need help, but they’ll get it), lamar is well, he’s lamar (I have no real estate analogy for lamar) do not ignore them or they will catch you napping, the worst part is, you know it in the back of your head that it doesn’t make sense right now. Kobe has the media’s attention and the numbers, shouldn’t that be what you worry about (Kobe is unemployment). I say you look at the whole picture and understand that there is more going on, which you already have touched on. Then again the lakers could get swept and this whole diatribe ends up worthless and we could all be selling apples.

[SandraL]

Of course, but who are they flipping them to?

Other investors, of course! Just like on the way up. It will be an ugly circle.

Buy property, mark up, put back on the market. Another investor buys, marks up, back on the market. The difference this time is that there isn’t much room for prices to keep going up in a declining market, without liar loans and foreclosure sales keeping the area comps low.

The guys “first in” might do well, but the second/third wave is gonna get hurt.

[SandraL]

Of course, but who are they flipping them to?

Other investors, of course! Just like on the way up. It will be an ugly circle.

Buy property, mark up, put back on the market. Another investor buys, marks up, back on the market. The difference this time is that there isn’t much room for prices to keep going up in a declining market, without liar loans and foreclosure sales keeping the area comps low.

The guys “first in” might do well, but the second/third wave is gonna get hurt.

[SandraL]

Of course, but who are they flipping them to?

Other investors, of course! Just like on the way up. It will be an ugly circle.

Buy property, mark up, put back on the market. Another investor buys, marks up, back on the market. The difference this time is that there isn’t much room for prices to keep going up in a declining market, without liar loans and foreclosure sales keeping the area comps low.

The guys “first in” might do well, but the second/third wave is gonna get hurt.

[SandraL]

Of course, but who are they flipping them to?

Other investors, of course! Just like on the way up. It will be an ugly circle.

Buy property, mark up, put back on the market. Another investor buys, marks up, back on the market. The difference this time is that there isn’t much room for prices to keep going up in a declining market, without liar loans and foreclosure sales keeping the area comps low.

The guys “first in” might do well, but the second/third wave is gonna get hurt.

[SandraL]

Of course, but who are they flipping them to?

Other investors, of course! Just like on the way up. It will be an ugly circle.

Buy property, mark up, put back on the market. Another investor buys, marks up, back on the market. The difference this time is that there isn’t much room for prices to keep going up in a declining market, without liar loans and foreclosure sales keeping the area comps low.

The guys “first in” might do well, but the second/third wave is gonna get hurt.

[NotCranky]

[quote=CA renter][quote=CricketOnTheHearth]What I hate is the idea that all these “investors” will run out and snap up the affordable properties before the wannabe homeowners can, then rent them right back to those same people who wanted to buy in the first place. In other words, force people to be renters against their wishes.[/quote]

This is exactly how I feel as well. We have enough money to buy up a few of these distressed properties and rent them out for income, but I have a moral problem with doing so. If we believe communities are better off with owner-occupiers, then it would be best for these people to be able to buy their own homes and improve them as they see fit, instead of having to compete with wannabe landlords and flippers.

Housing is a basic necessity, and even though renting provides shelter, I do not like the concentration of real estate in too few hands.

Disclaimer: We absolutely may buy investment properties at some point in the future, but if we do, we will buy very low so that we can pass the savings on to renters who truly cannot afford to (or shouldn’t) buy.[/quote]

I have had rentals before and I am building one now and will buy more. At the “mom and pop” level it is one of the grittiest, blood sweat and tears ways to make a living. Nothing to suffer moral dilemas over at all. Give your tenants and nice place, treat them well and be done with any moral apprehension.

[NotCranky]

[quote=CA renter][quote=CricketOnTheHearth]What I hate is the idea that all these “investors” will run out and snap up the affordable properties before the wannabe homeowners can, then rent them right back to those same people who wanted to buy in the first place. In other words, force people to be renters against their wishes.[/quote]

This is exactly how I feel as well. We have enough money to buy up a few of these distressed properties and rent them out for income, but I have a moral problem with doing so. If we believe communities are better off with owner-occupiers, then it would be best for these people to be able to buy their own homes and improve them as they see fit, instead of having to compete with wannabe landlords and flippers.

Housing is a basic necessity, and even though renting provides shelter, I do not like the concentration of real estate in too few hands.

Disclaimer: We absolutely may buy investment properties at some point in the future, but if we do, we will buy very low so that we can pass the savings on to renters who truly cannot afford to (or shouldn’t) buy.[/quote]

I have had rentals before and I am building one now and will buy more. At the “mom and pop” level it is one of the grittiest, blood sweat and tears ways to make a living. Nothing to suffer moral dilemas over at all. Give your tenants and nice place, treat them well and be done with any moral apprehension.

[NotCranky]

[quote=CA renter][quote=CricketOnTheHearth]What I hate is the idea that all these “investors” will run out and snap up the affordable properties before the wannabe homeowners can, then rent them right back to those same people who wanted to buy in the first place. In other words, force people to be renters against their wishes.[/quote]

This is exactly how I feel as well. We have enough money to buy up a few of these distressed properties and rent them out for income, but I have a moral problem with doing so. If we believe communities are better off with owner-occupiers, then it would be best for these people to be able to buy their own homes and improve them as they see fit, instead of having to compete with wannabe landlords and flippers.

Housing is a basic necessity, and even though renting provides shelter, I do not like the concentration of real estate in too few hands.

Disclaimer: We absolutely may buy investment properties at some point in the future, but if we do, we will buy very low so that we can pass the savings on to renters who truly cannot afford to (or shouldn’t) buy.[/quote]

I have had rentals before and I am building one now and will buy more. At the “mom and pop” level it is one of the grittiest, blood sweat and tears ways to make a living. Nothing to suffer moral dilemas over at all. Give your tenants and nice place, treat them well and be done with any moral apprehension.

[NotCranky]

[quote=CA renter][quote=CricketOnTheHearth]What I hate is the idea that all these “investors” will run out and snap up the affordable properties before the wannabe homeowners can, then rent them right back to those same people who wanted to buy in the first place. In other words, force people to be renters against their wishes.[/quote]

This is exactly how I feel as well. We have enough money to buy up a few of these distressed properties and rent them out for income, but I have a moral problem with doing so. If we believe communities are better off with owner-occupiers, then it would be best for these people to be able to buy their own homes and improve them as they see fit, instead of having to compete with wannabe landlords and flippers.

Housing is a basic necessity, and even though renting provides shelter, I do not like the concentration of real estate in too few hands.

Disclaimer: We absolutely may buy investment properties at some point in the future, but if we do, we will buy very low so that we can pass the savings on to renters who truly cannot afford to (or shouldn’t) buy.[/quote]

I have had rentals before and I am building one now and will buy more. At the “mom and pop” level it is one of the grittiest, blood sweat and tears ways to make a living. Nothing to suffer moral dilemas over at all. Give your tenants and nice place, treat them well and be done with any moral apprehension.

[NotCranky]

[quote=CA renter][quote=CricketOnTheHearth]What I hate is the idea that all these “investors” will run out and snap up the affordable properties before the wannabe homeowners can, then rent them right back to those same people who wanted to buy in the first place. In other words, force people to be renters against their wishes.[/quote]

This is exactly how I feel as well. We have enough money to buy up a few of these distressed properties and rent them out for income, but I have a moral problem with doing so. If we believe communities are better off with owner-occupiers, then it would be best for these people to be able to buy their own homes and improve them as they see fit, instead of having to compete with wannabe landlords and flippers.

Housing is a basic necessity, and even though renting provides shelter, I do not like the concentration of real estate in too few hands.

Disclaimer: We absolutely may buy investment properties at some point in the future, but if we do, we will buy very low so that we can pass the savings on to renters who truly cannot afford to (or shouldn’t) buy.[/quote]

I have had rentals before and I am building one now and will buy more. At the “mom and pop” level it is one of the grittiest, blood sweat and tears ways to make a living. Nothing to suffer moral dilemas over at all. Give your tenants and nice place, treat them well and be done with any moral apprehension.

[SD Realtor]

Once upon a time someone posted, perhaps Russell about opportunity and that with opportunity there is risk…. let us start there…

********

I need to delineate between investors and little guy investors. The type of investors I am referring to are one of two categories. The first are groups or syndicates of investors that buy in bulk. These groups may or may not have intentions to sell the properties or possibly hold onto them for awhile.

Rich has placed guess posts about a VERY astute investor here in San Diego who does this.

The second type of investor is a smaller group or perhaps even an individual who purchases at trustee sale and then flips.

**********

Now I know in some cases individuals may indeed make a secondary purchase from one of these two types. This purchase may be for a primary residence or it may be for a rental. From what I have seen they have been for primary residences. However I am sure many more lower end homes purchased in this manner are for rentals. That doesn’t concern me though. If some of those start losing a bit of cash flow due to rent then so be it. I don’t see alot of them going belly up a la our current market. I do think mom and pop landlords of today are alot more astute then many people give them credit for.

************

TG a brilliant post. You have not ripped off one of those for awhile and to weave the lakers into it… well I consider that a special treat just for me so thank you for that.

If some of my bitterness at the system showed up what can I say. That is the buyer in me, just like you, just like many here, who is frustrated with the system. My personal strategy… not sure yet. I am still wrestling with the mrs about staying in Cali or pulling outta here. If they could saw the state at the OC boundary then I think I could get her to stay but it doesn’t look good. So honestly I don’t know… Anyways I am not as upset about the game being rigged as I am about prognostications that prices have to be at certain levels in the future because they HAVE to. Because of unemployment or because of the GDP… I don’t see that anymore because of the sheer number of people out there with money. Again I think the arguments make sense within a limited set of parameters. However when you bring a wider set of parameters in, these arguments don’t hold up anymore in my book and they are not discussed. I am not saying buy now but I am saying … Hey wait a minute, something is happening here and maybe things need to be considered within a wider scope… maybe the home price nirvana that we all are hoping for is not going to come like we thought it would, or in the form we thought it would.

To be honest… I just do not know.

A few more thoughts… I don’t know how to make the interpretation you referred to. On the smallish side, I can only offer what I see which is some homes I have seen that went to trustee sale, were then purchased by an individual or a trust or an llc, and then put on the market. There are some losses and some gains. A sale I had last year San Marcos was corporate owned by a company that made trustee purchases in like 07 I think. They took a bath. Another I had last summer in CV was bought at trustee sale and the guy did great. A few homes I have seen for sale in 4S were purchased at trustee sale and flipped for profit. These were not the bulk purchases. Another home on Vista Palma in Carlsbad was purchased at trustee sale and is in escrow. Again my interpetation of this is that right now, there is tremendous upside if it is done fast, if the analysis is done well, and if the buyer does his homework. You have to get it at trustee sale, you have to make sure the numbers work, and it is not for joe first timer to try. However, with this piss poor inventory and these interest rates… it is I believe a risk worth taking.

As for what is happening in your neck of the woods… not my part of town my friend so I actually defer to you. All I can say is that the numbers do not lie and your numbers were pretty damn scary.

Yes the guys with boatloads of money… As sad as this is gonna sound, I think that there are a ton of smart people here. There are even quite a few who have good money. I seriously doubt those with boatloads of money post here, and I don’t think they subscribe to anything posted here. These people make money because they took risks, because they round up investors, and because they can identify opportunity better then us. They do a great job making money, WITH OTHER PEOPLES MONEY. Now what works for them or what is good for them may indeed not work for us because of the deeper pockets they have, and that the loss is not their loss. Obviously they see opportunity where many of us see fear. Conversely they may lose but if they do it may not affect them personally at all. Yes the rich do get richer. It is arguable that there sure the hell are not many decent income generators right now, bonds suck, parking money in cds sucks, the equities markets? jeez who knows where they may be… so maybe these captains of the ss moneyboat see something we dont.

Anyways… I guess that is it… I am not sure of anything at present. I am so worked up about the way things are in this country that I cannot see straight. The real estate market is cuckoo for cocoa puffs right now… Unemployment will indeed go up but to be honest with you, it is a lagging indicator and I have already been contacted by old engineering buddies that some hiring will actually start again later in the summer and picking up in 2010.

As for Lamar…. well if you can figure him out let me know.

[SD Realtor]

Once upon a time someone posted, perhaps Russell about opportunity and that with opportunity there is risk…. let us start there…

********

I need to delineate between investors and little guy investors. The type of investors I am referring to are one of two categories. The first are groups or syndicates of investors that buy in bulk. These groups may or may not have intentions to sell the properties or possibly hold onto them for awhile.

Rich has placed guess posts about a VERY astute investor here in San Diego who does this.

The second type of investor is a smaller group or perhaps even an individual who purchases at trustee sale and then flips.

**********

Now I know in some cases individuals may indeed make a secondary purchase from one of these two types. This purchase may be for a primary residence or it may be for a rental. From what I have seen they have been for primary residences. However I am sure many more lower end homes purchased in this manner are for rentals. That doesn’t concern me though. If some of those start losing a bit of cash flow due to rent then so be it. I don’t see alot of them going belly up a la our current market. I do think mom and pop landlords of today are alot more astute then many people give them credit for.

************

TG a brilliant post. You have not ripped off one of those for awhile and to weave the lakers into it… well I consider that a special treat just for me so thank you for that.

If some of my bitterness at the system showed up what can I say. That is the buyer in me, just like you, just like many here, who is frustrated with the system. My personal strategy… not sure yet. I am still wrestling with the mrs about staying in Cali or pulling outta here. If they could saw the state at the OC boundary then I think I could get her to stay but it doesn’t look good. So honestly I don’t know… Anyways I am not as upset about the game being rigged as I am about prognostications that prices have to be at certain levels in the future because they HAVE to. Because of unemployment or because of the GDP… I don’t see that anymore because of the sheer number of people out there with money. Again I think the arguments make sense within a limited set of parameters. However when you bring a wider set of parameters in, these arguments don’t hold up anymore in my book and they are not discussed. I am not saying buy now but I am saying … Hey wait a minute, something is happening here and maybe things need to be considered within a wider scope… maybe the home price nirvana that we all are hoping for is not going to come like we thought it would, or in the form we thought it would.

To be honest… I just do not know.

A few more thoughts… I don’t know how to make the interpretation you referred to. On the smallish side, I can only offer what I see which is some homes I have seen that went to trustee sale, were then purchased by an individual or a trust or an llc, and then put on the market. There are some losses and some gains. A sale I had last year San Marcos was corporate owned by a company that made trustee purchases in like 07 I think. They took a bath. Another I had last summer in CV was bought at trustee sale and the guy did great. A few homes I have seen for sale in 4S were purchased at trustee sale and flipped for profit. These were not the bulk purchases. Another home on Vista Palma in Carlsbad was purchased at trustee sale and is in escrow. Again my interpetation of this is that right now, there is tremendous upside if it is done fast, if the analysis is done well, and if the buyer does his homework. You have to get it at trustee sale, you have to make sure the numbers work, and it is not for joe first timer to try. However, with this piss poor inventory and these interest rates… it is I believe a risk worth taking.

As for what is happening in your neck of the woods… not my part of town my friend so I actually defer to you. All I can say is that the numbers do not lie and your numbers were pretty damn scary.

Yes the guys with boatloads of money… As sad as this is gonna sound, I think that there are a ton of smart people here. There are even quite a few who have good money. I seriously doubt those with boatloads of money post here, and I don’t think they subscribe to anything posted here. These people make money because they took risks, because they round up investors, and because they can identify opportunity better then us. They do a great job making money, WITH OTHER PEOPLES MONEY. Now what works for them or what is good for them may indeed not work for us because of the deeper pockets they have, and that the loss is not their loss. Obviously they see opportunity where many of us see fear. Conversely they may lose but if they do it may not affect them personally at all. Yes the rich do get richer. It is arguable that there sure the hell are not many decent income generators right now, bonds suck, parking money in cds sucks, the equities markets? jeez who knows where they may be… so maybe these captains of the ss moneyboat see something we dont.

Anyways… I guess that is it… I am not sure of anything at present. I am so worked up about the way things are in this country that I cannot see straight. The real estate market is cuckoo for cocoa puffs right now… Unemployment will indeed go up but to be honest with you, it is a lagging indicator and I have already been contacted by old engineering buddies that some hiring will actually start again later in the summer and picking up in 2010.

As for Lamar…. well if you can figure him out let me know.

[SD Realtor]

Once upon a time someone posted, perhaps Russell about opportunity and that with opportunity there is risk…. let us start there…

********

I need to delineate between investors and little guy investors. The type of investors I am referring to are one of two categories. The first are groups or syndicates of investors that buy in bulk. These groups may or may not have intentions to sell the properties or possibly hold onto them for awhile.

Rich has placed guess posts about a VERY astute investor here in San Diego who does this.

The second type of investor is a smaller group or perhaps even an individual who purchases at trustee sale and then flips.

**********

Now I know in some cases individuals may indeed make a secondary purchase from one of these two types. This purchase may be for a primary residence or it may be for a rental. From what I have seen they have been for primary residences. However I am sure many more lower end homes purchased in this manner are for rentals. That doesn’t concern me though. If some of those start losing a bit of cash flow due to rent then so be it. I don’t see alot of them going belly up a la our current market. I do think mom and pop landlords of today are alot more astute then many people give them credit for.

************

TG a brilliant post. You have not ripped off one of those for awhile and to weave the lakers into it… well I consider that a special treat just for me so thank you for that.

If some of my bitterness at the system showed up what can I say. That is the buyer in me, just like you, just like many here, who is frustrated with the system. My personal strategy… not sure yet. I am still wrestling with the mrs about staying in Cali or pulling outta here. If they could saw the state at the OC boundary then I think I could get her to stay but it doesn’t look good. So honestly I don’t know… Anyways I am not as upset about the game being rigged as I am about prognostications that prices have to be at certain levels in the future because they HAVE to. Because of unemployment or because of the GDP… I don’t see that anymore because of the sheer number of people out there with money. Again I think the arguments make sense within a limited set of parameters. However when you bring a wider set of parameters in, these arguments don’t hold up anymore in my book and they are not discussed. I am not saying buy now but I am saying … Hey wait a minute, something is happening here and maybe things need to be considered within a wider scope… maybe the home price nirvana that we all are hoping for is not going to come like we thought it would, or in the form we thought it would.

To be honest… I just do not know.

A few more thoughts… I don’t know how to make the interpretation you referred to. On the smallish side, I can only offer what I see which is some homes I have seen that went to trustee sale, were then purchased by an individual or a trust or an llc, and then put on the market. There are some losses and some gains. A sale I had last year San Marcos was corporate owned by a company that made trustee purchases in like 07 I think. They took a bath. Another I had last summer in CV was bought at trustee sale and the guy did great. A few homes I have seen for sale in 4S were purchased at trustee sale and flipped for profit. These were not the bulk purchases. Another home on Vista Palma in Carlsbad was purchased at trustee sale and is in escrow. Again my interpetation of this is that right now, there is tremendous upside if it is done fast, if the analysis is done well, and if the buyer does his homework. You have to get it at trustee sale, you have to make sure the numbers work, and it is not for joe first timer to try. However, with this piss poor inventory and these interest rates… it is I believe a risk worth taking.

As for what is happening in your neck of the woods… not my part of town my friend so I actually defer to you. All I can say is that the numbers do not lie and your numbers were pretty damn scary.

Yes the guys with boatloads of money… As sad as this is gonna sound, I think that there are a ton of smart people here. There are even quite a few who have good money. I seriously doubt those with boatloads of money post here, and I don’t think they subscribe to anything posted here. These people make money because they took risks, because they round up investors, and because they can identify opportunity better then us. They do a great job making money, WITH OTHER PEOPLES MONEY. Now what works for them or what is good for them may indeed not work for us because of the deeper pockets they have, and that the loss is not their loss. Obviously they see opportunity where many of us see fear. Conversely they may lose but if they do it may not affect them personally at all. Yes the rich do get richer. It is arguable that there sure the hell are not many decent income generators right now, bonds suck, parking money in cds sucks, the equities markets? jeez who knows where they may be… so maybe these captains of the ss moneyboat see something we dont.

Anyways… I guess that is it… I am not sure of anything at present. I am so worked up about the way things are in this country that I cannot see straight. The real estate market is cuckoo for cocoa puffs right now… Unemployment will indeed go up but to be honest with you, it is a lagging indicator and I have already been contacted by old engineering buddies that some hiring will actually start again later in the summer and picking up in 2010.

As for Lamar…. well if you can figure him out let me know.

[SD Realtor]

Once upon a time someone posted, perhaps Russell about opportunity and that with opportunity there is risk…. let us start there…

********

I need to delineate between investors and little guy investors. The type of investors I am referring to are one of two categories. The first are groups or syndicates of investors that buy in bulk. These groups may or may not have intentions to sell the properties or possibly hold onto them for awhile.

Rich has placed guess posts about a VERY astute investor here in San Diego who does this.

The second type of investor is a smaller group or perhaps even an individual who purchases at trustee sale and then flips.

**********

Now I know in some cases individuals may indeed make a secondary purchase from one of these two types. This purchase may be for a primary residence or it may be for a rental. From what I have seen they have been for primary residences. However I am sure many more lower end homes purchased in this manner are for rentals. That doesn’t concern me though. If some of those start losing a bit of cash flow due to rent then so be it. I don’t see alot of them going belly up a la our current market. I do think mom and pop landlords of today are alot more astute then many people give them credit for.

************

TG a brilliant post. You have not ripped off one of those for awhile and to weave the lakers into it… well I consider that a special treat just for me so thank you for that.

If some of my bitterness at the system showed up what can I say. That is the buyer in me, just like you, just like many here, who is frustrated with the system. My personal strategy… not sure yet. I am still wrestling with the mrs about staying in Cali or pulling outta here. If they could saw the state at the OC boundary then I think I could get her to stay but it doesn’t look good. So honestly I don’t know… Anyways I am not as upset about the game being rigged as I am about prognostications that prices have to be at certain levels in the future because they HAVE to. Because of unemployment or because of the GDP… I don’t see that anymore because of the sheer number of people out there with money. Again I think the arguments make sense within a limited set of parameters. However when you bring a wider set of parameters in, these arguments don’t hold up anymore in my book and they are not discussed. I am not saying buy now but I am saying … Hey wait a minute, something is happening here and maybe things need to be considered within a wider scope… maybe the home price nirvana that we all are hoping for is not going to come like we thought it would, or in the form we thought it would.

To be honest… I just do not know.

A few more thoughts… I don’t know how to make the interpretation you referred to. On the smallish side, I can only offer what I see which is some homes I have seen that went to trustee sale, were then purchased by an individual or a trust or an llc, and then put on the market. There are some losses and some gains. A sale I had last year San Marcos was corporate owned by a company that made trustee purchases in like 07 I think. They took a bath. Another I had last summer in CV was bought at trustee sale and the guy did great. A few homes I have seen for sale in 4S were purchased at trustee sale and flipped for profit. These were not the bulk purchases. Another home on Vista Palma in Carlsbad was purchased at trustee sale and is in escrow. Again my interpetation of this is that right now, there is tremendous upside if it is done fast, if the analysis is done well, and if the buyer does his homework. You have to get it at trustee sale, you have to make sure the numbers work, and it is not for joe first timer to try. However, with this piss poor inventory and these interest rates… it is I believe a risk worth taking.

As for what is happening in your neck of the woods… not my part of town my friend so I actually defer to you. All I can say is that the numbers do not lie and your numbers were pretty damn scary.

Yes the guys with boatloads of money… As sad as this is gonna sound, I think that there are a ton of smart people here. There are even quite a few who have good money. I seriously doubt those with boatloads of money post here, and I don’t think they subscribe to anything posted here. These people make money because they took risks, because they round up investors, and because they can identify opportunity better then us. They do a great job making money, WITH OTHER PEOPLES MONEY. Now what works for them or what is good for them may indeed not work for us because of the deeper pockets they have, and that the loss is not their loss. Obviously they see opportunity where many of us see fear. Conversely they may lose but if they do it may not affect them personally at all. Yes the rich do get richer. It is arguable that there sure the hell are not many decent income generators right now, bonds suck, parking money in cds sucks, the equities markets? jeez who knows where they may be… so maybe these captains of the ss moneyboat see something we dont.

Anyways… I guess that is it… I am not sure of anything at present. I am so worked up about the way things are in this country that I cannot see straight. The real estate market is cuckoo for cocoa puffs right now… Unemployment will indeed go up but to be honest with you, it is a lagging indicator and I have already been contacted by old engineering buddies that some hiring will actually start again later in the summer and picking up in 2010.

As for Lamar…. well if you can figure him out let me know.

[Author]

Posts