Well, I’m pretty sick to my stomach!

[Bugs]

I liked sdrealtor’s suggestion to slow down and really think through your next move. Booking a $60,000 cost-of-sale loss right now and jumping into the renter’s lifestyle is a drastic life-altering decision, and you may or may not be prepared to live with the downsides of that decision. On the other hand, the $60,000 won’t seem like a loss if you’re forced to sell at the bottom of the market and those prices turn out to be 30% lower than where they are right now.

Nobody KNOWS when or where this slide in prices will stop. We’re all just guessing, and there’s no doubt that some of us are just flat-out wrong.

Stick around for a while and read up on the analyses and the data that pops up here, and then decide how you feel about the reasonableness of those opinions. You may end up deciding that staying where you are and riding it out is the best choice to make for your family.

[(former)FormerSanDiegan]

The neighbors below had a pool and one of the ladies was sunbathing topless …

Does this come with the base price, or is it an upgrade ?

[(former)FormerSanDiegan]

The neighbors below had a pool and one of the ladies was sunbathing topless …

Does this come with the base price, or is it an upgrade ?

[Bugs]

I don’t have any neighbors I’d want to see topless. Most people look better in their clothes.

[Bugs]

I don’t have any neighbors I’d want to see topless. Most people look better in their clothes.

[Chris Scoreboard Johnston]

Chris Johnston

Pery, whether I am a wealthy investor or not, does not effect the point that I made. Emotional knee jerk reaction decisions are rarely good financial moves. To just up and sell and take that loss just because of a fear of what might happen, is simply foolish. The decision has been made, so live with it. It probably is a mistake if you measure it in terms of return in the next few years, but you just cannot go in and out of houses like that due to the transaction costs.

I agree with your point about recognizing the mistake so as not to repeat it, but it is yet to be seen if buying right at this point is in fact a mistake. We do not know that yet. Most of us in here, myself included, do believe values will drop, we just have varying degrees of opinions about how much. Perry ( I think ) is one of the more pessimistic in this area, and I am one of the more optimistic ( -20%). Who knows who is right.

The point about working is just that, go to work and enjoy your life, stop worrying about the hourly value of your home. Working harder if it is what you enjoy, is not work in my opinion. If you hate your job, get a new one, or work less.

From a pure sentiment standpoint, it is getting negative enough out there where it does bear watching as a contra play, in other words buy spot. We are not there yet, but could be within a year.

[Chris Scoreboard Johnston]

Chris Johnston

Pery, whether I am a wealthy investor or not, does not effect the point that I made. Emotional knee jerk reaction decisions are rarely good financial moves. To just up and sell and take that loss just because of a fear of what might happen, is simply foolish. The decision has been made, so live with it. It probably is a mistake if you measure it in terms of return in the next few years, but you just cannot go in and out of houses like that due to the transaction costs.

I agree with your point about recognizing the mistake so as not to repeat it, but it is yet to be seen if buying right at this point is in fact a mistake. We do not know that yet. Most of us in here, myself included, do believe values will drop, we just have varying degrees of opinions about how much. Perry ( I think ) is one of the more pessimistic in this area, and I am one of the more optimistic ( -20%). Who knows who is right.

The point about working is just that, go to work and enjoy your life, stop worrying about the hourly value of your home. Working harder if it is what you enjoy, is not work in my opinion. If you hate your job, get a new one, or work less.

From a pure sentiment standpoint, it is getting negative enough out there where it does bear watching as a contra play, in other words buy spot. We are not there yet, but could be within a year.

[donaldduckmoore]

I am sure you can sue the owner and the inspector along the way if you found out that they missed something major in the inspection and the owner did not disclose to you.

[donaldduckmoore]

I am sure you can sue the owner and the inspector along the way if you found out that they missed something major in the inspection and the owner did not disclose to you.

[PD]

Seatle-relo, you are not alone. I know many people who bought recently, some of whom had even heard the bad news. A friend of mine bought in VA last summer. I begged her not to buy until she had lived in the area, had a good feel for where they really wanted to live and had done a bunch of reasearch on the local market. I warned her that her realtor was full of s**t about claims that her house would appreciate 10% the first year and that there was a good chance that her house would depreciate. “But it is such a good deal,” she said. I shut up after they closed.
No one likes to admit that they made a mistake but she has said that she wishes she waited, the commute is bad and they would not have bought there if they had known the place better. She has made no mention of how much the value of her house has dropped but the truth looms large in our conversations. She is pretty bummed. She has said to me a number of times that “God must have had a plan for us to buy this house.” Hey, if she wants to believe that God has a plan for her to walk down a path to financial destruction, so be it.

[PD]

Seatle-relo, you are not alone. I know many people who bought recently, some of whom had even heard the bad news. A friend of mine bought in VA last summer. I begged her not to buy until she had lived in the area, had a good feel for where they really wanted to live and had done a bunch of reasearch on the local market. I warned her that her realtor was full of s**t about claims that her house would appreciate 10% the first year and that there was a good chance that her house would depreciate. “But it is such a good deal,” she said. I shut up after they closed.
No one likes to admit that they made a mistake but she has said that she wishes she waited, the commute is bad and they would not have bought there if they had known the place better. She has made no mention of how much the value of her house has dropped but the truth looms large in our conversations. She is pretty bummed. She has said to me a number of times that “God must have had a plan for us to buy this house.” Hey, if she wants to believe that God has a plan for her to walk down a path to financial destruction, so be it.

[sdcellar]

seattle-relo– To your specific question of what others have done…

After I bought my 2nd house in 1990 and watched it quickly depreciate 20%, I enjoyed my life and newborn son, took a moment to get my property taxes reduced, and continued to enjoy life pretty much ignoring (but knowing) that my house still wasn’t worth what I paid for it for years.

I was probably underwater for 7 or 8 years and really couldn’t sell it for a “profit” after factoring in expenses for 10. But again, we were okay. We took nice modest vacations, my son was able to go to good schools and I didn’t worry about it (really!). It was hardly my dream house, but nice enough.

I finally did sell it in 2002 and made a good profit on the place (although in retrospect, should have held out longer!)

So, I guess my thought to you is if the place isn’t too bad, you should just enjoy it. You probably figured you’d be there at least 5 years anyway, and after that you can see where you want to go. If you want to move, maybe you can turn it into a rental. Perhaps you won’t be cashflow positive, but it might not be that bad.

[sdcellar]

seattle-relo– To your specific question of what others have done…

After I bought my 2nd house in 1990 and watched it quickly depreciate 20%, I enjoyed my life and newborn son, took a moment to get my property taxes reduced, and continued to enjoy life pretty much ignoring (but knowing) that my house still wasn’t worth what I paid for it for years.

I was probably underwater for 7 or 8 years and really couldn’t sell it for a “profit” after factoring in expenses for 10. But again, we were okay. We took nice modest vacations, my son was able to go to good schools and I didn’t worry about it (really!). It was hardly my dream house, but nice enough.

I finally did sell it in 2002 and made a good profit on the place (although in retrospect, should have held out longer!)

So, I guess my thought to you is if the place isn’t too bad, you should just enjoy it. You probably figured you’d be there at least 5 years anyway, and after that you can see where you want to go. If you want to move, maybe you can turn it into a rental. Perhaps you won’t be cashflow positive, but it might not be that bad.

[PerryChase]

Chris, I pretty much agree with you.

Where I differ is that the size of a purchase, in relation to net-worth, is very relevant to one’s financial well-being.

——–

seattle-relo, it might be worth talking to an attorney about the problems in your house.

——–
rustico, I believe it’s helpful to look at housing in terms of cost-of-shelter. I could’ve sold my house, invested the money and rent. I’m lucky that I bought a while ago and that my property taxes are low. I would have to pay through the nose to rent an equivalent house. I think that I’m better off staying put.

I want to keep my low property tax basis for when I’m old.

“California passed two propositions that can help people 55 and older avoid a major property-tax jolt when they move. Thanks to Proposition 60, which was passed in 1986, those seniors can transfer their old property tax basis to a home bought (or newly constructed) within the same county, and pay taxes at the same low rate. Proposition 90, which was passed in 1988, lets seniors do the same thing when they move between certain counties. (A third proposition, 110, extended those rights to the severely disabled of any age).”

By saving in properties taxes, I could afford to take trips to Europe every year when I’m old and grumpy.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/09/07/news/columnists/by_george/18_00_079_6_05.txt

[PerryChase]

Chris, I pretty much agree with you.

Where I differ is that the size of a purchase, in relation to net-worth, is very relevant to one’s financial well-being.

——–

seattle-relo, it might be worth talking to an attorney about the problems in your house.

——–
rustico, I believe it’s helpful to look at housing in terms of cost-of-shelter. I could’ve sold my house, invested the money and rent. I’m lucky that I bought a while ago and that my property taxes are low. I would have to pay through the nose to rent an equivalent house. I think that I’m better off staying put.

I want to keep my low property tax basis for when I’m old.

“California passed two propositions that can help people 55 and older avoid a major property-tax jolt when they move. Thanks to Proposition 60, which was passed in 1986, those seniors can transfer their old property tax basis to a home bought (or newly constructed) within the same county, and pay taxes at the same low rate. Proposition 90, which was passed in 1988, lets seniors do the same thing when they move between certain counties. (A third proposition, 110, extended those rights to the severely disabled of any age).”

By saving in properties taxes, I could afford to take trips to Europe every year when I’m old and grumpy.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/09/07/news/columnists/by_george/18_00_079_6_05.txt

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