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bearishgurl
Participant[quote=paramount]The more research I do on Texas, the more I like it – and much of the appeal goes back to one of my original statements: FREEDOM.
I found Lake view property starting at $19,900; but the best part is if you have a boat, you just take it down to the ramp and launch. That’s it!!!
No endless harassment by cops or some damn bureaucrat government worker, endless fees, endless lines, ENDLESS BS!!!
http://www.reserveatlaketravis.com/?gclid=CMD7iNWxh7QCFYN_Qgod8wQAQQ
http://livewatersedgeranch.com/
http://livesouthpoint.com/
[/quote]Ahem … a few things come to mind here, paramount. First of all, how close are these lakes to well-paying jobs? You know … the kind you can raise a family (or two parents can raise a family) with? Want to work at the local Kerr McGee truck stop washing diesels or in the cash cage selling cigs? Or . . . are you ready to “retire” now??
And I’m sure you’re aware that these “cheap lots” don’t have any utilities. How much would it cost to hook up to gas and electricity? Or set up a propane tank, dig a leachfield and buy and bury a septic tank? And are you SURE you can get high-speed internet on ALL those lots?
Just an FYI, paramount, not THESE lakes, mind you, but in the last eight years, I’ve swam near a “renowned” beach for about three hours in a large lake and also was waterskiing in a (separate) lake, both in this region. The first time (swimming), I came home on a plane 1.5 days later with my head literally bursting before I deplaned. I rushed to an urgent care clinic where it turned out I had a double ear infection. After having them irrigated for 1.5 hrs (very painful), I was given an antibiotic shot and put on massive antibiotics for 2 weeks. On a subsequent trip, I was only in the water long enough to put on my ski and swim back to the boat. I then used some leftover prescription ear drops I had on the second day of my drive home. The next day, I went to the doctor to find out one of my ears was infected and was again put on antibiotics.
These ARE the same lakes that I remember spending my summers at as a child/teen but the WATER IN THEM is NOT the same. Many of the beaches don’t have any waste receptacles and the beach user is supposed to carry out their trash. However, party-animal teens get in there on weekends and college breaks and leave their trash everywhere, which floats out into the water. There’s no one to police the beaches or collect trash (hence no trash cans). There is very little personnel to police the water quality for the entire state and the state parks (where most of these large “resort-type” lakes are) are far apart from one another. It’s not uncommon to see many dead fish collected together on these beaches and their adjacent inlets.
The “boat ramps” are often unmaintained (have lower partial dropoffs, unbeknownst to authorities), can be very slippery, and depending on water level and what the boater is driving to back their boat into the water, it could be easy for them to lose their vehicle in the water. I’ve seen this happen several times and in all the times I’ve watched the vehicle go under, there were (fortunately) no people or animals in it and the driver bailed. On a couple of occasions, bystanders were successfully able to push the vehicle back up the “ramp” and instruct the driver how to drive out. The rest of the times the vehicle was lost and there were no authorities for miles around. I’ve also watched someone trash the lower end of their engine and prop on a large dead tree trunk which fell into the bottom of the “boat ramp” (again, unbeknownst to authorities).
Ahh, but you’re planning on storing your boat out of the water (on belts) in one of those fancy steel boathouses on foam tanks at your “resort,” right? Well, paramount, I hope you don’t mind jellyfish …. everywhere! They lay their eggs on and under the ladders leading into the water and park themselves everywhere on the insides and under the floor of your boathouse. EVERYTHING you touch within 2′ of the water is covered in slime. But you’ll get used to it.
Due to both wastewater and dam mismanagement, you can often see a line of thick bubbles (detergent) formed both up and downstream when you drive over a dam.
Oh, but there’s more. In the last 3 years, but very notably in 2012, there’s been dozens of (temporary, lol) lake closures there due to a flesh-eating bacteria found in them, causing several deaths and dozens of amputations.
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Flesh-eating-bacteria-kills-angler-after-1734361.php
http://www.kvue.com/news/health/165586096.html
http://keanradio.com/does-flesh-eating-bacteria-exist-in-abilene-video/
http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3676170/Re_Flesh_Eating_Bacteria
http://www.kcentv.com/story/15550899/flesh-eating-piranha-caught-in-texas-lake
http://voices.yahoo.com/rare-flesh-eating-bacteria-fells-carolina-teen-after-3733578.html
http://www.macon.com/2012/05/24/2036680/lake-sinclair-man-battling-flesh.html
I could go on.
The aerial views, travel photos (just like your links) and boating and fishing videos all show beautiful forested lakes with multiple islands that would take more than a week to explore. They advertise 18-hole golf, state-run log cabins, well-stocked lakes, nice beaches, houseboat tours, endless waterskiing, plenty of boat gas stations, fireworks, ETC. It all LOOKS like a lot of fun!
What happened to these lakes? Three words … crystal meth mfg. These “lucrative enterprises” were run out of SD, RIV and SB Counties in CA by teams of law enforcement from multiple agencies in the late nineties. Where did all this biz defect to? You guessed it. Those “flyover states” of TX, OK and AR are now infiltrated with them. These states typically operate with 1/4 to 1/5 of the law enforcement personnel (per capita) that CA has. But these “enterprising biz folks” didn’t “set up shop” in the middle of cities and towns there (much too much oversight). No-o-o-o. They made a beeline for the once pristine rural heartland where …. you guessed it again! NO ONE IS MINDING THE STORE, leaving them free to spread their poison and filth in the groundwater and waterways! And the “lone park ranger” resides 30-50 miles away.
I have relatives who have lived in these regions all of their lives and the water coming out of their faucets is has been NON-POTABLE for the past two years. A warning not to drink it is on billboards and constantly broadcast on local on TV and radio stations. It is also “rusty looking” due to the red clay there but is safe to bathe and wash dishes and clothes in.
paramount, I think you have a lot of “homework” to do before you decide to up and “relocate” out of T-town, Cali. Since this region doesn’t quite have a handle yet on this “seemingly intractable” problem, I’ll get you started with these links on the first page of your search:
This is what happens when state governments believe “personal freedoms” trump collecting enough taxes to have adequate “gubment bureaucrats” on staff to oversee these important “quality of life” issues which we take for granted here in “overtaxed” CA.
ParticipantMost potential sellers don’t need to make a “killing.” But if market conditions are such that they do, then great.
But selling prices which are lower today than that exact same neighborhood sold for in mid 2003 are NOT adequately compensating legitimate buyers who bought with at least 20% down and qualified under the normal lending guidelines prevalent at the time. IMO, all properties from April 2003 and before were likely true market-rate sales bought by people who legitimately qualified for them.
If any of those owners have improved their properties since then and did not take out any equity, then they deserve to be compensated fairly for their investment today, IMHO.
In many areas of SD County, we are not quite there yet. There are dozens of shorts and potential shorts in the pipeline in most of these areas but a another cursory check of 8 local zip codes over the weekend revealed to me that the “winning” buyers who actually closed these SS’s in the last 10 weeks were, on average, paying $50K to $80K over the unrealistically low “opening bid” designed to attract bidders.
As it should be. It’s not where it needs to be yet but it is getting there.
Participant[quote=carlsbadworker] . . . Rick Sharga from Carrington recently said: there are three different sources for properties that you can purchase. There is new home development of which there has been virtually none of over the last five years. There is existing home sales, which are limited since between 1/4 and 1/3 of all homeowners who are upside-down do not or cannot sell their property. There are also distressed properties, which are technically existing homes that are put into a different bucket. All three of these things are lower than normal, and there is a limited amount of inventory available. At this precise moment in time Wall Street came in and gave $8 billion to spend on REO properties. Imagine what would that do to the price and that’s exactly what happened. Common men are screwed . . . [/quote]
CW, you forgot to mention that of the 2/3 to 3/4 remaining local homeowners who are NOT upside down, the vast majority of the ones who appear to be selling are:
– possible heirs for homeowners who died;
– relos out of county (where an employer may be financially assisting in closing and moving costs);
– those who can’t wait another minute to move closer to or live with family members (usually 75+ yrs old);
– those getting a divorce;
– and, those who must move into assisted living or a nursing home NOW and their heirs don’t want their property.
All “other homeowners” appear to be sitting tight. WHY? Because they CAN! They don’t have to play games with bottomfishers … incl the cash offerors who want to use their properties as a launching pad for their next $150K ++ profit in less than 60 days.
These homeowners can ALL wait for a better day … and, in SD County, those better days WILL come … if not sooner, than later.
It’s all okay.
If today’s buyers want more inventory to choose from, that will happen when they lose the “I’m going to steal a house in excellent condition and/or a prime location,” mindset and face reality.
Participant[quote=outtamojo] . . . It IS fraud, spoken causually because that is the way business is done these days. Pity anyone looking to buy a place to live these days, the wink wink crowd gets all the pretty shiny places at 2008-2009 prices while the common man gets to tour fixers at full market price . . . [/quote]
outtamojo, I agree that the selection for FTB’s and other similarly-situated buyers is lower right now, partly due to the “secret, backroom deals” you speak of here. The <$400K price range is VERY attractive to buy and hold investors, ESP to those who pay all cash for a property. HOWEVER, there ARE plenty of SFR listings that have been in the MLS for 2+ weeks in MANY zip codes which "apparently" have not gotten "good enough" offers on them yet. I don't see a cosmetic fixer as a problem for these types of buyers. Those in the <$400K price range who need >1500 sf w/garage should actually expect this, IMHO.
I see only opportunities for these buyers. Your statement above assumes buyers who pay “full market price” (whatever that is, lol, it’s low to reasonable) today will not have made a good or great deal, in hindsight, tomorrow … ESP if they locked in the prevailing prime mtg interest rates.
I understand that a few of these current listings which have been languishing on the market may have structural damage and thus will only sell to a particular kind of buyer. But that leaves at least ~1500 current SFR listings in the county which are NOT “moving like hotcakes.” Perhaps investors don’t want them because the sellers won’t sell them cheap enough to effect a good rental ROI or flipper ROI. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t good houses for joe6p and his family for the time it takes them to buy and flip (abt 1-3 yrs if both have FT jobs). Hundreds of very well-located SFRs in SD County appear to be sitting on the market today waiting for good/reasonable offers while buyers whine and wring their hands, lamenting that there is nothing out there for them.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
*****
Back in the “olden days” of 10%++ mtg interest rates, we boomers (at the ages Gen Y is now) were happy to buy those cosmetic-fixer SFR’s here in SD County for between $32K and $90K. You may think those prices are “cheap” by today’s standards but it’s all relative, as is the lower profit (than today) we were able to make on each one.
I’m partly as secure as I am today because of decisions I/we made decades ago to engage in serial fixup/rehab work of local SFR’s for later sale.
If you (as a Gen Y’er who just bought a cosmetic fixer), have young children, put them in a playpen and/or a swing (now they’re elec and you don’t have to crank them up every 15 mins :-D) and let them fall asleep to the sound of power tools or rock n roll (there were no ipods back then ;-]) and get to work scraping, dumpster loading, etc. Your future net worth depends on it!
Participant[quote=EconProf]Not mentioned so far is the importance of the major the student takes as a determinant of their future occupational success. There is a huge difference in outcomes for humanities, ethnic studies, gender studies, social science majors vs. STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) and other more difficult majors.
Freshmen are rarely informed of this by the professors in these easier majors who need upper level students to maintain their employment. A little truth in advertising is needed…plus the parents need to step in to exert their influence–and pocketbook.[/quote]Econprof, I did address this issue earlier, here:
[quote=bearishgurl]FT college is the right thing to do for recent HS grads IF:
-snip-
-they know what they want to major in;
-and, their major of choice is one in which they can easily get hired into FT employment (w/benefits) … even if they have to relocate to do so.[/quote]
And yes, I think parents SHOULD influence (their student’s choice of major) with their pocketbook, REGARDLESS of the size of it. They’re not doing their kid any favors by financing their kid’s “degree” in “underwater basketweaving.”
Either the student is going to “go along with the program” of majoring in a currently-in-demand and highly-employable field or they have to find their own financing for college or drop out.
Parents who are financing their student’s education (in whole AND in part) should also insist on seeing their student’s grades in a timely manner after every semester and get their student’s promise that they will chain their academic advisor to their ankle so they will NOT make expensive class-selection mistakes (which cost them additional semesters to finish their degree programs).
In most cases, parents today are sacrificing a large portion of their retirement funds to “launch” their kid into the world properly and I feel they are “entitled” to practical results … or their student should at least bail out after the first semester/year (or after 2nd yr with all their GE credits finished) if they cannot decide on what they want to major in.
College is now far too expensive to be “child’s play” anymore. Many of these college-bound and college freshman kids need to “grow up” and appreciate all that their parents have done (and are doing) for them, which is not without great sacrifice to their own futures.
Participant[quote=outtamojo]. . . I am starting to wonder now, how much inventory is held by samll time investor groups along with big time hedge funds. I hope it is not a lot, because hedge funds have a tendency to piss and poop on everybody else.[/quote]
It IS a lot and there WILL be a lot more of these types of deals in the very near future, IMO.
See: http://piggington.com/as_predicted_frannie_is_beginning_to_sells_blocks_of_assets_in_b
Participant[quote=spdrun]Hey, I didn’t originally bring up people shooting each other. I was just taking the thought to its logical conclusion, having no particular love for overpaid cops or overpaid mobsters:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/mob_pals_work_port_time_10m4LKcqZNJda7rEJkqDRN
(Yeah, it’s the Post, but even a stopped clock is right twice a day.)[/quote]ROTHLMYAO, spdrun! So true…
Great article . . . and thanks for sharing :=D
Participant[quote=carlsbadworker]Overleveraged bum-losers are actually doing great and could be the seed of the next RE bubble.
Bruce Norris recently told a story happening in Moreno Valley, a person owed $250K on a 2-bedroom house. It went for $57K to one of the Norris Group’s investors, and the owner was given $25,000 to agree to the transaction. After closing costs, the lender netted $23 grand. But the owner who was current on the payment had $25 grand and was able to go buy another house right away since he was just given the money.
And then Bruce gave an example of someone who bought a house back in February for $205,000. This same house has already gone up to $285,000. When they tell this story to their friends who did not receive an $80 grand increase for anything and they began thinking they need to buy something, eventually that’s how the CA RE cycle runs. It almost never stays in a fair value because you will get people migrate into the state when the RE price is rising rather than the other way around. As a rational person, I cannot understand this but that’s how the process goes.[/quote]
The MO of the “Norris Group” sounds “strangely similar” to the one a (well-connected) Chula Vista family used last year, which I described here:
http://piggington.com/shortsale_flopping_scams_when_will_it_stop#comment-222190
http://piggington.com/shortsale_flopping_scams_when_will_it_stop#comment-222241
These “enterprising homedebtors” managed to successfully strip ~400K of debt (incl late chgs) from their (prime) property and “squat” for 28 mos by getting a RE agent (relative) to “find” a “straw buyer” (other relative, lol) to purchase their property deeply short and then “rent” it back to them.
And they never even had to move or file for BK!
The ongoing “lender malaise” we have been seeing in the last 5+ yrs is fueled by GOV payments to them for sitting on their hands. This IS the cause of all the SS fraud being perpetuated on taxpayers and surrounding homeowners, IMO. And the fact that many of these lenders and 2nd TD “investors” are located out-of-state makes it easy for local agents and their “sellers” to perpetrate these kinds of fraud undetected.
ParticipantFT college is the right thing to do for recent HS grads IF:
-they don’t have any kids to support (if they do, then part-time college should be considered);
-they are not entering the military;
-they are in good enough health to complete all four years;
-they will never have to borrow to enroll or stay in college;
-they know what they want to major in;
-and, their major of choice is one in which they can easily get hired into FT employment (w/benefits) … even if they have to relocate to do so.
Otherwise, it is huge waste of time and money and there is little chance of the student actually graduating with a bachelor’s degree, IMO.
If the recent HS grad just wants to find “chicks” or get an MRS degree, it’s MUCH cheaper to join match.com and/or hang out with their former HS “homies” while living in a parent’s back bdrm and working at the Gap.
Participant[quote=spdrun]Problem is that CA has chosen to accommodate overleveraged bum-losers and do everything to keep them in “their” homes. In a just world, they would be in the foreclosure process as we speak.[/quote]
spdrun, don’t blame this “squatting into oblivion” phenomenon on “CA.”
This is largely due to the fault of “lender malaise.” And where ARE these lenders? MUCH more often than not, they are located out of state.
If you were successfully able to poll residents of FL, AZ and NV, for example, who managed to “squat” more than 24 months before being foreclosed upon, I think you might be shocked :=0
And the situtation has been infinitely worse in your neck of the woods where foreclosure requires a court order.
For a defaulted property owner/occupier residing in NY, they have been living a “squatter’s dream” in recent years.
ParticipantThis link was in JTR’s article … these tips by local Broker Kris Berg are so relevant for today’s buyers:
…Multiple offers. Aargh! I have been on both the sending and receiving side too often lately. And believe me when I tell you that “fun” doesn’t begin to describe it, unless you consider watching the hopes and dreams of a dozen first-time buyers being extinguished in casual, reply-to-all fashion to be a real laugh fest.
So what is a would-be buyer to do? There is no magic formula to getting your offer accepted in a multiple situation, of course, but there are some things you should consider in order to have a fighting chance.
1. Do NOT wait until you find your dream home to sit down with your agent and go through the contract. You won’t have time. Do a dry run before you start looking. Familiarize yourself with the forms and the process. That way, when the time comes, you will be ready to point and shoot. Speed counts.
2. Do NOT wait until you find your dream home to begin considering how nice the neighbors are, how great the local school test scores are, and how competitive the prices at the nearest dry cleaner might be. You won’t have time. While you are driving the commute route in the morning, the evening, and on weekends just to “make sure,” while you are canvassing the neighbors about barking dogs and other demographics, and while you are polling your friends and coworkers about the merits of homeownership in light of recent events in Syria, someone else has purchased the darn house.
3. Do NOT wait until you find your dream home to submit all of your documentation to a lender. New listings – the good ones – last hours, not days or weeks. And no one will look at your offer without a solid pre-approval letter tethered to it.
4. Comps, schmomps. Of course you need to understand neighborhood values and comparable sale prices. But do not forget that we are in an (albeit gradually) appreciating market. Granted, there are some external unknowns that may impact our real estate market (rising interest rates, fiscal cliffs). But, for the foreseeable future, prices are not going down. More to point, when there are many, many offers on a home, offering below asking price is not a good strategy, because the fact that this home at it’s current price and condition has attracted numerous interested buyers should tell you something about perceived market value. You aren’t going to steal it. Either you want it or you don’t.
5. A home is worth what it is worth to you. Let me explain. I recently had clients ask me what the “right” price was for a home they were interested in, what it was “worth” – this, a home that already have four offers. A home is ultimately worth what a buyer is willing to pay, and with multiple offers, it will be worth something different to different people. The “right” price in a multiple situation is the price at which you would be happy to consummate the purchase if selected but would be comfortable sleeping nights knowing you gave it your best if your aren’t. In other words, take your best shot. You are not operating from a position of uber-strength here. The whole “let’s leave a little room for negotiating” strategy is not necessarily the best strategy in multiple offer scenarios, as you may never get the chance to don your Donald Trump hat.
6. Do NOT muddy your offer with stupid stuff. If the seller says that their washer and dryer do not convey, do not write an offer asking for the washer/dryer, the pot rack, the sectional sofa and the family schnauzer. And give them stuff that doesn’t cost you anything – shorter timeframes or a larger deposit. Sometimes, it comes down to the devil being in the details.
7. Pick a good – no – a GREAT agent. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having a seasoned, experienced agent on your side. You see, a whole lot of stuff goes on behind the scenes. A great agent is lobbying for you – groveling, even, on your behalf. They are talking to the listing agent (I know; it’s crazy) — about the seller’s expectations, wants and needs, and about the nature of the competing offers before writing the offer so that yours might have the best chance of standing out. They are following up after submittal – to confirm receipt, yes, and to answer questions and generally ensure that, worst case, you get a counter offer. It is their job to try and keep you in the game. And the offer has to be well written. As a listing agent, I am always amazed at the offers I receive that are incomplete or incorrectly filled out. I am amazed at how many offers mysteriously show up in my inbox with no warning – no call or communication from the agent prior to or after submittal. This kind of stuff puts a buyer at a disadvantage, because no listing agent wants to work with a buyer’s agent that appears to be less than competent. They are going to have to live with them for the next 30 to 45 days…
IMO, ALL are excellent suggestions!
http://www.sandiegocastles.com/sandiegohomeblog/partying-like-its-2003-multiple-offers-aargh/
ParticipantThis article in the UT just came out this morning, SDEaves. It’s always been true and is extremely pertinent to your situation.
Once Thanksgiving is over, the real estate world starts to wind down for the holidays and it typically reawakens after the Times Square ball drops and resolutions come to life.
But if you’re a potential homebuyer who’s prepared to close in today’s competitive market, you may want to keep shopping while everyone’s waiting for spring, some real estate agents suggest.
That advice may be especially relevant this year for consumers who have repeatedly lost out on deals because of a limited and continually decreasing supply of homes, but remain persistent. Buying intensity typically cools down at the start of fall through early January, which could increase the odds for those with more patience….
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/dec/01/does-it-make-sense-buy-home-during-winter/
Don’t listen to naysayers and just stay the course. And I wish you the very best of luck to you and your family in your homeshopping endeavors!
Participant[quote=Jazzman][quote=bearishgurl]But I think the arguments used by these “doomsayer” posters (ESP the ones that were highly motivated to buy, qualified to buy . . . but didn’t – Jazzman and many others come to mind) aren’t valid because they are comparing apples to oranges.
This OP-FTB thanked Jazzman for his “sage” advice, lol, yet he wasn’t successful in purchasing a home here! Of course, the OP didn’t know that until I pointed it out.
Buyers need to be told straight up what they can and can’t do with the resources they have. They need to be helped to find a suitable property by a qualified agent, which they can qualify to make an offer on, unless they decide to suspend their search until a later date.[/quote]
Well I’m not clear the fact that I didn’t buy in CA disqualifies me from responding to the OP, or that the advise was somehow amusing. I also like to think that I was “successful” by not buying in CA. Logic seems to have eluded you somewhere along the line. However, I agree that buyers need to be told straight up, which includes suggestions other than from those connected professionally to real estate, as they provide useful antidotes to the rot that got us into this mess. I am very aware of the irritation (exempli gratia “doomsayers”) caused to business-as-usual Realtors, but I have no sympathy. Nothing personal BG.[/quote]
Jazzman, you put your thoughts here into a “nutshell” so succinctly that I don’t have to 😉
IMHO, the fact that you didn’t listen to your realtor(s)’ “useful antidotes” (sic) up and down the state IS the sole reason why you couldn’t make an acceptable deal for yourself in Cali after all that time, frustration and gas you burned “shopping.” You have now chosen to retire elsewhere, even though you and your spouse very badly wanted to stay. And that’s okay …. for YOU.
http://piggington.com/8_years_later_it_happened_we_bought_a_home#comment-206393
Hopefully, you will not have to deal with one of those “crooked, self-serving RE professionals” while attempting to purchase in France :=D.
After all, you know everything already and can let yourself into the properties you want to see, write your own offers to purchase and counteroffers there and open your own escrow (if that’s what they call it there), right?
Nothing disqualifies you from saying anything you want on this forum (within reason). But you well knew that your situation as a prospective buyer was inapposite to that of the OP’s, you knew that you posted your recent CA RE-buyer experience here on this forum in infintesimal detail and yet you essentially told the OP that you “distrusted” realtors (so he should, too) and that `the market is getting worse so he should suspend his search,’ lol. You posted the following link to support this assertion:
http://www.deptofnumbers.com/asking-prices/california/san-diego/
The link actually shows the resale inventory in SD County has been going down every month for the last 76 months (6.33 yrs), except for 2/07 thru 9/07 and 11/09 where it spiked a little (likely due to Frannie’s REO’s being dumped on the local market) and 7/10 thru 9/10 (immed after the homebuyer tax credits expired). It also shows that 425 properties sold in August 2012, 390 properties sold in September 2012, 598 properties sold in October 2012 and median asking prices for the last year-plus have been hovering about +/-$4K above what the OP states he can qualify to buy. County inventory as of 11/1/12 was 8963 and the current median asking price was $382,500 ($22,500 over the OP’s price range).
Now, it’s not the end of the world that the OP can’t qualify to purchase the median-priced property in SD County and maybe he can. Depending on area of county, there are many factors determining what a “median-priced” property actually looks like. Instead of making constructive realistic suggestions to a poster like this (there have been dozens before him), as I did, you basically told him that this inventory shortage was going to “blow over” and so he should suspend his search for now. In my “expert opinion,” that’s not a good plan for this family IF they want to own their own home in SD County. (This opn is based solely upon the OP’s posts.)
I’ve got news for you, Jazzman. There are MANY THOUSANDS of “potential sellers” in SD County who don’t have to sell now, next year, the year after that … or EVER if local market conditions don’t suit them. Yes, even if their property is currently vacant and/or is used for storage. And they are not averse to placing tenants in them to wait for a “better day.” The same could be said of longtime homeowners throughout the state. I don’t see this “inventory problem” getting any better (esp at the OP’s price point) until sold prices firm up another 20-25%.
A FTB with 3 young kids NEEDS his/her realtor and NEEDS to keep searching and making offers while we’re experiencing the lowest mtg interest rates in history (folks, it doesn’t get any cheaper than this to borrow purchase $$)! It’s nothing personal, Jazzman, but when they listen to drivel advising them to suspend their search, it distracts them from what they need to focus on, which, unlike you, is to find a house to raise their growing family in.
Jazzman, why don’t you ask yourself why Piggs aren’t coming forward in droves advising this OP where to search for a home. Did you ever think it might be because it “just ain’t easy” given his price point and preferred commute-time restraints? ESP if one is only familiar with the communities in their backyard and they are all too expensive for this situation and aren’t getting any cheaper.
Your “sage advice” to the OP here has nothing to do with “irritation.” I’m not a realtor, the OP has a realtor and trust me when I tell you that your statements aren’t taking any biz away from me. I’m currently “busier” that I want to be and would like to get out of this chair a little more often ;=]
ParticipantMy posts were really not about Jazzman at all. I’m happy that he is happy where he has chosen to retire. And UCGal, I’m not dead set on “retiring” in Tahoe 🙂
My posts on this thread were aimed at hundreds of posts I’ve seen on here for years advising (primarily FTB) posters that they “shouldn’t buy” due to [any number of political factors we can’t control]. I don’t care if this OP wants to wait and save up more money. But I think the arguments used by these “doomsayer” posters (ESP the ones that were highly motivated to buy, qualified to buy . . . but didn’t – Jazzman and many others come to mind) aren’t valid because they are comparing apples to oranges.
This OP-FTB thanked Jazzman for his “sage” advice, lol, yet he wasn’t successful in purchasing a home here! Of course, the OP didn’t know that until I pointed it out.
I’m not employed by any Chamber of Commerces or a lobbyist for any agencies in Sac but I just see a lot of disingenuousness in posters trying to say Cali is not worth buying in but [other place] is (however unzoned, lack of infrastructure, etc).
ESP when we are talking here about someone who needs to buy close to work. How is Jazzman’s situation even comparable to the OP’s?
I understand different strokes for different folks.
No one is going to buy (ESP a confused FTB) if they look and look and look and hear one thing from one “expert,” another thing from another “expert,” and then all the daily crap spewing from the MSM about the housing market.
That’s why a very experienced neighborhood agent/broker or specialty broker (as in Jazzman’s case) is worth their weight in gold.
And no, I’m not currently a member of CAR/NAR.
Buyers need to be told straight up what they can and can’t do with the resources they have. They need to be helped to find a suitable property by a qualified agent, which they can qualify to make an offer on, unless they decide to suspend their search until a later date.
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