[garysears]

Perhaps I meant “entertain” and not “accept”. Shows how much I pay attention. I guess that makes it BWEOB instead of SWEOB.

[garysears]

Perhaps I meant “entertain” and not “accept”. Shows how much I pay attention. I guess that makes it BWEOB instead of SWEOB.

[garysears]

I thought I had one for consideration but now I can’t find it. I guess they finally got foreclosed. Oh well…

Would this place actually have sold for $818,900 on 5/01/07? You can only say for sure you have chased the market down when you reduce to a level you know you could have quickly sold at originally.

That being said this was a rare find. I like it!

Does anyone have one that has been listed for over a year that would easily have sold at the latest price one year prior?

[garysears]

I thought I had one for consideration but now I can’t find it. I guess they finally got foreclosed. Oh well…

Would this place actually have sold for $818,900 on 5/01/07? You can only say for sure you have chased the market down when you reduce to a level you know you could have quickly sold at originally.

That being said this was a rare find. I like it!

Does anyone have one that has been listed for over a year that would easily have sold at the latest price one year prior?

[garysears]

I thought I had one for consideration but now I can’t find it. I guess they finally got foreclosed. Oh well…

Would this place actually have sold for $818,900 on 5/01/07? You can only say for sure you have chased the market down when you reduce to a level you know you could have quickly sold at originally.

That being said this was a rare find. I like it!

Does anyone have one that has been listed for over a year that would easily have sold at the latest price one year prior?

[garysears]

I guess this is a sign of how desperate people have been the past few months and how much financial stress has been weighing on many minds. I recognize this could be seen as an attempt to find the “silver lining” but it comes off kind of strange. In good taste this question probably shouldn’t be asked before the danger is past. I’m not referring to OC Scam or anyone else who responds, but the writer of the article.

Now the answer to the question:

“Standard Piggington response”.

[garysears]

I guess this is a sign of how desperate people have been the past few months and how much financial stress has been weighing on many minds. I recognize this could be seen as an attempt to find the “silver lining” but it comes off kind of strange. In good taste this question probably shouldn’t be asked before the danger is past. I’m not referring to OC Scam or anyone else who responds, but the writer of the article.

Now the answer to the question:

“Standard Piggington response”.

[garysears]

I guess this is a sign of how desperate people have been the past few months and how much financial stress has been weighing on many minds. I recognize this could be seen as an attempt to find the “silver lining” but it comes off kind of strange. In good taste this question probably shouldn’t be asked before the danger is past. I’m not referring to OC Scam or anyone else who responds, but the writer of the article.

Now the answer to the question:

“Standard Piggington response”.

[garysears]

In the off chance anyone cares about this particular thread or condo project, I posted a new thread a few days ago that didn’t stay on the front page very long and you probably missed it:

http://piggington.com/reo_vs_developer_in_el_cajon

It is interesting that the developer is still trying to sell the remaining units in phase 3 while short sales and the first REO in the complex are now on the market. I made the new thread thinking it might be of general interest to the forum. I guess this scenario must not be as unusual as I thought.

[garysears]

In the off chance anyone cares about this particular thread or condo project, I posted a new thread a few days ago that didn’t stay on the front page very long and you probably missed it:

http://piggington.com/reo_vs_developer_in_el_cajon

It is interesting that the developer is still trying to sell the remaining units in phase 3 while short sales and the first REO in the complex are now on the market. I made the new thread thinking it might be of general interest to the forum. I guess this scenario must not be as unusual as I thought.

[garysears]

Rustico,

I’ve been keeping an eye on Johnson as well. The problem with a lot of the lower listings is they aren’t completely believable to me. I only really trust REO prices.

I think most of the lower listings are short sales even if they don’t specifically say it. I don’t think the banks are being serious about short sales at all. I have seen several go inactive and not show up on the county assessor site so I gather banks are for the most part letting properties go to foreclosure.

I have also seen a low listing price increased with an explanation that the bank has now “set the short sale price”. It is not competetively priced in my mind. There is just no way banks can keep up with the listing price movement.

I think a lot of people, once they decide to try a short sale, will list any price just to try to get attention. But the comps just aren’t there for the banks to accept the proposed short sale price. I also see a lot of prices with large spreads that I suspect are listed just to attract bids when the owners have no real intent to consider the low end of the window.

I offered 125 on an REO listed for 182. The bank rejected the offer out of hand and reduced the price within a few days to 172. I expect mine was the only offer. Since then there is another, better REO listed in the same complex for 160.5 but the other bank hasn’t lowered its price.

The one impact I think unrealistic “short sale” listings have is a further reduction in price expectations. I have decided to recalibrate what I think I might buy. I’m starting to think seriously about SFHs now that some are under 300K and approaching 250K. I think the 1940’s-1950’s, under 1000sf SFHs in El Cajon might go under 200K before it is all over. I’d rather not deal with apartment living and HOAs if at all possible. One of those older homes might be in reach for me. But I still might buy a condo for 100-120K in a few years. I’m hoping for 1999-2000 prices.

[garysears]

I’m in the DOD pay scale crowd. Currently it is mandated at 3% by Congress. Instead of paying everyone a little bit more, the military offers various sized re-enlistment / contract extension bonuses for the jobs where retention is the most difficult. Pay has apparently been getting better the last several years and the “pay gap” with the civilian world has allegedly been closed. I think the biggest problem is the government is still committed to a defined benefits retirement system. The civilian job market seems to be paying the money upfront with more generous 401K matching and stock options. So civilians have a better chance to have savings built up rather than relying on the government retirement check to fund the good years. The options in the military seems to be cut out early or commit to the long haul. That is the way the system is designed. Overall, the problem with the time in service, even pay scale for even ranks is the complete lack of incentive to do a superior job.

security vs. satisfaction

By the way, congress is apparently haggling with the President over a 0.5% difference between proposals for military pay increase. That small amount isn’t significant considering inflation but somehow has become highly politicized.

[garysears]

I’m in the DOD pay scale crowd. Currently it is mandated at 3% by Congress. Instead of paying everyone a little bit more, the military offers various sized re-enlistment / contract extension bonuses for the jobs where retention is the most difficult. Pay has apparently been getting better the last several years and the “pay gap” with the civilian world has allegedly been closed. I think the biggest problem is the government is still committed to a defined benefits retirement system. The civilian job market seems to be paying the money upfront with more generous 401K matching and stock options. So civilians have a better chance to have savings built up rather than relying on the government retirement check to fund the good years. The options in the military seems to be cut out early or commit to the long haul. That is the way the system is designed. Overall, the problem with the time in service, even pay scale for even ranks is the complete lack of incentive to do a superior job.

security vs. satisfaction

By the way, congress is apparently haggling with the President over a 0.5% difference between proposals for military pay increase. That small amount isn’t significant considering inflation but somehow has become highly politicized.

[garysears]

I’m in the DOD pay scale crowd. Currently it is mandated at 3% by Congress. Instead of paying everyone a little bit more, the military offers various sized re-enlistment / contract extension bonuses for the jobs where retention is the most difficult. Pay has apparently been getting better the last several years and the “pay gap” with the civilian world has allegedly been closed. I think the biggest problem is the government is still committed to a defined benefits retirement system. The civilian job market seems to be paying the money upfront with more generous 401K matching and stock options. So civilians have a better chance to have savings built up rather than relying on the government retirement check to fund the good years. The options in the military seems to be cut out early or commit to the long haul. That is the way the system is designed. Overall, the problem with the time in service, even pay scale for even ranks is the complete lack of incentive to do a superior job.

security vs. satisfaction

By the way, congress is apparently haggling with the President over a 0.5% difference between proposals for military pay increase. That small amount isn’t significant considering inflation but somehow has become highly politicized.

[garysears]

Ah yes, the old “life is better when you are a homedebtor” argument.

Believe it or not I actually recently wondered if I might “miss” this correction for lack of down payment cash. How stupid does that sound?

Now that I think about it, the complete lack of savings and down payment required for real loans virtually guarantees a prolonged decline. People who want to own are going to have to get frugal again and save. No way around it. I’m pretty sure I can outfrugal the masses so I don’t have anything to worry about.

I’m guessing there aren’t enough responsible buyers on the sidelines to make a big difference to the upside for many years to come, especially staring down the barrel of double digit interest rates. People are going to get real demotivated about real estate.

Rent now before you’re wiped out forever!

[Author]

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