[UCGal]

[quote=afx114]On a similar vein, I saw King Corn a couple weeks ago and it was eye-opening: http://www.kingcorn.net/[/quote]

I agree. That movie definitely made me think about my food choices. And it showed the government involvment in farming from a financial perspective. (No profits in corn unless you get the subsidies. It’s impossible to grow/sell corn at a profit w/out government subsidies)

[UCGal]

[quote=afx114]On a similar vein, I saw King Corn a couple weeks ago and it was eye-opening: http://www.kingcorn.net/[/quote]

I agree. That movie definitely made me think about my food choices. And it showed the government involvment in farming from a financial perspective. (No profits in corn unless you get the subsidies. It’s impossible to grow/sell corn at a profit w/out government subsidies)

[UCGal]

[quote=afx114]On a similar vein, I saw King Corn a couple weeks ago and it was eye-opening: http://www.kingcorn.net/[/quote]

I agree. That movie definitely made me think about my food choices. And it showed the government involvment in farming from a financial perspective. (No profits in corn unless you get the subsidies. It’s impossible to grow/sell corn at a profit w/out government subsidies)

[UCGal]

[quote=pemeliza]Many factors to consider. I would consider proximity to work for example. If you have a long commute that would be something that you could improve by renting.

Sounds like to me you are looking to a strategic default. Good thing you didn’t put any money down.

I would check with an attorney and see if there are any ramifications of doing the loan mod on your ability to walk away from the loans non-recourse. I know purchase loans are non-recourse but the mod might be viewed as a re-fi.[/quote]

I thought all loan mods converted the loan to recourse. If this is true, then CV’s first loan is now recourse. The 2nd, since it hasn’t been modified yet, isn’t recourse, yet, since it was a purchase loan.

[UCGal]

[quote=pemeliza]Many factors to consider. I would consider proximity to work for example. If you have a long commute that would be something that you could improve by renting.

Sounds like to me you are looking to a strategic default. Good thing you didn’t put any money down.

I would check with an attorney and see if there are any ramifications of doing the loan mod on your ability to walk away from the loans non-recourse. I know purchase loans are non-recourse but the mod might be viewed as a re-fi.[/quote]

I thought all loan mods converted the loan to recourse. If this is true, then CV’s first loan is now recourse. The 2nd, since it hasn’t been modified yet, isn’t recourse, yet, since it was a purchase loan.

[UCGal]

[quote=pemeliza]Many factors to consider. I would consider proximity to work for example. If you have a long commute that would be something that you could improve by renting.

Sounds like to me you are looking to a strategic default. Good thing you didn’t put any money down.

I would check with an attorney and see if there are any ramifications of doing the loan mod on your ability to walk away from the loans non-recourse. I know purchase loans are non-recourse but the mod might be viewed as a re-fi.[/quote]

I thought all loan mods converted the loan to recourse. If this is true, then CV’s first loan is now recourse. The 2nd, since it hasn’t been modified yet, isn’t recourse, yet, since it was a purchase loan.

[UCGal]

[quote=pemeliza]Many factors to consider. I would consider proximity to work for example. If you have a long commute that would be something that you could improve by renting.

Sounds like to me you are looking to a strategic default. Good thing you didn’t put any money down.

I would check with an attorney and see if there are any ramifications of doing the loan mod on your ability to walk away from the loans non-recourse. I know purchase loans are non-recourse but the mod might be viewed as a re-fi.[/quote]

I thought all loan mods converted the loan to recourse. If this is true, then CV’s first loan is now recourse. The 2nd, since it hasn’t been modified yet, isn’t recourse, yet, since it was a purchase loan.

[UCGal]

[quote=pemeliza]Many factors to consider. I would consider proximity to work for example. If you have a long commute that would be something that you could improve by renting.

Sounds like to me you are looking to a strategic default. Good thing you didn’t put any money down.

I would check with an attorney and see if there are any ramifications of doing the loan mod on your ability to walk away from the loans non-recourse. I know purchase loans are non-recourse but the mod might be viewed as a re-fi.[/quote]

I thought all loan mods converted the loan to recourse. If this is true, then CV’s first loan is now recourse. The 2nd, since it hasn’t been modified yet, isn’t recourse, yet, since it was a purchase loan.

[UCGal]

I have a few questions for you.

If the house had kept it’s value – market stayed flat rather than declining – would you be anxious to move out of your house? Or would you be content to stay and make the house home?

It sounds like you can comfortably afford the payments on your income. Especially since you were able to do the loan mods. So the only factor is that your neighbors are buying similar houses for less – or paying the same amount to get bigger houses… It doesn’t sound like it’s an issue of you not being able to afford the house you bought.

I’m old school – I really dislike the notion of treating your primary residence as an investment – I think you should buy the house you plan to live in because it meets your shelter needs, your school district needs, your nesting needs. And you buy long term…

My advice – filtered through the thought process of buying a house for shelter, not as an investment, is that you should stay, pay your mortgage, and be grateful for a nice home to live in.

As far as the crowded kids… Like CA Renter, my kids share a bedroom – it’s by choice. Our house is similar in size (2k sf) and is plenty large enough to raise a family in. You’d be surprised how little space you need to raise a family. My husband grew up one of 6 kids in a 1200 sf house with 1 bathroom. He didn’t suffer psychic harm.

[UCGal]

I have a few questions for you.

If the house had kept it’s value – market stayed flat rather than declining – would you be anxious to move out of your house? Or would you be content to stay and make the house home?

It sounds like you can comfortably afford the payments on your income. Especially since you were able to do the loan mods. So the only factor is that your neighbors are buying similar houses for less – or paying the same amount to get bigger houses… It doesn’t sound like it’s an issue of you not being able to afford the house you bought.

I’m old school – I really dislike the notion of treating your primary residence as an investment – I think you should buy the house you plan to live in because it meets your shelter needs, your school district needs, your nesting needs. And you buy long term…

My advice – filtered through the thought process of buying a house for shelter, not as an investment, is that you should stay, pay your mortgage, and be grateful for a nice home to live in.

As far as the crowded kids… Like CA Renter, my kids share a bedroom – it’s by choice. Our house is similar in size (2k sf) and is plenty large enough to raise a family in. You’d be surprised how little space you need to raise a family. My husband grew up one of 6 kids in a 1200 sf house with 1 bathroom. He didn’t suffer psychic harm.

[UCGal]

I have a few questions for you.

If the house had kept it’s value – market stayed flat rather than declining – would you be anxious to move out of your house? Or would you be content to stay and make the house home?

It sounds like you can comfortably afford the payments on your income. Especially since you were able to do the loan mods. So the only factor is that your neighbors are buying similar houses for less – or paying the same amount to get bigger houses… It doesn’t sound like it’s an issue of you not being able to afford the house you bought.

I’m old school – I really dislike the notion of treating your primary residence as an investment – I think you should buy the house you plan to live in because it meets your shelter needs, your school district needs, your nesting needs. And you buy long term…

My advice – filtered through the thought process of buying a house for shelter, not as an investment, is that you should stay, pay your mortgage, and be grateful for a nice home to live in.

As far as the crowded kids… Like CA Renter, my kids share a bedroom – it’s by choice. Our house is similar in size (2k sf) and is plenty large enough to raise a family in. You’d be surprised how little space you need to raise a family. My husband grew up one of 6 kids in a 1200 sf house with 1 bathroom. He didn’t suffer psychic harm.

[UCGal]

I have a few questions for you.

If the house had kept it’s value – market stayed flat rather than declining – would you be anxious to move out of your house? Or would you be content to stay and make the house home?

It sounds like you can comfortably afford the payments on your income. Especially since you were able to do the loan mods. So the only factor is that your neighbors are buying similar houses for less – or paying the same amount to get bigger houses… It doesn’t sound like it’s an issue of you not being able to afford the house you bought.

I’m old school – I really dislike the notion of treating your primary residence as an investment – I think you should buy the house you plan to live in because it meets your shelter needs, your school district needs, your nesting needs. And you buy long term…

My advice – filtered through the thought process of buying a house for shelter, not as an investment, is that you should stay, pay your mortgage, and be grateful for a nice home to live in.

As far as the crowded kids… Like CA Renter, my kids share a bedroom – it’s by choice. Our house is similar in size (2k sf) and is plenty large enough to raise a family in. You’d be surprised how little space you need to raise a family. My husband grew up one of 6 kids in a 1200 sf house with 1 bathroom. He didn’t suffer psychic harm.

[UCGal]

I have a few questions for you.

If the house had kept it’s value – market stayed flat rather than declining – would you be anxious to move out of your house? Or would you be content to stay and make the house home?

It sounds like you can comfortably afford the payments on your income. Especially since you were able to do the loan mods. So the only factor is that your neighbors are buying similar houses for less – or paying the same amount to get bigger houses… It doesn’t sound like it’s an issue of you not being able to afford the house you bought.

I’m old school – I really dislike the notion of treating your primary residence as an investment – I think you should buy the house you plan to live in because it meets your shelter needs, your school district needs, your nesting needs. And you buy long term…

My advice – filtered through the thought process of buying a house for shelter, not as an investment, is that you should stay, pay your mortgage, and be grateful for a nice home to live in.

As far as the crowded kids… Like CA Renter, my kids share a bedroom – it’s by choice. Our house is similar in size (2k sf) and is plenty large enough to raise a family in. You’d be surprised how little space you need to raise a family. My husband grew up one of 6 kids in a 1200 sf house with 1 bathroom. He didn’t suffer psychic harm.

[UCGal]

[quote=jpinpb]I take issue w/this statement:

“1. Housing is a great long-term investment.

Historically, the value of owner-occupied homes has risen at a fairly low rate, one that pales in comparison with the performance of stocks and bonds. Between 1975 and 2008, the price for houses of comparable quality and size appreciated an average of about 1 percent per year.”

We’ve probably had 2 little bubbles and one big one in that time period and if you sold at peak and bought low, you probably made more than 1 percent. Even if you didn’t sell during the smaller bubbles and sold in 2005/2006, you did fine. Long term doesn’t have to mean your entire life, but holding 30 years in this scenario would have given you some nice gains.[/quote]

I think it depends on WHERE you bought. California does not follow more typical real estate market flows.

I have a friend who bought a house in suburban Philly. He held it for 14 years. He wanted to move to center city to be closer to the “action”… and had to bring $8k to the table when he sold. The house was maintained… but hadn’t appreciated – and transaction costs and a low down payment left him unable to cover transaction costs. Not all area’s in the country bubbled. And if they did, it was at a much lower rate. Coastal CA experienced the extremes of the housing bubble.

But -to your point. My dad bought the house I live in now in 1966 for under $30k. For years it stayed well under $100k. Then CA took off and when we bought it in 2003 – we paid the market price of $600k. Same house, but in the 37 years it had appreciated 2000%.

But not all markets did that. My husband bought a semi-detached house in Philly in the early 80’s for under $10k. (It was a HUD repo and gutted.) He invested about $15k into the house, then another 10k into buying the adjacent lot and building an attached garage. When he sold it in 2001 it sold for $65k. – not quite double in 20 years. Same house in CA would have gone up 4-5 times.

[UCGal]

[quote=jpinpb]I take issue w/this statement:

“1. Housing is a great long-term investment.

Historically, the value of owner-occupied homes has risen at a fairly low rate, one that pales in comparison with the performance of stocks and bonds. Between 1975 and 2008, the price for houses of comparable quality and size appreciated an average of about 1 percent per year.”

We’ve probably had 2 little bubbles and one big one in that time period and if you sold at peak and bought low, you probably made more than 1 percent. Even if you didn’t sell during the smaller bubbles and sold in 2005/2006, you did fine. Long term doesn’t have to mean your entire life, but holding 30 years in this scenario would have given you some nice gains.[/quote]

I think it depends on WHERE you bought. California does not follow more typical real estate market flows.

I have a friend who bought a house in suburban Philly. He held it for 14 years. He wanted to move to center city to be closer to the “action”… and had to bring $8k to the table when he sold. The house was maintained… but hadn’t appreciated – and transaction costs and a low down payment left him unable to cover transaction costs. Not all area’s in the country bubbled. And if they did, it was at a much lower rate. Coastal CA experienced the extremes of the housing bubble.

But -to your point. My dad bought the house I live in now in 1966 for under $30k. For years it stayed well under $100k. Then CA took off and when we bought it in 2003 – we paid the market price of $600k. Same house, but in the 37 years it had appreciated 2000%.

But not all markets did that. My husband bought a semi-detached house in Philly in the early 80’s for under $10k. (It was a HUD repo and gutted.) He invested about $15k into the house, then another 10k into buying the adjacent lot and building an attached garage. When he sold it in 2001 it sold for $65k. – not quite double in 20 years. Same house in CA would have gone up 4-5 times.

[Author]

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