Real Estate Journey

[LaL 418]

yes, and i am sure it is all your spouse's fault..dump him...

oh sorry, i got carried away..nevermind

A second home in my neighborhood went in foreclosure - sold @ 50% of what it was "worth" in December 07... and was listed for *less* than what I bought my house for in 2000.

We are going forward with the rental agreement with my brother in September. Looks like it will not sell. Hopefully he stays a year.

Wow. I really wish we were in the position to buy right now.

If so, I think we'd move to Tampa and buy your house!

Thanks for the thought Jenn!

[Ban Hammer 12,829]

Update : another open house this past weekend. One realtor came. Central air unit is broken (its a year old!). Buggies starting to collect (7 months in a FL home with no cleaning - yup - its overdue ) We now have a buyer incentive package on the house (to cover closing costs). A second home in my neighborhood went in foreclosure - sold @ 50% of what it was "worth" in December 07... and was listed for *less* than what I bought my house for in 2000.

We are going forward with the rental agreement with my brother in September. Looks like it will not sell. Hopefully he stays a year.

wait - does this thread count as asking for "personal advice of VJ?"

:no: :no: :no: :no: :no:

[LaL 418]

wait - does this thread count as asking for "personal advice of VJ?"

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

This is an awesome time to buy in the Jersey exurbs. Prices have come down a lot in scenic Warren and Sussex counties. Those areas are gorgeous but they are remote.

It's the ugly parts that are (relatively) retaining their value, due to proximity to everything (highways, trains, jobs, etc.).

[LaL 418]

This is an awesome time to buy in the Jersey exurbs. Prices have come down a lot in scenic Warren and Sussex counties. Those areas are gorgeous but they are remote.

It's the ugly parts that are (relatively) retaining their value, due to proximity to everything (highways, trains, jobs, etc.).

The only partially good news for me about rising gas prices is the location of my home. I am very centrally located in a nice part of Tampa (although my neighborhood itself is declining), whereas people throughout the boom were willing to live in the exurbs. Perhaps this tiny silver lining will prove to help a bit - but I doubt it. The location is not *yet* helping with retaining value though.

Edited July 15, 2008 by LaL

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

This is an awesome time to buy in the Jersey exurbs. Prices have come down a lot in scenic Warren and Sussex counties. Those areas are gorgeous but they are remote.

It's the ugly parts that are (relatively) retaining their value, due to proximity to everything (highways, trains, jobs, etc.).

The only partially good news for me about rising gas prices is the location of my home. I am very centrally located in a nice part of Tampa (although my neighborhood itself is declining), whereas people throughout the boom were willing to live in the exurbs. Perhaps this tiny silver lining will prove to help a bit - but I doubt it. The location is not *yet* helping with retaining value though.

Just a matter of time.

The economics of high gas prices is not going to go away.

[LaL 418]

This is an awesome time to buy in the Jersey exurbs. Prices have come down a lot in scenic Warren and Sussex counties. Those areas are gorgeous but they are remote.

It's the ugly parts that are (relatively) retaining their value, due to proximity to everything (highways, trains, jobs, etc.).

The only partially good news for me about rising gas prices is the location of my home. I am very centrally located in a nice part of Tampa (although my neighborhood itself is declining), whereas people throughout the boom were willing to live in the exurbs. Perhaps this tiny silver lining will prove to help a bit - but I doubt it. The location is not *yet* helping with retaining value though.

Just a matter of time.

The economics of high gas prices is not going to go away.

cool - so ride the wave, let the bro live there and try not to worry about him trashing it.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

how old is he?

[LaL 418]

how old is he?

30. His living with me for a few years before da hubster moved in precipitated the renovation of several things in the home. The gutting of the bathroom was just the tip of the iceberg.

utoh! I think I am wading into treacherous personal topics on VJ!

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

how old is he?

30. His living with me for a few years before da hubster moved in precipitated the renovation of several things in the home. The gutting of the bathroom was just the tip of the iceberg.

utoh! I think I am wading into treacherous personal topics on VJ!

Get mom n dad to cosign his lease

[LaL 418]

I received an interesting letter from my Kansas lender (wanted our ducks in a row for when we do purchase here). The paragraph reads:

Due to the current volatility in the mortgage market, the cost of private mortgage insurance has increased. As a result, any Preapproval which converts to a purchase transaction, with less than 20% down payment, will be subject to these higher costs.

Edited July 16, 2008 by LaL

[Fandango 1,439]

Florida is technically considered a 'declining mkt' anyways, so it's not just Tampa.

But the Pre-forclosures and foreclosures are gonna kill ya, Lal, so it's good you have a renter.

[kaydee457 13]

There are some buyers returning to the market...I just bought a steal of a home in a gated community near Tampa....lots of "short sales" ging on.

Tampa's supposedly "stable" as far as real estate goes at the moment.

Other areas, particularly the "Gold Coast" near West Palm are still in decline and forecasters say it's possible another 10% before stabilizing....

[LaL 418]

There are some buyers returning to the market...I just bought a steal of a home in a gated community near Tampa....lots of "short sales" ging on.

Tampa's supposedly "stable" as far as real estate goes at the moment.

Other areas, particularly the "Gold Coast" near West Palm are still in decline and forecasters say it's possible another 10% before stabilizing....

I would say a huge inventory that includes a good portion of foreclosures does not equal stable. Perhaps winding down into stabilization - but not there yet.

[kaydee457 13]

There are some buyers returning to the market...I just bought a steal of a home in a gated community near Tampa....lots of "short sales" ging on.

Tampa's supposedly "stable" as far as real estate goes at the moment.

Other areas, particularly the "Gold Coast" near West Palm are still in decline and forecasters say it's possible another 10% before stabilizing....

I would say a huge inventory that includes a good portion of foreclosures does not equal stable. Perhaps winding down into stabilization - but not there yet.

Stable means not declining in value further, nor rising......It doesn't mean that home values are recovering. I don't know what you've lost, if anything in equity, but I've lost about 20% in my home in Chicago.

However, it's price is currently "stable" in terms of others of similar property, size, etc. in the surrounding communities.

It still doesn't mean that you'll find a buyer though as the value is simply based on recent sales and not on quantity of sales. As we all know, sales are way, way, down. It means that the few people that did buy are willing to pay around that price.

I'm sure there are still areas in Tampa and the burbs that are continuing to decline but overall, according to two professional appraisal reports I contracted, the area and market is "stable" based on the comparative methods they use to assess the worth of a property for sale.

I was looking at three houses in three different communities: Spring Hill, Port Richey and New Port Richey. Homes values have declined significantly but are at this time "stable" according to the appraisals. One house dropped in value from $390,000 (assessed value as seen on tax record) in 2006 to $250,000 in 2008..........

My father lives and owns a home in West Palm Beach where home values continue to decline steadily.

BTW, as an aside. For those that think that money's tight I had no problem getting a 30y, 6.5%, 5% down mortgage with 1/2 point, and this is a second home!