TonyV

iTrader: (17)

Only have 1 thing to argue about that...prices are down, if anyone is buying at the "fair" market value then you are overpaying...

Must be buying foreclosures, short sales, and REO's (bank owned)....that is pretty much a safe bet. Many people are swiping these up like there's no tomm. Not enough people to move the market, but still many people.

oilstain

Yeah but still (and I didn't go to bed, I'm watching Dave's tribute to Paul Newman) even the foreclosure rates are still absurd around here. INSANE! Look at foreclosures in Rockville. Those houses are still not worth that ****. Why not move to a state that has jobs and sane house prices? I guess it depends on what you do for a living and where you can get work.

Anyway, my position on the bailout stands. I have to bailout what, a family? a half a family? That sucks royal dick, but I'm not a **** up who shot my load on a house I couldn't afford. Waaa, the banks are evil and told me I could afford it... I'm also offered new siding from sears , but I live in an apartment and that doesn't make sense.

I'm a pc, and I'm drunk(ish) and rambling on the interwebs.

y8s

iTrader: (8)

oilstain, thanks for ranting on the as-is house so I didn't have to. the last thing someone who can only afford a 285k house needs is to spend an immediate 50k on a new roof, heat, a/c, and whatever other crazy **** is wrong with it.

by the way I did just buy a house here too. walking distance to metro. inside the beltway. the compromise was size to get an awesome price and location. which is fine with me. i spend all my time in the garage. oh... but i do have to build a garage.

TonyV

iTrader: (17)

^^just build a BIG garage..
**** if I had the room i'd say 2story, 2 car garage. Lounge/storage on 2nd floor (tv, cheap futton, minifridge stacked with beer), hell even a used lift!

y8s

iTrader: (8)

why have just what I need when I can have ridiculous excess?

one car oversize garage. I have a 5000 sq ft lot for cryin out loud.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

I closed on my Condo on March 1st. On March 1st, the condo association signed a $600,000 roofing project...this cost me an additional $16,000.

TonyV

iTrader: (17)

I too have like 6k sq ft...thats why I said IF I had the room...
Not really excess, consider it like a mancave...
In Miami we don't have basements, so garages double up in useage...

Can't wait to be back in NY.....not having a basement sucks...its like losing 1/3 of your home...More specifically, MY 1/3 of the home

usd2bfst

Do you guys realize that housing prices are NOT part of the CPI? (according to my Economics professor) Think about that for a minute..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_price_index

Rafa

iTrader: (22)

You (and your economics professor) are right. Housing is not part of the Consumer Price Index.

jayc72

iTrader: (14)

Because ridiculous excess is fun you hippie.

y8s

iTrader: (8)

no, ridiculous excess is excess I have to clean and pay property taxes on. fogettaboutit.

Markp

Have you been in the house? No. I have, and actually I am buying that house. What looks like a craptastic split level is not but actually has 5 bedrooms and 2 baths in it. The "basement" which is at street level is actually finished and the house has 2300 finished square feet and a separate garage.

I might add that it has all (real) hardwood floors and only needs a new roof and some minor remodeling inside (some sheet rock needs to be replaced). It sold for $440,000 in 2006 and yes, it's down more than 20%, as it's 65% of it's last sold price. So yes, I am taking my chances on a foreclosure.

I am as normal as anyone else. I am nobody special. I drive a Ford F150 truck, my wife a Subaru, and we have 2 dogs. She makes ok money, but not as much as she will make after she finishes her education. Both her and I have managed 6 figure incomes with nothing more than high school degrees. Anyone can join the military... How does being in the military make me any different than hundreds of thousands of other service members?


LOL, I am only house poor until we sell our other house in Austin. My salary and my take home pay are two entirely different things. Yes, my salary is 44,000 dollars, my take home pay after taxes, well that's about $62,400. I'm an 0-1 ENSIGN... nothing special. My housing allowance covers the mortgage payment on my house with only a small dip into my monthly salary. You can claim my experience is not normal... but it isn't an aberration either.

I guess I am not doing too badly for as severely retarded you think I must be.

Mark

PS - I've been both poor and not poor, given the choice... I'll stick with being not poor.

Markp

It's needs a new roof (true) $4500 and some minor sheet rock work. The Heater was installed in 2006 and the AC is from 1999 (but needs recharged.) It needs less than 10k total in work, but I will probably spend closer to $20k because I want to redo the kitchen for the wife and she has expensive tastes. All of which I have in the bank. Feel free to rant, oh ya, did I forget to say... I plan to spend my spare time in the garage too... the existing one. I will have to redo the electrical panel so I have enough juice for my TIG welder though.

Mark

y8s

iTrader: (8)

I was wondering if that was "your house" Mark... the MLS doesn't say much so I take it with a grain of salt as long as the house is sight-unseen. Lucky guess on the roof

I'm curious how the loan process has changed in the last month. Is it a big PITA now?

The good news for my place is that there's a house across the street (granted, it's been added onto a shitload) listed for 35% more than mine. It'd be nice to get some favorable comps up in here.

...

btw, have you guys seen this awesome SEPTEMBER MADNESS chart?



Goooooo BofA!

ZX-Tex

iTrader: (15)

**** me... I have got to stop looking at my 403(b). I have lost so much money this year.
C'mon rally!

You know, I think part of the problem with the bill not passing is that the President and Congress did not do a good job of explaining to the citizenry in layman's terms that the banks are not getting the money for free. Things are moving so fast that the 'public' does not understand the latest implications of the plan-du-jour, at least those that are not listening to the news. They assume they are getting screwed, and tell their Representative not to vote for it.

The proposal as I understand it is that the Treasury (the US Govt, you and I) will be buying the crappy mortgage shares, then when (if) the housing market turns around, and they go up in value, then the Govt sells them at a 'profit' and gets our money back. Details TBD of course.

Hopefully if this is the case, the bill is passed, and the shares end up being worth something, and they end up generating revenue, it will be used to pay down national debt, and Congress will not just spend it on something else.

johndoe

iTrader: (5)

I think part of the problem the "public" has with the plan is that they don't believe CEOs should see a dime of our money for ******* things up. The whole thing is really funny to me. I'm someone who for the most part would like our government to be much more socialist than it is. Every one praises capitalism and the freemarket system as long as they're making money but as soon as there is a crisis socialism suddenly becomes okay. The hypocracy of this I don't think is lost on your average joe either. When the free market system ***** him the government is not offering a helping hand so why now and why should the people who created the problem be offered compensation?

I, myself am split on this situation. I understand that letting the economy fail will have ripple effects that will effect us all. On the other hand the skeptic in me doesn't believe this bailout will be the end or that it will be destributed properly and that in the end it may only allow for this bubble of fake numbers our econmy is riding on to continue just a little bit longer until we face yet another crisis.

TonyV

iTrader: (17)

2 very good opinions right there...
I keep saying the same thing, if the homeowner's are uncertain as to whether or not they will lose their home they will continue to tighten their belts and therefore not boost the economy...
If they are reassured that this plan directly helps them keep their homes, then they will still be wary, but begin to inject dollars into the economy...the wheel will start spinning and eventually things will be better for all...

But as it stands, you're correct in the fact that the people dont know much about the plan...hell i dont even know much about it as details are sketchy. But what we all do know is that nothin has been proposed to make us feel like we have a def way to stay in our homes...

oilstain

This has been a good thread.

Good luck with the house Mark, that's really exciting. My wife and I are anxiously awaiting buying our first home. I wish the best for you.

Being in the military is not what makes your circumstances different. Saying you make 44k a year (not including the $18,400 per year paid to you by the same people paying your salary) but having a house hold income of $180,000 is not normal. At ALL. Most households where the man makes 44 a year can hope to see 88 a year.

Your position is extraordinary. Be glad about it, but don't think that it's normal. Show of hands of those whose spouses make > $100,000? (I wish I could raise my hand :-) )

Snatching up foreclosures at good prices, that is getting to be pretty normal. But to me, even at that price, I'm just not feeling the bargain. I know for that area that's a great deal. But when I look at lol garages or this it makes me not want to live here.

Markp

Hey, San Antonio is the cheapest market I know of. I just sold a house on an ACRE for $108,000 not to long ago, and that was after extensive remodeling including a new kitchen. You can get a lot of house out there for $200k. My wife is in Austin in a $200k house that is 2400 square feet with a 2 car garage. Yes, I wish I could afford that house here. It is much nicer (and newer) than what I am buying.

Yes, I know it's not normal for everyone to have a spouse making 6 figures unless you run in the crowd that I do. Dual military families (with more rank than me by far) dual income Ph.D./J.D./M.D. households. It's a goofy world but when you are surrounded by highly educated people it becomes the norm rather quickly. My professors, colleagues, and friends in many cases make much more than my wife and I at this point. As I ride my SV1000 down Connecticut Ave past the million dollar houses with Porsche's, Lambo's and Hummer's... I often wonder, where did I go wrong. How did I miss the boat so badly... It's all relative.

Hopefully things will continue to work in our favor. The wife is finishing her Masters now and wants to get her J.D. and I am working on completing a Ph.D. myself. That will hopefully have long term financial implications for both of us. The fact is that you don't see too many poor lawyers and doctors, at least that has been my experience.

Mark

TonyV

iTrader: (17)

^looking to adopt? jk