Priced right REOs are moving fast

[Miss Critter]

Correctamumdo! Maybe I'll audit the class.

 

[Matt J]

Correctamumdo! Maybe I'll audit the class.

Don't use the "a" word in the real estate forum. Makes some of the realtors nervous. ;-)

 

[rapunzel]

Which 4 are you missing on?



.....neither did the folks who've overextended themselves on the "must have NOW(!) American Dream" home they're upside down on and have been trying to unload for the past 425 days. Now they're reduced to exhuming Spot and Puff and burying St Joseph statues in their place.

...and they're needing to buy boxes and tissue paper too!

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You are completely wicked. Maybe you should design a portable pet mausoleum and capitalize on the situation! ;-)

The problem at this point is not so much not being able to swing the house...there are houses out there that would work. The problem is not wanting to see the house across the street that's bigger and has better countertops sell for a year's salary less in a year or so. It's the fear of being trapped if some unexpected thing we can't predict happens, I mean, there's being cautious, and then there's being paralyzed with fear of the unknown. Just trying to figure out where we are on that spectrum...

 

[Jdarg]

You are completely wicked. Maybe you should design a portable pet mausoleum and capitalize on the situation! ;-)

The problem at this point is not so much not being able to swing the house...there are houses out there that would work. The problem is not wanting to see the house across the street that's bigger and has better countertops sell for a year's salary less in a year or so. It's the fear of being trapped if some unexpected thing we can't predict happens, I mean, there's being cautious, and then there's being paralyzed with fear of the unknown. Just trying to figure out where we are on that spectrum...

Good grief, have I taught you nothing about deceased pets? There are options to burying. Just be glad the little boxes are no longer in my kitchen cupboard.;-) They now oversee my laundry problem in the closet. My little laundry angels.

 

[elgordoboy]

You are completely wicked. Maybe you should design a portable pet mausoleum and capitalize on the situation! ;-)

The problem at this point is not so much not being able to swing the house...there are houses out there that would work. The problem is not wanting to see the house across the street that's bigger and has better countertops sell for a year's salary less in a year or so. It's the fear of being trapped if some unexpected thing we can't predict happens, I mean, there's being cautious, and then there's being paralyzed with fear of the unknown. Just trying to figure out where we are on that spectrum...

Funny how the mind works isn't it? Before I bought I was worried about the market rebounding and pricing me out of buying. Now that I have bought I am petrified that the market will continue to fall locking me into a lemon. I guess thats where the "5 year stay" comes in and actually living in the residence as opposed to being an investment.

 

[rapunzel]

Good grief, have I taught you nothing about deceased pets? There are options to burying. Just be glad the little boxes are no longer in my kitchen cupboard.;-) They now oversee my laundry problem in the closet. My little laundry angels.

I shan't burn the beloved Baby Prince Patrick nor my Ellie Belly. I'm going to have to drive the freaking dog to freaking Columbus, and I am going to need Zoloft for years after that nightmare. My god, I'm going to have to have a dog coffin. I can't deal with rigor mortis in my babies. Not without electro-shock.

I'm making a joke here, but at the same time it's making me cry. This is all just insane. :roll:

It would be so much easier if houses really were just commodities.

 

[DuneAHH]

You are completely wicked. Maybe you should design a portable pet mausoleum and capitalize on the situation! ;-)

The problem at this point is not so much not being able to swing the house...there are houses out there that would work. The problem is not wanting to see the house across the street that's bigger and has better countertops sell for a year's salary less in a year or so. It's the fear of being trapped if some unexpected thing we can't predict happens, I mean, there's being cautious, and then there's being paralyzed with fear of the unknown. Just trying to figure out where we are on that spectrum...

Once you make your decision and act on it... just stop shopping the "sale racks". You'll just make yourselves unnecessarily crazy (truly... you have to do this always... not just this market). And if you absolutely can't stop yourselves from shopping the sale racks & looking over your shoulders after the fact...
then vow to focus on all the good you will have experienced for that one year in the home of your choice... like gardening & planting your loved ones, painting the rooms the color of YOUR choice, tax deductions, etc.

 

[beachmouse]

Also if you can make the monthly debt ratio work, 15 year mortgages have some nice features like seeing a real reduction in principal from the first payment. 30 year notes frontload the interest so much that the balance barely goes down for the first 10+ years.

 

[scooterbug44]

You can 'fix' #4 <Able to find a home that costs 2.5x but no more than 3x gross income> in a few ways:

(1) Make a bigger down payment and bring down the cost of the home (make sure you recalculate #2 (liquidity) accordingly if you're using reserves as your source.

(2) Keep low-balling the sellers until someone is desperate enough to bite on your offer.

(3) Increase your gross income by saying goodbye to "life as you know it" and increase work hours or get additional jobs.

(4) Decrease your debt ratio by selling off the leveraged "toys" and applying the resulting cash and any loan payments into the purchase of the house.

(5) Reprogram your brain to accept the fact that current local house prices or your "dream house" may be out of reach for the moment; keep saving and enjoying your life now as you work toward your goal.

My "fix" is to buy land and build my own home so I get the features and quality level I want instead of overpriced spec crapola!

As far as the others, I already work 2 jobs, have zero debt and my only "toys" are my 7 year old car and a secondhand bicycle!

 

[SHELLY]

It's the fear of being trapped if some unexpected thing we can't predict happens, I mean, there's being cautious, and then there's being paralyzed with fear of the unknown. Just trying to figure out where we are on that spectrum...

You are just uber-risk averse (which isn't entirely a bad thing); it means that it's more important to your well-being that you're confident with the financials before you make the leap.

Personally, I bought my home to 'live in'--imagine that! It wasn't until the RE frenzy that people started being fed the crappola that your primary residence is an "Investment." I can't tell you the number of times my home or homes around me have gone up and down in price--that's because I really don't give a damn. I've neither been overly excited nor heart-sick about the changing "value" of my primary home throughout the rise and fall of the RE bubble.

The market and the economy is in turmoil at the moment, so you are not alone in your feelings. Take this time to get educated on everything dealing with purchasing a home (Homebuying or Mortgages for Dummies might be a good start). That way, you'll build your confidence when the time comes to sign your name on the dotted line and you won't be vulnerable to the recommendations made by the market "experts."

Might I suggest another excellent book I'd recently read: "Save Now or Die Trying: Achieving Long-Term Wealth in Your 20s and 30s" by Mark Bruno. An easy enjoyable read about saving for retirement. http://www.sowal.com/bb/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=421774

In the meantime, pop a cold one and take a walk on the beach and count the blessings you've got.

Shel.

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