The California Dream is Alive and Well ... (Monterey, Auburn: sales, real estate)

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by AuburnJack

There has to be more to that story, because $250K in Monterey is not "reasonable." It's completely unheard of. We left Monterey in September (despite it always being "home" to me) because there was no way we could justify paying $750K for a starter home, which is the norm for that area (though you can probably find something in Salinas or Seaside in the 500K range). Even in this market, I will eat my shoes if REOs in Monterey itself are dropping to $250K without a substantial reason for such a price drop. As in, it's really a tent staked on an empty lot, or something.

I see your point but, a lot has changed in the market since September. For example, as of February, the average price in Salinas and Seaside has now dropped into the 300's.

Maybe the hotel staff didn't know what they were talking about but, apparently, this hotel has foreclosure auctions fairly frequently. I would have loved to attend this particular auction just to see what was going on but, unfortunately, it happened the night before I checked in.

I'm bidding on a couple of foreclosures/short sales now. Who knows what's going to happen but at least with one property I'm bidding on the financing on the previous bid fell through so, the realtor says the bank is now willing to take less money. We'll see ...

All I can say is that prices seem to be dropping daily. You see marked down fliers everywhere but the foreclosures/short sales seem to be the best deals. A lot of these properties appear to be in pretty good shape but, it can take 3-4 months to close a deal with the bank so ...

We going to do a vacation rental month to month until we find a suitable property at the right price. That way if one deal falls through (we don't want to overpay) we can take our time and bid on others.

And yes ... it was the River Inn ... a fantastic time. Thanks for the tips on other restaurants. We plan to spend the next 20 years trying every restaurant on the coast ... among other things.

[Caliguy2007]

I go bike riding often,and I also see lots of people out and about exercising,walking their dog or playing sports in a field,and yeah your right their will always be someone that will put down California no matter what,so usually when I hear a negative comment about California,I would either just ignore it or respond to it with something positive,because all that matters is those of us that love and enjoy living here in California are happy here

Today is another beautiful day and I will be going on my daily bike ride again

Originally Posted by sheri257

Some statistic somewhere? LOL ... obviously you weren't on Highway One or in Monterey last Sunday. Or, even the middle class neighborhood where I put in a bid for a house. There were tons of people out and about ... even the hotel staff talked about how they were glad they worked nights so they could go out enjoy the beautiful day.

I didn't actually time it but, I'm pretty sure people were out for more than 45 minutes on average. For one thing, there was a kids' soccer game in a park a block away from the house I'm hoping to buy. I saw a lot of families out enjoying the day, at least in this neighborhood.

I was just expressing my joy over being able to move to this gorgeous area. The hotel staff told me that there had been a foreclosure auction just the night before where people were picking up houses for as little as $250K in Monterey itself ... which is pretty reasonable, especially for that area. I'm seeing similar deals all over.

Oh well ... I guess people are going to feel the need to put California down no matter what. But, it doesn't matter ... I'm so happy and excited about this move.

[timelesschild]

Originally Posted by sheri257

I'm bidding on a couple of foreclosures/short sales now. Who knows what's going to happen but at least with one property I'm bidding on the financing on the previous bid fell through so, the realtor says the bank is now willing to take less money. We'll see ...

Sheri, how does the process work in bidding on foreclosures/short sales? I would love to know more about this.

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by timelesschild

Sheri, how does the process work in bidding on foreclosures/short sales? I would love to know more about this.

A lot of it depends on the circumstances of the property. The main property I'm bidding on is a short sale (I'm also getting ready to bid on a similar house down the street as a back up if this one falls through.)

There's two liens but both of them are with Countrywide so, you're still only dealing with one lender, which is easier. I'm sure it's more complicated and a lot tougher to bid on properties where you have multiple liens and multiple lenders because they all have to sign off on it.

In this particular case, the bank had three bids ... one for 350K, the other two for 300. The bank decided to go with only one bid, the highest one. But, from what I hear ... other lenders may choose to entertain multiple offers ... depending on what their policy is.

However, since it took so long for the bank to move on that offer (3 months) the highest bidder's financing fell through ... apparently due to tightening lending guidelines. Meanwhile, the lower bidders became impatient and walked away.

The listing price is still 350 but, we only bid 300 on it because while the property appears to be in good shape (it's only two years old), and it's in a great neighborhood ... that's all we're willing to pay. The realtor thinks they'll now take 300 since that's where the other bids came in.

To bid on a short sale, you make a deposit (1-2K) like you would for any house purchase, and draw up a standard purchase contract. You also have to get a standard pre-qualification letter from your lender stating you're qualified to buy.

So, it's pretty much like any other house purchase but ... these deals can fall through at any time. For one thing, the bank takes forever to move on these deals. So, while you're waiting, maybe someone else will come in and bid higher. Or, maybe the bank will go ahead and foreclose anyway.

At that point, all bets are off. Again, it depends on the lender. Maybe they'll list with with the another agent and try to sell it that way dealing with one offer at a time. Or, maybe they'll put it up for auction where you compete with multiple bidders.

I haven't attended any auctions yet but, I certainly plan to do so when I move there in the next month or two. But, for now, the properties I've been interested in have been short sales.

[timelesschild]

OK, and then you get your deposit back, of course, right?

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by timelesschild

OK, and then you get your deposit back, of course, right?

If we don't I'm pretty sure my husband will hunt them down and kill them ... LOL.

It's Century 21 so ... hopefully, there won't be any problems.

But the contract language is clear that they have to return the deposit if the deal falls through. We can also cancel up to 17 days after they accept our offer (if that happens.)

[timelesschild]

OK, thanks. So did you contact Century 21 and get the ball rolling, or did you call an agent about one or another of the "short sale" listings?

We are renting right now but definitely want to look into buying soon, and especially if we can get a good deal due to market conditions.

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by timelesschild

OK, thanks. So did you contact Century 21 and get the ball rolling, or did you call an agent about one or another of the "short sale" listings?

We are renting right now but definitely want to look into buying soon, and especially if we can get a good deal due to market conditions.

Our first priority was figuring out where we wanted to live so, we just started looking. Then we fell in love with this particular neighborhood ... it's a brand new subdivision where many of the houses were built (and are still being built) in the last two years.

We weren't planning on bidding on any short sales/foreclosures at all but ... these houses were so expensive (going for 500-600K two years ago) that a lot of them are now short sales and going into foreclosure.

So we figured we had to play this game to get the best deal. We found this one house we really liked and it was listed by Century 21 so ... we just called them.

It's funny ... I just got a call from the realtor and now he's got another bid for 350 BUT .... Countrywide says they're not interested in any more offers. Just the offer we submitted because it's been processed and already assigned to a negotiator. They said if they think the property is worth more they'll just counter ...

Go figure ... if Countrywide asks for more money ... we're not going to pay it so ... it will be really interesting to see how all of this plays out.

Let the roller coaster ride begin ...

[AuburnJack]

Originally Posted by sheri257

For example, as of February, the average price in Salinas and Seaside has now dropped into the 300's.

Hmm... well, after checking some listings, I don't know about "average," but there does seem to be a lot more out there that has dropped. And I found 6 listings in Monterey under 500k, as opposed to 2 when I moved. So, yeah... still out of reach for a first-time homebuyer like me, but it looks like they're finally feeling it.

Oh well. We just hopped the Diablos to Sacramento, so we're still only a day trip away from the Central Coast. And we're really liking it here, too, because it's still California!

[Mvn2nc]

Originally Posted by sheri257

Our first priority was figuring out where we wanted to live so, we just started looking. Then we fell in love with this particular neighborhood ... it's a brand new subdivision where many of the houses were built (and are still being built) in the last two years.

We weren't planning on bidding on any short sales/foreclosures at all but ... these houses were so expensive (going for 500-600K two years ago) that a lot of them are now short sales and going into foreclosure.

So we figured we had to play this game to get the best deal. We found this one house we really liked and it was listed by Century 21 so ... we just called them.

It's funny ... I just got a call from the realtor and now he's got another bid for 350 BUT .... Countrywide says they're not interested in any more offers. Just the offer we submitted because it's been processed and already assigned to a negotiator. They said if they think the property is worth more they'll just counter ...

Go figure ... if Countrywide asks for more money ... we're not going to pay it so ... it will be really interesting to see how all of this plays out.

Let the roller coaster ride begin ...

In Monterey a subdivision, where?