Foreclosure Fever

[meks]

Originally Posted by frame_overo

Our house is under foreclosure right now in Ladson. We were first time home buyers and not informed of what an interest only loan actually was (you're basically throwing away money). We tried to refinance but were told by Countrywide that we could not get anything better than a 6.5% interest rate. We tried selling but would have to sell the $202,000 house for $217,000 just to get out from under the mortgage.....foreclosure was and is the only option. We rent now for $701.77 LESS a month than what our mortgage was and we're still struggling with rising gas and food costs. We can't afford for me to go to work because we cannot afford child care. It's a viscious downward cycle and it's not getting better anytime soon.

.............hey dude/gal 6.5% is/was an extremely good rate for most of the last 20 years for fixed rates.... it isn't the best rate we've had but it is an excellent low rate, no offense but if you can't afford a house at that rate then it means you really can't afford a house period... I bought my house about 10 yrs ago - 30 yrs at 6.75% and that was an excellent rate, the best it had been in many years... when the bubble took off and the rate dropped like it never had done in history I waited for what I thought was the right moment and refinanced to another fixed rate at 4.25% for 15 yrs and now my house is nearly half paid off with payments that decrease every year.... the last house I bought before this one was back in the mid 80's on a VA loan at 11% if I remember right, and that was at a much better rate than others were getting at the same time... you gotta figure things out fully before you take the plunge, and as you now know never go with an adjustable rate on such a long life loan.... you really need to do your homework before you plunge into such an important life changing decision.... speaking of foreclosures, I was in Mt.P today in Darrel Creek talking to some good friends of mine that live there and we were looking at/talking about all the houses near them for sale.... not many buyers over that side of the bridge these days, they have a house about a block from them that listed for 900K and change that had absolutely no bites on in it quite awhile so they dropped the price... and kept dropping... now asking 550K and still no bites.... that's a hell of a drop in asking price... and then they went over a list of others that have either done the same or just gave up and took their houses off of the market... evidently many people need to dump their houses, but not many are even looking much less buying over there... blows my mind that they are still building over there even with NO buyers.... as the old saying goes if someone gives you something (a loan) that seems too good to be true it's because it is...

[Flat2MT]

.....hey dude/gal 6.5% is/was an extremely good rate for most of the last 20 years for fixed rates.... it isn't the best rate we've had but it is an excellent low rate, no offense but if you can't afford a house at that rate then it means you really can't afford a house period... I bought my house about 10 yrs ago - 30 yrs at 6.75% and that was an excellent rate, the best it had been in many years... when the bubble took off and the rate dropped like it never had done in history I waited for what I thought was the right moment and refinanced to another fixed rate at 4.25% for 15 yrs and now my house is nearly half paid off with payments that decrease every year.... the last house I bought before this one was back in the mid 80's on a VA loan at 11% if I remember right, and that was at a much better rate than others were getting at the same time... you gotta figure things out fully before you take the plunge, and as you now know never go with an adjustable rate on such a long life loan.... you really need to do your homework before you plunge into such an important life changing decision.... speaking of foreclosures, I was in Mt.P today in Darrel Creek talking to some good friends of mine that live there and we were looking at/talking about all the houses near them for sale.... not many buyers over that side of the bridge these days, they have a house about a block from them that listed for 900K and change that had absolutely no bites on in it quite awhile so they dropped the price... and kept dropping... now asking 550K and still no bites.... that's a hell of a drop in asking price... and then they went over a list of others that have either done the same or just gave up and took their houses off of the market... evidently many people need to dump their houses, but not many are even looking much less buying over there... blows my mind that they are still building over there even with NO buyers.... as the old saying goes if someone gives you something (a loan) that seems too good to be true it's because it is...

That's quite a drop in value. I just wonder if their original asking price was even realistic given that they have reduced their price by at least 35%.

Timing really is everything, much more than location, location, location, in this particular situation.

It's not a good position to be the seller out in the front blazing a trail for others to accept as really the only path ahead if they need to sell their homes to avoid an even worse economic situation.

But is this type of situation an anomaly or really a taste of things to come? I would venture to guess that this situation will become the standard across the area in the coming months.

Will this become the norm even in neighborhoods such as Dunes West? I've noticed only a very few homes (built in the mid to late 90s) which seem to be selling for a reasonable price given the current market situation. For the other homes for sale, from my perspective, most of them doing nothing more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Pretty soon they will have to accept that what they think their homes are worth is not inline with economic reality.

The big question is how one separates emotions from reality? How do you offer 30-45% less than the asking price without the sellers making it personal? Would working with a buyer's agent keep it on a business level versus working with a traditional agent who has the seller's (and their) best interest driving the transaction?

[DJShymansky]

How do you offer 30-45% less than the asking price without the sellers making it personal?

You don't. The sellers are always going to take something like that personally. The question is, does that really matter to you? If that's what you and your realtor think this house is worth in today's market, why wouldn't you make that offer?

[Flat2MT]

You don't. The sellers are always going to take something like that personally. The question is, does that really matter to you? If that's what you and your realtor think this house is worth in today's market, why wouldn't you make that offer?

It doesn't matter but I should have qualified it better reference working with the actual listing agent who dragged their feet presenting this type of offer.

I experienced it in NC where my agent who listed this home said the seller verbally rejected my offer w/o a counteroffer. This didn't sound right so I did some calling around and found out that she never presented my offer because she didn't want to 'insult' the sellers. And this came from an experienced, well respected agent.

So I fired her and after I purchased another home, I ran into the other sellers who said they would have countered (actually told me what $$$$ they would have accepted) had they been presented my offer. And I would have agreed.

[DJShymansky]

I experienced it in NC where my agent who listed this home said the seller verbally rejected my offer w/o a counteroffer. This didn't sound right so I did some calling around and found out that she never presented my offer because she didn't want to 'insult' the sellers. And this came from an experienced, well respected agent.

Ah, gotcha. Yeah, that's downright illegal. An ethical buyer's agent would've side-stepped that conflict of interest for you, as would an ethical seller's agent, honestly. Not everyone was raised right.

[Theresejenkins]

wow - that's terrible! I can't belive a realtor would lie to you and not even present your offer! I'd be furious! She should not have a license! But with respect to the whole Darryl Creek post - I am also curious about what is going to happen with Carolina Park??? they are clearing land for a HUGE development! where do they think these buyers are going to come from?

[DJShymansky]

A better question is where they think all those high school students are going to go. Were they planning another high school in Mt. P. with that development, I can't recall.

[DanBev]

Ignorence and cannot afford are no excuse.If when you purchase you do not understand use someone who does,my first question when purchasing home in capital letters is,what are rip off fee's and I set ceiling at what I would pay.If you don't hnow,don't do.No sympathy to the many who fell into this trap.