Housing Market hitting bottom still!!!????????? (Chicago, Peoria: foreclosed, lenders, houses)

[GoCUBS1]

Originally Posted by ngrome

I realize you probably already have multiple properties, and don't know when the last time you bought one, but when I bought one just last December, the lender I worked with said I did have to come up with at least 15 to 20% because it was a second property, and this was during the time lending rules were literally changing.

Agree.... I have multiple investment properties (always put less than 10% down) and for the first time in 15 years am unable to secure a loan without 1) 20% down and 2) documented income.... The documented income is the big issue because, as a business owner, I've focused on longterm growth rather than short-term profit/owner income. I'll have to start paying myself a larger income in order to meet the documented income requirements.

BTW, I did sell my primary residence 18 months ago (luckily just B4 our prices dropped).... Still sitting on the fence and renting a home. With home prices still going south and our rent so low, I'm re-evaluating whether I even want to buy another primary residence. I may use the proceeds from our home sale to buy more rental property as that market has been booming for us. And there is something so liberating about not being tied down to a home that may be a hard to sell, depreciating investment... Plus I like the idea that I could just pick up and move to the Caribbean if I felt like it. My thinking has really changed in the last year...

[GoCUBS1]

Originally Posted by Gioobag

So what would you do with that cash today? I'm curious.

Foreign exchange market? Just a thought...

I accidently made money this way just by having a few overseas accounts for convenience while traveling. They ended up being great performers. Thinking about investing more in this market.

Forex Street. The Foreign Exchange Market

[softdev]

Originally Posted by Gioobag

I'll post this link again (12 pages of comments), so anyone who is interested can see what American programmers really think. H-1B opponents challenge Bush administration in court - Computerworld

Yeah, let's simply call those people xenophobes and racists, and leave it at that. Those pathetic slurs are proof that softdev is wrong and backpedaling.

Here's a quote from one of the 60 comments in your COMPUTERWORLD forum.

"If you don't like paying our taxes, get the !@#$ out of my country. Take your crappy grammar, thick accent, and go eat curry."

Take your xenophobic **** and get the **** out of here. I don't know any programmer that reads a generic computer magazine and I don't know any programmer who speaks like this about Indian programmers. You're done here Gioobag, you have no credibility on this issue.

[Humboldt1]

What you do is buy a property as your primary residence. You only legally need to occupy it for 30 days. Most lenders will not enforce even this. As long as you have 750 plus FICO and good debt/income ratios you will qualify for a loan with the best terms. You can even have FICO as low as 720 to get a loan, though you might pay a little extra. Below 650 it may be tough to secure a loan. I think 650-680 is the present minimum for FHA loans, which are generally more lenient on overall requirements than traditional loans.

I live in a property for a couple of years and then buy another. I am looking to do this now on my 3rd property. I will live there for a few years before renting it out, so I will qualify as owner-occupied.

I am not looking to buy strictly as investment property. I plan on getting into that market in 5 years or so as I build up equity. I would look to put 25 percent down on those kind of properties, which would require $200K or more to get started.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

No, I put another $100K in the stock market and another $50K in bonds. I am down 40% on the stocks and 20% on the bonds. I wish I had kept the entire $270K in CDs and then things would be much better for me today. But no one can see the future. I only kept $100K in cash and CDs. I wish I had kept more there.

Bubble breaks can really destroy a lot of paper wealth. My wife "lost" $300,000 in stock options in the 90s because the dotcom she was working for went bankrupt a few months before she was vested. Easy come, easy go. No 26-year-old should have that much money so easily. I probably wouldn't have met her if she had managed to cash out anyway...

[Boompa]

Originally Posted by axewoman

My home went up for sale on July 3rd and a contract has been on mine for 3 weeks . Full Price. I made it clear to all that I did not have to sell I just happen to fall in when I want to sell to move out of state .
I just feel that everyone has gotten so caught up with the media in stating it is a buyers market. My relator even wanted me to lower my price and I said no.
To each his own only you will know the right time.
Good Luck

House two doors from me just got $8,000 MORE than I paid three years ago. The houses are identicle.

[Humboldt1]

Anybody out there think we may have hit bottom price-wise? I am thinking we are still a year away. Let's hope it comes sooner.

[vandre]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

Anybody out there think we may have hit bottom price-wise? I am thinking we are still a year away. Let's hope it comes sooner.

I also think we are at least a year away...

I think we will know when he hit the bottom because builders will be actually buying vacant land and constructing new homes.

Right now in most cases new construction doesn't make financial sense, you simply cannot compete in price with all foreclosures and such...

Personal example: we bought 1/3 acre lot in Geneva in 2007, thinking of building in 2-3 years. Fast-forward to 2009, we decided to buy a fixer-upper instead, and now we are trying to sell the lot.

Can you take a guess when was the last time that a similar property in Geneva was sold via MLS? yep, that's us. There hasn't been a vacant lot sale of similar size in Geneva since we purchased ours

[vandre]

Originally Posted by Gioobag

Wow, can I ask you for some advice?
1) What do honestly think the land is worth today? 1/2 the 2007 price? more? less?

I'm thinking about the same. You have to keep in mind that by 2007 the market was already declining. The previous sale price was $75k in 1996 (pre-bubble), which adjusted for inflation is $102k in 2008 dollars.

For property taxes purposes, the city assessor calculates its market value at $111k.

Originally Posted by Gioobag

2) What were your estimated construction costs (excluding land) per square foot that you were budgeting in Geneva?
If a spec builder bought a knock-down for $400K, then put up a new McMansion costing addtil. $400K, and was trying to sell it for $999K (make a $200K profit) -- then let's say that house sells today in distress at $699K, for argument's sake.

That means the land value has gone from $400K to $300K or $100K (if you include the profit).

We estimated construction costs at about $150/sq ft. I'm not sure where you are going at with the comment about knock-downs. As I said the lot was vacant , so there are no tear-down costs.

Slightly off-topic, land values are not calculated the way you described in your example. You should account for 'land' values and 'building' values separately. When a builder tears-down a house it is 'removing' house equity, not land value.

Using your example, that $400k knock-down property may have a land value of $100k and $300k for the building (100+300=400). In the process of building the new home, at the point when they tear-down the building, the whole property is worth about $100k, not $0 . If the 'new' home sells for $699k, the land value would still be around $100k...

Originally Posted by Gioobag

3) Can someone buy a lot for $100K - $250K to build one's own house, that was selling for $400K in 2007?

You can definitely buy a lot today for $100k (You can buy mine ), but I don't think you can find a *vacant* lot whose last sale price was 4 times more 2 years ago ($400k).

[emmi605]

Money magazine has an article this month and predicts Q3 of 2010 will be the bottom after another 6.5% decrease. That was for the whole Chicago metro area. Obviously, that is a "prediction" so take it for what it is worth. It seems like many agree we still have a year to go.