Crazy RE Market.... (Denver: apartment, renters, loan)

[scrapper105]

Oh dear. We're going to be looking in early May, hoping to close in late June/early July. I suspect this is going to be tougher than I thought.

Feel free to PM me your FSBOs - we are looking in Superior in the Eldorado elem. school district; in Broomfield in the Aspen elem. school district; or maybe in Centennial/Littleton in the Arapahoe high school district. 4 bedroom (or 3BR + study); 2 BA; at least 2200 sf, for MAX of $430K. We want a nice looking neighborhood (no cars on blocks please).

We are a nice family, two kids, we keep up the outside of our home and get involved in our community. We're friendly and outgoing but not overbearing.

We would make great neighbors !

[ArthurDaly]

You guys are all a lot braver than I am. I have already been bitten by our economy once, and I am not about to make the same mistake twice. With our economy (if you can call it that) in the shape its in, I'm happy paying top dollar to rent. Things go down the toilet again - its peace out for me.

[SouthXSW]

I agree Arthur. I am happy renting right now. I bought a home in 2009 and sold it last year for a profit. Hopefully I can do the same thing here but not right now. Plus I'm picky and want to be in Wash Park/Platt Park and there just isn't a lot of inventory in our price range.

[apa1128]

We've decided that this time around we're not going to think of our home as an investment (as hard as that may be).

[stephanieX3]

I had some random realtor come knocking on my door last week asking if we want to sell. She said she has no inventory and loads of buyers that she can't even help (we are in broomfield).

Whoever said they are looking in superior,broomfield...good luck! Be ready for bidding wars. Make sure your realtor is ready and on top of things or you will be out of luck! We've been out bid or too late in this area for 4 months. We give up. Moving our search to s. Denver area.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by ArthurDaly

You guys are all a lot braver than I am. I have already been bitten by our economy once, and I am not about to make the same mistake twice. With our economy (if you can call it that) in the shape its in, I'm happy paying top dollar to rent. Things go down the toilet again - its peace out for me.

Originally Posted by apa1128

We've decided that this time around we're not going to think of our home as an investment (as hard as that may be).

I am with apa1128 on this one. I have a lot of cash in our new build in Wash Park, but I am planning to be there for 20 years so I really don't care if things go down. I'm not expecting them to and I am not over leveraged so if my life takes a drastic turn for the worse, I can always walk away without declaring bankruptcy. It's an investment in a place I want to live, not an investment that I'm expecting a financial return on.

[GoldenZephyr]

Originally Posted by scrapper105

Oh dear. We're going to be looking in early May, hoping to close in late June/early July. I suspect this is going to be tougher than I thought.

Feel free to PM me your FSBOs - we are looking in Superior in the Eldorado elem. school district; in Broomfield in the Aspen elem. school district; or maybe in Centennial/Littleton in the Arapahoe high school district. 4 bedroom (or 3BR + study); 2 BA; at least 2200 sf, for MAX of $430K. We want a nice looking neighborhood (no cars on blocks please).

We are a nice family, two kids, we keep up the outside of our home and get involved in our community. We're friendly and outgoing but not overbearing.

We would make great neighbors !

You sound like you would be great neighbors, we had friends just move to south Denver, they purchased a home in Highlands Ranch. It is a very nice community, very family friendly, coming from Orange County, I think you get quite a bit for your money there. You can find nice homes in your price range for the square footage you are looking for. Littleton and centennial seem quite nice as well. Good luck, just don't get into any bidding war. When sellers and Realtors(tm) get smug, everyone loses. Realtors(tm), even "buyers agents", are usually working for the seller because the higher the price, the more the commission.

[gav6791]

Originally Posted by GoldenZephyr

Realtors(tm), even "buyers agents", are usually working for the seller because the higher the price, the more the commission.

More evidence that real estate is the least understood profession. FYI it is a state regulated industry. The reason you list is exactly why real estate agents have licenses and can lose them to disciplinary action.

If you think you can save a buck with something as important as buying a home I'm sure you can find some unethical agents out there, though.

(BTW a $20,000 increase in price nets at most a measly $600 (3%), and that's before all the costs incurred of doing business. I think most agents would rather have satisfied clients to give them future referrals than ripping someone off a couple hundred dollars.)

[Seeker5in1]

Originally Posted by apa1128

Ugh. I am not looking forward to this at all.

Just rent. Why get sucked in on another bubble?

[apa1128]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

I am with apa1128 on this one. I have a lot of cash in our new build in Wash Park, but I am planning to be there for 20 years so I really don't care if things go down. I'm not expecting them to and I am not over leveraged so if my life takes a drastic turn for the worse, I can always walk away without declaring bankruptcy. It's an investment in a place I want to live, not an investment that I'm expecting a financial return on.

Well, said SkyDog. I think people are thinking less about buying and making a profit in a few years and more about buying and staying put. Perhaps this is the reason for such low inventory....