Cape Coral - cost of home ownership (foreclosures, property taxes)

[Catchsnook]

Some realtors I know that the homes are starting to sell now in The Cape.

While they may not skyrocket like the did in 2001 - 2004 they are going to go up. You can buy a house now at 35% lower than you could in 2007. The prices are 2004 prices.

The last chance you will get to buy a house at the bottom will be this
summer. June/July/August.

Once the new season comes....and barring no huricannes....many developers and realtors I know say 4th quarter of 2008 is when the market and prices starts going upward.

[firemed]

Originally Posted by Catchsnook

Some realtors I know that the homes are starting to sell now in The Cape.

While they may not skyrocket like the did in 2001 - 2004 they are going to go up. You can buy a house now at 35% lower than you could in 2007. The prices are 2004 prices.

The last chance you will get to buy a house at the bottom will be this
summer. June/July/August.

Once the new season comes....and barring no huricannes....many developers and realtors I know say 4th quarter of 2008 is when the market and prices starts going upward.

"The last chance you will get to buy a house at the bottom will be this
summer. June/July/August".
Now this is optimism,

[Cougar31]

The Real Estate market, in Florida, will drop little more within the next few months. It's nonsense to predict what it will be a year from today!
As long as jobs aren't keeping up with other expenses, things aren't gona be easy.
-just my opinion-

[seabeauty822]

Do you recommend renting or purchasing a home in Ft. Myers? We are possibly moving to the area and are contemplating both?

Thanks

[MrTudo]

Originally Posted by njkate

Good grief, how much lower can some of these homes go?
I've seen decent homes listed as short sales for under $80K

Either the taxes get cut in half or the privces need to come down quite a lot more.

There is no way the income levels can support this continuing rip off.

No way.

And believe me, we are not hurting financially. Not by a long shot. But we're definitely not in the mainstream as we are finding out.

[MrTudo]

[quote=Catchsnook;3144977]Some realtors I know that the homes are starting to sell now in The Cape.

While they may not skyrocket like the did in 2001 - 2004 they are going to go up. You can buy a house now at 35% lower than you could in 2007. The prices are 2004 prices.

QUOTE]

And almost every one of them is looking in the classifieds for a job. That's a fact.

Far as 2004 prices. So what? They still aren't selling unless they're well below that ( or the buyer is a typical fool and his money as the saying goes and they're getting scarce ). Further, the taxes are WAY high and based on simple math, there is no way the income levels will support both the 2004 prices that your realtor friend claims AND the levels of taxes and prop insurance. No way. Now add all that to 3.40/gal of gas and the giant cost of living increases we have already seen and surely to continue, then something has to give......more. Either

1) income levels have to significantly increase ( now does anyone believe this is in the realm of possibility?

2) the government suddenly realizes the mistakes it has made, SLASHES spending and CUTS taxes by at least 30-50% ( again, does anyone think this is possible? )

3) There is a return to sanity and a Ron Paul type fellow takes the white house, cuts the socialistic programs, ends the war, stops the half triillion a year in military spending all of which now signals to the world that America has regained it's sanity and that results in a huge exodus of capital INTO the US in the form of investment which then results in lower taxes and a strengthening of the dollar which LOWERS the cost of living......( again, does anyone see this happening? Maybe I'm missing it? )

OR, real estate will continue to plummet until people completely surrender to the way it is, succumbs to 40 and 50 year mortgages, pat each other on the back and claim to own a home ( when in fact they never will with those types of mortgages ) and essentially become relegated to a servile people awaiting any "program" the government will give them.

Or real estate values will come down another 30-50% and STAY THERE.

Now of course your opinion might just be right and mine might be wrong.

Haha. Save this post and I'll make book that I'm not.

[MrTudo]

...........................just wanted to subscribe to this one.

[justNancy]

There are so many different sections of the Cape that I don't think anyone can say "a house costs $XXX." I mean, you can buy a used, rusted car for $500 or a new Ferrari for $250,000. There are still plenty of million dollar homes on the market, although the number of lower priced homes for sale is increasing.

I'm not a real estate or mortgage broker, but I have had some experience in financing, so I think I can answer the poster who asked "how can someone lose a home with only a $60 to $100,000 mortgage?" Many of the people buying homes were employed by builders or in construction related jobs and were laid off. The only jobs available to some of these laborers now pay $7 an hour. Also, for years some lenders used very liberal debt to ratio guidelines. For example, back in the 80s when I bought my first home, 25% or approximately one week's pay was equal to the mortgage. Some mortgage brokers over the past several years were using up to a 50% DTI, depending on the lender. I trained at a mortgage company for a week and quit. They were pushing interest-only loans and the 1% option ARM and not explaining the consequences to the borrowers. The average shopper, whether buying a home or a car, looks at one thing - the monthly payment. One time I asked a couple if they understood what percentage a mortgage that changed from 4% to 6% would increase, and they answered 2%! I said "No, it's 50%." Some people just don't get it. If you have a drink that is 10% alcohol and another one that is 20% alcohol, then the second is double the strength (or 100%) but many people will say "it's 10% more." 1% to 2% isn't a 1% increase, it's a 100% increase, but many people who bought homes during the housing frenzy never did the math or asked the right questions. If they were stretched to the limit and then had an emergency or were out of work for even a few weeks, they were unable to handle the mortgage payment, and it really exploded when the adjustable rates increased. Right now there is a record number of automobile repos too. Between the home loans, car loans and all the credit card offers, a lot of people who had bad or marginal credit got themselves into very deep debt.

Edit: I also agree with #3 of Mr. Tudo's comment. American has definitely lost its sanity.

[firemed]

Originally Posted by justNancy

There are so many different sections of the Cape that I don't think anyone can say "a house costs $XXX." I mean, you can buy a used, rusted car for $500 or a new Ferrari for $250,000. There are still plenty of million dollar homes on the market, although the number of lower priced homes for sale is increasing.

I'm not a real estate or mortgage broker, but I have had some experience in financing, so I think I can answer the poster who asked "how can someone lose a home with only a $60 to $100,000 mortgage?" Many of the people buying homes were employed by builders or in construction related jobs and were laid off. The only jobs available to some of these laborers now pay $7 an hour. Also, for years some lenders used very liberal debt to ratio guidelines. For example, back in the 80s when I bought my first home, 25% or approximately one week's pay was equal to the mortgage. Some mortgage brokers over the past several years were using up to a 50% DTI, depending on the lender. I trained at a mortgage company for a week and quit. They were pushing interest-only loans and the 1% option ARM and not explaining the consequences to the borrowers. The average shopper, whether buying a home or a car, looks at one thing - the monthly payment. One time I asked a couple if they understood what percentage a mortgage that changed from 4% to 6% would increase, and they answered 2%! I said "No, it's 50%." Some people just don't get it. If you have a drink that is 10% alcohol and another one that is 20% alcohol, then the second is double the strength (or 100%) but many people will say "it's 10% more." 1% to 2% isn't a 1% increase, it's a 100% increase, but many people who bought homes during the housing frenzy never did the math or asked the right questions. If they were stretched to the limit and then had an emergency or were out of work for even a few weeks, they were unable to handle the mortgage payment, and it really exploded when the adjustable rates increased. Right now there is a record number of automobile repos too. Between the home loans, car loans and all the credit card offers, a lot of people who had bad or marginal credit got themselves into very deep debt.

Edit: I also agree with #3 of Mr. Tudo's comment. American has definitely lost its sanity.

Wow, Nancy we are so on the same page about this!

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by firemed

Wow, Nancy we are so on the same page about this!

Thanks. Appreciate your comment. I'm on both sides of the fence, however. I am a strong consumer advocate and agree that people with ARMs need protection, but at the same time I'm upset about the low interest rates in the bank. I keep thinking of the Truman Show when Jim Carrey's whole life was being monitored and controlled by a TV producer. That's the way I picture the Federal Reserve. They're just sitting there playing with all the special effects and watching to see what the little people will do next.