Homeownership opportunity ...or a bad idea?

[SaabGuy328]

Buying a house in a marginal neighborhood full of repos and in a city with one of the crummiest real estate markets in the country? Not a good idea in my opinion. Rent an apartment. This is no time to invest in real estate. We are nowhere near the bottom yet here in Indy.

[TraderJack]

Originally Posted by SaabGuy328

Buying a house in a marginal neighborhood full of repos and in a city with one of the crummiest real estate markets in the country? Not a good idea in my opinion. Rent an apartment. This is no time to invest in real estate. We are nowhere near the bottom yet here in Indy.

Of course you are entitled to your opinion, but unless you are a real estate professional with years of experience, or know something the rest of us don't know about real estate markets, I feel your comment is irresponsible and unfounded.

Real estate markets are cyclical by nature. Many, many forces affect all real estate markets, not the least of which is location. People want to live in the best home they can afford - wherever it is. Many choose the west coast, the east coast, or the gulf coast. Only a few of us choose Indiana. That doesn't make the Indiana or Indianapolis market 'crummy'.

The entire national market has been influenced by some shady practices in 3 or 4 large areas, namely California, Florida and the N East. Predatory lending, excessive speculation, and many people living well beyond their means are just some of those forces that have affected those markets. When the media talks about how bad the market is, they are really talking about those 3 or 4 markets. They just wait until 2/3s of the way through the report to qualify their data. This leaves the general public to wonder if this downward trend will affect them?

Our local market is still healthy and I feel it will remain so. The only issue I can see at this time is the wealth of inventory. Many folks want to sell because they have listened to the mis-information espoused by the media or want to get out from under a bad loan. Their home will sell - it will just take longer than they thought.

The bigger issue affecting RE markets is this mis-information. When people like you continue to shout 'the sky is falling' others take notice and wonder if it really is falling! As long as you think it's bad, and continue to tell everyone it's bad, it's going to stay bad. People tend to believe what they hear because they don't have the time or the ability to do their own research.

Our local market is driven by the same forces that drive every other market- jobs, jobs, jobs. When people are working and can save their money, they consider buying a better home.

It's not about the war, it's not about the weather, and it's not about politics. It's about jobs, what you can afford, and where you choose to live.

You can be arrested if you shout 'FIRE' in a crowded place. Your comment isn't much different, but of course you won't be arrested. I think ALL of us want a better life and a better home. I just hope people like you don't cause a selling panic that would drive home prices thru the floor and cause a national recession.

[SaabGuy328]

I've lived here all my life so I think I know what I'm talking about. You can buy real estate in Indy cheap for a reason. Middle class jobs are going out by the thousands, our local and state government is a mess and repos are much higher than the national average. You have an economic interest, hence your response. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.

[nebulous1]

Originally Posted by SaabGuy328

I've lived here all my life so I think I know what I'm talking about. You can buy real estate in Indy cheap for a reason. Middle class jobs are going out by the thousands, our local and state government is a mess and repos are much higher than the national average. You have an economic interest, hence your response. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.

You are absolutely right. The reason it's so cheap to live here is because there are very few middle class jobs.
You don't see middle class neighborhoods being built or replaced. The homes being built are for the wealthy.
I think Ohio has Indiana beat for the repo statistics, but job wise, it's as bad here as Ohio.
I wish people would stop trying to sugar coat everything and make up things like how great it is here.
Without good jobs, and I mean livable wage jobs, not high schooler, or 2nd income jobs, it won't work.
And you can have a profession too, and it won't matter one bit how educated you are, if there are no jobs to work in.

[SaabGuy328]

Thanks for your response. I'm sick of these real estate agents who continue to charge 7% commissions telling everyone how great it is here in Indy when the truth is this city and state is nothing more than the Mississippi of the north. I consider myself fortunate to have a good job, but even though I paid 250K for my house 12 years ago, I recently sold it for 235K and was happy to get rid of it. I am a happy renter now and counting down the months until I retire and move out of this state.