Is the Memphis area a good Real Estate Buy? (Germantown: extended stay, apartment) - Tennessee (TN) - City-Data Forum

aneftp · 03-04-2008, 02:14 PM

My finance and I are moving to the Memphis area next mothh.

She wants to buy a house (she's from the South and thinks everyone should own their own home instead of renting; she thinks renting is like throwing money out the window)

I want to rent. I've talked to a couple of long time residents of the Memphis area and they tell me "higher end" real estate homes take "forever" sometimes more than 12-18 months on the market to sell.

Money is not the issue. I can afford anything in the Memphis area.

So is it safer just to rent a corporate apartment say at the Vineyard? rather than jump in a buy a home.

I found super cheap homes in the 300-400K in the collierville area and pretty cheap homes in Germantown for 600-800K.

So the only issue, is how fast can I unload the house if I want to move quickly. I really do not know how long I will be in the area. It may be a few months, it may be 2-3 years.

Pearlbob · 03-04-2008, 02:19 PM

Well, you have things here:

1) why on earth would you rent if you can afford an $800k house and find that to be "cheap"
but

2) if you are only going to stay a few months possibly, why buy.

We are discussing this in a post today. The market everywhere is pretty low right now. I have seen houses on the market for a year or more. Granted, they were not $800k homes, but you'd suspect that an $800k home would be harder to unload quickly than a $200k home. Smaller market for them.

If I bought a house and then had to move in 3 months, I'd probably end up giving myself a stroke. I can't imagine that headache. But, of course if "money is no option" then you probably have people hired to do everything for you

If only we could all be in your predicament!!

simcity · 03-04-2008, 02:48 PM

Even hiring people for the move is a headache as it's still your stuff and you want it organized. If staying less than a year then I'd definitely rather rent to avoid the hassle of two closings.

And yes, I've seen the same high end homes sit on the market for ages. The higher the home price the fewer the buyers in that range, and in Memphis only a tiny % of the population is buying in your range. Keep in mind that 1/4 of the Memphis population lives in poverty.

Sounds like you belong in Germantown though. More millionaires per capita live in Germantown, TN than any other city in the USA, other than Beverly Hills. Your finance would enjoy the tea and tennis parties.

aneftp · 03-04-2008, 03:59 PM

Thanks, I found the other post on this forum.

Yeah, the main reason I was posting was to show my finance that you just do not move and get buy a home right away before you even settle. I really just want to get a feel for the area for 6mo-1year before I decide.

I still have my house in Suburban Washington DC (I doubt I will sell it in this market) but my mortgage of 4K is resonable where I can still rent it out (probably for a lost) and I can still afford up to another house in another era.

I usually keep my total housing expenses less than 10-15% of my monthly income and buying a home in the 600K range with a 20% down payment would probably up my housing expenses (with the 2 mortgages (one in DC and one in (germantown/collierville etc) to 20%, which I'm not comfortable with.

I've seen people in the DC area where their housing costs consume 50% of their monthly income and that leaves little room for emergencies. I never want to be in that situation.

Deck · 03-05-2008, 02:01 AM

Don't buy. This place is a cesspool. Ask anyone when you get here. Almost everyone you talk to is unhappy here and wants to get out. And I can't blame them. I've lived here 5 years. Five years too long.

umograd83 · 03-05-2008, 06:45 AM

My husband and I made the mistake of buying just six months after landing here. It was a big mistake. We didn't know the area and we bought in an unincorporated part of Memphis. Two years later we were lucky to sell and get out. We now live in a condo in Germantown and love living in Germantown. But I'm still homesick and fed up with the Memphis area, so we are looking to get out of here and go home.

aneftp · 03-05-2008, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by umograd83

My husband and I made the mistake of buying just six months after landing here. It was a big mistake. We didn't know the area and we bought in an unincorporated part of Memphis. Two years later we were lucky to sell and get out. We now live in a condo in Germantown and love living in Germantown. But I'm still homesick and fed up with the Memphis area, so we are looking to get out of here and go home.

Thanks for the advice. I think I will just suck it up and pay for corporate apartment so that will give me more flexibility.

Rent for $2100 for a 2bedroom 2 bathroom I found seems a little expensive even for the germantown area but I'll rather pay now than have a home sitting that I cannot sell.

Pearlbob · 03-05-2008, 09:20 AM

Oh my god. Where is that?! I can't imagine paying more than $1300 a month for ANY house anywhere here. Germantown or not. Unless the 2/2 house is 3000 sq feet.

aneftp · 03-05-2008, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pearlbob

Oh my god. Where is that?! I can't imagine paying more than $1300 a month for ANY house anywhere here. Germantown or not. Unless the 2/2 house is 3000 sq feet.

That's the price quote I got from the vineyard people. That's an apartment with a one car garage. I think it was somewhere off wolf river parkway (or something like like).

It's furnished and everything. I am treating like a extended stay apartment. I am planning to fly back almost every weekend between April and June before my wedding. Don't even get me started about airline prices from memphis to Washington DC. They are extremely expensive (even for flights with layovers). I just spent $1300 on a nonstop flight (coach) from Regan National to Memphis (with one week notice). Memphis has got to have the highest price flights for a major hub city.

I spent almost over 150 days in hotels last year because of my business.

tigergal · 03-05-2008, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aneftp

That's the price quote I got from the vineyard people. That's an apartment with a one car garage. I think it was somewhere off wolf river parkway (or something like like).

It's furnished and everything. I am treating like a extended stay apartment. I am planning to fly back almost every weekend between April and June before my wedding. Don't even get me started about airline prices from memphis to Washington DC. They are extremely expensive (even for flights with layovers). I just spent $1300 on a nonstop flight (coach) from Regan National to Memphis (with one week notice). Memphis has got to have the highest price flights for a major hub city.

I spent almost over 150 days in hotels last year because of my business.

How in the world did you wind up with that exorbitant fare? I just looked and could fly in one week from National to Memphis for $600 in coach.