housing prices in NOVA outlook... Leesburg (Arlington, Manassas: 2010, foreclosure, rental)

[C5Aprea]

Originally Posted by VRE332

not to mention the stock market was at an all-time high. The writing was on the wall. There's a point where Greed kicks in, look at Enron

You add nothing to this thread, Please stay out of it.

[Fairfax Mom]

My house is worth 100k less than when I bought it. Very depressing - I did not want to rent because everyone told me that I should buy "right away" and that I should get back in the market before prices get higher. We made a big mistake

[Tone509]

This can be (and often has been) a civil debate. Let's refrain from the personal attacks as well as keep the thread focused on housing.

[VRE332]

Originally Posted by Fairfax Mom

My house is worth 100k less than when I bought it. Very depressing - I did not want to rent because everyone told me that I should buy "right away" and that I should get back in the market before prices get higher. We made a big mistake

Look at the bright side NJ, you have a better quality of life for you and the boys, and you have 28 more years on the mortgage! Pay the mortgage down and save yourself money

[mojo_1979]

Originally Posted by twinmma

Gotcha!
Yes, we too were amazed at some of the prices when we started looking last August. We closed on our single family home this past January...we paid $525K for what we would pay $125K in Central PA. The prices do floor me. And, yes, we KNEW we would "lose" some money buying now...This home is probably "worth", at this very moment, $475K and we have only been in here 5 months. For us, renting a small apartment with toddler twins, a yellow lab, a cat, and two adults was just too cramped. We thought about waiting (as we were in a year lease due to renting while our home in Philly sold and could have stayed until this upcoming August) BUT the storage costs for all of our furniture and belonging would have cost us a BUNDLE on top of renting. My point is: I can see why some people are holding off buying...especially first time buyers. But for others sometimes buying (even in this market) is the best thing to do. (Our rent was $1500 a month and then storage was $2500...$4K a month total...We couldn't afford that. We pay $2700 in mortgage.) The good news is we really aren't "losing" anything until we go to sell...and hopefully in 10 years or so we will be at at least break even
So...I can respect your point, but I just wish others (not you) could see where not everyone is an idiot for buying right now...or buying in the past when need outweighed market conditions.

I respect your point of view but I do disagree with one thing you said for sure... You make it sound as if the only choice, when it comes to renting, is to opt for a "small apartment". I'm not renting an apartment. I'm renting a relatively new, luxury home, for significantly less than what my landlord is paying in mortgage, insurance, and taxes. I know this b/c he told me so. There are literally a ton of single family homes and townhomes that can be rented. And please don't misunderstand me, my wife and I really want to buy our own home, but we just find that it is a much better financial decision to continue to rent while prices are dropping at such a rapid pace right now.

As for our kids, they could care less whether we send a check to the bank or to the landlord. They are in a new home in a great Fairfax County neighborhood with great schools. By renting, they actually make out better IMO. My wife and I both work but b/c we rent we can live right down the street from our jobs. We basically have no commute whatsoever. Also, we're able to save and invest much more money for our children's future.

So, I guess my point is, that everybody is different, and while you and many others find it critical to own a home at all times, there are others, like me, who reap benefits by renting in this market. I have no regrets about renting for the past 2-3 years and doubt that I ever will.

[twinmma]

Originally Posted by mojo_1979

I respect your point of view but I do disagree with one thing you said for sure... You make it sound as if the only choice, when it comes to renting, is to opt for a "small apartment". I'm not renting an apartment. I'm renting a relatively new, luxury home, for significantly less than what my landlord is paying in mortgage, insurance, and taxes. I know this b/c he told me so. There are literally a ton of single family homes and townhomes that can be rented. And please don't misunderstand me, my wife and I really want to buy our own home, but we just find that it is a much better financial decision to continue to rent while prices are dropping at such a rapid pace right now.

As for our kids, they could care less whether we send a check to the bank or to the landlord. They are in a new home in a great Fairfax County neighborhood with great schools. By renting, they actually make out better IMO. My wife and I both work but b/c we rent we can live right down the street from our jobs. We basically have no commute whatsoever. Also, we're able to save and invest much more money for our children's future.

So, I guess my point is, that everybody is different, and while you and many others find it critical to own a home at all times, there are others, like me, who reap benefits by renting in this market. I have no regrets about renting for the past 2-3 years and doubt that I ever will.

Oh, I agree about being able to rent a home. But we didn't want to pay movers again...so that on top of the other things I mentioned got us to buy. (We have A LOT of stuff...The movers cost us over $10K...and to have them haul that stuff to storage, pay storage and then have them haul it again at another $10K, it was just way too much. I am glad it is working for you. You must be saving a ton on gas with such a short commute!

[VRE332]

Mojo, what happens when you retire and have limited income? All of that money you paid renting could have gone towards the origional loan ?

[mojo_1979]

Originally Posted by VRE332

Mojo, what happens when you retire and have limited income? All of that money you paid renting could have gone towards the origional loan ?

I'm in my late 20's, so retirement is not even in the picture at this point. We've got 401k's, savings and select stock investments that continue to grow each month (most of the extra cash flow that we can save and invest is due to the fact that we're renting).

And, if you read a couple posts up, you'll see that I stated my wife and I are going to buy a home in 1-3 years when the market is at or near its "bottom".

For the past 2 years, when our lease has expired, we sit down and look at the current real estate statistics, visit some new home builders and look through the MLS. And each time, we've decided we'd save money by renting for another year. The current annual rate of depreciation, depending on what area of Nova you live in, is anywhere from 10% - 30%. Once this figure begins to level off and get back near 0%, we'll purchase a home. As previously stated, I would expect this to be within the next 1-3 years unless the economy gets really bad, in which case it could be longer.

And before anybody says it, I do not think this is a risky thing to do. I am well studied in macroeconomics and I see no situation at all that could cause housing to "take off" again within any 12 month period (i.e. before my lease expires). Things have to level off before they can "take off" again... and we're nowhere near that leveling off yet.

[5stones]

you are doing the right thing.... LOTS of people don't own thier first home until well into thier 30's.
And with the market the way it is you could lose money big time if you are not going to stay put for about 10 years etc...

ALSO...many people see themselves as staying put etc... and buy and then lose thier jobs etc... I know a few UPPER mgt friends from AOL that got transfered to VA and are now out looking for jobs etc... they can't MOVE because they can't pay the bank what they owe on hte house etc... They too thought they would be here and working for the long haul.

Buying isn't for evryone and ESP not right now in the this market. It's easy to say...oh yes our house isn't worth what we paid for it...but we are fine etc... what if your company decides to transfer you again, or heaven forbid you lose your job? then Renter are much better off.

AND...yes there are TONS of nice houses for rent right now....many 3000+ sqft etc... and people are taking any rent they can get for them. Renting doesn't equal apt TH any more in this economy.

We would have been MUCH better off had we rented while in VA instead of buying. But it was our decision and we moved on etc... So I try to offer some "BEEN there DONE that" advice. some choose to heed it some don't, again it's all choice.

But don't berate someone for NOT wanting to buy...There ARE MNAY people who live in NYC that will never own thier home....and they do just fine.

[VRE332]

Originally Posted by mojo_1979

I am well studied in macroeconomics and I see no situation

Will there will be a whole lot of difference if you spread out the short term losses over 30 years? Factoring in the rent, increase in rent, possible Fed interest rate hike, tax deductions?