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The time to buy a house is when you have found one you love and can afford (in every way - down payment, mortgage, maintenance, taxes, insurance - all with enough left over for good savings and emergency fund). If you need or want a house, those should be your biggest criteria. Don't worry about the market being up or down or whatever. It goes up and down, as will the value of your house. As long as you're living in it and not selling it, that shouldn't matter. Make sure it's fixed interest without any funny business.
That being said, I wouldn't make any large financial commitment unless you already have a substantial amount in emergency savings. Being prudent may have saved a lot of these people who are being foreclosed on now.
Once the OP buys the house at $220K, they have a house with a market value of $220K. The selling price is kind of the definition of market value, after all. Don't fall for the "instant equity" line - if there really was instant equity, some smart investor would buy it and flip it in a week.
This is the single most astute thing I have read on this forum. A thing is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Barring coercion or fraud, price paid = market value at the moment of sale, by definition.
This is what this translates into: Don't worry about your finances, they aren't important.
No, what I'm trying to say is don't buy a house if you're not financially prepared just because you feel like you're going to miss out on some great deal b/c people are saying the market is down.
No this is what you said "Don't worry about the market being up or down or whatever. It goes up and down, as will the value of your house. As long as you're living in it and not selling it, that shouldn't matter."
I agree with Humanoid. Basically telling people to ignore their current market, good or bad. Since many RE folk used tired cliches I am going to use some of out own...Sticking your head in the sand like an ostrich and hoping for the trouble to pass is not good advice.
The time to buy a house is when you have found one you love and can afford (in every way - down payment, mortgage, maintenance, taxes, insurance - all with enough left over for good savings and emergency fund). If you need or want a house, those should be your biggest criteria. Don't worry about the market being up or down or whatever.
This is silly. Just because I can afford it doesn't mean I'm stupid enough to pay it.
Prices in the area where I'm renting just dropped another $20-25K on average in one month. And I shouldn't be worried about the market being up or down? Why pay an extra $25K if I don't have to?
On the flipside ... why get into an instant negative equity situation? So a realtor can make their commission? Because it isn't for my benefit ... that's for sure.
What's really bad is that a lot of these people paid $550K for houses in this neighborhood. They're at least $300K in the hole ... and they're not supposed to worry about overpaying by $300K either?
Sorry but, I've got better things to do with my money ... like saving for retirement.
Yep all of them don't have a crystal ball either and are making their assumtions like the rest of us.
LOL, who shall we sacrifice?
Maybe not in your neck of the woods, I see PLENTY in the market buying property up all around here.
As "investors go", does someone who's looking to purchase a 2nd home/vacation home factor into the "investor" catagory? We are getting ready to do so and will also put it on the island's rental pool when we are not using it. It will bring in quite a nice sum, with one week renting for more than the monthly mortgage. Of course we know it will not be rented out all of the time, so to be clear, we did not buy with this in mind. We can afford it if we NEVER rented it out. The island in SC where we are buying has a very exclusive agency that handles all rental situations.
So to ask the question again, how many think this type of "investor" will come back? I know many in our area, if they don't own one already, are considering a 2nd home.
Sheri, I think you know what my advise is. You've been asking this question, on different threads, for several months now. If you have found "that house", then buy it. Although shopping for "foreclosusres" is a foreign territory for me. I would not wnat to be investing in any neighborhood that is becomming delapitated form disgruntled homeowners. Their is a BIG difference between shopping at a flee market vs. lets say...Nordstrom. While the flee market has a good find, once in a while, it's surrounded by mostly junk. I hope you know what I mean.
If you have found "that house", then buy it. Although shopping for "foreclosusres" is a foreign territory for me. I would not wnat to be investing in any neighborhood that is becomming delapitated form disgruntled homeowners. Their is a BIG difference between shopping at a flee market vs. lets say...Nordstrom. While the flee market has a good find, once in a while, it's surrounded by mostly junk. I hope you know what I mean.
I actually live in the neighborhood where I'm going to buy so ... if it was crap ... I'd know since I already live here.
But it's actually a great neighborhood. In fact, I know the couple who just bought a foreclosure right next door. They are exactly the kind of neighbors I want to have.
I don't think fairmarketvalue realizes that foreclosures are a problem in most neighborhoods in California. Its not like the Midwest where you can pick up dilapidated foreclosures for next to nothing. I'm now seeing pre-foreclosures in good established communities, like the one I'm currently renting in. Nothing wrong with the community at all.
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