Housing market is hot - yet I see homes more than 30 - 60 days on market (Atlanta: 2nd mortgage, houses)

[globe9]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I've made other changes to the house that took priority over the counters. I intend to change them but for the last couple of weeks I've been dealing with an air conditioning problem. I also got laid off last fall, started then walked away from a business, and the only money I've had coming in was from a 3-month contract that is already over and I'm job-hunting aggressively right now. I also live alone, so my income is the only income.

Priorities. That's all I'm saying. Priorities. Consider yourself fortunate if the color of your kitchen counter is the only thing that's troubling you, or if there's nothing else competing for your hard-earned money.

Good luck on your job hunt. I wish you the best. I understand not updating due to finances but several of the previous comments by posters alluded to the fact that many homeowners tastes hadn't changed since the 60's and 70's and/or they're "frugal" and have no reason to change outdated items b/c they're still in workable condition. I was interested in why that seemed prevalent here and not in other towns I've lived.
From what I gather, homes are updated more frequently in more affluent neighborhoods.

[Ralph_Kirk]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

People have to be pretty obvlivious to the outside world if their tastes haven't changed in 20-30 years. Not having money to remodel is one thing; thinking a 1980's brass + Formica + wallpaper home is "relevant" in 2014 is completely a different thing.

Think it through. I'm currently in a house built in 1978. It's a "nice" area now, and was a "really nice" area at the time. In 1978, the mortgage interest rate was something like 14% APR, which made it a "really, really nice" area--I'd guess the original owners were no less than their mid-30s.

People who were in their 30s back in 1978 were born in the mid 40s...early Baby Boomers, with a heavy wartime influence from their parents of "use it up. wear it out, make it do, or do without." If they kept the house until last year, that meant they were 65 when they sold it.

You're talking about a generation of people who had a very, very different view of what "outdated" meant. I'm not even sure they had a concept of "outdated" that did not necessarily include "worn out, no longer operational" or at least "totally obsolete."

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Ralph_Kirk

Think it through. I'm currently in a house built in 1978. It's a "nice" area now, and was a "really nice" area at the time. In 1978, the mortgage interest rate was something like 14% APR, which made it a "really, really nice" area--I'd guess the original owners were no less than their mid-30s.

People who were in their 30s back in 1978 were born in the mid 40s...early Baby Boomers, with a heavy wartime influence from their parents of "use it up. wear it out, make it do, or do without." If they kept the house until last year, that meant they were 65 when they sold it.

You're talking about a generation of people who had a very, very different view of what "outdated" meant. I'm not even sure they had a concept of "outdated" that did not necessarily include "worn out, no longer operational" or at least "totally obsolete."

Most of my friends' parents - and mine- are between 60-70 right now. They would have updated your 1978 home around 1990-1995....which many did, we were in high school then. Granted, the area I grew up in meant that they were updating 1920-1940's era homes which have much more classic & timeless architectural style than the typically awful 1970's stuff....so less to update, but still - lots of them were renovating kitchens and adding on or expanding family rooms (which wouldn't have been original) at that time. My parents kept our outdated kitchen but added a huge family room on to the back of the house around the time.

That generation was full-on Baby Boomer, mentality. Their parents had the Depression-era / WWI/ WWII upbringings and thrift, but not them!

[iParrot]

Most homes that stay on MLS for long are either higher end, overpriced, dated, sucky realtor, poorly staged or in need of appliance or A/C change. Surprisingly, very few go stale due to major flaws. It's just that buyers want 2014 models.

Anyways, everything sells at right price. Even homes with foundation issues, high tension power lines, toxic plants, funny floor plans or things like that don't stay vaccant for ever or get demolished. There are buyers out there for every house.

[globe9]

This. My parents were born in the 40's as well. They have updated their home 3x now since 1965. It went from white Formica with light blue star bursts counters to orange Formica and avocado appliances to corian and white appliances to what they have now, which is all stainless and granite. A lot of the updating was done by my dad who is very handy. They didn't spend tens of thousands of dollars, but they do understand that updating a house adds value as well as just making it a nice place to live. My updated home is worth at least $15k more, probably closer to $20k than similar houses that aren't updated.

[iParrot]

What many people don't see is that dated homes are where you can find good schools, good location and bigger lots for less money. Updating cosmetics issues isn't all that difficult or expensive and you can get things done according to your taste.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by Ralph_Kirk

Think it through. I'm currently in a house built in 1978. It's a "nice" area now, and was a "really nice" area at the time. In 1978, the mortgage interest rate was something like 14% APR, which made it a "really, really nice" area--I'd guess the original owners were no less than their mid-30s.

People who were in their 30s back in 1978 were born in the mid 40s...early Baby Boomers, with a heavy wartime influence from their parents of "use it up. wear it out, make it do, or do without." If they kept the house until last year, that meant they were 65 when they sold it.

You're talking about a generation of people who had a very, very different view of what "outdated" meant. I'm not even sure they had a concept of "outdated" that did not necessarily include "worn out, no longer operational" or at least "totally obsolete."

This.

My parents were born in the 40s but they're at the tail end of the "silent generation." They're pre-Boomer. They were also both born to immigrants who came to this country with little more than the clothes on their backs, so they were raised to use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without for SURE.

My parents updated their house in Preston Hollow only once, and those were cosmetic upgrades...replacing wallpaper, painting, etc. They did replace the windows in the 80s too. The house was torn down when they sold it and replaced with a fugly ersatz Tuscan villa.

Their current house is in another prime teardown area (Melshire Estates) so they aren't doing any updates on it...just repairs. They're also retired now so being on a fixed income AND in a teardown area, they see no need to replace anything that isn't broken. 10 to 1 the house will be torn down by its next owner. It would be foolish to sink money into upgrading their house.

[globe9]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

This.

My parents were born in the 40s but they're at the tail end of the "silent generation." They're pre-Boomer. They were also both born to immigrants who came to this country with little more than the clothes on their backs, so they were raised to use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without for SURE.

My parents updated their house in Preston Hollow only once, and those were cosmetic upgrades...replacing wallpaper, painting, etc. They did replace the windows in the 80s too. The house was torn down when they sold it and replaced with a fugly ersatz Tuscan villa.

Their current house is in another prime teardown area (Melshire Estates) so they aren't doing any updates on it...just repairs. They're also retired now so being on a fixed income AND in a teardown area, they see no need to replace anything that isn't broken. 10 to 1 the house will be torn down by its next owner. It would be foolish to sink money into upgrading their house.

Of course it would be. That doesn't explain all of the other houses that aren't going to be teardowns and the owners' apparent lack of even the smallest updates in 30-40 years. Like I said in other parts of the country I have not noticed this phenomenon nearly as much as here in the N. TX area. Wondered why and guess we cant ever be sure what to attribute it to. Cheapness, just don't plain care what their home looks like as long as everything works, not having the money, having better things to spend the money on, stuck in a time warp, or hoping everything old will be new again etc etc. etc.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by globe9

Of course it would be. That doesn't explain all of the other houses that aren't going to be teardowns and the owners' apparent lack of even the smallest updates in 30-40 years. Like I said in other parts of the country I have not noticed this phenomenon nearly as much as here in the N. TX area. Wondered why and guess we cant ever be sure what to attribute it to. Cheapness, just don't plain care what their home looks like as long as everything works, not having the money, having better things to spend the money on, stuck in a time warp, or hoping everything old will be new again etc etc. etc.

I'll break it down really simply.

There are two categories: People with the money to do it, and people without the money to do it.

Those without the money to do it: Obvs.

Those with the money to do it: Different priorities.

That's all.

[iParrot]

My cousin and I work together and earn somewhat pretty similar incomes and bought comparable homes, we were frugal and paying off our mortgage and saving for children's college. They took second mortgage and beautifully updated/remodeled their home, drove luxury cars and lived lavishly in general.

We didn't have as much to show for but our house is paid off, our children have generous college funds and retirement is a dream not a nightmare. If we both put our homes on market today, probably it's not going to be a huge diffrence as yesteryear's hot trends aren't considered so hot today.

Diffrent folks, diffrent strokes.