More Home Builder Questions ??? (Dallas, San Diego: lease, credit card, loans)

[LOK222]

I most likely am buyin a GRAND in Wynngate. I just love them and speaking with several of the homeowners there they all love them as well.. it's a personal thing, I did not like Darling and highland and landstar were OK but I loved the grand

[Midway_FUBAR]

Originally Posted by SisterB

This is why we ruled out Panther Creek: TOO MANY FORECLOSURES!!! I've never seen a neighborhood that has so many!

As an insurance agent that works very closely with mortgage brokers I think that the foreclosure issue has more to do with people not understanding the terms of their financing than it does with builder quality.

I'm not saying that you don't have an excellent reason for avoiding an area in terms of current resale/flipping a property but I don't know that foreclosures are good reason to avoid a purchase for long-term holding.

I have seen a lot of foreclosures in recent months, in almost every case that I have been personally involved in (losing a home insurance client) it has been because the ARM that they signed is up and the interest rate that they got 2-3 years ago is going to increase their monthly payment by more than they can handle. Also, during the refinance boom 4-5 years ago several brokers were, shall we say, loose in the documentation department and people were getting approved for amounts that were way beyond their means.

A large crop of foreclosures at this particular time could be a great thing for a long-term buyer. It creates a buyers market in the area and once the homes are all resold (and they will eventually resell) you have instant equity because the depression in price is tied directly to the number of homes available. Once the supply of foreclosures is gone, prices stabilize and start to increase again...

Just my thoughts, feel free to disagree...

[GoPadge]

Not to pour salt in anyone's open wounds or anything....

But how ignorant or desperate do you have to be, to buy an ADJUSTABLE rate mortgage, when rates are at their lowest in decades? Where did they think the rates were going to go?

I blame the educational system and our parents for not teaching a whole generation how to handle money, and the credit industry for questionable marketing practices. Think about this. Before WWII almost no one borrowed money. Before Vietnam people borrowed mostly for their homes. Before the Gulf War people borrowed mostly for their homes and cars. Now we borrow money just to buy lunch at McDonalds.

It's not getting better. This weekend I saw a credit card reader on vending machine.

[5stones]

It has to do with the "me" generation and people wanted the big beautiful 3000sqft house and lenders were willing to give them the money. They were blinded by the glitz and now reality is sinking in and they can not afford the payments. It seems no-one wants a "starter home" anymore, young couples without kids were buying way more house than they needed just because the lender said sure you can afford it... CREATIVE financing. But that is no longer being practiced as the banks have gotten burned.

[onrway2clt]

Originally Posted by LOK222

I most likely am buyin a GRAND in Wynngate. I just love them and speaking with several of the homeowners there they all love them as well.. it's a personal thing, I did not like Darling and highland and landstar were OK but I loved the grand

What aspect of Grand did you like more than darling, landstar etc?

also, are they giving you a free pool?

[LOK222]

Originally Posted by NY - Dallas

What aspect of Grand did you like more than darling, landstar etc?

also, are they giving you a free pool?

Just personal preference I guess. (IMO) the Darling floor plan felt very "compartmentalized" or closed in... felt small in a way

the Landstar and highland I liked, some of them

but the Grand spec that we put a contract on.. I just loved. the floor plan.. everything that was done to it, it just felt perfect.

I know most hate Grand here but I have family in the area and some Realtors I know that have been here for a long time and they did not have the same perspective of Grand that I've seen on here.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by GoPadge

Not to pour salt in anyone's open wounds or anything....

But how ignorant or desperate do you have to be, to buy an ADJUSTABLE rate mortgage, when rates are at their lowest in decades? Where did they think the rates were going to go?

I blame the educational system and our parents for not teaching a whole generation how to handle money, and the credit industry for questionable marketing practices. Think about this. Before WWII almost no one borrowed money. Before Vietnam people borrowed mostly for their homes. Before the Gulf War people borrowed mostly for their homes and cars. Now we borrow money just to buy lunch at McDonalds.

It's not getting better. This weekend I saw a credit card reader on vending machine.

Back when the interest only loans were first getting going they were aimed more at people that had a lot of money/cash but did not want it all tied up in a home. Business owners, etc that might have a need for some sudden capital for business purposes would have their $$$ in the bank and easily accessible and not have to sell their house for those dollars. They were the types that were not going to be moving every 2-5 years and would be there for the longterm and with their increase in salary/business growth they could handle the increase in payments or they had the cash available to pay down and refinance a much lower amount. These people also had much better credit scores and being smart about financing could get a better rate AND a fixed rate cap. I've seen this and it does work. We even did it and when the rates were dropping 2-3 years ago to the lowest in decades and we asked about refin. to a fixed even our own mortgage advisor AND the mortgage company all looked everything over and told us to stay put as our cap was still better. We did end up doing a fixed rate when it finally got to the point that the fixed was lower than our cap. We also had a HUGE downpayment and did not finance 100% from the beginning. So these loans CAN be good for the right person IF they know what they are doing and read ALL the details.

That being said we then had the mortgage companies that saw this niche and went after those that did not have the potential to double their income in 2-3 years (or less), that did not have a large downpayment and not great credit scores. Those are the ones that have been hurt and suffered the most in the interest only loans. You don't see people in half mil and several mil houses being foreclosed on because of this. Recently there was a story on the news and I even mentioned it on here when this subject was being discussed then about a homeowner in the Waterview area of Rowlett being foreclosed on because of such. They did the subprime, interest only loan and did not take advantage of refinancing when the rates dropped and their payments went up from less than $2K to OVER $4K for a house that was worth less than $3K. THOSE are the ones that did not read the fine print, did not pay attention to the rates for the longhaul, had bad credit, no downpayment and no increase in salary.

I do agree w/ you about the "me" attitude and people thinking their first home needs to be the size of mom and dads current abode. It does not work that way. Our first house was a whopping $87K and all of 1600 sq ft. The second owners were also first time buyers and bought it from us for $112K and recently sold for $145K. Baby steps, baby steps. It took how many years for mom & dad to get THAT house? I know many people that live like that and have been bailed out over and over by their parents. I also blame the parents for allowing it to happen. I'll bail my kids out if something happens beyond their control. But I will not pay off their debts every 2 years as they continue to live a lifestyle they can not support but refuse to learn from their actions and change their ways.

As for the neighborhoods w/ tons of foreclosures. I do hope that the buyers that get these homes have a pride and help to raise the neighborhood up to the potential it could be. It could turn around. BUT, it takes longer to turn a neighborhood onto the upswing than it did for it to slide down. It could also attract the buyers that don't care and will not take care of their property. If I was buying right now in that price range I'd be VERY selective of the neighborhood and area. I'd be VERY tempted to go look at existing homes in neighborhoods that have been around for awhile and you can tell if they are being kept up. If it is a good area there will not be many homes for sale and the good ones will be gone fast.

[onrway2clt]

Originally Posted by LOK222

Just personal preference I guess. (IMO) the Darling floor plan felt very "compartmentalized" or closed in... felt small in a way

the Landstar and highland I liked, some of them

but the Grand spec that we put a contract on.. I just loved. the floor plan.. everything that was done to it, it just felt perfect.

I know most hate Grand here but I have family in the area and some Realtors I know that have been here for a long time and they did not have the same perspective of Grand that I've seen on here.

You are always going to get conflicting opinions on these types of things, you have to do what you think is best for you. Good luck with everything.

BTW I thought Grand was giving pools away for free, maybe that was a different development?

[LOK222]

Originally Posted by NY - Dallas

You are always going to get conflicting opinions on these types of things, you have to do what you think is best for you. Good luck with everything.

BTW I thought Grand was giving pools away for free, maybe that was a different development?

Yeah, I agree.. everyone has an opinion..

At first I had ruled them out just from what i read here but I looked at some and loved them so I looked into it more.. talked to people here, a LOT of people.. in the end that's what I went with.. hopefully everything will work out

I did see the "free pool" ad, I have to ask the lady I'm working with about that. I think because I'm trying to buy a Spec that is all ready to move in...
I'm still on the fence about a pool.. I dont know, in meeting some of my (hopefully) soon to be neighbors, one guy just got a pool and said he would not be without one. We'll see.. I'll ask about it and even if not it's somthing we might look to doing in the future.

[LOK222]

Originally Posted by SisterB

My husband & I are buying in Frisco, & we looked extensively at Panther Creek, at all of the builders you mentioned.

This is why we ruled out Panther Creek: TOO MANY FORECLOSURES!!! I've never seen a neighborhood that has so many!

To see what I mean, go to www.ebby.com . Under the home search menu, where it says "address", type in the street name, STEPHENVILLE. Every one of those houses is a foreclosure, & the builders are still building more homes on that very street!!!

That is just one street in Panther Creek. What that says about home values in that subdivision, is not something we wanted to invest in. While no neighborhood is foreclosure-proof, we did not want to buy in a neighborhood where it is a scary trend.

Also, about Grand Homes. We love them, & think they are gorgeous. But I work in Frisco for a mortgage company, & talk to a lot of Frisco Realtors on a daily basis. For some reason, they all think Grand Homes are terrible. When asked why, they all talk about Grand's "castle" designs, & how they will build 5 of them on the same block.

Good luck to you!

intresting, in the comunities I looked at they arrange the houses so there are not the same floor plan (the castle) like that.. 5 on the same block? ha ha..

That castle plan, I like it from the outside but when going in.. we didnt like the floor plan as much. but... different strokes...