Bottom Fishing--Lowest priced homes. (Chantilly, Fairfax: townhomes, bankruptcy, luxury)

[DavidS827]

Originally Posted by ariadel

Also, if realtor.com is unreliable, can anyone recommend me other good sites to skim for houses?

www.homesdatabase.com It is tied to the same database that I use and I believe it is updated nightly.

[Novamom06]

Remember the old saying - "you get what you pay for".

There is a reason why these homes are "on sale".

[El General]

Originally Posted by Novamom06

Remember the old saying - "you get what you pay for".

There is a reason why these homes are "on sale".

Many people, who are prone to overpaying, use this saying. Many of these homes are for sale because the occupants can't afford the p.i.t.i.hoa.ins.util. and still have enough left over to eat Kraft macaroni and cheese 5 nights a week. It reminds me a lot of the stock market. The "experts" love the stocks after they've gone up 400%, but after they've been cut in half in value; they sing in a chorus: "Don't buy!" The other distinctive similarity to the stock market is margin buying, or controlling 1,000,000 in stock, with only 30-50% of the capital. Except in this housing bubble, people were controlling (or thought they were) million dollar homes with almost zero down.

Almost everyone of these distressed sales had a "good sumaratan" realtor, who had an appraiser on a string, touting these bubble priced homes as a chance to get in on the riches.

I've taken commercial flights and have discussed ticket prices with the passenger next to me. Some times, that person (or the government), paid 5 times more for his/her ticket than me. It's the same plane, same late arrival, same crappy food. It's just some people didn't do the necessary diligence to get a good deal.

Right now, there are people on my street, who have paid anywhere between 170K and 515K, for virtually identical houses (the siding is different shades of beige). Of course, the people , who paid 170K, have been here for 13 years. The people, who paid 515K, have only been here for two. But today, you could buy for 330K (early 04 prices). For 1600 bucks per month less, aren't they getting what they paid for, too?

[Novamom06]

Sorry, I still disagree. As someone who has spent a lot of time with realtors looking at houses, there is always a reason why some just won't sell, or have to sell at huge discounts. They call it a "fatal flaw". People will buy homes like that in hot markets just to get into a house, but they are too afraid to take the risk in a down market. By fatal flaw I'm talking about homes: near highways, backing to roads, near high tension wires, landfills, structural damage from neglect or flooding, termites, etc, or simply being next to a neighbor who doesn't keep up his home. This is a short list, but I am sure you can see my point.

[Novamom06]

El General - One more point - I don't believe you can use your analogy of shopping for plane tickets to buying a home. With home sales, the price is what the market will bear. There are three driving factors in real estate sales: location, features, and price. You can only pick two and the third will be chosen for you. A realtor told me this a long time ago and it is very true, try it.

[El General]

Originally Posted by claude henry smoot

The folks that run this site http://novabubblefallout.blogspot.com/ keep a running tab on the top discounts in the area. Top discounts across the board are around 40-50% off. I assume most of those big discounts are foreclosures. Wait until those foreclosure prices start to eat away at other homes for sale in the same neighborhood...

Hey Claude,

That's a great site (if you're a buyer)! I've been following www.thehousingbubbleblog.com, which covers the national picture, but yours is the first I've seen to give specific listings. Truly, a bottom-fishermen's paradise. Happy New Year!

[El General]

Originally Posted by DavidS827

You're right...there is one...WOW!!!! There are homes in Fairfax and Loudoun for 280 or less too...so what's your point?

That's one more than there was a couple of years ago.

[itrade]

$499,900 is the cheapest SFH in my zipcode. It is bank owned.

[sundevil85]

Originally Posted by DavidS827

You're right...there is one...WOW!!!! There are homes in Fairfax and Loudoun for 280 or less too...so what's your point?
...and when you search for homes...don't waste your time with realtor.com...it's outdated and virtually useless..IMO.

I thought that I would update this.............There are now 7 homes in 20155 priced at 300K, or less.

[sundevil85]

Originally Posted by El General

Twinmma, I hate to spoil your equity, but my findings for Ashburn are quite a bit different than yours. In 20147, there is a nice condo for 154,900--that's 115K less than you stated. There is a sporty TH for 239,900, 3 br 3.5 bth--that's 135K less than you stated. A nice SFR will run you 389K--that's 90K less than you stated.

I saw a nice condo in 20147 for 119K. There are five SFRs under 350K.