Questions around Housing prices and jobs/economy

[JSnFla]

house prices are nowhere near as low as they are going to go, they have much further to drop before anyone starts buying again

[backtofla]

houses are selling where i am. they wont drop much further. imo.

[plodinalong]

Can anyone tell me about jobs for Substance Abuse Counselors, are there any? If someone could even let me know about the Rehab Centers and hospitals that offer treatment for addiction would be helpful. I will be relocating to the Longwood area eventually, but I do have the luxury of taking my time to do this properly. I really don't want to move unless I have a job to go to.

[aneftp]

Originally Posted by traysea

The problem is we are going to sell our existing house (which is like 3000 SF) and will be lucky to get 315k for it. We'll walk away with very little so naturally we'll be house poor going back to Orlando. I really don't want to go backwards in my living standards. Not rich, but make good money. Don't want to live in a subdivison. I have my sights on some property not on the market yet in Oakland.. but that is another story and I need to work through that when I am in town next week!!

Explain "we'll walk away with very little" Are you getting back most of your downpayment back if you were to sell? Or are you basically losing your downpayment, just to escape the home? Most people would be happy to just get back what they put into the home. Nobody is expecting to sell for a profit especially if they purchased their home in 2005/2006 timeframe.

As for other things in your post, I'd say just rent. Sign a short term lease 6-7 months. I think we will get a better indication where the economy is heading by April-June time frame.

We are closing on a home in Heathrow. The home prices have dropped, but I would say it was a "steal" It was a fair price in this market. I paid 96% of asking price and the home was only listed for 2 days. We like it. It was realtively new (built in August 2003 and had all the updated amentities stainless, granite etc).

As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Sure you can go get a bargain in certain areas, but I'd rather stay away from tons of foreclosures.

Looks like you want to buy land and build. I do not think you will get any "value" in doing this. It's much cheaper to buy a home that's already built than to risk building a new home. (home builders are going out of business in this economy....another home builder in the Florida area just went bankrupt yesterday)