Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thanks Zmehappy and jimj! I'm anxious to see if what I'm hearing in my area holds true across the country.
Your welcome Gretchen. Jim changed it to run for 14 days, guess we'll be able to get the feel for where the market is heading by then as to how far out they are for buying.
My husband and I are looking to purchase our first home.
We were priced out of the market in our area (Sarasota County, FL), when the "investors/flippers/speculators" decided to turn a basic necessity into a commodity.
We are waiting and in no rush. In our area of the country we have to keep our eye on the veryslowly decreasing home prices (still 53% over value), as well as, property taxes (increased tremendously here in the past few years) and homeowners insurance (if you can find someone to insure and at the staggering rates they are charging).
Also, the economy in this area is hurting, (huge layoffs in manufacturing, local government jobs, and construction), with no other employers being able to soak up the loss.
We have so much more at play to be concerned about in our housing market, than the possibility of rising interest rates.
Basically our area is clearly economically unstable and potential homebuyers like my husband and I are waiting on the sidelines.
My husband and I are looking to purchase our first home.
We were priced out of the market in our area (Sarasota County, FL), when the "investors/flippers/speculators" decided to turn a basic necessity into a commodity.
We are waiting and in no rush. In our area of the country we have to keep our eye on the veryslowly decreasing home prices (still 53% over value), as well as, property taxes (increased tremendously here in the past few years) and homeowners insurance (if you can find someone to insure and at the staggering rates they are charging).
Also, the economy in this area is hurting, (huge layoffs in manufacturing, local government jobs, and construction), with no other employers being able to soak up the loss.
We have so much more at play to be concerned about in our housing market, than the possibility of rising interest rates.
Basically our area is clearly economically unstable and potential homebuyers like my husband and I are waiting on the sidelines.
My brother in law and sister in law recently moved to the Sarasota area. They ended up buying a modular because of the cost of housing. The insurance was also a deciding factor.
They operate similar to the banks, when it rains they want the umbrella back.
Past Realtor here... from Michigan, now living in Florida.
Every summer I go back to Michigan and it surprises me to see what has happened here.
I see the real estate market here turning to a rental state... Let me tell you why...
My daughter is engaged to a young man who bought a house about 3-4 years ago... he payed $130,000. for it then. He now owes $120,000. and probably won't be able to get $90,000. out of it. They would live in the house but it is a two bedroom house and my daughter has 2 kids, one a teenaged girl and one a 7 year old boy (no bedroom for somebody). Anyway, she has inquired about a "short sale" and if they are not in defalt, no one can help them !!!! So if they pay their bills they are just SOL... They can't add on to the house, cause it isn't worth what he bought it for already. They have even thought about a trade but that means that who ever traded would probably come from a larger house that isn't worth what the value would be, that they would have to trade for.
Any way, I think this is going to be a rental state... no one can afford to move....
The only thing that I can think of for my daughter to do is rent out his house and rent another one for them selves.... only one thing wrong with that... he pays a $1200. house payment... if I pay that much I at least want a three bedroom home.... and that is what they are looking for.
Talk about caught between a rock and a hard place.
Got any ideas ????? I propably should have started my own thread but I thought that Zmehappy might have a suggestion ????
kcm - not to get this thread off-track, but that is a tough situation that your daughter and her fiance are faced with. Looking to move out of the house will be almost impossible for them at this time - upside down whether selling or renting. Why not go ahead and put the addition on the house? Three bedrooms are always more desirable than 2 bedrooms. If they don't have to move for jobs, etc, then staying put is their best option. If they can make their monthly payments, then they're doing better than most. I think their only option is going to be to stay put and either try to make the best of the situation (maybe add a Murphy bed or something in a den), or else add on if they have the money to do that. Once the market picks up again (and it could be a long time), their 3 bdrm will be worth more than the 2 bdrm. And if they could do the addition economically enough, it might actually raise the value of the home to where they could sell and pay off the mortgage.
Past Realtor here... from Michigan, now living in Florida.
Every summer I go back to Michigan and it surprises me to see what has happened here.
I see the real estate market here turning to a rental state... Let me tell you why...
My daughter is engaged to a young man who bought a house about 3-4 years ago... he payed $130,000. for it then. He now owes $120,000. and probably won't be able to get $90,000. out of it. They would live in the house but it is a two bedroom house and my daughter has 2 kids, one a teenaged girl and one a 7 year old boy (no bedroom for somebody). Anyway, she has inquired about a "short sale" and if they are not in defalt, no one can help them !!!! So if they pay their bills they are just SOL... They can't add on to the house, cause it isn't worth what he bought it for already. They have even thought about a trade but that means that who ever traded would probably come from a larger house that isn't worth what the value would be, that they would have to trade for.
Any way, I think this is going to be a rental state... no one can afford to move....
The only thing that I can think of for my daughter to do is rent out his house and rent another one for them selves.... only one thing wrong with that... he pays a $1200. house payment... if I pay that much I at least want a three bedroom home.... and that is what they are looking for.
Talk about caught between a rock and a hard place.
Got any ideas ????? I propably should have started my own thread but I thought that Zmehappy might have a suggestion ????
Greetings Kcm, tough way for the kids to start out. I have a son getting married next summer as well and kind of in the same situation. Not knowing exactly what the Florida rental market would bare (assuming it's not $1,200+ to cover their expenses) I would have to go along with Gretchens input above. Otherwise they are going to be looking towards dad to purchase the home as a rental.
They are in Michigan and Dad is retired on a fixed income so we're doing good to pay our bills. Her fiancee has a good and secure job and her's is being affected somewhat by the economie but so far so good. She has a place of her own and makes a rent payment of about $600. so if they have to they can get a lone for that amount of payment for an addition. I'm not sure the area would merit the money that they would have to put in it. But they may have to stay there. At least they have the income to try to do something and aren't loosing the home. If they ever get out of there they will be able to get a nice place for all of them.
I have a feeling that a lot of people are in the same boat in Michigan.
They are in Michigan and Dad is retired on a fixed income so we're doing good to pay our bills. Her fiancee has a good and secure job and her's is being affected somewhat by the economie but so far so good. She has a place of her own and makes a rent payment of about $600. so if they have to they can get a lone for that amount of payment for an addition. I'm not sure the area would merit the money that they would have to put in it. But they may have to stay there. At least they have the income to try to do something and aren't loosing the home. If they ever get out of there they will be able to get a nice place for all of them.
I have a feeling that a lot of people are in the same boat in Michigan.
Good mroning Kcm, yes much of the same going on up here in paradise, jk. Will your daughters rent be done by the time they get married? As for the area carrying the addition, that's one of the biggest problems these days. Use to be one could do an addition and make money, now days they add an addition to get the hoime back to where it should have sold for a few years ago. Good money after bad isn't the way to go.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Got any suggestions ???
