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51 Comments
- rmxz, on 01/29/2009, -1/+19Are you rather suggesting you're rather recommend buying high and selling low?
Surely buying a home during a recession sounds better than buying a home during a bubble. - Virgule, on 01/29/2009, -2/+186. Pay cash.
- lokee73, on 01/29/2009, -1/+166. Have a job.
- JackondaRocks, on 01/29/2009, -8/+206. Don't.
- DangerCollie, on 01/29/2009, -0/+11Buying a house is a business transaction, plain and simple. The buyer may have been emotional when they made a purchasing decision, that doesn't mean you have to. If you are pre-approved for financing right now, you're golden. Take advantage of it. There's no margin in being nice. No one in the process looking out for your interests, including your agent. If they don't do the job, get another agent. They'll try to show you comps (comparable sales) but those are a rear-facing metric. It tells you where the market was, not where it is and not where it's going.
- Balanced, on 01/29/2009, -0/+10Tough to do.
- dodgejon, on 01/29/2009, -0/+8I closed on a deal in late 2008. I was able to get the sellers to cover all closing fees and fix all of the concerns identified by the inspector. House is good as new and purchased for the same price it went for in 1995.
- fascfoo, on 01/29/2009, -2/+9Exactly. Those with excellent credit, large amounts of liquid assets, and a keen eye towards homes with true value in good nabes....why NOT buy now? You're gonna get a bargain that'll appreciate nicely.
- mediaspree, on 01/29/2009, -0/+6ah ha heh hum ha ha. You realize you are why we are in this mess....or are you just being sarcastic. Its early , I can't tell.
- JohnFlux, on 01/29/2009, -1/+7dae3dae3, that's pretty bad advice. For the 20 or so years that you are living away from your parents but without a house, you'd have to rent. So in effect you're "wasting" 20 years worth of renting payments with nothing in return.
- inactive, on 01/29/2009, -0/+5thanks, needed some help moving out of this basement
- dae3dae3, on 01/29/2009, -0/+5Sounds like a fancy name for a time share. Time Shares are incredible ripoffs. There is no secondary market for them.
- inactive, on 01/27/2009, -2/+7Thanks for sharing :)
- inactive, on 01/29/2009, -0/+4The 2006 version of me concurs with you. Anyone want to buy a condo? 2 bedroom, 2 bath with a loft on the 4th (top) floor, with the deck overlooking a lake in a vacation-centric part of the country. Boat slip included. 1450 square feet. 175K OBO. If you're interested, send me a message.
The condo is in the USA, despite my profile.
(Yes, it's actually come to this.) - duggdowncatisad, on 01/29/2009, -0/+3That "poor seller" probably lied on their mortgage application to get the loan in the first place. The loan was probably an option ARM or other stupid toxic loan. They've probably missed a couple mortgage payments. When they do finally sell, and get part of their loan forgiven, they'll probably get a huge tax break -- paid for with your tax money.
- graphire, on 01/29/2009, -0/+2shop around for the best mortgage rates, of course if you have cash then by all means avoid getting loans. Worst time to get loans these days. But still, i think real estate are still good investments. You just have to be extra wise in choosing the right property.
- surf1punk, on 01/29/2009, -0/+2Just bought my first house here in late 2008, was a nice foreclosure. Built in 2002 and ended up getting it for only 10k more than original price.
Took about 6 months of solid looking to find the deal that was right. Careful though, foreclosures can have hidden costs since most are sold "as is" and the bank isn't going to help you on closing costs in most cases. - Balanced, on 01/29/2009, -0/+2Maybe that works in some areas... My biggest expense is rent which is pretty high for even a 1-bedroom in a so-so area. I'm looking into buying a house and even factoring in insurance and property taxes my monthly bill for housing looks to go up only a tiny bit.
- sconvery, on 01/29/2009, -0/+2These are very good points.The other thing people should remember is that if the house does not appraise well and meet what you are planning to mortgage, the bank won't give you a loan. It's best to low ball.
- trollick, on 01/29/2009, -0/+2There is always only one tip:
Don't buy stuff you cannot afford. - Balanced, on 01/29/2009, -0/+2There's a lot of stories of people who live very, very cheaply for years to avoid debt, or turn over an inheritance from a relative to buy a home. It just requires a lot of patience and self-control or some dead relatives.
The big problem with the former is that expenses while saving up $200,000 or more are often completely wasted and it may be better to enter into a loan so the money is going somewhere. - abayden, on 06/24/2009, -0/+1This might not be a recession. Some people who predicted this crisis correctly say this more like a depression. See http://expertswhopredictedthecrisis.com
- dae3dae3, on 01/29/2009, -1/+2Live below your means and save. You will be able to do it by the time you are 40 if you don't get yourself into debt straight out of high school and don't spend every penny you make.
- m00nmaster, on 01/29/2009, -1/+2Funny but totally irrelevant. Buried.
- Brentoneccles, on 04/09/2009, -0/+1Thankyou for having the intelligence and courage to say this.
Please don't be silly enough to take out huge loans. Why? Because, what's going to happen when the banks start raising interest rates allover again!?
We are in a huge mess - The general public need to know what is actually going on "out there" in the monetary system - most people seem to have no idea, and I would expect that you would feel a sense of responsibility to educate the public about the true foundational causes of this "global financial crisis."
I wish to direct your attention to some very important information, which covers the true root causes of our socio-economic problems while offering a sane solution. What needs to be recognised is that equal rights mean absolutely nothing unless there is equal access to all things at all times to all people - anything less is deprivation, this is easy to understand.
Please take time, when you can, to read this Orientation Guide (
http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/The%20Zeitgeis ...
) or alternatively view it in Video Format (
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3932487043 ...
).
They are both from a global social organisation called "The Zeitgeist Movement" which currently has over 250,000 members, and will have surpassed (according to our current growth rate) 1 million by 2010. On March 15th we held over 450 events, and this was the official beginning day for our movement, many of these events were hosted in Australia. The main event was in NYC, if you'd like to know about that event please see the New York Times review:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/nyregion/17zeitg ...
For additional information, please visit our website (
http://thezeitgeistmovement.com
) and view the viral internet documentary "Zeitgeist: Addendum" which covers these issues further, but in a more aesthetically pleasing style than the other video presentation. It is this documentary which has had millions of views and is responsible for educating growing numbers of people about these issues.
Unfortunately, asking for an "equitable monetary system" is a joke. The system is inherently corrupt because profit concern will always have to come before the concerns of humans and the environment. You must also take into account a growing phenomenon known as "technological unemployment" which is going to end the monetary system as we know it - basically things are automating in every industrial sector, and we aren't going to be able to support a monetary-based economy once a certain percentage of people can't get jobs unless we have permanent social services payments (and how sad would that be?!). If you want to know more about the reasons why our monetary system is failing altogether, not just because of bad management or policy, please consult the information I have linked to above.
Please feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss further. We look forward to having you join us. - Brentoneccles, on 04/09/2009, -0/+1Please don't be silly enough to take out huge loans. Why? Because, what's going to happen when the banks start raising interest rates allover again!?
We are in a huge mess - The general public need to know what is actually going on "out there" in the monetary system - most people seem to have no idea, and I would expect that you would feel a sense of responsibility to educate the public about the true foundational causes of this "global financial crisis."
I wish to direct your attention to some very important information, which covers the true root causes of our socio-economic problems while offering a sane solution. What needs to be recognised is that equal rights mean absolutely nothing unless there is equal access to all things at all times to all people - anything less is deprivation, this is easy to understand.
Please take time, when you can, to read this Orientation Guide ( http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/The%20Zeitgeis ... ) or alternatively view it in Video Format ( http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3932487043 ... ).
They are both from a global social organisation called "The Zeitgeist Movement" which currently has over 250,000 members, and will have surpassed (according to our current growth rate) 1 million by 2010. On March 15th we held over 450 events, and this was the official beginning day for our movement, many of these events were hosted in Australia. The main event was in NYC, if you'd like to know about that event please see the New York Times review: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/nyregion/17zeitg ...
For additional information, please visit our website ( http://thezeitgeistmovement.com ) and view the viral internet documentary "Zeitgeist: Addendum" which covers these issues further, but in a more aesthetically pleasing style than the other video presentation. It is this documentary which has had millions of views and is responsible for educating growing numbers of people about these issues.
Unfortunately, asking for an "equitable monetary system" is a joke. The system is inherently corrupt because profit concern will always have to come before the concerns of humans and the environment. You must also take into account a growing phenomenon known as "technological unemployment" which is going to end the monetary system as we know it - basically things are automating in every industrial sector, and we aren't going to be able to support a monetary-based economy once a certain percentage of people can't get jobs unless we have permanent social services payments (and how sad would that be?!). If you want to know more about the reasons why our monetary system is failing altogether, not just because of bad management or policy, please consult the information I have linked to above.
Please feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss further. We look forward to having you join us. - fascfoo, on 01/29/2009, -0/+1Unless you live in some podunk town (or are wealthy).....who can "avoid" getting a loan when buying a house?
- inactive, on 02/01/2009, -0/+1LOL, wait about 5 years.
- duggdowncatisad, on 01/29/2009, -1/+2When did you submit this, 2005? Digg seriously needs to look into upgrading their servers if comments are taking this long to post.
- yardie, on 01/29/2009, -0/+1Sorry, I don't understand why "I" am the reason you are in this mess? I saved my money until I found a place I could afford. I saw the craziness going on in South Florida (high property values, low incomes) and managed to stay away, even though everyone around me was convinced I was throwing away money by renting. I have a standard mortgage where the payments are less than 1/3 of my monthly income.
And finding a good, honest bank is imperative. We are in this mess because most of the bad loans are not first time buyers, but refinanced and second mortgages. People who used their home equity as their personal piggy bank.
So once again, how is my taking out a fixed rate mortgage causing your crisis? - Jektal, on 01/29/2009, -1/+2While true and elegantly illustrated, not exactly appropriate to the topic at hand, is it?
- cquinnd, on 01/29/2009, -0/+1yardie.
Where did you mention it was a fixed rate loan? Other than that, your loan sounds like many of the gimmicked loans and dodgy mortgage strategies that got us into the subprime mess. - Balanced, on 01/29/2009, -0/+1The market's going down these days, which is what the article is about.
- craighamnett, on 01/30/2009, -0/+1When you buy a timeshare you don't own the percentage share of your property. With a fractional ownership you own equity in the property, therefore when it is sold (generally after 15 years) you get your percentage of the sale of the property.
Timeshares are wastes of money, fractional ownerships aren't. - qwertydvorak, on 01/29/2009, -0/+1just buy a foreclosed house like i did. you sava a fortune, and the bank kicked the guy's ass for you.
- fisticuffs, on 01/29/2009, -0/+1How about?
a. This is all common sense stuff that...
b. is already known to anyone who's ever bought a house. - dae3dae3, on 01/29/2009, -0/+0I didn't say everybody should do that. I was just saying it is possible. At the very least you should put down 10% with a 15 year fixed rate mortgage and a payment of no more than 25% of your monthly take home pay. If you do that and then pay extra on it you will be able to pay it off in less than 10 years. Guess what you can do then? Sell that house and pay cash for the next one.
I know that isn't the normal thing to do in the US but being normal in the US is being broke. I don't want to be normal. - captaincaboom, on 11/06/2009, -0/+0Great article
http://www.shirtcreator24.de - wojtyk, on 01/29/2009, -0/+0lol, nice one punisher.
Especially since the govt is guaranteed to bail you out in the end... - yardie, on 01/29/2009, -2/+26. Find a good bank. We shopped around and found a bank that gave us most of the conditions we were requesting. It turned out to be our own bank. The interest rate was a few points higher than I would like, but they offered us a great deal on insurance. And other things like 6 mo. suspended payments (in case the economy goes to crap I can defer) and 1 year interest-only (in case the only job I can find doesn't cover the monthly repayment). I talked to our broker and he says these type of assurances were much more important to have in the current climate and I can always refinance to a lower rate once things improve.
- OCRealtress, on 02/08/2009, -0/+0You are so right about the hidden costs on foreclosures. The same holds true of short-sales. You need to have some liquid $$$ to cover the possible indoor fountain after a heavy rain. You have no recourse and no disclosures to help you out, so be prepared.
On the other hand you can get an awsome deal and you don't have much of a choice in most areas. Congratulations on your successful purchase! - invstmntguru, on 09/07/2009, -0/+0This is where the real good advice is
http://extremerealestatechallenge.com/?p=402 - TrendsKent, on 04/18/2009, -0/+0It appears the article is no longer available?
Kent
http://www.buyhomeblog.com - inactive, on 02/17/2009, -0/+0Buy a cheap home in the Hood so you and your friends can gentrify the neighborhood one block at a time.
Next thing you know a Starbucks and a Crate and Barrel will be opening on the corner. - muqthadir, on 02/13/2009, -0/+0If housing prices don't continue to increase at the torrid pace seen in recent years in many areas, buying a home can be a good financial investment.
- punisher101, on 01/29/2009, -4/+3Only buy a house if it is a sub prime loan. Sub prime loans have very low interest and you don't even need to be employed or need to worry about having a large negative net worth.
- IrishBastard, on 01/29/2009, -4/+2"With so many homes on the market, would-be buyers will have a great deal of leverage this year. Don't be shy about using it: low-ball the listing price or ask if the seller will chip in for closing costs."
Great advice, especially on foreclosure homes that end up getting 5-10 competing offers on them and the person who put in a low-ball offer is then confused when their offer is near-instantly rejected. Then the property sells for $30,000 more than it was listed for.
(PS. the banks like to tell everyone who put in an offer that they have multiple offers on the property to get them to offer more money than they originally did for the house) - craighamnett, on 01/29/2009, -5/+2I kinda disagree with the article, with house prices still dropping further it would be wiser to spend money on a long term property investment. Things like fractional ownerships and select ownerships are great solutions to buying shared equity in a property which you can also use as a holiday home for a couple of weeks of the year.
For those that don't know, fractional ownership is generally split 12 ways, and select ownership is split 25 ways. This reduces the risk of purchasing a full property with a similar percentage return. - inactive, on 01/28/2009, -11/+4HI MY NAME IS PATTY AND I'M YOUR AGENT!
I'm going to speak really loudly and excited about whatever over-priced piece of cr@p house I try to shove down your throat! Did you notice my makeup and perfume? I put WAY too much on. It's my way of trying to cover up the 45 pounds I gained after I have birth to my kid. My husband then lost interest in me and now has sex with Thai hookers when he goes on business trips for his WIlly Lomanesque sales trips! Can I interest you in this split-level Colonial which has gone 500% in the past six months? The markets fueled by low interest, interest only loans which will entrap you like an 18th century negro south of the Mason Dixon Line- hi, I'm Patty! -
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