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comment by user-inactivated
user-inactivated  ·  3056 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: July 13, 2016

So that house I went to see yesterday? It was criminally disappointing. The first floor and the upstairs were absolutely beautiful. Yes the carpet needed to be replaced and yes the walls needed to be repainted because even though the paint was new, whoever did the job didn't even try to paint within the lines. But the floor plan itself was perfect, the size was perfect, the hardwood floors were those old, thick hearty fuckers. I really like what I was seeing. Everything fell apart as soon as we got to the basement though. There were multiple horizontal cracks on all four sides of the block based foundation, many of them leaking water. No wonder the place was going for so cheap.

kleinbl00 more than likely has the right idea on waiting right now, and outside of poking around at something that looks like it might be a steal, I think I'm gonna talk to my wife about slowing down our search. The good houses here at good prices get snatched up left and right within days of going on the market, leaving the crap left overs for everyone else. Even if prices dropped by 20 or 30%, that'll open our options up so much more.

Besides, like always, I'm trying to figure myself out. There's no saying I can't do other things while I'm doing that, but the less distractions the better. I have Friday off. I think I'm gonna wake up early, fill my tank to the top, and just drive south for a while.





kleinbl00  ·  3055 days ago  ·  link  ·  

There are industries and trade groups in the United States that make their money by generating fear around major life events. They then assuage that fear by providing you a vast array of things to spend money on as a ward against the terror. The wedding industry is one of these - "If you don't spend a gajillion dollars getting married all your guests will hate you and your memories will be ruined forever!" That movie Father of the Bride? That's a $143k wedding. Having a baby? hie thee to Babies'R'Us to see just how much plastic crap you must fill your life with in order to ensure your child doesn't grow up eating paint chips.

One need only watch TV to see the infomercials paid for by Lowes, Home Depot, Chase and the rest - between the sponsorships and the fees charged the "consultants" who appear on them, every "home improvement" show you've ever seen is profitable to the makers without so much as being on the air. Flip this House. This Old House. Property Brothers. Tiny House. Not-so-tiny house. How many hours a night can you watch charming, smiling people learn that nirvana can only be achieved by spending $30k remodeling their kitchen? That profits are easy and fun if only you buy and sell "fixer uppers" in your spare time? The joys of repartee with your favorite contractor?

The game is rigged. The rules by which they would have you play are not for your advantage. Want a reality check? Fill out a loan request from a local credit union. Do not lie. See what they'll give you to buy a house. This is your baseline "sane" spending power. Considering you have no college degree and are job hunting, you may very well be completely denied. Now find a big bank. Do the same. Fill it out any way you want. I'll bet they give you $300k.

The delta between "nothing" and "$300k" is the space within the mortgage industry is monetizing cheap money. It is driven by the difference between a thrift that is beholden to its members and an investment bank beholden to its shareholders. The one must stay in business. The other must deliver profits at all costs. The one is sustainable. The other is reliant on central banks covering their asses when shit goes sideways. They do this because the "moral hazard" introduced in 2008 taught them that they will suffer no consequences from writing this loans, and that in the end, your loss will be amortized by the taxpayer, not them.

You'll still be out of your house. Your credit rating will still be shot. It will still be fifteen years before you get another chance. And your house will be foreclosed and bought as one of fifteen dozen, at auction, sight unseen, then superficially remodeled, sold to a property management firm, and rented back to you.

Unless you keep your powder dry.

rjw  ·  3054 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Keep your powder dry - and then what? Wait until you have a better credit rating? More savings? (Disclaimer: I know almost nothing about housing or credit)

rjw  ·  3054 days ago  ·  link  ·  
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user-inactivated  ·  3055 days ago  ·  link  ·  
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blackbootz  ·  3056 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It's an incredible advantage to be able to wait and see. The perfect place'll come, I'm sure it will. And yea, one globe's economic contraction is another man's sweet deal. I wish you luck!

user-inactivated  ·  3055 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yeah. This is my first rodeo, so I haven't paid attention to the housing market before this. It'll be interesting to see if there will be a crash, and if so, if it leads to a feeding frenzy. Like I said, at my price point, all of the good houses get snatched up quick, so if they go for even cheaper, I just might need to take a month long vacation or something and dedicate all of my time to hunting in order to actually compete with others.

kleinbl00  ·  3055 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  

Do not compete.

Repeat: DO NOT COMPETE.

This is not your game. You cannot afford to get good. You want a dwelling, not an investment. You do not have access to the resources the other players do. Your goals are different. Your wishes are different. You are a mark among the whales and they will scoop you up like so much krill.

You know what no one is competing for? Undeveloped land. I mean, yeah - stuff that can be subdivided is in stupid territory right now but if I recall correctly, there is no reason you need to live in or near a major city. Not only that, but you have an unparalleled work ethic and a preposterous amount of patience. Houses can be built cheaply if you're patient and doing your own work. Find a place you love and make it your own. NOBODY is competing against you in that game.

user-inactivated  ·  3055 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I've lightly entertained the idea of just buying a piece of land and building a two bedroom, brick ranch with a slab foundation. That idea seems intimidating as fuck though.

oyster  ·  3055 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It is insane how much farther your money will go living just outside a city as opposed to living in one even if you don't build the house yourself. You can get a nice old home in good shape with a ton of land for what some people pay for a concrete shell in town where I live.

lm  ·  3054 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Even renting, this is true. I'm living on 3.5 acres with a house and barn for what I was paying for a one bedroom apartment with a one car garage in town.

oyster  ·  3054 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yup I mean I could see how it would be hard for people to adapt after living somewhere with everything close by but once you get used to it it's not that bad.

kleinbl00  ·  3055 days ago  ·  link  ·  
arguewithatree  ·  3055 days ago  ·  link  ·  

bleah nothing like being disappointed in a property. could be worse though. i went and saw an apartment in Virginia that looked really good online but was super sad IRL. and then on top of that, the woman in the leasing office, even though I contacted her to tell her I was going abroad, thought it was ok to give my info to other people in her rental management company so i wound up getting spammed for all these apartments I didn't want or need... bad online reviews and the threat of a cease and desist got them to fuck off though

user-inactivated  ·  3055 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yeah. It's really interesting how realtors will list properties to make them seem better than they are. If there are photos taken under low light or weird angles, chances are they're trying to hide a flaw in the room. If the place has 3 bedrooms listed but the majority of the photos are of the living room and renovated kitchen, the rest might be questionable. If it's a larger house and there's only five or six photos total, not even enough to cover the entire place, something is really suspect. On and on. Apartment hunting seems to be similar.

Also, that rental company sounds shit crazy. I can't believe they would do something like that in general, let alone to a person who basically says "Hey. Don't call me."

arguewithatree  ·  3055 days ago  ·  link  ·  

right? like hey your rentals are not that great. harassing potential renters is the wrong way to go about it because i WILL hit your social media and cost you other potential renters. i had phone calls and emails almost constantly for about a week before they stopped.

weirdly enough, i think it's the opposite for apartments. i've found that extremely bright photos are a bad sign because it means they're trying to hide an absence of natural light. you can also almost hide the fact that they have that nasty vinyl fake hardwood with enough additional light too.

kleinbl00  ·  3055 days ago  ·  link  ·  

lovelylisting.blogspot.com

Used to be great. Then Cheezburger bought it. Then the owner bailed.