Does anyone else *not* live in a 200K+ house?

[disneysteve]

A friend of ours just sold a house in L.A. that he inherited. It was an early 1960's ranch that was literally falling apart - it was a real mess, in a not terribly desirable area. It sold for $477,000. The people who bought it thought it was a great deal.

Could that have been what around here we call a "knock-down?" Folks buy a place just to get the property, knock down the existing home and build a new one.

 

[ntburns22]

Wow, I think I need your appraisers. We bought our house last year for 127,500. It is about 2200 sqft. We have a 2 car attached garage and a workshop that is attached to the other side of that. It could hold about 8 cars. We want to replace the siding and convert the workshop into a rec room. We are looking into different options to pay for this. We can not find an appraiser that would give us 150,000 for our house. I guess it really does matter where you live.

 

[mom2rb]

We paid 112,000 for our house 6 years ago. It is a starter home and we went FHA so we rolled most of the closing costs into that. Now the county says it is worth 130,000 but I could sell it for 125,000. I missed the date to protest this year. We pay 1270 a month but that is for the taxes and insurance plus we refinanced to a 15 year loan. The goal is to move into the dream house in 2 years. By then we will owe 85,000 on the house and will be able to have a nice down payment on the next one. I can buy my dream house here in the low 200,000. That is for a house with a large game room and a yard big enough for a pool. At DH's work they have been relocating people from NYC. These people feel like they have hit the lottery.

 

[SDFgirl]

Our starter home was just under 100K. We live in a nicer working-class neighborhood. Meaning, not the hoity-toity part of town, but nice and clean and friendly. Our home is about 1100 square feet.

We could probably afford more pretty soon, but we plan to stay here for 5 or 6 more years. I really like it here! And it's nice that we're not breaking our backs to make the mortgage payment.

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

If you find one under 200k in the NYC metro area, give me a call!

 

[FINFAN]

Built/closed on our house 1/94...$203... 2400 sq. ft. The last appraisal was 70% increase. Needless to say, no way could we buy our own home back. We are in Napervillle, west subburb of Chicago. With the cost of utilities these days, I can't even imagine a larger home...we are staying put unless job opportunities open up elsewhere, at least for the next 6 1/2 years 'till DS graduates HS.

 

[PneumaticTransit]

My starter home was $130K 3 years ago. It's a small house, not fancy at all. I just saw my neighbors house (same model) listed at $275K. Unbelievable. The housing market in Central Florida is aimed at New Englanders who are relocating after selling their houses for half a million bucks. I know very few people who live/work in my area that actually own a house. Most rent - can't blame them. I would never be able to afford my house now.

 

[SC Minnie]

i cannot fathom how people afford the house payments.

ITA There is a new neighborhood going up near the new HS being built and houses are STARTING at 500K There is another development that will be similar about 10 miles away. They are both expect to have 300-500 homes each. I can't figure out where these people work in this area?????? It certainly isn't where DH and I work.

 

[dvcgirl]

We've owned two homes in the past, one in NJ and one we built in PA both were over 200,000. Now we live in a 2 bedroom apartment but we're about to move into a beautiful 3 bedroom in the Orlando area this Friday!

After owning both an older and brand new house, I love living in an apartment. It's so much easier and cheaper then owning a home. Maybe we'll buy another house sometime in the future but for now we're happy with the life we have living in an apartment.

Yes, it is cheaper living in an apartment in the short run, but you aren't building any equity and you are at the mercy of the landlord. I see that you are moving to the Orlando area. Here in Orange County (not sure where you are moving), there is a major apartment shortage which is forecast to get worse as many apartment complexes are being converted to Condos and sold. That means that rental rates will go up because many, many people here are service industry workers and can no longer afford to buy a home.

The other problem with moderately priced apartment complexes in Orange and Osceola is that there is a disturbing amount of violent crime. Having moved here from NJ (and purchasing a home) about 18 months ago, I will admit that the high crime factor is something that we're not exactly thrilled with (who would be right?). If I had to rent in this area, I would probably look to rent a home (maybe this is what you are doing?), in a safe area.

I'm trying to frighten you, but depending on where you will be living in this area, you need to be a little more mindful of this kind of thing. I live in SouthWest Orange county in a really nice neighborhood, but I won't venture into local 7-11s after 9pm.

 

[Melrosgirl]

SC Minnie, I think for the most part it's just a matter of keeping up those house payments. The difference in a monthly payment on a $400,000 to a $500,000 home, for instance, isn't thousands of dollars a month, so people just look at it that way. Hey, it's only $700 per month more than that cheaper house down the road. That's the mentality.

Watch when the economy goes downhill again though...many houses go on the market.

Of course, there are those select few who really can afford it (i.e., pay cash). The new houses around here start at $300K. Most with what I call decent amenities (upgrades), lol, start at $400K. It's the cost of lumber and the fact that people are willing to pay it I guess.

 

[nativetxn]

I think we paid 92K for our house when we built it. That was in 1986, though and the assessed value has more than doubled since then.

Katholyn

 

[we3disneygo]

we live in a ranch style house that was built in the 50's, we have a nice corner double lot. we paid in the neighborhood of the 60's.....we have lived here 3 yrs. and are already thinking of starting to look around, but just put dd12 in private school which is close to our house.

 

[Mom2be]

We bought our first house which many would consider a started home for $160K in 2003 - it is now worth over $200K in the St. Louis area.

~Amanda

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

I live in an apartment. It's impossible to find houses around here for less than $200K.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

We are in an apartment.

For us to purchase a home in an area we would want to be in (central location, safe area) we would pay close to $300 K. That's what the houses around the elementary school are going for. Ironically, most of those kids go to private schools! We wouldn't want a huge house, either. 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1 living area would work great for us. Garage optional! They are in very short supply. The less expensive homes are tiny - 2 bedroom, 1 bath. Sometimes the 1 car garage has been converted to a den or an extra bedroom, but still very tiny.

DH really wants to buy a house, but I don't want to drive 25 miles to get to work every day and I don't want to live next door to a crack dealer. The apartment thing is working pretty well for me!

 

[numbercruncher]

Bought 3 BR, 3 BA with full basement. 2300 sqft heated. In an nice sub with sidewalks, underground utilites. We paid a whopping $128,000 for it two years ago. County tax $475.00 - City Tax $425.00 Total taxes $900.00

 

[DisFlan]

Could that have been what around here we call a "knock-down?" Folks buy a place just to get the property, knock down the existing home and build a new one.

I thought that might be the case, too, Steve. From what my friend told me, the buyers didn't seem that type. They said they planned to "fix it up". I just couldn't imagine paying nearly a half mil for what was pretty close to a pile of rubble! But I guess in an inflated market, you buy what you can. My friend was suprised it wasn't considered a health hazard.

Even tho is was a piece of junk, the place sold in a VERY short time after hitting the market. Housing in L.A. must be really tight.

DisFlan

 

[pixiemomma]

Yep, I do. What you buy for $200k around here isn't much more than what we have. (we have equity) In fact 600k gets you the same house I grew up in, simply newer. (My parents paid 70k for theirs in 1978) My life is not a house. I do not want real estate to be what defines my life.

 

[delilah]

The house we live in now cost just a little more than $200K. It is on 2 wooded acres, surrounded by a ravine on 3 sides. We have 5 BR, 3 baths, probably 3000 sq ft. We have hardwood floors in all areas except the kitchen and downstairs family room. It takes about 30-40 minutes for my husband to commute to his job in downtown Indianapolis. I can't imagine how much our house would cost elsewhere, but, housing is much less expensive in our area than on the NE side of Indianapolis, where "everybody" wants to live. Not me, sister. I like buying nice things on the cheap.

 

[dvcgirl]

I thought that might be the case, too, Steve. From what my friend told me, the buyers didn't seem that type. They said they planned to "fix it up". I just couldn't imagine paying nearly a half mil for what was pretty close to a pile of rubble! But I guess in an inflated market, you buy what you can. My friend was suprised it wasn't considered a health hazard.

Even tho is was a piece of junk, the place sold in a VERY short time after hitting the market. Housing in L.A. must be really tight.

DisFlan

Well, if I was looking to buy right about now....I'd sit tight. All indicators are pointing to a housing cooldown....not a sharp drop mind you. But the days of double digit gains a *quarter* are over for some time.

We are already seeing it here. In April of this year there were 2,700 homes on the market in the greater metro Orlando area. Now...a short 8 months later....7,700 homes. Realtors keep saying that it's still a great time to sell! And yes, it may be better than in previous decades, but we're flipping over to a buyer's market, and not so quietly either.

USA Today just wrote a story on this today. While a professor at UCLA says that the cooldown shouldn't trigger an economic resession, a slowdown is coming for sure.

Other disturbing facts in that article, 300,000 jobs in the housing sector will be lost in years to come. 500,000 job in financial services. And a fair number of manufacturing jobs as well.

Since 9/11 it has been housing that has held this country up. It has created thousands of jobs, but also lots and lots of equity. Unfortunately, a lot of people are going overboard and used their homes as an ATM machine. This year 72% of all refiances will be "cash-out" refis, and over 200 BILLION dollars in equity will be pulled out of peoples' homes. Next year's forecast...116 billion, that's going to be quite a hit to consumer spending.

The days of buying and quickly flipping properties are over. Now, buy a home and plan to live in it for a pretty long time. And there are other ramifications that will hit folks too. So many people have bought recently using very risky mortgage products like the "interest only" mortgage. Well, those folks are in for a tough time because rates are on the rise, and many people may end up locking in to find out that they owe more than their homes are worth.

Here's the full USA Today article for anyone who is interested.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2005-12-07-ucla_x.htm