topic Re: Anyone else not experiencing "a buyers market"? in Mortgage Loans

Anyone else not experiencing "a buyers market"?

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:33:23 GMT

We were pre-approved in mid-October. We immediately found a place we liked. Wasted 6 weeks on a nightmare FSBO. By early December, we were back on the MLS. There is NOTHING OUT THERE!!!! Whatever is left is garbage! OR the seller is unreasonable!! Or the seller bought at the peak of the market...has to move...but is underwater...!! Our area even has a foreclosure grant being offered. You get an automatic $14k against the principal at closing plus up to an extra $25K depending on your credit scores. All foreclosures left need to be torn down or its in a horrible area. We are very frustrated!!

Our poor Realtor, keeps going to bat for us with our offers, but the sellers aren't even countering. Or shes pushing for us to take a couple foreclosures.

Anyone else discouraged??

Re: Anyone else not experiencing "a buyers market"?

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 03:03:39 GMT

some markets people are stuc in bidding wars and some they can not find a house worth bidding on. IT just depends upon your location. I alwasy look at the process as a year long process. A month or two to get things together, 6 months to look, 2 months to close, and another 2 months getting moved and settled in. I know we bough in Oct of 08 and started looking in January of 08.

Re: Anyone else not experiencing "a buyers market"?

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 06:06:35 GMT

And what area is this that you are referring too?

@Anonymous wrote:
We were pre-approved in mid-October. We immediately found a place we liked. Wasted 6 weeks on a nightmare FSBO. By early December, we were back on the MLS. There is NOTHING OUT THERE!!!! Whatever is left is garbage! OR the seller is unreasonable!! Or the seller bought at the peak of the market...has to move...but is underwater...!! Our area even has a foreclosure grant being offered. You get an automatic $14k against the principal at closing plus up to an extra $25K depending on your credit scores. All foreclosures left need to be torn down or its in a horrible area. We are very frustrated!!

Our poor Realtor, keeps going to bat for us with our offers, but the sellers aren't even countering. Or shes pushing for us to take a couple foreclosures.
Anyone else discouraged??

Re: Anyone else not experiencing "a buyers market"?

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 12:07:51 GMT

Here in the Atlanta area, we started in August of 09 and closed on our HUD home on Jan 15 2010, there were bidding wars on alot of move in ready property's here..so the process was alittle painful....

Re: Anyone else not experiencing "a buyers market"?

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:20:55 GMT

Yep...... We are in the same boat here. Everything we find is over priced as people are upside down. It is very frustrating as I want to be able to invest in a home and make some money in 10 years or so. But for the prices I don't think we would come out on top. We are scared to look at Short Sales cause I hear horror stories and the waiting would keep us on edge. Good luck and hope you find something!

Re: Anyone else not experiencing "a buyers market"?

Watchmann — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:30:04 GMT

Real estate, like politics, is local. Where I live in TX there is a good supply of good homes, probably more than usual. But this area never went crazy in house prices. It's area dependent.

Re: Anyone else not experiencing "a buyers market"?

Watchmann — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:36:18 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
It is very frustrating as I want to be able to invest in a home and make some money in 10 years or so. But for the prices I don't think we would come out on top.

That is the wrong basis to buy a house and is one reason why we had the housing debacle. Look at housing as a place to live, bring up a family, and enjoy as your personal space. DO NOT look at it as an investment. If you make some money, great, but that should not be very high on your list of why you buy a home.

Re: Anyone else not experiencing "a buyers market"?

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 17:47:22 GMT

@Watchmann wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
It is very frustrating as I want to be able to invest in a home and make some money in 10 years or so. But for the prices I don't think we would come out on top.
That is the wrong basis to buy a house and is one reason why we had the housing debacle. Look at housing as a place to live, bring up a family, and enjoy as your personal space. DO NOT look at it as an investment. If you make some money, great, but that should not be very high on your list of why you buy a home.

Maybe you see it different than I do, but I think buying a house is an investment. My first house I bought, I was underwater and had to pay to sell it as I was relocating for a job. I do not want to experience that again. Many people see a house as both a place to live in and raise a family all the while having the property appreciate in value as a stepping stone to get the house of their dreams. I am sorry but thats my 2 cents. The housing debacle was caused by people thinking they could afford a house and could not.

Re: Anyone else not experiencing "a buyers market"?

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:04:19 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Watchmann wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
It is very frustrating as I want to be able to invest in a home and make some money in 10 years or so. But for the prices I don't think we would come out on top.
That is the wrong basis to buy a house and is one reason why we had the housing debacle. Look at housing as a place to live, bring up a family, and enjoy as your personal space. DO NOT look at it as an investment. If you make some money, great, but that should not be very high on your list of why you buy a home.

Maybe you see it different than I do, but I think buying a house is an investment. My first house I bought, I was underwater and had to pay to sell it as I was relocating for a job. I do not want to experience that again. Many people see a house as both a place to live in and raise a family all the while having the property appreciate in value as a stepping stone to get the house of their dreams. I am sorry but thats my 2 cents. The housing debacle was caused by people thinking they could afford a house and could not.

You're both right.

OP, where are you located? And when does the foreclosure grant money program expire? From the sound of it, your area got hit hard when the bubble burst.

Re: Anyone else not experiencing "a buyers market"?

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:10:38 GMT

Choco. Trying to buy right now based on possible profit is a bad idea. The housing market in most areas will probably stagnate or drop more over the next year and may be a few years before it truly recovers. By the time you recover fees to sell in a few years, the chance of turning a profit on anything less than 10 years is negligable. The idea that real estate is an investment is a long term plan. In a normal market, you can make enough on a home in 10 years to sell, pay the costs, and have a bit of cash left over. In the inflated market of the last 10 years people were expecting this in 2-3 years. In the current market, a home is just not a good short term investment if you think you will need to be out in anything less than 10 years.

Re: Anyone else not experiencing "a buyers market"?

Anonymous — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 00:25:20 GMT

We are currently located in the Memphis/North Ms area. Memphis was hit VERY HARD by the crisis. There are whole subdivisions of new homes that sit empty. We are house hunting in a rural area in north MS. Contact your states housing dept to see if you have a similar foreclosure program. This area NEVER had a state tax credit program...like a loan against it. But they are offering $$ if you buy a foreclosure.

Re: Anyone else not experiencing "a buyers market"?

laz98 — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 05:56:34 GMT

i actually live in an area where real estate was not affected at all by the economy. same as usual.

Re: Anyone else not experiencing "a buyers market"?

ArmyStrong — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 13:30:21 GMT

Like MrDent, I am in the middle of the "bidding wars" of the Atlanta area. VERY fustrating to say the least. Seems like even when I "win" the bid, I don't win! I started looking in earnest in October of 09, been through multiple bidding wars, "won" one, lost it,

see here: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=loans&thread.id=60668, and now continue the search. I am again just about ready to give up on getting a good deal on a foreclosure and go w/new construction. I've learned a lot along the way that should serve me well when I finally do get there, but PHEW!! What a learning curve!! Is a so-called "buyers market" really a buyers market when there's so many "buyers"? And don't let me get started on the "investors". I saw an earlier home I bid on and lost, change hands and was back on the MLS for $40k more than the original foreclosure listing within a matter of DAYS!

Re: Anyone else not experiencing "a buyers market"?

Anonymous — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 22:33:40 GMT

You will find something, ArmyStrong..I was like that as well, we bid on alot of homes, only to lose the bids,, there was alot of ups and downs...but I hung in there. alot of the homes we did bid on. end up coming back on the market...this home we got, we were actually the backup bid, the winning bid didnt get the contract in, so they offered it to us, and now we own it...So it will happen for you....

Message Edited by MrDent on 01-24-2010 05:33 PM