real estate boom

[movie zombie]

another perspective and more food for thought:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20050617/bs_usatoday/moresellhomestolockinbiggains

peace, movie zombie

 

[Mara]

the problem with selling high and buying low is that you have to leave to buy low...go elsewhere. for many that''s not an option.

selling, banking a profit and then renting would be tough...you''d have to find a place that you''d like to live in and pay rent that would be less than your mortgage for it to seemingly let you keep your ''nest egg'' intact?

 

[movie zombie]

Mara, i was appalled at the rents these people are paying. however, they may also not want the responsibility of upkeep on a bigger home...assuming they moved into smaller units which most older homeowners do. of course, we don''t know their other sources of income and/or if they have investments that supplement their lifestyle. $128K didn''t seem like that big a nest egg to me.....better than nothing! but not huge.

also, some people do sell and take their profits to buy in an area where real estate is less pricey....like the guy who''s going to move to texas. but that means leaving behind friends and perhaps family.

its always a mixed bag of things to juggle when making these decisions, isn''t it?!

peace, movie zombie

 

[Mara]

exactly mz! i mean paying 2800 on a rental and pocketing 125k in a nest egg? that rent seems high to me and that nest egg too small! but yes, who knows what other things are going on, maybe that is just a supplement. but paying 2800 in rent? you would not find me doing that, what a waste IMO.

this article prompted me to start looking online at north carolina homes...something we have been talking about for the last few years is moving out of state to somewhere that is closer to greg's family for about 5-7 years, also it would enable us to take the profit (if there is one when we move!) from here and get a better quality of living elsewhere. we'd like to have a small condo here if we leave so we can have some type of property to come back to, easier to return then.

who knows, i love looking at new homes, i was a tract home kid..lived in a spate of new homes since i was 10, is it any surprise we gravitated towards a new townhouse when we bought 1.5 years ago. just easier to take care of than an older place, esp if you don't know what the future holds in terms of permanency.

funny how even the north carolina homes have gone up since i last looked at them a year ago. a 2700 sq ft house on an acre is 350k now in raleigh, but a year ago it was more like 270k. definitely some appreciation going on there. i'm checking out www.tollbrothers.com, i like their architecture and floor plans.

but yes moving away does mean leaving friends and family (mine) so that is something that has kept us from really thinking seriously about it as of yet. also the weather here in CA is so nice if you are used to it (well not lately). N. Carolina seems like a good blend of various things, tech work in the triangle, not too cold winters, not too horrible summers, close to Greg's fam in the east coast. tempting but who knows. i know other friends of ours are thinking of it too...time will tell! at this point it's just a sliver of a thought.

 

[movie zombie]

Mara, excellent plan to keep a place in california! i''ve known too many people, including family, that left the state only to find that when they wanted to come back, they really couldn''t. they''d sunk their $$$ into housing out of state and the inflation rate on homes there did not keep up with california real estate.....so they couldn''t afford to buy if they returned. rents had also gone up and they were forced to stay put out of state.

we own a very very very small under 700 sf!] house in chico. and i do mean own as it is paid for. every once in a while i think about selling it as that market has more than doubled our investment in the 4-5 years we''ve owned it. but, the place is sort of like security in the back of my mind. if we decide to leave the country [husband is australian], it would be an excellent back up place. we never buy anything we wouldn''t be willing to live in. and while it is small, it has a great lot and excellent soil for gardening. if we every live there, it would be a very stripped down lifestyle and i''d be growing my own veggies pretty much year round.

peace, movie zombie

 

[fire&ice]

North Carolina is a little slice of Heaven.

Raleigh homes have appreciated; but, are still very affordable. My parents just sold their home (3500+s.f.) in Raleigh & are moving into a rental house (1800 s.f.) near the beach. Granted, their nest egg is significantly more than mentioned, but they WANT to rent. Been homeowners all their life. They are renting a house that my sister is building. She will probably charge them near what her mortage is - certainly a lot less than 2800.00. This is their choice currently. They will probably move into a retirement assisted care facility. They just aren''t ready at 81. Those places are just for old people.

They are loving this arrangement & my sister is letting them pick out all their colors, etc.

 

[Kamuelamom]

F&I sounds like a nice arrangement for your folks.