Re: Dems caused current problems

On Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:31:18 -0700, Islander <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

Thumper wrote:
On Wed, 9 Apr 2008 18:26:20 -0400, "Evelyn Ruut"
<evelyn.ruut@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"High Miles" <2Blues17@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:N9ednV93hK8rqWDanZ2dnUVZ_jadnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Evelyn Ruut wrote:
> All very well and good to say, but disastrous in actual effect.
There ARE people out there who trust that the bank will only lend them
what they can afford to pay. Not me and maybe not you, but there are
many who are trusting in that way. The mortgage people were unethical
in taking advantage of them, even if they themselves should have known
better.

Those same slimy lenders who actively sought sub prime borrowers, because
they assumed property would always increase in value, are the very
same babies crying to the fed for a bail out now that their bubble has
burst.

I don't think tax payers can afford to come to the aid of big lenders and
dumb home buyers. It will have to be one or the other.
Quite a few of the defaults in a neighboring township were huge houses,
already in forecloser, that speculators bought with zip down, hoping to
make a tidy buck as the places went up in price.
Didn't happen.
But then............the saying is...............BUYER be ware.


I worked as a bookkeeper for a large developer for a while, and at a certain
point they stopped building normal size homes and went for these huge
McMansions. I said to myself "just WHO is going to buy these huge places?
Who can afford to heat them and pay the taxes on them?" All the builders
got on board with the trend and for the last 15 years that has been the
norm.

Now there is a glut on the market of those big homes, some in foreclosure
and some that people just haven't bought. The young people are buying
condos or renting apartments because there are so few reasonably priced
smaller homes out there, and besides that, salaries have not kept up with
the construction industry.

I recently advised a developer who is a friend that he needs to build small
starter style homes. My friends in real estate tell me that there
definitely is a market for that. Two or three bedroom, one and a half bath
houses. The kind most folks grew up in. THAT is what is going to be
selling, especially when we really start to feel the crunch in paying for
Bush's war.


The problem is Evelyn that the building lots in many areas of the
country are $200,000 and up. My developer friend says that he can
still build starter homes but they would cost $400,000 on the lots he
can get here. When you get in that range for him to make a decent
return on investment he'll build the $500,000 houses first. In my
little city there is hardly any lots available. I know that lots are
less in the heartland but on both coasts they are very expensive.
In the early 70's there was a HUD program that built little box
houses, some as little as 800 square feet that sold for around
$14,000. Those houses now sell for $180,000 and up.
In my city the prices haven't really dropped. In fact the median
price went up a few percent. It does take a lot longer to sell now
and there simply are no starter homes for sale. People don't move
out of them unless they have to.
Thumper

The time worn expression in real estate investing is, "Buy land, they
are not making any more of it!" Many communities have attempted to
limit density through zoning and the downside of this is that it
prevents development of higher density housing. Ultimately, we run out
of affordable land and if we are to build affordable homes, we need to
look beyond the house in the burbs model. We need to make better use of
the land that we have, building more densely and saving the open space
for everyone to enjoy.


We have an old State Mental Hospital in that the city id developing
for mixed use now that it has been abandoned by the state. They are
in the process of trying to get approval for a higher density housing
development and will get federal money if it is ok'd. I'm in favor as
long as such developments get too big and become just another slum.
Thumper
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Dems caused current problems
    ... I don't think tax payers can afford to come to the aid of big lenders ... Quite a few of the defaults in a neighboring township were huge houses, ... point they stopped building normal size homes and went for these huge ... I recently advised a developer who is a friend that he needs to build ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Dems caused current problems
    ... There ARE people out there who trust that the bank will only lend them what they can afford to pay. ... I worked as a bookkeeper for a large developer for a while, and at a certain point they stopped building normal size homes and went for these huge McMansions. ... one and a half bath houses. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Dems caused current problems
    ... I don't think tax payers can afford to come to the aid of big lenders ... Quite a few of the defaults in a neighboring township were huge houses, ... certain point they stopped building normal size homes and went for these ... The term "High density" ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Dems caused current problems
    ... I don't think tax payers can afford to come to the aid of big lenders ... Now there is a glut on the market of those big homes, ... half bath houses. ... The term "High density" ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Dems caused current problems
    ... I don't think tax payers can afford to come to the aid of big lenders ... Quite a few of the defaults in a neighboring township were huge houses, ... certain point they stopped building normal size homes and went for these ... The term "High density" ...
    (soc.retirement)
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