Renting vs. Buying

[RockRaines]

I agree. With cars, the market is typically more patient. With housing, however, the sellers are typically far less sophisticated (even with broker representation) and constrained by personal deadlines. That is a great point on a short term closing. If you have the means to close on a deal in 2 weeks or less, you possess a significant advantage over many other buyers. There is a good chance you can knock more off the price by eliminating that extra 3-4 weeks of uncertainty associated with a conventional closing timeline.

 

When did you close on your home, Rock?

I closed in Nov of 2005. Knocked off almost 25k of an identical unit that had been sold a few months before.

[Balta1701]

Another thing to keep an eye on, there's a rumor that the President is in his final SOTU address (Man it feels good to say that) this coming Monday is going to endorse a National Association of Realtors proposal for a $5000 tax credit for first time home buyers. If that even gets considered by Congress, keep an eye on it, cause it could save you a chunk also.

[Pants Rowland]

Update on the housing market. Ugh!

 

http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/29/news/econo...sion=2008012913

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Just wanted to point out, on the topic of the housing market, that not only are there huge regional and even neighborhood variations in market strength... there is also at times a difference in property types. For example, I have some real estate in New Mexico and Wisconsin - undeveloped land, or now usually labeled "recreational land" - that seems to still be doing quite well, judging by the fast increases in prices around them. Also, condos may be doing better than houses or vice versa, etc.

 

There are just so many factors in play depending on the real estate in question.

 

[RockRaines]

Update on the housing market. Ugh!

 

http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/29/news/econo...sion=2008012913

I hope everyone on here understands that these reports bring areas like Detroit, Miami, riverside, etc etc into the equation.

[max power]

That's a good point. In some areas last year, like seattle, the market was actually up.

 

I am a real estate broker and investor among other things. Right now I am buying up as much as I can because my strategy is to profit off monthly rental income and prices are low. So regardless of if they rebound, I will own all of my properties outright in 30 years and be able to retire. If prices do rebound and the market starts going nuts in 5 years or whatever your guess might be, I also have the option to refinance, use the cash, or sell. There is a lot I can do. My main point is though, in a market like this where everyone is thinking, oh crap the market sucks, you should consider(very carefully) buying investment property.

 

Also if I were thinking of living in house for a good amount of time, more than a few years, I would definitely buy Vs. rent. Even if I could foreseeably own and rent the property and I was going to move in less than that, ss long as that was profitable I'd do that too.

Edited January 30, 2008 by max power

[iamshack]

That's a good point. In some areas last year, like seattle, the market was actually up.

 

I am a real estate broker and investor among other things. Right now I am buying up as much as I can because my strategy is to profit off monthly rental income and prices are low. So regardless of if they rebound, I will own all of my properties outright in 30 years and be able to retire. If prices do rebound and the market starts going nuts in 5 years or whatever your guess might be, I also have the option to refinance, use the cash, or sell. There is a lot I can do. My main point is though, in a market like this where everyone is thinking, oh crap the market sucks, you should consider(very carefully) buying investment property.

 

Also if I were thinking of living in house for a good amount of time, more than a few years, I would definitely buy Vs. rent. Even if I could foreseeably own and rent the property and I was going to move in less than that, ss long as that was profitable I'd do that too.

 

Absolutely. The question is at what point do you buy...like Balta has pointed out several times, it looks as though this market will continue to worsen, so timing is everything when you're talking about maxing-out your investment potential.

[max power]

Eh, if you try to wait too long you may miss the boat entirely. If you are holding the property for a long time, like I said 5+ years, I think now is a good time to buy. A year from now I might be able to buy cheaper, and I will buy then too, should everything go right.