Question

The following is a question from an anonymous comment. Some of you out there ought to have some good advice to help this person out.

I guess I don't know why I'm commenting other than out of pure frustration. I own a home in a major metro area, a townhome, bought 5 years ago with a regular fixed rate mortgage, money down, did everything the right way. Pay all bills on time, good credit. Had to move out of state for a job and now looking to lose 40k on the house, we had an offer and the guy backed out two weeks before closing (I know, awesome). I want some "expert" to tell me what we're supposed to do, foreclose like everyone else or pay off 40k for the next 30 years on a house we don't live in? Seriously, we bought a house because rates we're good, and normally houses are investments, every payment we make on it now we may as well be burning for heat. It's losing value every day. Anyone have any ideas, and things we could have done in the past are not helpful. Thanks.

Pimpin' Howard Out Again

Pimpin' Howard Out Again

Our not so friendly neighbor is a San Francisco Bay Area transplant. I am sure he thought he could leave his bay area mortgage behind and move to a cheaper house in the valley, and make some big bucks since the over-inflated market was going so strong. Now he is stuck. And for some reason Howard loves to hike his leg in this man's yard. As much as I don't care for the guy, and wish he'd reconsider a taking up a San Francisco home loan, I do not let Howard do as he wishes. I guess my revenge is that our lease is up in 3 months, and we will most likely be moving. Who knows? Maybe the cheerleaders have some friends? Fortunately for him, the lady that we rent from is very persnickety.

Back to the real estate issue. How low will this market go? I keep thinking houses in the San Joaquin Valley will go back down to 1998 prices. People may just be better off staying in San Francisco and refinancing. Let's face it...those who live in San Francisco live there for a reason. They love it. The weather. The scenery. The arts/entertainment. The Rock. Angel Island. The Haight Ashbury district where it is fascinating to people watch. Fisherman's Wharf. Chinatown - don't go there alone. Pier 39. You get the picture. And there are many other things I have left out which you can leave to your imagination. I'll just say this: I've never seen a purple Santa Claus anywhere else.

95% a Good Return?

Joe Bob and Jim Bob are not happy with their sub-prime home loans.

Can someone explain why, if 95 % of the people are making their mortgage payments on time, there is all kinds of panic on the street? In my wonderful world 95% is pretty darn good, and I will take that any day for a return. So what is the problem here?

Like any wiseguy out there I have a couple of theories...one would be that the 95% of people on time have mortgages from many many years ago and are not upside down. They did not go out and buy a Hummer with their home equity. The other would be that the 5% that are late make up a huge part of outstanding debt since a lot of these loans given were given to people who should have never had a loan to begin with, and their houses were in the $400,000 range and above. The 95% on time might owe 50% of value on a home and have resonable payments, and the poor 5% have dug a HUGE hole for themselves.

What do all of you experts say?

Waterfront Living

Is waterfront property worth more than non-waterfront property? Bwwahahahahaa! Of course it is. Unless that waterfront property happens to be a sewer, which believe it or not I did find a subdivision next to a water treatment plant. Unless that is the case, most waterfront property is very expensive which means you have to have $$$. In order to have $$$ you might want to own your own business, which means you have to rent office space somewhere, and heck Monmouth County doesn't look too shabby.

Are you a rocket scientist, or perhaps a brain surgeon? According to previous loans handed out it would appear that many homeowners are in such professions. Nevertheless, you may need to rent a place in a retail shopping center to hone your craft. Let's face it, the Super-Walmart crowd is not your target audience, and I don't think you will have to worry about finding Walmarts in class A professional office buildings.

You can get your eyes checked at a Walmart, but I don't think you can get an MRI or CT Scan of your brain at one. The last time I checked anyway. Maybe soon you will be able to get a neurology consultation too!

Throw a Dart

Do you ever get the notion to just move somewhere else? I do and I have done my fair share of moving around the USA (read the blog entries from a year ago). The next time I do move, I will not be doing all of the work myself! That is a scene I do not wish to revisit. A residential mover is the only way to go.

I recommend hiring a relocation service that can also temporarily store your goods while you figure out if you're going to buy or rent a home. I also like to look into other areas to live just for the fun of it I use companies like this one to see what other cities are like.

Just throw a dart at the map and go, but be sure to blindfold yourself first. If you hit Iceland, USA, go for the best out of three, four, five, or whatever it takes. Or maybe you like cold climates and you hit Arizona, just keep throwing the dart! Seriously, don't do that.

Anyone have a good moving story? Feel free to share in the comments.

TEXAS

I'm not even going to pretend to know the real estate market in Texas, but like any other place right now it is not immune to foreclosures. For some reason, when the times get tough in California, all of a sudden everyone knows someone who is moving to Texas or somewhere like it and then attempt to turn it into the mess they left behind in California. Some places are worse than others, but I think the larger cities would be better because of the jobs that a large city offers. Houston would be a good choice, because its close to the Gulf of Mexico. I've driven through Houston and thought it looked like a nice place, but then any place looks great when you're on vacation. Heh.

Another choice would be Austin. My wife has relatives there who relocated from southern California and they love it. The other choice would be Dallas due to all it has to offer. Like any big city it has its problems including a lot of foreclosures.

Do you live in Texas? What's the real estate market like? I've heard it has held on, but then you don't hear much about it.

On Vacation

You know what you need? A vacation. Your life is tough, and I would not want to be you! People just don't appreciate you. Someone is always breathing their hot, stank air down your neck and it's about time they find out what it is like to be without you for a few days. Hand them a tic tac on your way out the office door to your vacation destination. Honestly, you just need to take some time to think about your life and feel the cool, fresh air of freedom for once.

I myself like to take vacations by car and usually within a days drive. I can get out of my car, give my best Chevy Chase/Grand Canyon nod and head on out to the next stop. Some people would rather fly to a place further away, for instance Costa Rica. I hear its very nice there. There are so many choices as where to stay you can stay...in a hotel...rent a house. You can even have a vacation home that you own and rent out when you're not staying there.

I like to think of a vacation as my way of sticking it to the man. Get away from the rude, stressed-out people and join the happy, relaxed vacationers. Jimmy Buffett is waiting for you.

San Diego is Waiting for You

If your wife is anything like mine, and living on a boat in the Pacific Ocean is NOT an option, then you need to check out this San Diego real estate website.

You can get a San Diego foreclosure list by clicking HERE. Also, if you are an individual facing foreclosure in the San Diego area they offer services directed toward your individual circumstances and are experts on the North Park San Diego, Point Loma, and Pacific Beach markets.

This is a great time to place a for sale sign on the old snow blower, and pitch the snow shovel where it belongs...in the trash. You know you've been wanting to move to a warmer climate, and San Diego is not too shabby. Warm sunshine, sandy beaches, close to the mountains and desert.

The Valentines Wreath

It's February. Don't tell me those are Valentines Wreaths.

Enjoy

Just a reminder to stop and enjoy life...

but don't enjoy it too much.

Politicians

Howard has a bad habit. He howls at the telephone like the lone wolf if we don't jump up and answer it after the first two rings. Needless to say, he is exhausted from having to field all of the John McCain and Mitt Romney calls. He wishes the Do Not Call list applied to politicians as well, but then politicians never have to live by the laws they create.