Of course right after we sign our new 6 month lease....with a 3 month rent penalty for early termination...we start seeing some nice looking properties that fit our budget.
There is the price range I browse....up to around 25% over what I would like to pay......since, by my calculations, these houses should eventually be in our price range.
And there is the price range we would feel comfortable making an offer on (under $450). Thus far, they have been pretty few and far between...but lately hubby and I have been sending each other at least one or two new listings a week. Most are older houses without all the superfluous trimmings....but that is pretty much what we are looking for.
This reminds me of when I was dating back in college....it seemed the times I attracted the most interest was when I was already in a relationship.
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8 comments:
Oh well. 6 months isn't long, and I'm sure you'll end up saving money for your wait.
Ha, I was just explaining that law to my grandkid: best time to find a job is when you have a job, best time to find a boyfriend is when you have a boyfriend.
I'm depressed today. One of the homes I'm tracking, the most reasonably priced in the lot, lowered their price a further 25K. That puts them about 70K lower than the other three, but still about 75K above what I'd consider a fair price. I don't think the house will sell, but if it does, these sellers almost deserve it because at least they're leading down.
I should probably do another drive by on that house and scope out the neighborhood a little more scrupulously, and also check out one of the ones nearby that I haven't driven by yet. These two are in Elk Grove, in the older part, and I'd really rather live North of the river, but the prices are coming down a lot faster in Elk Grove and they are the Strengs that I really like.
Cmyst, where's the area with lots of Strengs that you're talking about doing drive throughs?
C - And why are you depressed about prices dropping? I thought that was the whole idea of us waiting this out.
PR - Its all mental....call me a typical woman if you want. When I "can't" pull the trigger, I want to....then when I can, I get cold feet, cause I know the market has a long way to drop.
buying time, I hope you have a sweet lease deal because 3 month penalty for early termination is way too high. Or are rentals also sitting vacant these days in your area? I just got a 12 month lease with a one month penalty up in Roseville. I think a one month penalty is reasonable for early termination on any residential lease (assuming it is for 12 mo's or less).
On the plus side, though, it will keep you locked in for a few more months while these prices keep plunging. The ARM-reset party is just getting started....
AB: Yes, these rental fees you're paying are nothing compared to the money you're saving on a house purchase, just by waiting.
We're renewing our lease today -- the owners wanted 12 months, we said 6 months (not wanting a long commitment). They went for it without argument.
Probably we should have asked for a rent reduction, but we didn't want to push it: there aren't a lot of decent rentals out here in the boonies, and we really didn't want to move into town.
BTW, my little database shows asking prices out here (95614) down an average of 6.2% since February. About half of the price reductions have occurred since 1 July.
Holy Cow. I thought Knights Landing was out in the boonies.
BT -- I'm depressed because even with them dropping their price and leading down, I don't feel that it's a good time yet to ask to see the house. It's too early. Maybe all those crazy REIC folk are right; maybe I'm "scared" to buy. But the only thing scaring me is that I'm almost dead certain that if I buy now, in another year or two the price will have dropped about 100K.
PR -- if you want to see some Streng clusters, try Northeast Circle in Citrus Heights, Wildflower Circle in Carmichael or if you want to be REALLY impressed, head off of Fair Oaks Blvd. towards the river on Wilhaggin and just wander around or go to American River Dr and turn left.
In Elk Grove, there are Strengs off of Elk Grove Blvd/Elk Grove-Florin Rd. concentrated off Kelsey Dr, Williamson Dr. and Superb Circle.
You'll see the same basic models and similar square footages, but obviously in the Arden area the yards are much bigger and the neighborhoods are a lot more upscale now, so the average prices there are in the 600's and the average prices in these other areas are in the high 300's now (used to be low 400's).
I especially like the Wildflower Circle neighborhood. It's small, tidy, and private.
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