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Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MulhollandDrive who wrote (1657)	2/19/2002 6:46:57 PM
From: patron_anejo_por_favor	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

<<Renting will cost you $22,484 less than owning over the 5 years, in today's dollars.>> That's HUGE, especially if we continue to see CPI deflation and rising ST interest rates!<NG>

To: MulhollandDrive who wrote (1657)	2/19/2002 7:28:19 PM
From: Tradelite	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

Mrs. Peel....did you have access to Stock Fairy's personal financial data (income, tax bracket, whether he planned to use a fixed rate mortgage, adjustable rate mortgage, FHA or VA loan, pay points or not pay points on his loan, or buy with seller financing)--and did you know he planned to move in 5 years--and did you factor in any possible rent increases-- in order to determine what he might make or save in that rent vs. buy scenario? If you didn't, is your analysis valid?

To: MulhollandDrive who wrote (1657)	2/19/2002 7:37:35 PM
From: J. P.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

3500 bucks maintenance for 5 years on a 300K home? Wow, that's getting away cheaper than most of my friends. But they wanted to do stuff like put in back patios, fences, repave driveways, new roofs, hardwood floors, painting and stuff like that.

To: MulhollandDrive who wrote (1657)	2/19/2002 11:58:09 PM
From: y2kate	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 306849

I've owned my house in L.A. for almost 6 years- the price in my neighborhood has appreciated substantially. From a purchase price of just under $300K, it has just been appraised at just under $700K. And with MINIMAL investment- all we've done is some painting and landscaping. So for my 20% down- $60,000.00- I've made (on paper) around $400,000.00- minus mortgage, taxes, etc. The first house I bought in L.A.-in the mid/late-80's- also more than doubled within a few years. I sold it in '90 and rented until '96, when I bought my current house. I realize I was lucky- coincidentally, here in L.A. the real estate market tanked from about '91- '96. Still, from where I sit, it's crazy NOT to buy real estate, especially in Southern California. If you can get a good home in a good neighborhood during a soft market, it's a no-brainer. Could the market crash? Sure. But I get to live in a great house in a great neighborhood at a reasonable monthly payment- locked in at 6 1/2 percent. And I get at least the possibility of a return on equity far greater than most anything else a non-finance major, with no close relatives on Wall Street, can accomplish in their spare time- at least during a bear market! Not to mention quality of life issues. It's kind of sad to me- reading about some of the people here who seem clearly financially able are renting solely out of fear of some supposedly imminent real estate crash. I think you're all scaring each other. And I don't think good decisions are made out of fear. Besides, where else are you going to put your money- in the STOCK MARKET??? <g> Who was it that said, real estate isn't the best way, it's the only way to make money (?) It has proven true, so far at least, in my case. (Now if only I hadn't thrown away some of my REAL estate profits in the illusory, hype-driven,UN-REAL stock market...!)