Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: MoneyPenny who wrote (176703)	1/13/2009 10:48:23 AM
From: Snowshoe	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 306849

>>Huge problems with Chinese drywall and health.<< Never heard of that before, but I see it's covered in today's WSJ... Chinese Drywall Cited in Building Woes Article By MICHAEL CORKERY REAL ESTATE JANUARY 12, 2009 Some home builders already struggling in Florida's dismal housing market are facing another headache: The Chinese-made drywall they used is causing unpleasant odors and possibly leading to electric problems in dozens of homes constructed during the housing boom. A handful of builders and environmental consultants are investigating whether the drywall, a wide flat board used to create interior walls, is emitting sulfur-based gases that may be corroding air-conditioner coils, computer wiring and metal picture frames. more: online.wsj.com

To: MoneyPenny who wrote (176703)	1/13/2009 12:14:56 PM
From: GraceZ	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 306849

Your attitude towards that NE quarter of CC is well documented but I appreciate the warning. -G- There were a dozen houses all over CC at that level. I was trying to figure out if that 50k level was just a way to sucker people into a short sale that eventually has to go off at a higher level. I have a fondness for the 50k level because it gets you into cash flow neutral territory with a very low rent. I hear you on the drywall issue. It's funny but I tend to think of houses down there as having no drywall in them but I know that can't be true, surely closets and bathrooms aren't built in block and then there is the ceiling which in a Florida house is particularly important because it functions as the skin between you and the unbearable heat inside the attic. Drywall doesn't scare me primarily in that I married a drywall hanger. We've replaced most of the drywall in our own house even though we didn't have Chinese drywall. Light fixtures and plumbing always need upgrading and there are lots of times where replacing the drywall takes less time and looks better than patching it. Nothing cheaper in the universe than drywall and the houses in Cape Coral are so small that one could replace it all with little additional cost. I was just glad to see houses at that 50k level (although I'm sure you don't share my glee since you live down there). You have to figure that exactly half the Boomers are facing a future of retirement with nothing more than their SS payments. I found it reassuring that some aging person of modest means, like my father, can still live out their aged years in a sunny warm place like Cape Coral. I'm not sure if you looked at the listing. I was a little surprised it had no appliances or air conditioner since the kitchen looked finished. Have thieves been stripping out the houses in the hinterlands? A contractor I talked to down there told me that his average budget on a rehab for 4 kitchen appliances was $1800! I imagine the builders even come in under that with the low end houses.