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Parsnip Totin Jack

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Is madness! Our offer wasn’t accepted. There’s another house we like but it’s not on the market until Friday. We are thinking of submitting an early offer before then, but it won’t be a strong offer. There will be a bidding war by Sunday. At our current house, two families are coming to look this afternoon. It will probably sell today.

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2 minutes ago, Old No. 7 said:

Is madness! Our offer wasn’t accepted. There’s another house we like but it’s not on the market until Friday. We are thinking of submitting an early offer before then, but it won’t be a strong offer. There will be a bidding war by Sunday. At our current house, two families are coming to look this afternoon. It will probably sell today.

Honestly, renting may be the smart thing to do for a while.  In turbulent times and especially in bubbles, I would avoid adding to my risks by taking on a new property at or near historic highs.  Yes, real estate will almost always appreciate in the long term, unless this next home is "the home" for you over the next decade or more, it might be a bad time to buy.

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I am reluctant to buy but Wo7 wants to buy as she is tired of renting. I understand her feelings but I’m afraid that in three years we won’t be able to sell and I will be stuck with a mortgage that I can’t afford on my pension alone. I’d rather rent for the three years as I don’t know where the economy is going. With the current divisions among its citizens I don’t see much hope in the near future.

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24 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said:

I expect the bubble to get a bit bigger as the demand outpaces supply. I do not care if the market drops after we build. We are looking at a longer term commitment to our living situation.

Why do people keep referring to a bubble?  A bubble is a position potential economic collapse of a market or market segment.  Where is the real estate bubble?

Mortgages are not in jeopardy.  Mortgages are being created and paid and mortgages in arrears have not significantly escalated and certainly not to the point that it has put lenders in jeopardy.  Prices are increasing faster than inflation and the supply is strained but that is not a bubble.

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3 hours ago, Old No. 7 said:

I’d rather rent for the three years

If you keep making low offers, you will be renting. ;)

Friends of ours purchased (in November) a home north of Phoenix. Most homes are getting not going over the asking price, they get offers WAY over the asking price. 

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4 hours ago, Old No. 7 said:

I am reluctant to buy but Wo7 wants to buy as she is tired of renting. I understand her feelings but I’m afraid that in three years we won’t be able to sell and I will be stuck with a mortgage that I can’t afford on my pension alone. I’d rather rent for the three years as I don’t know where the economy is going. With the current divisions among its citizens I don’t see much hope in the near future.

Let me get this straight...you already own a home occupied by someone else?  And currrently you and wifey are living and renting somewhere else?  

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1 hour ago, shootingstar said:

Let me get this straight...you already own a home occupied by someone else?  And currrently you and wifey are living and renting somewhere else?  

No. We own no real estate. We have been renting here since 2017. I was reluctant to buy because retirement is near and twice before I’ve been stuck with a home that was difficult to sell. Our first house we bought was a condo. Value dropped $20k two years after we bought. Took 12 years to recover. The house in OH took a year to sell in 2017. I’m fun shy with real estate.

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21 minutes ago, Old No. 7 said:

No. We own no real estate. We have been renting here since 2017. I was reluctant to buy because retirement is near and twice before I’ve been stuck with a home that was difficult to sell. Our first house we bought was a condo. Value dropped $20k two years after we bought. Took 12 years to recover. The house in OH took a year to sell in 2017. I’m fun shy with real estate.

Then unless you move to a more potentially desirable area of the U.S. but with lower real estate prices now, then it looks like renting.  As long as you have enough to cover everything for the next 2-3 decades. What is your default plan if you/wifey (if you're not around) gets evicted?

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See if you can find an owner who is not yet willing to sell, but willing to rent with an option to apply all or some of the rent to the purchase price. 

If you get a good reference from your last landlord and have a very good credit rating, an owner might be willing to negotiate that to get tenants that look like they'll stay longer term, take care of the place, and not stick him with back payments.

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15 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

I guess I used the wrong word. I meant when a market for something decreases in a large way. Call it what you want but the RE market is like any other market and what goes up sometimes ones down. 

Yeah - I guess it's hard to explain "buying high, selling low" as a bad idea, but Old#7 gave a clear description of why that's shitty.  An overheated real estate market - low rates, easy money, limited supply, etc. - clearly leads to the problem for folks not intending to keep their property for many years of being upside down when the rates rise, money gets tighter, and supply exceeds demand.

Simply put, the market is on fire right now.  Anyone who buys now is in a position where they are not "dictating" the price, but instead reacting to the other folks bidding prices up.  If someone is in a short-term living situation - ie needs a place to live for the next few years, but not planning to stay for the long term, I'd say the risks are now outweighing the potential rewards.  Folks will be left holding a hot potato, and only those with the long term ability & willingness to wait for the the trough to be again replaced by a cresting wave will come out the other end ahead.  Or those with a VA loan are okay too, I guess.

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15 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

I guess I used the wrong word. I meant when a market for something decreases in a large way. Call it what you want but the RE market is like any other market and what goes up sometimes ones down. 

Yeah - I guess it's hard to explain "buying high, selling low" as a bad idea, but Old#7 gave a clear description of why that's shitty.  An overheated real estate market - low rates, easy money, limited supply, etc. - clearly leads to the problem for folks not intending to keep their property for many years of being upside down when the rates rise, money gets tighter, and supply exceeds demand.

Simply put, the market is on fire right now.  Anyone who buys now is in a position where they are not "dictating" the price, but instead reacting to the other folks bidding prices up.  If someone is in a short-term living situation - ie needs a place to live for the next few years, but not planning to stay for the long term, I'd say the risks are now outweighing the potential rewards.  Folks will be left holding a hot potato, and only those with the long term ability & willingness to wait for the the trough to be again replaced by a cresting wave will come out the other end ahead.  Or those with a VA loan are okay too, I guess.

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1 minute ago, Parr8hed said:

That's the plan for me too in about 5-6 years.  

My brother has his in a park. His truck isn’t big enough to pull it. I tried to talk him into one small enough for his F-150 to pull but he fell in love with this one. I guess he figures some day he will buy a bigger truck.

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26 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

My brother has his in a park. His truck isn’t big enough to pull it. I tried to talk him into one small enough for his F-150 to pull but he fell in love with this one. I guess he figures some day he will buy a bigger truck.

It's not a horrible idea (to not own a truck).  There is a facebook page devoted to travel nurses that have RV's.  Most of them have big RV's that they can drive, or a truck to pull a big 5th wheel.  But there is a good number of them that just pay someone to move it every assignment.  Spend a couple months at each place and pay a service to come move it and set it up in another state.  It would take quite a few moves to add up to the purchase price of a new truck.  And you don't have the headache of backing it in and setting it up.  

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22 minutes ago, Old No. 7 said:

Going to look at a house tonight. It is a way down the road, near Quantico. Far enough that we hope to have a competitive offer accepted.

What about something out past Leesburg in gravel grinding country?  Can put that trailer on the lot and build a @Dirtyhip dream home clone!

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We looked at the house. It’s about an hour south of where we are right now but it’s not a competitive property. Been on the market for a while. The realtor said we ought to be able to offer the asking price and have the sellers pay our closing costs. It’s an older split level, brick and vinyl. About 1,900 square feet on a wooded 1 1/2 acre lot. Two car garage with a two space carport on the side. The garage has 200 amp service,  and is copper-piped for compressed air with attachments at the front and rear of the garage. There is a large compressor out back but I don’t know if that conveys or not. And a koi pond. The billiard table conveys as well. 

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On 1/12/2021 at 8:02 AM, Razors Edge said:

Honestly, renting may be the smart thing to do for a while.  In turbulent times and especially in bubbles, I would avoid adding to my risks by taking on a new property at or near historic highs.  Yes, real estate will almost always appreciate in the long term, unless this next home is "the home" for you over the next decade or more, it might be a bad time to buy.

Yes but it's relative. It's also an amazing time to sell. We sold high and then downsized. So for us, I think it was the right move. But your message is not lost unless you live up here then the rent is often greater than the mortgage payment.

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I had a close friend who owned and sold her own home...about 3 different times in life.  Then when she was in her late 60's, she decided to rent for 15 years.  She ran out of her money...so she had to find a cheaper apt. which she didn't like.  Then she died 2 yrs. later.

This is someone who worked full-time in a medical library before retiring. This is someone I knew well.  She was single, no children.

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