gone2pot

http://www.therussellpottery.com

6 Comments

    • 12 Observations on Residential Housing [view article]
      What Tom L said. May 02 09:57 AM
    • The Impending Mortgage Crisis [view article]
      I got it Michael. Just didn't say it directly in my missive. I know our good deal is going to lose value in the next few years but we won't be walking away when it does because we have no intention of moving. After owning homes in NC, CA, SD, and MO (taking a HUGE bath in '94 in SoCal), we're not planning on a move for a long time (not with a thirty year fixed and 20% down mtg). Mama likes her atrium ranch on the little lake. She's got her Masters in Nursing and they want those here. I can flip burgers or tell people where the paint aisle is at the Lowes with my USNA BS degree and substitute teach math and physics to help make it easier financially. We'll walk if our health goes south. By then we'll be victims along with The Children and it'll be socially acceptable. Hell, it'll probably create a new victim class with Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi and McCain "concerned" as they bail out the geniuses at the Citi's, BofA's and Countrywide's, swooning for the votes of the American Idol/VH-1 watching rocket scientists. Apr 24 07:53 PM
    • The Impending Mortgage Crisis [view article]
      I bought a historic home an hour north of St Louis (Clarksville). I paid 110K in 2001, put 35K in materials into restoration/remodel. I did all the work. Sold it last July for 282K. It's in flood zone A but also on the National Registry of Historic Places. When we sold, we moved closer to St Louis (Wentzville) where my wife is closer to her job. Rented for seven months while researching via patrick.net everyday, learning as much as I could about local housing. Got screwed over by Citi to the tune of a grand in a pre-foreclosure purchase approval gone fidiot by the CitiMortgage liars. Found a home within walking distance of my wife's office from a desperate owner. He paid 300K in 2002, put 100K into a new kitchen, deck and landscaping, I paid 325K. Seven homes out of 48 on the street are still for sale (have been over a year) and all sellers want the buyers to pay a bubble price PLUS pay off their Hummers and Escalades from the house ATM. They are still clueless and NO ONE selling used homes in the area are encumbered by reality. I think St Louis is in for a big surprise next year and it probably won't be good. We plan on living here for ten or more years. It'll be interesting to watch the mayhem. Apr 24 05:04 PM
    • Housing Prices Demand Correction [view article]
      I'm a buyer in the St Louis area (Wentzville, Lake St Louis). The builders finally get it because they have to: liquidate and maybe live, or die. Taylor-Morley chose the latter. The existing home sellers in our price range (300K-400K) are utterly clueless. We walked through EVERY home we're interested in last June. They were all on the market last January. They're all still on the market at or near last year's asking price OR foreclosed OR what my wife and I call "yo-yo'd" which is on for three months off for two, on for three, off for two, ad infinitum. Plus, there are a WHOLE lot of empty homes sans "for sale" signs. I've checked several at the county assessor's website and most are owned by asset management companies and not listed on RealtyTrac or the other REO sites. I'm just sitting back with a big bag of money, NO debts whatsoever, no house to sell and a tidy income. It's lonely out here but Citi, WaMu, Countrywide, BofA, blah, blah, blahwill have to pull their collective heads out of their asses and turn their real property assets into cash. Twenty bucks says Citi may NEVER pull their heads out. Jan 24 12:18 AM
    • Concerning the Case Shiller Housing Index [view article]
      Hey dano, my comments have little to do with Case Shiller (although we've used it recently to our advantage) but thanks to people like you, patrick.net, seekingalpha and several others, I am a home buyer. I'm a very smart home buyer and I'm not located on the east or west coast, but in the midwest (St Louis area). I'm an extreme rookie wrt housing and have only been studying what's been going on since I sold a historic home in Clarksville, MO last July. My wife and I made a VERY nice profit after six years (doing all the restoration and remodel work myself). Since we've moved closer to civilization, we've seen a LOT of homes for sale that were on the market for a long time (1 year or more) as well as near empty new housing developments going bankrupt. Because of you guys, I found out why and am now a whole lot smarter. Armed with knowledge, I'm in the throes of buying a very high end preforeclosure home in a well established and desirable neighborhood 35 miles west of downtown St Louis for 17% less than what it sold for three years ago and only 5.9% more than what it sold for new in 1997. I know we're few and far between but if more folks get smarter via you guys, some of us will benefit. You may still think we're stupid to buy now, but without the information you all made available, we'd have taken a REAL stupid plunge last August. I agree with you wrt Case Shiller regarding the house we're buying. CS (using Chicago's trend line) would value the house we're buying 26% higher than our offer and 30% more than what it sold for new. There are several auctions, foreclosures and unsold new homes(being discounted up to 200,000) within a ten mile radius that CS does not take into account. Perhaps this housing deal will cause some of you smart guys to develop a more accurate index. Jan 07 10:51 AM
    • Jingle Mail, in Practice [view article]
      Well, I'm in a somewhat similar position as the guy who plans to never make a mortgage payment...only different. I am in the throes of buying a preforeclosure west of St Louis, MO. Citi Financial owns both notes on the house and the current owner has received his notice of default by Citi. He has not made a payment for over five months (according to the ReMax selling agent). He paid 455,000 in 2004. Our accepted offer is 375,000. However, Citi is delaying the closing. The ReMax selling agent has tried to call Citi to find out why as have I with no success. We were promised closing dates starting on Dec 18, then 21st, then 27th, then Jan 3rd (both BPO's were accepted and the short sale appoved before Dec 18). The Citi agent responsible for the short sale loans' telephone mailbox is full so I can't even leave a message. I have an approved loan, the downpayment in the bank, and am ready to move. I have no idea who to talk to, how to at least find out if and/or when we will even close. Citi is simply not talking now. BTW, unlike the guy who is not going to make any payments when he closes and moves in, I do. I'm guessing as the year progresses, my situation and the above future squatter's situation will become quite commonplace. It will be stunning to watch these note holders make the housing problem that much worse by adding yet more incompetence to their problems. Oh well. Jan 04 03:42 PM
Loading...
Symbols:
Authors:
Quick Links:
Contribute an Article Become a Seeking Alpha Contributor

Transcripts

More Transcripts»