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I don't think now is the time to buy, but there is a downside to rentals
2011 Sep 7, 12:42am 39,832 views 125 comments
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tclement
2011 Sep 12, 4:09pm
I was thinking of it for him and his family. It's a nice house and wouldn't have the normal icky feeling that a typical FC might have. At the very least, I can tell him to keep his eyes on my address when it is auctioned, no?
Hey, CL, I appreciate it. Buying is a possibility for us. Let me know how to get in touch, and maybe we can go to the bank with a proposal.
CL
2011 Sep 13, 4:43am
it doesn't make any sense to hang onto a house that's about $300k underwatered
No sense at all.
Bank gave you money, secured by the house.
If you haven't refi'd, that's a purchase money loan, and if you're in a non-recourse state, it's the bank's problem not yours.
Walk-away with no 1099 issue ends next year.
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=179414,00.html
but banks can't 1099 you if you have a non-recourse loan anyway.
“Nessuna soluzione . . . nessun problema!„
I wondered that...non-recourse will mean that the forgiven amount can't be taxed as income? So the forgiveness act really only applies to recourse states? Makes sense, but that's good to know.
TClement--I'll friend you or whatever the kids are saying nowadays.
tclement, I couldn't help myself and looked up your old place. I wanted to fault you for giving up your low tax basis (and King Middle School for you child), but all I can say is: Well played! Way to take the (tax free!) money and run. Not many people could do what you did; best of luck finding a new place (did you write your landlord a letter?)
tclement
2011 Sep 13, 1:59pm
Hi EBGuy, I guess I did all right with my old place in Berkeley and I'm still waiting for the right time to upgrade. Today I spoke with a realtor who showed us a nice rental (still a bit too high for my tastes, but not $4k.) The great thing was that when I said I was waiting for a few years to buy, she said: "depends on the price range. If you're looking for a more expensive house, there's a long way for them to fall." I have to say, I was impressed (not to mention validated).
I've now heard 4 different stories about the law pertaining to this abusive rent increase. The latest (from the aformentioned honest real estate agent) is that if she has more than one rental property, rent control applies, regardless of whether it's a SFH. Oh well, I'll be glad to be out from under her incompetent and arrogant landlordship anyway. :)
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So I'm smugly tootling along, renting a nice 3 bedroom 2 bath house in the Oakland hills, waiting for RE prices to go down, when I receive a certified letter from my landlady (who's also a RE agent) informing me that the rent is going up from $3100 to $4000 effective November 1. She had put out a feeler a couple of months ago, asking if we might be interested in buying the house, so I'm guessing she's just trying to drive us out so she can sell before all those REOs the B of A is about to dump on the market change things.
Anyway, now I've got to find a new rental (in the same area where my son just started middle school), do a ton of work to do getting ready to move, spend thousands on moving, and disrupt my life in an unplanned, very significant way over the next two months. It's got me thinking about how much nicer it would be to own a house and not be subject to the potential for such disruptions.
I'm not sure how much that would be worth to me, but it is something. Any thoughts?