patrick.net

RentingForHalfTheCost says

We are almost back to 2005 pricing! LOL Just 100K more to go on this decrepit condo and the flipper will be back to even.

http://www.redfin.com/CA/Pleasanton/5331-Black-Ave-94566/unit-3/home/1994322

Yes, when you scroll down and look at the condo sold price/sq. ft., the graph screams falling prices....

RentingForHalfTheCost says

Bought in Mar 2010 and lived in it until mid 2012. I visited the place in 2012 when it first went for sale. I talked to the owner then and he had done nothing to the place and that is the way it sits today. And yes he is a flipper. Anyone that thinks a house is an investment and turns it over even as quickly as 3 years is a flipper to me. A house is a shelter above all else. Buy one at a reasonable price and raise your family. Everyone else is a punk.

You have an odd definition of flipping then..

RentingForHalfTheCost says

Go to Germany, Austria, France and you will be hard pressed to find someone buying a home so they can sell it for a profit in 2-3 years.

we were not that different not that long ago...
the whole 1997 capital gains act needs to go!

RentingForHalfTheCost says

Not really. In most other countries people buy a house for their family, work to make money, and save for retirement. Go to Germany, Austria, France and you will be hard pressed to find someone buying a home so they can sell it for a profit in 2-3 years.

What makes you think the owner bought so he could sell for a profit in 2-3 years?? Maybe he wants/needs to move. Maybe he's getting married and his fiancé doesn't like it. There could be a multitude of reasons why he's moving besides trying to make a quick profit.

RentingForHalfTheCost says

USA is far from the center of the universe, you should travel a bit. Opps, you are house rich, cash poor, sorry.

Why would you think I haven't traveled?

RentingForHalfTheCost says

It shows in your views. Pretty USA centric.

lol--because I know the definition of "flipping"? That makes me USA centric? You are hilarious.

tatupu70 said: You have an odd definition of flipping then...
I prefer to call these folks professional home sitters. I knew of a guy who did this "on the side" with high end homes. You get a great place to lay your head for a while, and, in a rising market, you can make up to $250k tax free every 2 to three years. You just don't want to be in one of these situations when the music stops...

My favorite local flip (what can you get for a million bucks) just got a new Real Estate professional. You gotta like their tag line: Walk into equity!