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kronicade
2010 Jul 13, 6:12am
Note: I successfully did a short sale, the property went to a nice guy and the bank didn't have to go trough foreclosure. To do this I had to stop paying for 12 months.
We are in the same boat, but choose to stay in the condo because we pay 1.9K mortgage + 400 HOA fee + 300 property tax. That's 2.6K, some of which comes back in form of tax benefit. With renting there is no tax benefit.
Patrick
2010 Jul 14, 9:45am
We are in the same boat, but choose to stay in the condo because we pay 1.9K mortgage + 400 HOA fee + 300 property tax. That’s 2.6K, some of which comes back in form of tax benefit. With renting there is no tax benefit.
But if the rent for the same thing is much less, you still lose by owning, even with the income deduction.
zzyzzx
2010 Jul 19, 3:13am
Condohelp:
For you, if you really want a child, then the dog would have to go.
I'd say wait until the dog dies, or do the smart thing and don't have kids. besides being very annoying, kids are very expensive.
B.A.C.A.H.
2010 Jul 19, 2:42pm
"child(ren)" ! Eeww, icky poo.
zzyzzmx, sounds like you belong out here in the Cool and Hip Bay Area.
I respect your decision to keep your word with the bank, as difficult as it may be at this time. You will be able to sleep at night knowing your honest and hard working. If at some point you need to make a hard choice financially ,you will do so with integrity and the best interest of your new family in mind. It wont be a character flaw, it will be living life, some times it works for you and sometimes it fills like it works against you.
Your real wealth is your new family. The equity will continue to grow with them the rest of your life regardless of your financial decisions. God bless
Condohelp:
For you, if you really want a child, then the dog would have to go.
I’d say wait until the dog dies, or do the smart thing and don’t have kids. besides being very annoying, kids are very expensive.
Children are expensive, but well worth it. I love kids and do want to have at least 2.
Well - good news. I just sold the condo, and I didn't take too much of a hit. Had to pay a bit out of pocket, but nowhere near as bad as it could have been. Buyer is paying all cash. So all in all, a good transaction.
My next step is to decide when the right time to buy is going to be. We're going to rent a house or apartment for a while, a nice 2-3 bedroom somewhere affordable but clean and safe. Suggestions are appreciated, preferably in the Campbell/Cambrian area of San Jose.
So, when's the right time to buy? What do I look out for in the market? When interest rates start going up? When prices drop another 20%? What's the wisdom of the Patrick.net crew?
SFace
2010 Sep 24, 9:06am
congrats on the news. Make sure to keep/establish the tax basis for capital loss you can utilize subsequently.
Take some time to look at things from the family perspective first and you'll have an idea what you will need going forward. The market/interest rate is not going anywhere in the short term.
bubblesitter
2010 Sep 24, 9:12am
Yeah. We are in for Japan style. Rates are just not going to go up dramatically. What you want to watch is the REO/short sales in your area. Most people here won't recommend to buy immediately.
Make sure to keep/establish the tax basis for capital loss you can utilize subsequently.
Ha ha, funny guy. You've been on the business side too long, SF ace. Under Section 121 he'll get nothing and like it!
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About two years ago I bought a new condo near downtown San Jose. I was single at the time (but dating a girl I liked) and a 1 bedroom was the most I could afford. I got some city down payment assistance and a Cal HFA loan, which I can afford. I paid $324k for the condo. Right now, there are only 3 new 1 bedrooms left in the complex (over 85% sold total), and they are listed at $295k.
My then-girlfriend and I got married in November last year, and now she's pregnant. So needless to say we're looking to move to a bigger place, but I need to sell my place first. Having a baby in a 1 bedroom is not exactly going to be easy. We could do it for a while but it's kind of a pain.
It seems like there are people on here who have wildly divergent ideas.
- Some are 100% convinced that the mortgage rates should go up, and drive down home prices down to 50% of their values in the Bay Area.
- Some think we've hit the bottom and that both mortgage rates and home prices will go back up over the next year or two to 80-90% of their peak values in 2006/2007.
So obviously, one of you groups of people are going to look really dumb in a few years. Heh.
I guess what I'm asking is:
I've got my condo on the market for $275k. A huge hit, but I don't see the prices for 1 bedroom condos going up quickly anytime soon, and I'd rather take the hit now, when I can afford it, than in the future. Renting it out is not an option as the loan I currently have requires owner occupancy for the first 5 years. I've had it on the market for about a month now and had zero interest.
Literally, zero people have called. One open house I had, we had one person walk through.
My real estate agent claims he's bewildered and "has never seen anything like this" which is not comforting in the least.
I think the reasons are:
-New homebuyer tax credit expired in April, so demand is low.
-Condo demand is lowered more than single family home demand because prices are lower on homes than they've been in a bit.
-1 bedroom condo demand is even lower since 2 bedroom condos sell for what 1 bedrooms did a couple years ago.
My thoughts are: just be patient and hope for the best.
Not sure if I need to get a new agent or what - but I can see my place listed on all the major sites, so I'm out there with good pics and virtual tours. Just not seeing any action.
Advice?
#housing