patrick.net

Sorry. No offense but I hate HOA or any home association of any kind. That is why renting in this is much better option than buying. IMO.

Yes I agree! When one of my friends from med school who owns a 2br 2ba here told me his HOA fee was mid 500s...my jaw nearly dropped. It's a nice building, but it doesn't have a pool or anything! Just a small gym and doorman. Really I think the location is the selling point, but a HOA fee that high really shocked me!

CaffeineAddict

A major leg down in home prices coming soon. Just my opinion.

Yeah man! Id take the worst land lord over the best HOA any day.

Just rent for now, and enjoy your career path. Sounds like you are on your way.
Don't jump into anything where you have a HOA on top of mortgage, tax insurance, and the frequent assessment charges for pea brained upkeep and over maintenance those buildings will impose on you.

By time you are making the salary that would commiserate with something more substantial i.e. a house you will really like. Prices will even be more cheaper I'm sure. Rent save and plan in the mean time and enjoy good beer and fresh fruit with your dinner.

And never make decisions based on your perception of what the Joneses are doing.
Chances are they up to debt to their eyeballs and rock them selves to sleep in a fetal position.
But of course they would never tell you that.

In this short-sale market, agents, not banks price the listing...although HAFA was supposed to fix that by forcing terms up front. Banks simply "approve" the short-sale of the property. Despite "net amount" guidelines banks must follow when reviewing offers...agents don't care and simply want to get a %$#$ offer. So, you'll see crazy pricing; some high, some low. Some very low because the agents trying to stop a sale on the courthouse steps. Without acceptable ranges detailed by the banks, agents are pricing dynamos. Now, who hurts? The buyers. Be careful...what looks like a great deal has NOT been approved by the bank and do not be surprised to see the bank's counter-offer come back well above even the agent's formal list price.

IMHO...your capital appreciation will not outpace your purchase related and ownership expenses until you're well into your scheduled fixed salary under Obamacare. :) Watching your net-worth decrease with all the student loan debt will make you wish you went into Psychology instead.

... and for when you do buy, the smart money says nothing over 25% of your monthly income.
Regardless what slick chart the bank or the FHA people send you. I've seen it as high as 38% in reference material that has been sent to me in loan disclosures in more than one place.

Get a Single family home definitely. They are on land, that is going to be real value as we run out land to develop.

Now is a good time to buy if you can find the house that fits your criteria.
Get as much house for the least amount you can. Aim high have a base of what you want and what your needs are, a minimum that you want. And put a price on that minimum price you want to spend. Have a max but to even consider that max price there has to be plus plus.

Here were my conditions...

Does it meet your space requirements?
Does it offer amenities(pool jacuzzi ect...) that you weren't looking for?
Does it have a good sized lot?
Does it have room to grow and is it an area where you can build more if you want?

and in my town another factor was detached units that have income potential.

Does it have In law quarters or detached building?

It took me three years to finally find it, but I found a house that had all of these feature except for a pool. Which I really didn't want anyway. I live a mile from the beach after all.
I figured for what I got, I would have paid about what I'm paying now in 1999.
Even if does go down more, my usage options are limitless.

I don't get these people looking for 1400 sqft on a 3000 sqft lot.
That house is an example of the phrase "it is what it is".

Yeah I remember in the 80's when Real Estate wasn't selling, there were tons of commercials saying Stop giving money to the Greedy land lord.
I remember one in particularly a greasy fat guy with gold on every finger counting his money.
As the bank comercial pleaded for you to call and save money over renting.

And they were right. I think I was paying $700 or so for 2br apartment, and the average mortgage on a 3br house was less than that with taxes and insurance.

Tenouncetrout says

Yeah I remember in the 80’s when Real Estate wasn’t selling, there were tons of commercials saying Stop giving money to the Greedy land lord.

I remember one in particularly a greasy fat guy with gold on every finger counting his money.

As the bank comercial pleaded for you to call and save money over renting.
And they were right. I think I was paying $700 or so for 2br apartment, and the average mortgage on a 3br house was less than that with taxes and insurance.

Really! Wow! How far we have come to screw the system by excessive debt. God Bless us!

Addict,

Please don't "take advice" from anonymous posters on a blog, oops that was some advice.

Folks who post here share ideas to consider, which can raise some points that may be good to consider. Not the same thing about advice.

Since you recognize that you are confused about the pricing, it sounds like you answered your own question; it is not advice but it is what I would do: I would not purchase any"thing" nor any service while I am confused about the pricing.

Thanks for the replies so far. I guess my initial suspicions were not entirely wrong, despite what everyone has been telling me!

I guess the question I still have is, why are all the prices different? Common Sense says it's because it's a "short sale" market? It looks like a lot of these listings have been around for 60+ days, does that constitute short sale? As far as I know, none of them are foreclosed property.

Is it because people are just trying to get a price they think is fair? Since they paid more or the same and are unwilling to go lower? There are ~20k differences in the same condo-types... ~20% or more price difference for the same unit!

Do the prices tend to go back down to "market price" after people have their property unsold for a long time? I asked my friend who owns a 2br2ba the same question, and he says he's not sure, but he knows that these units go "pretty fast" because of the location. He wouldn't reveal to me his purchase price, so I suspect he bought for much higher than these listed prices, especially since he bought in 2004.

Thanks!

Here's a simple reason why everyone wants you to own: Misery love company! Can you roll your student loans, car payments and credit card bills into the cost of the condo, then just go bankrupt and live for free in the house the bank now owns? Rats.

There's a bunch of ways sellers try to price their properties. Location, condition, past sales, ect. Here's one that used to be reserved for cars about to be repossesed: How much I owe! I suspect that's why you're seeing so much of a swing. Maybe your locations are on the softer side of desirable, and so a really high HOA makes up for it by giving you "a really good building" because the city/town has washed it hands of the neighborhood.

Hospitals contribute greatly to high property taxes. Your proximity to the hospital is a double-edged sword.

CaffeineAddict says

-I am currently training in my medical residency for the next 5-6 years here so I will be in Pittsburgh for this time period at least, barring some horrible event. Single. Not sure if I will end up staying in Pittsburgh.
- Currently I am renting a small house with 2 roommates, ~700/month (depends on utilities). If I buy a larger place, I will have to find roommates and I’m not sure if I want to deal with all the hassle of looking constantly for one.
-Location is decent, but it takes me about 15-20 minutes to get to most of the hospital sites I work at. Street parking.
-I’m concerned that if I do end up buying, my monthly cash flow may be inadequate. My parents are offering a 20% down payment to help me out and are pushing me to buy.

Disclaimer - all of this is my humble opinion. Let's start from the top...
-You'll be there 5-6 years; why would you make a 15 or 30 year committment if you don't know where you'll be? You may have post residency career opportunities across the country, ya never know.

-You're single; if you were to buy, then marry someone with a different lifestyle (children, pets, large animals...) you'll have to sell or rent out your condo. The best way to guarantee that your life will change is to buy a place that's perfect for your single life...

-Roommates? (we don't need no stinkin' roommates!). You have them now, have to make sure that they stick around and you don't sound thrilled about it. If & when you buy, get a place you can afford without roomies - then, if you have 'em the money is extra.

-Rent a place closer to your work. If you can find a place to buy, you surely can find a rental.

-Your parents want to help you buy, and are urging you to do so. But it'll be your responsibility to make those payments... Have 'em give you the money, invest it and when the time comes to buy you'll have that much more to put down.

Many people are urging you to buy - but that doesn't mean it's the best move for you. One way to equate that is to remind you that many people urged others to invest in Madoff investments as well. Buying might not be a bad thing, or might not be a good thing - only time will tell where our economy is headed. But it doesn't sound right for you.

This is about you, btw. Don't let anyone tell you different.

People can list them for anything they want all over the place.
I actually offered 1K over the asking price off the place I bought.
But in the end I only paid what the appraiser said it was worth, which was 10K less, because that's all the bank said they would loan.

Oh so listed price has NOTHING to do with the buy price? That makes little-no sense to me. Isn't the asking price, the price the seller is willing to take. I guess the Ebay equivalent is "BUY IT NOW"

I always thought that when buying real estate, you negotiate your way up. For example I would look at past sale prices, list prices for similiar units nearby, then offer say 75% and work my way up to something between that and the asking price...

You're telling me people bid the asking price or ABOVE that?....

CaffeineAddict says

Oh so listed price has NOTHING to do with the buy price? That makes little-no sense to me. Isn’t the asking price, the price the seller is willing to take. I guess the Ebay equivalent is “BUY IT NOW”
I always thought that when buying real estate, you negotiate your way up. For example I would look at past sale prices, list prices for similiar units nearby, then offer say 75% and work my way up to something between that and the asking price…
You’re telling me people bid the asking price or ABOVE that?….

It depends on your market. In the Bay Area, if a house is priced attractively, it will get multiple offers ABOVE (sometimes tens of thousands of dollars above) the asking price within a few days. Where you are looking could be completely different.

CaffeineAddict says

Oh so listed price has NOTHING to do with the buy price? That makes little-no sense to me. Isn’t the asking price, the price the seller is willing to take. I guess the Ebay equivalent is “BUY IT NOW”
I always thought that when buying real estate, you negotiate your way up. For example I would look at past sale prices, list prices for similiar units nearby, then offer say 75% and work my way up to something between that and the asking price…
You’re telling me people bid the asking price or ABOVE that?….

Howard Hughes Bought a lot of real estate. He negotiated top down. He's agree to a price, then chew them down untill they were exausted, and convinced he was now the person setting the price. If you don't know what the house is worth then you wouldn't know if 1k over asking price was good or not. This ain't E-Bay, but I like your plan of 75% and up so GET TO IT BIG GUY! GO GET US A HOUSE!!!!

Hello, fellow Caffeine Addict -- I would only buy if there's something really special, whether this be where it's located or if the structure itself is special in some way. Is it architect designed/built? Did Lincoln sleep there? Does it have a room perfect for storing your rare book collection? Does it have a view of something other than your neighbor's bathroom window or carport? That kind of thing. School districts are also a big fat hairy deal, even if you don't have kids and don't plan on having any. When you go to sell your place, it will more than likely matter to the next buyers.

So I say, if it's really a unique opportunity, go for it. If not...I wouldn't be in a hurry.