property investment in the US

by Roski 20 Replies latest jw friends

  • oompa
    oompa

    waterfront homes in Florida with docks are unbeleivable deals as are homes in general.....way too many were built and then many moved due to a few hurricanes, i found a three bed two bath condo with boatslip for 165k north of Tampa.......MANY waterfront properties in the southeastern usa are selling for 375k to 400k that were normally 650k to 800k.

  • Roski
    Roski

    LouBelle - That is food for thought. I have worked with folks from SA for the last couple of years - they have taken work overseas due to local economy. I'll look into that further - thanks. (sounds like my kind of place - really!)

    Oompa - Tampa is about the only place inthe US I have any idea of - once again work associates. I'll look into that too - thanks.

    Hittman - It's the Detroit properties that first got me seriously thinking about the US - seems surreal in some ways....

    Thanks for all the responses.

  • leavingwt
    leavingwt

    Roski:

    Here is a Photo Essay for your enjoyment.

    http://www.viceland.com/int/v16n2/htdocs/schools-out-forever-625.php

    -LWT

  • FreeWilly
    FreeWilly

    If you're looking to time a purchase then I would wait. I can't speak for the rest of the country, however I wouldn't buy on the west coast unless it will cash flow. By cash flow I mean a net positive return after all expenses including loan costs and a modest downpayment.

    For decades property values have followed very closely to simple, stable ratios of price-to-income and price-to-rent. Beginning in 2002 they departed significantly from these standard measures due to an artificial market fueled by excessive lending. Prices now have come down, but they still have a LOT more to go to come back to these historical norms. Additionally banks are holding lots of property off their balance sheet. If they were required to mark these liabilities to the current market there would likely be a flood of additional homes coming to the market as banks feverishly try to maintain minimum capital ratios. Add this shadow inventory to the already excessive inventory and you should see a greater correction of the great credit bubble. And since most markets over correct you are likely to get a much better deal if you wait. The risk you run by waiting is that interest rates increase. This is more likely as the US tries to finance increasing levels of debt.

  • garybuss
    garybuss

    Appraisers use three methods to value a property. One is comparable sales, two is replacement cost, and three is the income approach. I value my home a forth way. The value of my home is not how much someone else is willing to pay, that's third party driven. The value of my home is not how much it costs to replace, that's a property casualty insurance calculation. The value of my home is not how much money my home would rent for, that's a fantasy exercise.

    The value of my home is not measured in money, but the value is measured in comfort and satisfaction.

  • Roski
    Roski

    Leavingwt - thanks for that - it is really quite sobering. I recently saw other photos from Detroit; a once beautiful hotel and theatre left to decay. Such beautiful architecture - such a shame.

    Freewilly- Yes, I have just sold my home and want to wait at least until later this year to look at something else. Government injection of first home owner funds is keeping part of the market afloat at the moment, but there are more CF+ houses than there ever were previously.

    garybuss - I hear you.. sometimes one has to make a rational rather than emotional decision. It was hard to sell my last house as it was really different and had great vibes, but I see an opporunity. I won't play the victim card - but seeing as how I thought the end was coming in '75 etc etc I got rather a late start (in several ways ) and property has helped me make up for it.

    I appreciate the time people have taken to answer - it's all very interesting.

  • slimboyfat
    slimboyfat

    Property investment is immoral. Plus it doesn't work any more either, the system is bust.

  • WuzLovesDubs
    WuzLovesDubs

    I live in SE Florida and homes all around me in what used to be a really lovely neighborhood in the heart of Palm Beach county (yet we are still unincorporated here) have gone back to the banks. But the BANKS arent keeping the properties up and so they look like nature reclamation projects with vines and weeds and long grass. It looks hideous and that by itself brings down the value of MY house. So anyone who is willing to come in and purchase those properties and maintain them I am all for it.

    I hate that people had to lose their homes...I am not of the delusion that it wont or cant be me next...but its a process and a cycle. That whole buying frenzy a couple of years ago is what CAUSED this current forclosure slump. People bought ANYTHING for inflated prices thinking they were gonna flip em and make a quick buck. Well they got stuck with them and the banks got stuck with a boat load of bad loans because they participated in this frenzy as well, loaning money to people who were NOT qualified for it in the first place. Now the banks are stuck with a lot of bad properties, huge outstanding loan debt and homes worth a third of what they wrote mortgages on them for.

    Its a life lesson for damn sure.

  • slimboyfat
    slimboyfat
  • BurnTheShips
    BurnTheShips
    Tampa is about the only place inthe US I have any idea of - once again work associates. I'll look into that too - thanks.

    Come down south a little further and have a look around. Southwest Florida is quieter. Naples is nice, and very safe. And there is cheap waterfront with Gulf access at low prices right now.

    BTS

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