Forum Home
PC World Chat
Thread ID: 84626	2007-11-12 18:54:00	Talkin' Trash...er...Houses Here	SurferJoe46 (51)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
610943	2007-11-12 18:54:00	Got a kewl C/P here for youse guys...it's really happening here and it's both sad and funny. I was having coffee with a friend who just bought a new home in Rancho Del Vista Del Harmony Estates. "You must be on cloud nine," I said. "Yes and no," he replied. "I got a great deal, but my neighbor no longer speaks to me." "Some people just aren't very sociable." "No, that's not it. He was very nice until we started doing what Californians do." "What's that?" "Talking house." "With complete strangers." "We'd known each other for almost 10 minutes." "What went wrong?" "Nothing at first. He asks how many square feet I have. I ask which plan he has -- A, B or C. I don't know if you've actually seen Rancho Del Vista Del Harmony Estates, but every house kinda looks the same." "I've seen it." "He asks if I got the carpet upgrade. I tell him of course. He asks if I have granite. Miles of it, I say." "He seems kind of nosy." "We're just talking house. He asks about free window coverings. Got 'em, I say. They threw in a pool, too. 'Good for you,' he says. 'Sure wish it was like that when I moved in 18 months ago.' " "No hard feelings?" "Not a whiff. He tells me he put down $50,000. So I tell him I put down $50,000, too." "You guys are getting along famously." "Then he puffs out his chest and says, 'Just so you know, I didn't get one of those funny-money loans. I'm good for my mortgage.' And I say, 'Right back atcha. You and me'll be Rancho Del Vista lifers." "You're already planning your retirement together." "Finally, he asks, 'So what did you end up paying for the place?' " "It always gets down to that." "I tell him $425,000. I'm gonna lie to him?" "What did he say?" "Nothing at first. He just sort of changes colors. Then he starts to sweat pretty heavily and kind of crumples to his lawn. He keeps his lawn up real good." "What did he say?" "His exact words were, 'I paid six hundred.' His house has lost almost a third of its value in 18 months. It hit him pretty hard." "He's got to realize that when the going gets tough, builders want to get going." "That's how I always looked at it. You read these stories about builders knocking off 100 grand here or 150 there and you say, 'I want a piece of that action, baby.' " "Who wouldn't?" "Then you meet a poor sap like my neighbor, who's suddenly not puffing out his chest anymore. He's telling me he'll never get his $50,000 out of his house." "Not a chance." "That he planned to borrow against his house to send his daughter to college." "I don't think so." "He's telling me about some Arizona job offer he can't afford to even consider. Even if he sold his house -- " "He wouldn't have enough money to buy another one." "He says the only way he could take the job is to abandon the house. Let the bank have it." "I hope you tried to knock some sense into him." "I told him to think about how something like that would affect my property value." "And?" "That's when he stopped speaking to me." "Like I said, some people just aren't very sociable."	SurferJoe46 (51)
610944	2007-11-12 19:49:00	If he had a high enough credit score, say 700+, then the neighbour could apply for a normal 30 year loan rather than stay on the current ARM? mortgage he's using currently. The write down would have to be financed by himself though but after that he would be more secure overall. Also, its a lot easier to tap into your credit lines with a normal mortgage so his daughter going to college could possibly be financed in that way.	beeswax34 (63)
610945	2007-11-13 06:42:00	If he had a high enough credit score, say 700+, then the neighbour could apply for a normal 30 year loan rather than stay on the current ARM? mortgage he's using currently . The write down would have to be financed by himself though but after that he would be more secure overall . Also, its a lot easier to tap into your credit lines with a normal mortgage so his daughter going to college could possibly be financed in that way . Ya gotta understand that that was a humorous article . . but it hits the mark . Most of these old buttheads bought low and wanted to sell high to finance a lifestyle of leisure and luxury on the cuff of the finance institutions and banks . The idea was to buy at the normal and allow inflation and property values to climb as they were at the time . . . but not now . There are lots of empties and walk-offs all around and we is in a depression . . . a bo-ni-fide depression it is! The FSBO's (fizz-boes) are all but gone now and even real estate agents are looking for alternate employment . Last time this happened, you could get a 3 story mansion for TOP (take over payments) and the owners had little booths set up outside the house for prospects . That last time is how I got my yacht too . . but that's another story . :lol:	SurferJoe46 (51)
610946	2007-11-13 07:39:00	Last time this happened, you could get a 3 story mansion for TOP (take over payments) and the owners had little booths set up outside the house for prospects. Wow, there has to be some money to be made there, surely?	pine-o-cleen (2955)
610947	2007-11-13 08:10:00	Ya gotta understand that that was a humorous article..but it hits the mark. That last time is how I got my yacht too..but that's another story. :lol: :lol: I know it was a humorous article but it shows nicely a reality faced by many Americans today. So tell us about the yacht SJ:p:	beeswax34 (63)
610948	2007-11-13 15:24:00	:lol: I know it was a humorous article but it shows nicely a reality faced by many Americans today. So tell us about the yacht SJ:p: I made a friend in a local harbor (the harbor master to be exact)...name to be withheld ...and this was during the last energy-gouge and loan fiasco..... There was an area in the harbor where they kept the yachts that had been abandoned by their owners for whatever reason. Usually they let them go to keep a roof over their heads in the form of a house instead of keeping their water toys. Some were really roaches and shouldda been used for target practice, but quite a few were exceptional and well-maintained. One I found and fell in love with was a 1959 Grady-White...38 foot at the water line and a grand salon. It had a retro-fitted Cat 3208, Vee-drive, Velvet-72 in-n-out, new mezzanine curtains, fighting chair and a wet fighting deck with a full compliment of Perkos and harnesses. Loran (old stuff, I know) and a newer GPS, Raytheon twin radars, ship-to-shore, full head, alcohol stove and oven, 18 foot pulpit, tuna tower, dual controls and just the right amount of teak. Pretty seafoam green and white, glass-over-wood hull, lapstraked/semi-carvel pattern and mahogany taffrails. The fabric was all new..green and solar-proofed. I got it for three months of back space rent. That was $1800.00USD. Remember that this yacht measured 38 feet (12m) at the water line and had serious overhang and tumblehome to the length of over 50 feet long. I don't count the pulpit though in the overall length. I had my brother-in-law live on it to keep it afloat and save him some shore rent. We kept that arrangement going for about six years until I got remarried :mad: and let him have the whole thing. The vessel is in Seattle now. :(	SurferJoe46 (51)
1