01-18-2009, 02:25 PM
Kathy,
We just went into escrow on a bank owned repo after waiting 3 years to buy, not because we want to profit off someone's distress, but because that was all we could find at a price which reflected the realities of the current market. I have spent the last two years in a tiny apartment which I hate, while we waited for the market here to come to its senses. I bought my house in Oregon in 1985 in the month the market was at its absolute bottom, we sold almost 2 1/2 years ago at the peak, and were willing to endure a less than ideal living situation while we were patient. Even now lenders want us to borrow $50,000 more than we are comfortable with, but we are being conservative. The former owners of the house we are buying are off Island and bought at the peak, either as an investment or with a long term plan. They were unable to make payments, lost to the bank, and we are buying from the bank. After 3 years we know we want to stay in Hawaii and this house will be our home, not a get rich quick scheme.
Most of the short sales and repos on the market in Puna are taxed at the off Island rate, which tells me that they were bought as investments under the assumption that the market would continue to race upward. Judging from the prior sales dates and prices, many were probably ARMs, which were simply a gamble that prices would continue to rise quickly. This turned out to be a faulty assumption.
I am not a bad person for buying a house that a bank ended up owning, and I don't think it is bad karma to have not chosen to follow the other lemmings off the cliff. I view it instead as the reward which is due to people who have lived modestly, not beyond their means, and who were willing to be patient while things settled back to reality. I have sympathy for those who are now hurting, but your home is not an ATM, no one is promised a sure thing in investing, and it was ridiculous for people to think that 100%-200% increases in values over very short periods of time, on houses bought with little or no money down, were sustainable.
My last comment is to say that our realtor, John Dirgo, has never urged us to look beyond what we could afford, didn't encourage us to cook the books with the loan broker he introduced us to, and has been perfectly honorable in all his dealings with us. Also patient beyond belief!
Carol
We just went into escrow on a bank owned repo after waiting 3 years to buy, not because we want to profit off someone's distress, but because that was all we could find at a price which reflected the realities of the current market. I have spent the last two years in a tiny apartment which I hate, while we waited for the market here to come to its senses. I bought my house in Oregon in 1985 in the month the market was at its absolute bottom, we sold almost 2 1/2 years ago at the peak, and were willing to endure a less than ideal living situation while we were patient. Even now lenders want us to borrow $50,000 more than we are comfortable with, but we are being conservative. The former owners of the house we are buying are off Island and bought at the peak, either as an investment or with a long term plan. They were unable to make payments, lost to the bank, and we are buying from the bank. After 3 years we know we want to stay in Hawaii and this house will be our home, not a get rich quick scheme.
Most of the short sales and repos on the market in Puna are taxed at the off Island rate, which tells me that they were bought as investments under the assumption that the market would continue to race upward. Judging from the prior sales dates and prices, many were probably ARMs, which were simply a gamble that prices would continue to rise quickly. This turned out to be a faulty assumption.
I am not a bad person for buying a house that a bank ended up owning, and I don't think it is bad karma to have not chosen to follow the other lemmings off the cliff. I view it instead as the reward which is due to people who have lived modestly, not beyond their means, and who were willing to be patient while things settled back to reality. I have sympathy for those who are now hurting, but your home is not an ATM, no one is promised a sure thing in investing, and it was ridiculous for people to think that 100%-200% increases in values over very short periods of time, on houses bought with little or no money down, were sustainable.
My last comment is to say that our realtor, John Dirgo, has never urged us to look beyond what we could afford, didn't encourage us to cook the books with the loan broker he introduced us to, and has been perfectly honorable in all his dealings with us. Also patient beyond belief!
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb