tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post3694779787376066497..comments2024-03-29T09:53:45.879-05:00Comments on Bayou Renaissance Man: A crisis of affordabilityPeterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595089829300831372noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-18146135068733868472016-06-05T08:27:21.098-05:002016-06-05T08:27:21.098-05:00I bought my first piece of real estate in the late...I bought my first piece of real estate in the late 1980's. At that time, the interest rate I was paying was in excess of 10% (on a 30 year fixed mortgage, with over 20% as a down payment.) Today's 30 year fixed rate is about 3.5-4.0% with a 5% down payment. <br /><br />IMO, real estate is headed for a major correction, if not an outright collapse. The implications of this will be sobering to everyone who owns a home, and especially to those who have leveraged the equity in their home for "other things". <br /><br />Then there's the local public education community. Where I live, they are (and have been) the recipients of the lion's share (almost 85%) of our local property tax receipts (which, incidentally, for my property, have quadrupled since the year 2000.) <br /><br />What cannot go on forever, won't. The implications and aftershocks of a property value collapse to homeowners and to systems reliant on ever rising property values, are, to put it mildly, sobering.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-36616712342642063282016-06-04T19:35:40.914-05:002016-06-04T19:35:40.914-05:00It's simple. When the median income household ...It's simple. When the median income household cannot afford the median priced house, you are in trouble. How big the trouble is depends on a lot of factors, but right now the difficulty we are in can only be described as "big enough to be very painful in the unwind."Rolfhttp://www.thestarscameback.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-63843438180733378212016-06-04T15:14:13.287-05:002016-06-04T15:14:13.287-05:00Steve's point is very valid. I had a friend in...Steve's point is very valid. I had a friend in San Jose get caught in that trap. They had to sell! The other issue, which the article seems to ignore is living within one's means... Which is what y'all and I are attempting to do. Uncle Lar is right also, in that there will always be taxes and upkeep... sighOld NFOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16404197287935017147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-6387038499025295622016-06-04T14:47:01.248-05:002016-06-04T14:47:01.248-05:00It goes beyond selling to paying taxes on the home...It goes beyond selling to paying taxes on the home. You can get caught in an income trap, where the taxes are unaffordable on a fixed income. Now, sell at a loss, or have it seized for taxes. Which do you choose?Steve Skyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00626594557764599205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-65296665062709299762016-06-04T12:52:37.426-05:002016-06-04T12:52:37.426-05:00Of course you never really own your home free and ...Of course you never really own your home free and clear in these United States.<br />Miss a couple years of property tax and see where that gets you.<br />And there's maintenance and reasonable insurance, protection both for the unavoidable catastrophe and for the grifter who considers stumbling on your sidewalk the equivalent to winning the lottery.<br />Bought my current home in 2002, with 20% down and a 30 year mortgage.<br />Paid it off seven years later.<br />Still budget several hundred a month for insurance, taxes, and incidentals.<br />Don't really care what it's worth, except in how that affects my tax burden. The value of the property is something for my estate to worry about.Uncle Larhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04008207593205949098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-91466708745271366022016-06-04T12:24:40.504-05:002016-06-04T12:24:40.504-05:00The current housing bubble is being created by REI...The current housing bubble is being created by REITs, Real Estate Investment Trust.<br /><br />Smart investors have figured out that the stock market is in a QE caused bubble, and bonds are below the real inflation rate.<br /><br />So they are causing their own bubble. As a home owner, I get letters from REITs begging me to sell. If you are newly retired, I suggest taking their money, putting it in gold ( there are some Singapore banks that will let you keep the gold in unallocated storage, and convert it to cash as needed ), and finding a rental, preferably way out in the sticks where rent is cheap.<br /><br />Sooner or later, this house of cards is going to topple, and that property you sold will be back on the market at much less than you sold it for.Kristophrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08370888276707569365noreply@blogger.com