with the housing market turning...

and mortgages becoming stricter to come by. a lot of people are starting to forclose.

does anyone see this as a personal positive?

is anyone taking advantage of this changing market?

if so, how?

is anyone thinking of buying a rental?

these are things that crossed my mind as i was watching good morning america as they discussed how this could affect the economy.

anyone else thinking of these things?

Re: with the housing market turning...

As always savvy and experienced investors who really know the potential of an individual specific property will benefit.

Others will be enter the market hoping to make a quick buck but they lack the experience and will be lucky if they break even.

Many others, those who are living in more house than they can truly afford... especially those with interest only mortgages and ARM's... will find their payments skyrocket and that's where you will see many foreclosures.

Buying a rental and committing yourself to becoming a landlord is a big responsibility. Many people feel think it is easier than it is but you really have to be careful as to who your tenants are, you must know how to manage and repair a property and have a contigency plan to be able to pay the costs of the property even when vacant.

DH and I have discussed it. Maybe if the right house in the right neighborhood, under the right circumstances comes along

Re: with the housing market turning...

We are seeing price drops in NJ and I'm happy about that. So, we are taking advantage and hope to purchase something this spring.

Since we already own a condo, we are in no rush to move, but I certainly want to get into a house with this market turning.

Re: with the housing market turning...

I just breathe a sigh of releif that my house just closed last month, the buyers did 100% financing with sellers concessions....the program they got doesn't exist anymore, and the house probably would not have sold.

On the flip side, I am concerned now, that the house we bought with decrease in value a lot

Re: with the housing market turning...

I can only HOPE AND PRAY that the market really IS turning. I have honestly not seen that big of a decrease AT ALL! maybe a 5% drop, big whoop!

Re: with the housing market turning...

I am hoping the market will keep dropping as I am almost ready to buy. We will just wait for the right house, right opportunity...

Re: with the housing market turning...

Honestly, no we're not thinking of it. We just purchased our house and have no plans to purchase another.

Re: with the housing market turning...

i was temporarily afraid the house we're "under contract" for would go down in value... then i thought about it... we're not planning to move any time soon, so it evens out.

i've always wanted to "be in real estate", is this the right time to "buy low"?

i guess it's time to hit the library

Re: with the housing market turning...

only taking advantage of it in buying a house to live in, not as an investment opportunity.

Re: with the housing market turning...

With so many houses sitting, if I was a buyer I would be looking at everything thats on the market longer than 6months and making offers like crazy

Many people are caught carrying 2 mortgages and that could be a plus for someone looking to purchase

Message edited 6/8/2009 3:45:30 PM.

Re: with the housing market turning...

ditto!!

Re: with the housing market turning...

If vacation properties start to come down significantly we will probably look to buy a second home. I want to wait another year or two though. I think that the market has yet to level off, and even when it does, its not going to rise the way it did in the past 5 or 6 years...

Re: with the housing market turning...

I read this article in the Times this Sunday...it seems like they're still watching the mortgage market and will make a final determination after the Spring season home sales results are in. We're looking to purchase sometime next year once everything kind of settles down, but if a great opportunity arises we will definitely take advantage of it.

Re: with the housing market turning...

Re: with the housing market turning...

We may sell ours and buy another in the next year or so. No rush, but we are thinking about it. Either way, of course I hope to get a reasonable amt for our house and negotiate a reasonable price on a new home.

Re: with the housing market turning...

Re: with the housing market turning...

We are "hopefully" reaping the benefits. We just got an offer on out house that I am pleased with (14k lower than asking). Because we profited in the two years that we have been there and it's a buyers market, we can come back to LI.

Two years ago we could not find anything in our price range.

It's terrible for a couple of my friends who bought so high because they could never sell for what they bought their homes for.

Re: with the housing market turning...

We just bought, so this isn't really on my mind but what I will say is that I'm happy I got in the market when I did.

i was just driving around my neighborhood today and the number of 'for sale' signs is a little scary. but on the flip side, it certainly works well for buyers! One house we looked dropped 40K in asking price! (And we were looking at houses in the low 4s so that's REALLY a lot.)

Re: with the housing market turning...

I'm not sure what this means for us as sellers yet. We live in a co-op and the board does review the financials of anyone coming in, so I doubt many owners have sub-prime mortgages or mortgages they really cannot afford, though you never know. This may mean less potential buyers however.

I'm still glad we bought our house. If all goes as planned, we do intend to stay there a long time, so the market will come back up eventually. It will be too bad if we could have gotten the house cheaper by waiting a few more months, but we do love our house and it may have been gone if we waited.