Personal Story Of Real Estate Loss
Real estate is a tough business, especially in this recessionary economy. Prices, almost universally across the 50 states, are down and in some places, still dropping. If you got into the market a few years ago when prices were inflated you are in bad shape now. Especially if you were sold a bill of goods on a cheap mortgage that turned out to be a little too good, chances are you are going through a foreclosure or short sale.
Here in California, where I live, people were literally and figuratively banging down doors to get into homes five years ago. And they were paying way more than the homes were worth. I was one of these people. Having just moved to LA and wanting to buy something rather than rent, I spent way too much on a home and got into an interest only mortgage.
This mindset put my wife and I into a condo that we could not nearly afford. When we applied for the mortgage we were sure we would be denied but when they said yes, we just figured they were smarter than us. Well, the mortgage was an interest only and so we were not building equity. When my wife got pregnant again, she decided to leave her job and full-time salary with it. We were setting and had set ourselves up for trouble. As things got worse and bills piled up, we found ourselves on decrepit furniture with home space heaters to warm us.
Sure enough, the bottom dropped out and the housing market as well as the economy took a nosedive and crashed. Our home value declined, but our mortgage was still the same. We were barely scraping by month-to-month and now we couldn’t even sell and make money. Finally, after a bankruptcy, we decided to become totally free and clear and get rid of our home with a short sale.
Today we rent and are on the path to recovery. We did learn many lessons and had I to do it all again, I would do it very different.
I would buy an income property, something that I could put a renter in that would cover my mortgage. I would buy a slight fixer-upper and spruce it up with some cheap home decor accents and maybe a coat of paint. But, most importantly, I would buy something below my price range, taking the renter into consideration and get a mortgage that earned equity and had a good rate either fixed or with a long arm.
This way, I would not have to worry about covering mortgage every month. Plus, my home would have real value and, I could hang on to it long enough to make it a truly valuable resale property, no matter the market conditions.
Filed under: Financial Advice