When did you buy your house?
House Keys
By Marcie Geffner, Tuesday, March 10, 2009.
Flickr photo by wili_hybrid.Editor's Note: Inman News is pleased to introduce "House Keys," a new weekly column about homeownership by veteran real estate writer Marcie Geffner. "House Keys" offers a fresh look at today's changing images and perceptions of homeownership through current news events and personal stories. For information about publishing this column on your Web site or in print, contact Elaine Baker: (510) 658-9252 ext. 128.
"When did you buy your house?"
That was the question my friend Marilyn Stotts asked me during a recent gathering at a local restaurant. Not, "Where is your house?" "Do you like your house?" "How big is your house?" Or even the open-ended conversation starter, "Why did you buy your house?" But instead, "When did you buy your house?"
People have always asked where you live or where your house is because they want to pinpoint where you are in the world. Here, in Los Angeles, the possible answers might include an upscale enclave, beach community, desert or valley between the hills. But whether your answer is the Westside or the South Bay, the San Fernando Valley or the Inland Empire, it's all about location. And location is all about your socioeconomic class, how far you commute to work and your access to top schools. In short, you are where you live.
During the housing boom, people asked another question, which was how much did you pay for your house? This query wasn't so much about the cost of the house per se, though of course, that was part of it. Rather, the question was about the extraordinary rise in home prices. It was a way of saying, "Wow, aren't houses expensive these days?" And while how much might once have seemed an invasion of privacy, it became instead a way of asking an even more intrusive and incredulous question: How could you afford to buy this house?
"How much" was about your income, your debts, your credit score, and the machinations or deceptions to which you'd stooped to afford such a home. And while your answer might have avoided any disclosure of your personal finances, the whole subject inevitably led to the observation that anyone who hadn't bought a house was too blind or stupid to know a sure-bet when he saw one. ...CONTINUED
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Submitted by Robert A. Hulme on March 10, 2009 - 4:49am.
Timing is certainly a rather important question these days. The question that will be coming soon is, Were you smart enough to take advantage of the great housing bargains that were available during 2009?
Robert A. Hulme
Realtor, GRI, e-PRO
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Loan Officer
Mortgage Xpress
www.UtahCountyRealtor.us
www.UtahCountyRealEstate.ws
801-885-2586
Submitted by Larry Whited Sr. on March 10, 2009 - 4:59am.
A well written yet sad commentary on our current economy.
Larry A. Whited, Sr., CRB, CRS, GRI
President & Founder
www.maxUnet.com & www.WebMLS.net
P.O. Box 757
West Chester Ohio 45071
Direct - (513) 543-2727 Fax - (513) 297-7497
Submitted by Lenn Harley on March 10, 2009 - 5:00am.
Interesting and so true. Those of us with any market knowledge can estimate your relative market value as a percentage of what you paid by "when you purchased the home".
Lenn Harley
Broker
Homefinders.com
http://www.homefinders.com
Submitted by Jack Fleming on March 10, 2009 - 5:31am.
I should consider myself fortunate. I bought my present home in 1986 for the princely sum of $77,000. Yes that's a 77 with three zeroes after the 77. We paid it off early in 2004 just before I retired from the prnting industry. I got into real estate in November 2005.
When I started selling homes I was amazed that buyers were paying $2000-3000 per month to live in a home. I was even more amazed that they had bought those homes with no down payment, no doc, sub prime adjustable rate IO loans. Boggles the mind!
Just to keep things in perspective my parents bought a great four bedroom stone colonial in 1960 for $$16,500. That neighborhood is now selling in the mid three hundreds.
I live in Havertown, PA just outside of Philadelphia.
Submitted by Richard Stabile Bergen County Real Estate on March 10, 2009 - 6:03am.
Yes when someone bought their house is a good indicator of their viability, however the next part of the problem was refinances and home equity loans. People who were ok put themselves in a hole. It became a ATM machine. Some homeowners got hooked on home equity and refi's., they did it 3-4 years in a row.
http://newhomesbyrichard.com
Submitted by Marcie Geffner on March 10, 2009 - 6:24am.
The inflation in house prices and use of a home as an ATM machine are indeed important aspects of this timing issue. And we certainly do have to wonder what the implications of "when" will be five or 10 years from now.
Thanks everyone for your great comments.
P.S. Readers are cordially invited to "friend" the author on Facebook.
Marcie Geffner
www.marciegeffner.blogspot.com
Submitted by Jonathan Phan on March 10, 2009 - 7:05am.
Very interesting.
Jonathan Phan
http://www.jonathansellshomes.com/
Submitted by Vicki Lloyd on March 10, 2009 - 9:35am.
Yes, "when" can indicate whether or not you are under water, but the HELOC/ATM effect has played a big part in our current foreclosure mess.
It makes me sad to see that someone paid a reasonable price for their home in 1993, then took (hundreds of) thousands out via HELOC to buy other properties, big screen tvs, cars, or vacations, and now they are losing it to foreclosure!
Vicki Lloyd, MBA, e-PRO, ACRE, Realtor
http://LiveLakeForest.com
Submitted by Chris Bates on March 10, 2009 - 10:32am.
Your writing style is wonderful, thank you.
One great lesson we are learning from this market is to be content and grateful for what we have. Don't worry about what you paid for your house if it truly is your home.
...anybody who planned on their purchase being a short stop on their journey, should have rented.
chris at www.ePropertySites.com
Submitted by Marcie Geffner on March 10, 2009 - 12:40pm.
And thank you, again, to everyone who has commented. Your sharing your thoughts is much appreciated.
Marcie Geffner, www.marciegeffner.blogspot.com
Submitted by Lenore & Alex Wilkas on March 11, 2009 - 12:49pm.
What makes me sad is seeing people who put down a lot of money on a home in our market (believe me we're talking 7 figures to buy that home and 6 figures in down payment) to see this decline. I have a client who unfortunately bought at the peak, and then was transferred and has had to rent that home. He can not sell now or in the near future nor can be get a positive cash flow. Timing has always been everything in life. I don't know if that means you are lucky or shrewd but perhaps it's a bit of both?
BTW, I bought my house in 1999 and at that time I felt it was over priced, too! Ah, were those the days -- it was $379,000.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lenore Wilkas
Prudential CA Fine Homes International
www.SanMateoRealEstateNews.com
Submitted by Marcie Geffner on March 13, 2009 - 7:17pm.
Thanks for your comment, Lenore. That's a good point about the pain of people who have lost substantial downpayments due to no fault other than bad timing. Ouch, indeed.
Marcie Geffner www.housekeysblog.blogspot.com