Daniel Bretzke's Discussions

All the replies have been good advice.  As the relocation firm probably needs to justify a lower price to thier client,  an 80k lower bid needs to show that there are 80k' worth of problems that didn't exist before.  It is pretty easy to spend 80k when fixing major systems that make up a house.

As in any online posting, it is really important to check twice before hitting the send button.  It is really easy to get ahead of yourself  and click "buy" or "send".  Perhaps this is one of the reasons the prices have fallen back to 2003 levels?

Absolutely.  It has been going on in Seattle a long time, and at the same time, other professionals are joining the neighborhoods in which gay and lesbian populations have invested their dollars.

I have been a land lord for about 20 years.  Managing the properties in the good years was great.  I could by a property, improve it, get good renters, turn around and refinance every couple of years and buy another property.  This all went very well.  I did not mind if one property had a bit negative cash flow, because it was an appreciating asset.  All I had to do was go back to the bank.  Two years ago, my banker loaned my last loan.  He said if I wanted more, I would need to sell something.  Good advice from a conservative banker.  I don't think I want to be a renter in a couple of years.  Now that I have to start charging rents that will cover my costs depreciation, and management, rents will have to go up.    Once the unsold inventory is sold, unless there is a financial return to own rental properties, there will not be fewer rental properties, thus demand will go up, and renting will not look like such a good idea.  If you can stay in your house now or keep that rental property, or if you are even lucky enough to have sold last year and have stack of cash, better get yourself some more rental property.  

Definitely that  is crazy price for windows $4,000 each?  Last year I replaced windows in my house, I checked around and Lowes was the lowest price.  I was pretty surprised.   I paid and average of $175 a window, and then I installed them myself.  For the picure window, I installed three double hung windows in a row. It changed the look of the house ( positive) and it provided me with more opening area and in the end it was a similar price as the picture window.  

If you choose the right wood, have the right base, and seal it well, it will hold up well in a wet environment.  I installed teak on my font porch.  Rain can run off, but during the winter, it is usually wet.  Sealing it well was the trick.   As for laminate floors, not all are created equal. Before purchasing a laminate floor, I ask for a sample, which I take home and put in a bucke of water.  If it does not swell or break up, I buy it.   I have had some fall apart, and other sit in the water for a week and no change. 

My personal choice would be to keep the loan as it is, and try to focus on things that make you happy.  Trying to foretell the future is for sci-fi fans and fortune tellers. Rates may go up, or they may go down around the time you sell your house.  The other factor is that your house value may go up in the next seven years so you will have more down payment on your new house, thus your interest rate may be higher but your payment lower. I do recommend monitoring not only rates, but houses and type of houses that you plan to move to in the next five years.  Maybe that perfect house will come along sooner.In twenty years of married life, we have moved to three different houses.  My wife says we can only move twice more, so.  I have to make sure the next two moves are the right ones.  I am looking for the right house, but. the one we are in is fine for now.   The longer you stay in your home the more you may find this is true.

Sounds a bit short sighted.  Let's say that fore closed property needed   $50 thousand in repairs, and because of the current market is lower than it was four years ago, does not mean that market will not recover, and that $171,000 condo will again seem like a good deal.  I think it will take longer than a couple of years before walking away from your responsiblities will  allow  you to buy a place again.  In terms of renting, will you be able to rent a place as nice as the one you are leaving, or are you renting the foreclosed property that has not been repaired for years? There are choices people have to make,and walking away from a place should not be lightly done.

I have two theories.  One is that banks have a limited staff, thus as house that they own is sold, they start the process of appraisal, listing, and negotiating the sale of a new one.  The banks have a back log of houses to sell, but there is no sense in selling them all at once, as the price will go down, so they are taking the chance that prices will go up.The other therory is that there is a limited number of investors who can purchase the homes, and a lot of these bank owned properties need investors with cash and experience to turn them around for the first time home owners.   

I looked at a bank owned home this last weekend that had the basement toilet and washer hooked to a pump.   The pump had been unplugged from the wall, thus was not pumping... The smell filled the basement. The house was listed as a five bedroom, but after looking and smelling the basement, I recommend my client to keep looking as the house was really only a two bedrooms, the amount of bedrooms on the main floor less the basement. Someone did make an offer on the house, and I am sure they were planning to upgrade the pump, thus when a new buyer walks through, will say, oh my what a nice five bedroom house.