If there was ever a good time to obtain wealth..

[tony]

I'll preface this by saying that this is simply my opinion and in no way am I an expert. With that said.. I don't think there is a better time to pursue wealth than now.

Everyone likes to think you become rich while the economy is booming.. and that is true, a lot do. But while everyone is panicking about real estate there are two things stick out to me:

a) There is a ton of inventory, with fewer buyers. This alone drives prices down, even if you are not looking to invest in real estate it still makes for a good time to buy a house. I assume the only hard part is that the qualifications for a home loan just got harder considering the mortgage crisis. But this is a cycle, the market always makes a comeback and those prices will rise again over time.

b) Inflation, with home values dropping the cost of goods are going up. Again I'm no expert but this says to me that it is only a matter of time before home prices do the same. If you get your foot in now its likely you will be able to ride the appreciation wave.

I'm posting this for feedback and information purposes. I currently have a house and considering renting it out then purchasing a duplex. I figure if I can build up a good RE portfolio I won't have to work as hard in the future.

I have some other things to add but limited time, I'll add more later.

[BanginJimmy]

a) There is a ton of inventory, with fewer buyers. This alone drives prices down, even if you are not looking to invest in real estate it still makes for a good time to buy a house. I assume the only hard part is that the qualifications for a home loan just got harder considering the mortgage crisis. But this is a cycle, the market always makes a comeback and those prices will rise again over time.

this is already happening. Nationally a new 3br/2ba has dropped about 20k since last year, from about 213k to about 193k.

b) Inflation, with home values dropping the cost of goods are going up. Again I'm no expert but this says to me that it is only a matter of time before home prices do the same. If you get your foot in now its likely you will be able to ride the appreciation wave.

partly true. The problem right now is the overabundance of empty homes and the mortgage companies are working under very strict rules. With so many foreclosures right now it may be a little early to jump in. This month home sales did make a jump though, up 3% over last months numbers.

I'm posting this for feedback and information purposes. I currently have a house and considering renting it out then purchasing a duplex. I figure if I can build up a good RE portfolio I won't have to work as hard in the future.

I have some other things to add but limited time, I'll add more later.

again I think its a little early unless you have the capital to hold on to them empty for 6+ months while looking for renters.

[IndianStig]

i completely agree.

[TheGrillMan]

i also completely agree

my parents are buying a huge house in fl beacuse of this


they also bought a nice house on the water for dirt cheap when i was a kid and fliped it for 3x what they paid when i was 18

[BanginJimmy]

With what I am seeing flipping houses will not be easy right now because of the dropping new home prices, but now is a good time to buy a house.

[tony]

I am not talking about flipping, I am talking about buying and holding. Hence the "ride the appreciation wave" Wasn't really trying to debate here.. moreso open up dialog

[TheGrillMan]

I am not talking about flipping, I am talking about buying and holding. Hence the "ride the appreciation wave" Wasn't really trying to debate here.. moreso open up dialog

maybe fliping was the wrong word, they will live there for a long time beacuse there going to buy a house they want. but they also know that lets say in 15-20 years it will pay off nicely when they deisde to go somewhere else

[blaknoize]

Hmm... I said this in a seperate post myself. Buy while down.. the markets always recover. EVERYONE cant be slow and scared. This is the time I wanna buy to.

[TIGERJC]

hopefully the market continues to suck for atleast 2-3 years, as I will prolly get into a starter house in 09 and also my parents and I are looking at getting more rental property. I think you can find plenty of ppl that are willing to rent since so many can not get a home loan now or they don't feel they can afford a house in these trouble times

[ironchef]

I agree with what you're saying, how I'm not too sure about the idea of getting a duplex. Those are always a much tougher sell from my experience. Maybe look into 2 townhomes side by side, I think that might be easier to either sell or rent out.

[drpepper14]

I agree, my fiancee and I just purchased a townhome in Kennesaw.

The market is so terrible at the moment that our seller sold his home to us for $4000 less than what he paid for it brand new 4 years ago. We brought him down $30k from his asking price because he said he just hasn't had serious buyers in a year.