Rant: Real Estate in Western WA

[mud1059]

I don't know what everyone does here for a living. I just have to know, has everyone in WW become a banker/stock broker/lawyer? Is everyone in the import/export of drugs? WTF do people do to afford $4-900,000 houses?!?!

Don't get me wrong, my wife and I clear $100,000 together annually. Not too shabby for folks that barely graduated HS (out of laziness), had 2 kids at a younger age, AND got a late start on any kind of career due to military service. I don't see how people can afford $3000+ mortgage payments!

Anyone here in real estate? I just don't get it.

Point is this: Wife and I are tired of renting and want a home of our own. We can't buy land because we can't put 50% down. (This was our original intention.) Must buy a house. OK, fine. If we want more than 4 acres (and we do) we're looking at the middle of nowhere and a much longer commute and prices that are still VERY extreme- ESPECIALLY for a freakin stupid mobile home.

This bitch ranges from Maple Valley to Roy and has been on my mind since we moved back here in '05.

Sorry to whine!
Paul

 

[TRSCobra]

I don't know what everyone does here for a living. I just have to know, has everyone in WW become a banker/stock broker/lawyer? Is everyone in the import/export of drugs? WTF do people do to afford $4-900,000 houses?!?!

I know what you mean. I can't believe the cost of living here!

The $125,000 house I lived in back in PA would go for like $450,000 out here!

WTF?

 

[2xtreme]

Paul,
I know we have had this discussion before The market is what it is and most of us bought our homes several years ago when the market prices were lower. Don't get me wrong, they were high back then also, but they just keep going up!!

The whole problem is if you don't get into the market (purchase a house) then it makes it very difficult to get into it later. To be honest right now (and for at least the next year or maybe two) will be an excellent time to get into the market again.

With your combined salary you guys should be able to find a decent size lot (5 acres) and afford the payments on a decent starter house. The alternative is to forget about the land at the moment and get a good starter house. Clean it up, put a little TLC into it and sell it in a couple years and move up till you get just what you want.

Michael

 

[JBweld]

We started out in a small, but new house, up here in Ferndale. Over the 8 years we owned it, we made small improvements and kept it in good shape. We sold it for double what we paid for it! We then reinvested that money into a much larger but older house in the same area, and have reasonable payments.

Obviously the average housing cost up here is lower than anything around Seattle, but the average income is a little lower also, so its all relative. Making payments on our first house was painful for the first few years, especially on one income, but worth it in the end. Like Michael said, get into the market as soon as you can! Even if its a small starter house.

On a side note, We were certain we could afford 5 acres and build on it. Found a very good deal on some land before buying our current house. But after crunching numbers realized we would be eating Ramen noodles, and I wouldn't be able to afford a shop for years. The house was a better choice for us.

-Jeremy

 

[Blkxjkrawler]

X's 2 we bought ours When the market was climbing, but still low enough to be affordable. We have seen massive gains on a yearly basis. Unfortunatley, so have our
property taxes:smsoap:
-Ryan

 

[fubar XJ]

Home prices suck up here, they just do. The best thing you can do is get in to something you can afford now and build equity. Almost no-one buys their "dream home" as their first house, they buy what they can afford and upgrade later as finances allow. But by getting in now and building equity, you ensure yourself a nice little (or big, depending on market conditions) chunk of change to put towards your next house. Seriously, the market is a bit down right now, both overall and seasonally. Expect prices to jump a bit around May/June, and level off or dip a skoshe in Sept/Oct. I've seen listing prices drop considerably in the last 4-6 months due to common sense and saturation of the market, but it will always be strong here compared to most areas of the country.


Find a place you and the missus can live with and get in soon. That's what I did at a young age (21) and i've never regretted it. Each time you sell/buy, you can upgrade using your equity as part of your down payment. we're on our 4th house in the last 19 years, and this will be the last one for the next 15-20 until I retire.

 

[mud1059]

That's kind of why I was venting yesterday. I spent 4 hours driving around the countryside looking for land/homes we can afford. There were some that were pretty "decent." I think we're more interested in the land and building our own home later on. I do know how important it is to get in as soon as possible, I honestly didn't because the market was ridiculous and I wasn't sure on our marriage. Now that we're more stable (she got meds ) I'm more comfortable committing to a mortgage!

Hey Michael - Here's an MLS for ya I know you're a plane guy and if I could, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. BEAUTIFUL area. It has a freakin hangar!

MLS# 27107887

 

[ECKSJAY]

The best thing you can do is get in to something you can afford now and build equity.

This is what we're doing very soon. Have to get out of apt with another kid coming...

 

[redsand187]

You can always relocate to the eastern washington ghetto and get a nice house for less then 200,000.

 

[Ba-Riedo]

Where exactly is Selah? Im really not looking forward to having to buy a house in the next 5-10 years.

-Alex

 

[2xtreme]

That's kind of why I was venting yesterday. I spent 4 hours driving around the countryside looking for land/homes we can afford. There were some that were pretty "decent." I think we're more interested in the land and building our own home later on. I do know how important it is to get in as soon as possible, I honestly didn't because the market was ridiculous and I wasn't sure on our marriage. Now that we're more stable (she got meds ) I'm more comfortable committing to a mortgage!

Hey Michael - Here's an MLS for ya I know you're a plane guy and if I could, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. BEAUTIFUL area. It has a freakin hangar!

MLS# 27107887

Paul, That is a nice place!! Incredible View, big shop, what else could you possibly care about!!!!

It is always better to be stable when making a large purchase!! You did the right thing!!

I know what you are going through. When we first moved back up here we bought a house that the bank said we could afford but we were not really sure. It is worth double what we paid for it less than 7 years ago (we still own it and rent it out now). When we were looking for a larger house we couldn't find anything that we liked so we looked for land for several years and never found anything that we liked or could afford. I look at the prices of the land that we did like (200K or 250K) and I would pick them up in a heartbeat but they are not more like 500K!! The house we did end up getting (after the long search for land) has gone up in value more than 50% in just 3 years. It won't always be like this and I don't expect it to, but as a general rule property values are a VERY good investment and the sooner you can get in the better off you are.

You'll find something, it just takes time and patience and a GOOD realestate person is VERY helpful (trust me, I have had many of them!!).

Michael

 

[ElectricSnake]

Try California. the average home price in my area skyrocketed to $650k from around $275k in a matter of 6 years.

 

[mud1059]

I love that place! There's like 40 homes in about 100 acres out there. Super quiet!

I agree with the real estate investment idea. Long story short: My mom bought her first house when she was 21 for $15k. Rented it out for the last 16 years and has helped with two other rental property down payments and refinanced once more to cover my sister's private college tuition. All three rentals will be paid off before their retirement.

We've got an agent running rampant lately poor guy. We're looking at six possibilities on Saturday. By the time we're done with him, I'll have him earn his 3%.

Not much better 'round here snake (I don't know your name). It is settling down finally. There's TONS of houses on the market. You'll see here in a little while

 

[XJCasper]

Paul,

You and your wife are bringing in more than we are. We purchased out in Yelm, to find something we would like and afford.

Currently we are researching land purchases in other areas of the country...

Missouri
Kentucky
Arkansa(sp?)

CHEAP, compared to what I am used to.

At this point, give it another year and let the market continue to drop. Prices are declining in our area.

Jason

 

[5-90]

I still don't understand - the intrinsic value of the land didn't change, so why the the "market value" shoot up so drastically?

Witness the Ghey Area - I wonder how much longer it's going to be before all of the "service people" and tradesmen are priced right out of the area? Cost of living seems to be going up faster than salaries, and there's just something wrong there.

For what the average single-family home goes for out here, I could probably buy half a city block back home - at current "market prices."

 

[in2fords]

I know what you guys are going thru. Down here in Hawaii starter homes come in at about $8-900K!!!!! Im moving up to S. Oregon so i can start my life, no way I can do it here on Oahu. The island of Hawaii(Big Island) is much better priced and there is a lot of land, just no jobs or anyway to make a living out there.
Jeremy

 

[ladywolf]

my friends just bought 11 acres and are puttin up a house for a lil over 100k i think. so not too terrible bad, but its the yakima valley.

 

[2xtreme]

Realestate is one of the last areas left reasonably untouched by government ( I know this isn't true, but for this purpose it is). It is almost totally a supply vs. demand issue.

The reason our housing market in the NW (Cali, Hawaii, etc) is the way it is because they are places that people want to live (due to job market, area, etc) AND because people believe it is where people want to live in the future.

with my job I could live anywhere in the NW (WA, OR, ID). I choose to live where I live because I want to, because it is good for my kids, because the job market is good, and for a gazilion other reasons. I could move out to Eastern WA, or Eastern OR and buy a huge house on a monsterouse piece of land, But I don't because my "LIFE" is here where I live currently and it is where I want to live .

Buying land or homes can be a very difficult process and getting over the cost is not easy. But in a few years it can be VERY rewarding if you do it smart and right. It is a good investment in the long run if you do it right.

Michael

 

[5-90]

Realestate is one of the last areas left reasonably untouched by government ( I know this isn't true, but for this purpose it is). It is almost totally a supply vs. demand issue.

The reason our housing market in the NW (Cali, Hawaii, etc) is the way it is because they are places that people want to live (due to job market, area, etc) AND because people believe it is where people want to live in the future.

with my job I could live anywhere in the NW (WA, OR, ID). I choose to live where I live because I want to, because it is good for my kids, because the job market is good, and for a gazilion other reasons. I could move out to Eastern WA, or Eastern OR and buy a huge house on a monsterouse piece of land, But I don't because my "LIFE" is here where I live currently and it is where I want to live .

Buying land or homes can be a very difficult process and getting over the cost is not easy. But in a few years it can be VERY rewarding if you do it smart and right. It is a good investment in the long run if you do it right.

Michael

But what if, for various reasons, you just can't swing it?

 

[2xtreme]

But what if, for various reasons, you just can't swing it?

There are VERY few things we do in life that are not based on our priorities and come with some sort of trade off, right? I believe that there are far fewer people who can't afford to buy a house than "choose" to not afford a house due to "priorities or the trade off".

But let's assume you just can't afford to purchase. Then you have several decisions?
1. You could find a way or creating more income?
2. You could find a way or reducing your expenses?
3. You could buy a smaller house, condo, mobile, etc?
4. You could buy a house farther out town, different state, etc?
5. Or you could choose to keep renting (not normally that much less than purchasing

Usually we have to sacrafice something to get into the market. Once you are in, it makes it much easier to move to something bigger, closer, nicer, etc.

Michael