Monday, March 3, 2008

The Bulletin has an article about how "Sellers offer cold, hard cash to get homes off the market."

Well, no. What I read is them offering yet more dubious incentives to buy a house. More of the same old, same old. Only this time the customer really should know better.

It's very corrupt and outrageous.

It appears to me that they are in effect, bribing customers into a lower adjustable rate mortgages, in hopes that "potentially making it easier for buyers to qualify in the early years, DuBois said, and giving them a chance to boost their incomes and build equity before the rates adjust upward."

You know, because that's worked so well up to now....

Three corrupt elements.

1.) disguising the real worth of the house.

2.) getting a buyer to buy a house they can't afford under normal terms by giving them a lower 'adjustable rate mortgage.'

3.) giving them an 'adjustable rate mortgage' in the first place, assuring them they can afford it "Later."

It's all about using tricks again. I mean, listen to this, and tell me you haven't heard it before? I mean, does the word subprime mean anything anymore?

DuBois...."recommends that sellers use part of the equity to finance "3-2-1 buydowns" -- loans that charge payments based on interest rates that are 3 percentage points below market in the first year, 2 points under in the scond and 1 point in the third -- rather than dropping their prices by a similar amount."

Of course, if they are have to pay the real rates in the fourth year on through to the 30th year, with the principle barely dented, well that's their problem, isn't it? Remember that little kicker in the sentence above about RATES ADJUSTING UPWARD!?

Nevermind. House unloaded.

Want to buy a house in Bend? Wait for the price to stabilize. Don't worry, it will happen eventually. Rent and save the difference for a 20% downpayment. Make a lowball 10% offer in a year or so, and buy a house you can afford on your real income. Just like the old days. Lock into a nice, solid 30 year rate, don't play games.

Don't get suckered again.

How can they get away with that? Why are the banks letting them?

Is there no end to their perfidy? (I've always wanted to use the word perfidy.)

3 comments:

Tony Courtwright said...

Thanks Duncan - sound advice. We are planning to move as soon as we sell in Boise. We have kids in elementary school. We'd like to rent in the same school district where we'll eventually buy. Any suggested areas?

Duncan McGeary said...

Remember that just about everyone will disagree with this advice.

Personally, I think the premium for leaving on the west side is nuts.

Unless you really, really, really mean to walk everywhere (and in the end, almost no one really does), you're paying a third more for older houses.

But a lot of the subdivisions on the east, south, and north are pretty cheap.

So, try to find a nice neighborhood. I live in Williamson Park, a nice residential zone near the hospital, built in the late 80's, appropriated sized houses on nice 1/3 acre lots. Run in the 300k to 400k price range, which would be 400k to 500k on the west side. Stable neighborhood, usually only one or two houses on sale at any one time.

Only drawback is that it is surrounded by neighborhoods that are full of apartments and retirement complexes.

Duncan McGeary said...

Correction, the premium for 'living' on the west side, not 'leaving.'

And when I say cheap neighborhoods, I don't mean that in a nice way. But there are pockets of nice houses all over town.