[olecapt]

Originally Posted by dude66

Well I live in the Desert Shores area (renting a house). My wife and I drove around the neighborhood last week to see everyone's Christmas lights, but our trip soon turned into "Count the For Sale Signs". I couldn't believe how many homes are on the market just in our little area! We would drive down a single block and count 6 or 7 houses up for sale, turn the corner, and boom there's another 4 or 5. It's quite dramatic seeing the headlines made real like this, knowing all these people are competing for the same limited buyers and probably dragging everyone else's home values down in the process. It's like someone flipped a switch, and suddenly everyone is running for the door trying to sell.

I'm wondering though -- does anyone see rental prices increasing or decreasing? Seems to me the number of available rental units must be up quite a bit in Vegas, what with all the empty condos and investors stuck with houses they can't unload. Good time to ask for a lower monthly rent when my lease is up?

I think you are seeing things that fit your world view. Roughly 3.7% of the homes in Desert Shores and South Shores are for sale. That is 125 out of 3338 single family residences. That is high but not outrageous. Impacted tracts have 15% and more for sale.

Rentals are up about $100 via median or average rent. There has been no large influx of rentals...it is a myth. I am personally surprised at the small increase in rental activity. It probably says that renting does not do most of the potential sellers any good.

Desert Shores does have the most disastrous single tract I know of. That is the condo conversion known as the Villas at Desert Shores. About a 15 year inventory even though the lower priced units are now down more than a third. Renting better though. For a while you could neither sell nor rent.

[SHEPNYC]

All homebuilders stocks are making new lows today.

Levitt & Sons went bankrupt in November read the horror story from yesterday's New York times below:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/03/bu...ref=realestate

Seems like the real estate meltdown is spreading to everywhere but Manhattan, see yesterday's NY Post article:

MANHATTAN DEFIES $LUMP

[sheriff]

Well, the Palazzo opened-- any of you sellers out there get a flood of offers due to the creation of the world's largest resort, and all the wonderful jobs created?

[olecapt]

GLVAR December numbers are out. SFR sales are at 879..down from 968 in November and probably a low for this millenium. Median SFR price is down to $260,000 from $273,500 or just a little less than 5%. Condos are actually up in price (truthfully more flat over the period) but sales remain unbelievably low.

The vector is going very strongly in the down direction.

What happens next? Well I think we have the pattern for January and February. I would expect a large increase in inventory and further down in price. Then we see. This heavy a downturn is probably not sustainable very long. But who knows? 2003 prices by mid-year?

[Buzz123]

The apartments that decided to go condo...can they switch back to apartments if they aren't selling if they have already sold some units? Just curious.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by Buzz123

The apartments that decided to go condo...can they switch back to apartments if they aren't selling if they have already sold some units? Just curious.

Nah Buzz - Basically they subdivide the property. It is close to impossible to do an "assemblage" once there is wide spread ownership. If they changed their minds early enough it might be possible. Basically they would have to buy all the other units back and then assemble the pieces into a single property again.

They can go back and run the unsold as rentals. But that can cause some real problems. They end up having to meet the CC&Rs which generally require a unanimous vote to change certain key aspects. I believe there is at least one around that subdivided and never sold any. They can run it pretty much as they please and then sell when the climate gets better.

I am kind of curious as to what is going to happen to the Villas at Desert Shores. Sounds to me like conditions are such that bankruptcy of the HOA is very likely. What happens then? End up with an assessment against all the units? Some pay...some don't? Then what. Should be a real zoo.

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by olecapt

Nah Buzz - Basically they subdivide the property. It is close to impossible to do an "assemblage" once there is wide spread ownership. If they changed their minds early enough it might be possible. Basically they would have to buy all the other units back and then assemble the pieces into a single property again.

They can go back and run the unsold as rentals. But that can cause some real problems. They end up having to meet the CC&Rs which generally require a unanimous vote to change certain key aspects. I believe there is at least one around that subdivided and never sold any. They can run it pretty much as they please and then sell when the climate gets better.

I am kind of curious as to what is going to happen to the Villas at Desert Shores. Sounds to me like conditions are such that bankruptcy of the HOA is very likely. What happens then? End up with an assessment against all the units? Some pay...some don't? Then what. Should be a real zoo.

Sounds like good reasons NOT to buy condo conversions. I can think of others too...like it's still an apartment complex.

[Nodaclu]

Well, I heard back from my lender through my RE agent today.

They have declined the short sale offer of $250K.

They said they will not take any less than $275K, $1,000 from me at closing, and will force me to sign a 6 year contract to repay an additional $20K.

Again, keep in mind that my house has been on the market for 19 months, and this is the only offer I've had.

The above scenario isn't going to happen because my buyer has already refused to offer one penny above $250K, but this leaves me wondering what my next move should be.

I'm thinking it's probably a RE attorney (like I could afford one right now) but maybe not.

Is this a normal response from Countrywide? Or are they trying to make an example of me?

My thinking is that this offer is the best they are going to do on this house - they won't get any more for it at auction, and may even get less. So I'm dumbfounded at their response.

As mentioned in my original post a few pages back. I owe the IRS $37K as it is. My logic is that the IRS can put me in jail. Countrywide can't. Therefore, regardless of how much CW dislikes it, the government HAS to be my first (and really only) priority at this point.

Thoughts? Opinions? Bring 'em on. I think I can handle them all. (I've kept most of my sanity through everything else up to this point.)

~Mike

[smalldog]

Maybe you can frankly tell the buyer that $275K is the lowest price the bank can go. The buyer probably will accept it, since it is already a good deal.

Originally Posted by Nodaclu

Well, I heard back from my lender through my RE agent today.

They have declined the short sale offer of $250K.

They said they will not take any less than $275K, $1,000 from me at closing, and will force me to sign a 6 year contract to repay an additional $20K.

Again, keep in mind that my house has been on the market for 19 months, and this is the only offer I've had.

The above scenario isn't going to happen because my buyer has already refused to offer one penny above $250K, but this leaves me wondering what my next move should be.

I'm thinking it's probably a RE attorney (like I could afford one right now) but maybe not.

Is this a normal response from Countrywide? Or are they trying to make an example of me?

My thinking is that this offer is the best they are going to do on this house - they won't get any more for it at auction, and may even get less. So I'm dumbfounded at their response.

As mentioned in my original post a few pages back. I owe the IRS $37K as it is. My logic is that the IRS can put me in jail. Countrywide can't. Therefore, regardless of how much CW dislikes it, the government HAS to be my first (and really only) priority at this point.

Thoughts? Opinions? Bring 'em on. I think I can handle them all. (I've kept most of my sanity through everything else up to this point.)

~Mike

[desertsun41]

Originally Posted by Nodaclu

Well, I heard back from my lender through my RE agent today.

They have declined the short sale offer of $250K.

They said they will not take any less than $275K, $1,000 from me at closing, and will force me to sign a 6 year contract to repay an additional $20K.

Again, keep in mind that my house has been on the market for 19 months, and this is the only offer I've had.

The above scenario isn't going to happen because my buyer has already refused to offer one penny above $250K, but this leaves me wondering what my next move should be.

I'm thinking it's probably a RE attorney (like I could afford one right now) but maybe not.

Is this a normal response from Countrywide? Or are they trying to make an example of me?

My thinking is that this offer is the best they are going to do on this house - they won't get any more for it at auction, and may even get less. So I'm dumbfounded at their response.

As mentioned in my original post a few pages back. I owe the IRS $37K as it is. My logic is that the IRS can put me in jail. Countrywide can't. Therefore, regardless of how much CW dislikes it, the government HAS to be my first (and really only) priority at this point.

Thoughts? Opinions? Bring 'em on. I think I can handle them all. (I've kept most of my sanity through everything else up to this point.)

~Mike

Yikes ! I feel for ya Mike. If it is any comfort to you, there are many in the same shoes as you. It could happen to any one of us. Even the strong. One never knows when a job loss or a medical disaster could happen.

That all said...we read all over the news and hear on TV that the mortgage companies will work with you. HORSES$ht ! They will play hard ball with you untill they know they have no choice.

Back in 1991 I was hit by a drunk driver, an 18YO punk. I was dead at the scene. Some miracle rescue man woke me up and enabled me to be here still today all whole and normal. I was out of work for 3 years and lived on credit cards. When they were maxed out we were sunk. It just so happens that at that time in about 93ish the housing market took a dump in the Northeast. So I could not sell.

I can remember calling every creditor trying to work something out. Not one would do anything. The mortgage company, credit card companies, the whole bunch of them. In fact when you call to ask for a months deferral or to rewrite the note, what you just did was tipped them off that trouble is brewing. Now you find all the creditors checking your credit weekly. After one missed payment, Countrywide called the loan. I just walked away.

So I dont believe you can negotiate anything with these clowns.

Keep on plugging away. You will survive !