EconE said,

on December 13th, 2007 at 6:46 pm

It would be interesting to see what the absorption rate and MOS would be for 1M+ properties.

Since you asked… It’s 18 months. check this out

County records show the home as being built in 2004, although maybe that’s just when they started construction. They show two mortgages the same day from the same lender for the current owner; does that mean they might have 0 down? The records won’t let you actually look at the mortgage documents.

Yes, generally that would mean a borrower purchased zero down.

Subprime on a $1.3 million-dollar house? I wouldn’t think that would be possible… Then again, there was all sorts of insane lending going on before this all hit in March, so I am probably just ignorant on that account.

There was another buyer in the wings who just wouldn’t pull the trigger. Apparently, after we fell out, they (surprisingly) paid the asking price (we threw out a price $200K+ under asking).

So you had it under contract for $1.075M? That makes the flip more interesting.

A national homebuilder in our area is taking it in the shorts. their sales are off 75% YoY. and theres been a 65% reduction in local workforce. In the shorts!

Evidently, that statement is intended to be taken quite literally.

Ray Pepper
Broker
http://www.500Realty.net

Then we had the inspection. The whole house of cards fell after that.

As noted in the comments, the house started on a much smaller footprint, with the intention of there being a detached garage. Another builder stepped in (obvious to the inspector looking at the crawl space), and joined the two structures, expanding living space by building the master suite atop of the garage.

There was another buyer in the wings who just wouldn’t pull the trigger. Apparently, after we fell out, they (surprisingly) paid the asking price (we threw out a price $200K+ under asking).

Adding to the drama was the fact that the property was developed as a flip by the parents of a friend of mine. Very awkward.

Basically, the house was a frankenstein. Structurally, lots of non-standard framing and engineering. Contrary to how it appears, the fixtures were very nice..lots of room for a big family.

Ardell was our agent on this. She was advising that the price was too high, and was concerned about the location right on Avondale (lots of noise). She was relieved when we bailed.

I CANNOT believe it’s being sold so soon for so much. $1.6+ in this market? The listing agent should be shot.

As for our plan we’re going to sell our house in March, move into a rental, then wait for the market to drop some more, with the goal of picking up a high end house for a nice discount.

Cheers,

Eastside Eric, formerly known as Seattle Eric :)

Yes, generally that would mean a borrower purchased zero down.

on December 13th, 2007 at 10:14 pm

The husband, up on the ladder with leaves and pine needles in his hands said…WE HAVE NOT CLOSED, so it has not sold, yet the realtor’s here are allowed to put SOLD signs on their infamous signs…

Interesting. I’ve been wondering why my neighbor’s house has been “sold” for two weeks (after a 1+ month escrow) while the owner hasn’t changed in the county records.

On the surface, pending sales are when a house is UNDER CONTRACT. That makes sense, and the contract is subject to all kinds of representations, including FINANCING. It appears, from my very limited experience in Seattle, that real estate agents are allowed to put SOLD sings, even though the house/title has not changed hands. When we sold our house in Miami Beach, it was after the sale that the real estate agent asked me first, if they could put the infamous SOLD sign. Now, I did rent the house that we sold for two weeks and paid rent until we moved/sold 13 years worth of stuff…quite the cleansing…But again, can someone with the proper experience explain the SOLD signs and does it mean that title has actually changed hands. In the BOOM, the SOLD sign made lots of sense for all involved, but in our WAMU (and others) induced credit implosion, it may no longer be applicable…JUST LIKE THE PENDING SALES numb ers…oh well..hope I am making some sense of this and if I am not, just let me know..cheers.

The husband, up on the ladder with leaves and pine needles in his hands said…WE HAVE NOT CLOSED, so it has not sold, yet the realtor’s here are allowed to put SOLD signs on their infamous signs…

Interesting. I’ve been wondering why my neighbor’s house has been “sold” for two weeks (after a 1+ month escrow) while the owner hasn’t changed in the county records.

http://redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1133701

sold Feb 2007: 750,000
selling now for: 739,500

I found this one from an email alert from usa-foreclosure.com (i.e. yep, its going FC in only 10 months!) Its notable since it is one of the few I’ve seen that is listed for less than the last sale price.

"golly". You’d think a listing for a $1M+ property would at least merit a run through the spellcheck.

I drove by this thing for a long time during construction. It started as a 2-story house and a detached garage w/loft. Then work sorta stopped, and then stuff started happening between the 2 buildings. The grand entryway was an afterthought. You can look at the permit history to confirm that.

And about it really being bought? I’m sure it was. The current sellers are the first owners, otherwise they’d being renting it from the builder.

The property is loaded with Sensitive Area restrictions too, so pfft to that.

If the builder had just stuck with Plan A, he coulda sold it into the housing boom as a modest home. Instead, it turned into a displaced alpine lodge that is becoming a poster child of excess stupidity.

dge said,

on December 13th, 2007 at 3:51 pm

I’ve heard of a scheme where the seller works out a deal with the buyer where the buyer rents out the property back to the seller. So, the seller gets his price, but pays a monthly rent to the buyer, who gets help with the mortgage payment.

So, the comps are saved and all middle-people still get their expected cut.

Is this legal? Kind of “fraud-y” to me…

If you were going to do this, why would you leave the trail of price reductions, then try to move it 6 months later at a higher price?

If you were trying to defraud a real buyer, it’d be better to “buy” the house at $1.7 mil, actually paying only $1.3, then “flip” it now for $1.65. Real buyer thinks he’s getting the property at a reduced price, real seller makes $450k profit, minus commissions and bribes.

Second, I think the owners took the ridiculous Zillow estimate and cut it by 5% to give the appearance of giving a deal.

Third, when is Zillow going to go away?

If they really did buy it, maybe they’re just fishing now. You can get on the MLS for $500. At that price range I’d be tempted to try. People with money to burn do crazy stuff; someone might actually buy it for a premium.

So, the comps are saved and all middle-people still get their expected cut.

Is this legal? Kind of “fraud-y” to me…

I’m sure it probably was, Tim uses valid websites, but the attorney in me considers the small percentage possibilities too. Imagine if its all a hoax, Seattle homes aren’t selling and there’s hardly anyone that qualifies with today’s tighter money, so the seller passes phony agreement papers and under the table money back and forth with a phony buyer; to make it look like it sold anyway?

Then puts it back on the market like its legitimate real estate.