Seattle Bubble Forum Archive

Yikes! Almost 20K in inventory.

Glad I'm not a homedebtor or real estate clerk right about now.

Need stock market to go boom-boom, which it seems to be doing, so once we get the recession underway, no more low unemployment, stupid consumer spending (well who knows about that one), then the housing market will start to take a speedy nose dive.

"Need stock market to go boom-boom, which it seems to be doing, so once we get the recession underway, no more low unemployment, stupid consumer spending (well who knows about that one), then the housing market will start to take a speedy nose dive."

I agree, but that's going to be a scary time to get out there and buy a house, even IF interest rates are favorable. My plan:

-Wait for darkest corner of nastiest recession, and hope that I still have a job
-Buy house with 20% down-payment, minimum
-$20K left in the bank in cash, minimum
-Immediately get HELOC for 10% of house value (90% LTV rates are usually decent) and keep this available (not extracted) for emergency fund.

If the wife and I lose both our jobs, we'll be able to keep going for a good few years on unemployment, savings, and the HELOC until good times roll around.

BTW, this is one area in which I really recommend HELOCs. If you have the ability to NOT SPEND THE DAMN MONEY they can make a great emergency fund which is usually at a decent interest rate, considering how much you can borrow. It's not a replacement for a cash emergency fund, but if you can get it and stay away from it, then why not...