http://www.enterprisenewspapers.com/art ... ate=ETPart"The burst of the housing bubble caught Ryan in the middle of his most ambitious gamble ever: In 2006, he bought a 10-bedroom, 6-bathroom mansion in the 8000 block of Cyrus Place for $1.9 million, and spent a year and nearly $1 million installing granite and marble throughout, refinishing the floors and the walls, and spit-shining what had been a worn, adult home."
Hmmm, does this seem crazy to anybody else? I mean, if you are a retired M$ Millionaire and plan on actually living in the place for a long time and can afford the upgrades, then sure, no problem. But how many people are buying $3M+ houses in the Puget Sound area right now? That's a pretty small pool of (very selective) buyers to be fishing in! Especially when one is carrying an $18K/mo mortgage on the property until it sells. What's the average time on market for houses in that price range? Maybe a year or so?
OOPS!