Once in a while you read something and you think: “Is this for real?” That’s the reaction I had yesterday when I received this email (name changed to protect the… well just as a courtesy):
Hello Timothy,
With interest I read your post regarding the “real estate bubble”. Regardless of what happens with the bubble the longer you wait to purchase a home the harder it will become. The only time I would agree that it would be appropriate to wait would be if you feel the bubble will burst and prices/values will fall.
Nothing in anyones crystal ball says anything about values falling in the Northwest, the primary reason being supply and demand. Here in (Mr. F’s) County our market is cooling. Even at that if we only have a 10% appreciation this year it is still great news for homeowners. So my recomendation would be to buy now not later. In not buying now you are loosing appreciation and tax writeoffs. As I tell most new buyers, just get on the up escalator! Once there at least what you currently own is appreciating at the same value as most of the homes around you so it will be easier when you are ready to sell and buy the next one.
Good luck, you obviously are putting a lot of thought behind your decisions…………..good job!
Mr. F
Web Page: (real estate website owned by Mr. F)
Blog: (real estate blog owned by Mr. F)
Though I’m not sure which particular post he may have been referring to, I have to say that this guy certainly has chutzpah if he thinks that one poorly-spelled email can somehow convince me that there’s never been a better time to buy!!! There’s some pretty classic quotes in there though. I think my favorites are “Just get on the up escalator!” and “Even…if we only have 10% appreciation…”
Here is the response I sent him:
Mr. F,
I have to say, I’m shocked, shocked I tell you, to learn that someone in the business of selling real estate would recommend that I buy now. Seriously though, we could certainly qualify for some kind of loan that could get us into a home in our area at this time. However, I’m not interested in “exotic” or “creative” financing. And right now that’s the only way we even could afford a house.
Believe me, I’ve run the numbers many different ways, and right now our money is doing just fine in “escalators” that haven’t just experienced the largest and fastest run-up in history. Despite your claims, and despite how much I love it here, there is nothing magically special about the Pacific Northwest that makes us immune to market correction, and I feel that one is coming—in the relatively near future. I suppose only time will tell which one of us is right.
Thanks for your comments and good luck in your work.
-Tim
I wonder what inspired Mr. F to email me in the first place?
In other news: I miss Arrested Development