"SHOW ME THE MONEY" VIEWS on HOW to make MONEY GR

[Partial]

Not sure how stable the job is, but in my field I'd be able to find another job in the area within a few weeks I'd think. That's my biggest concern.. how I would handle payments if I was laid off.

[Patler]

Not sure how stable the job is, but in my field I'd be able to find another job in the area within a few weeks I'd think. That's my biggest concern.. how I would handle payments if I was laid off.

I know a bunch of people who thought they were in fields that had perpetual shortages, and that finding another job would never be a problem....but now it is.

Is your job considered a permanent position, or temporary but full time?
You went the straight employee route, correct? Not the independent contractor status that you were considering?

[Partial]

Not sure how stable the job is, but in my field I'd be able to find another job in the area within a few weeks I'd think. That's my biggest concern.. how I would handle payments if I was laid off.

I know a bunch of people who thought they were in fields that had perpetual shortages, and that finding another job would never be a problem....but now it is.

Is your job considered a permanent position, or temporary but full time?
You went the straight employee route, correct? Not the independent contractor status that you were considering?

W-2 so I'd at least get unemployment if I got laid off

[Bretsky]

It probably means you will get less money than you think your house is worth but you will also be able to find a bargain out there

Like less than the assessed value? Or less than what a house should appreciate per year?

In most places homes are worth less now than they were 12-18 months ago

The assessment...often depends on how recent somebody has come through your place to evaluate it

In two of my four regions, the annual appreciation the cities tack on each year has exceeded the actual values of the homes.

[Bretsky]

Not sure how stable the job is, but in my field I'd be able to find another job in the area within a few weeks I'd think. That's my biggest concern.. how I would handle payments if I was laid off.

I know a bunch of people who thought they were in fields that had perpetual shortages, and that finding another job would never be a problem....but now it is.

Is your job considered a permanent position, or temporary but full time?
You went the straight employee route, correct? Not the independent contractor status that you were considering?

all good points by Patler; I'd agree your window for staying there should be a while.

If a job is temporary, part time, or you are contracting your services lending instituations will be unable to use your income due to lack of work history.

If you are a full time employee then they can.

[retailguy]

RG, Bretsky, Patler, any thoughts? I'm sure RG will say to get out of debt first, but I have already paid down 3k, so I'm at 11k debt. That 8k will knock off a nice chunk of the remaining debt. Almost too good to be true?

I'd warn you that RG and I will not agree on this one

Tons of value out there in the housing market

I'd consider buying a home if the right property came through

I know a dam good home loan officer

So, if you paid off your debt first and then bought a house, and after buying the house you got laid off and had difficulty finding another job; then would it be easier or harder to pay your living expenses until you found a new job?

[Scott Campbell]

There are a lot of people who believe we are set to see a second wave of foreclosures.

Like when?

What does this mean for someone that has been in their home 4 years and is thinking of selling?

I like my house (and love my neighborhood) but there are a few things missing in this house that I would really like, so I suppose it would be an upgrade....not a lot though. Just a little fine tuning to make it the house I will keep.

Soon. The first wave of foreclosures were sub prime loans and people living check to check. Now people that had rainy day funds and decent credit are beginning to teeter. I think it means that there is no guarantee that we've hit the bottom. But I'm not sure.

We may have bottomed out, but you can't be certain. I bristle when I hear people say that now is the perfect time to buy a home - implying that they're certain that we've hit the bottom.

In terms of your own situation, if you really want to move - you should. I'd probably ask B how much the transaction costs are likely to set you back. Once you know what it's going to cost, you can decide whether its worth it or not. It's typically expensive, and usually comes out of your home equity which impacts your personal balance sheet - whether you formally keep one or not. We've considered building, but our kids are out of the house in 8-10 years, and our housing needs will be different at that point. So were holding off until then.

You can get a rough idea of your homes value by punching in your address at www.zillow.com. I'd probably council against taking on a lot of additional debt at this time. But you can't take my advice to the bank anymore than anyone elses. These are uncertain times.

[Scott Campbell]

It probably means you will get less money than you think your house is worth but you will also be able to find a bargain out there

Like less than the assessed value? Or less than what a house should appreciate per year?

In most places homes are worth less now than they were 12-18 months ago

The assessment...often depends on how recent somebody has come through your place to evaluate it

In two of my four regions, the annual appreciation the cities tack on each year has exceeded the actual values of the homes.

How accurate is zillow in your experience? Out here, it's pretty damn accurate.

[Scott Campbell]

RG, Bretsky, Patler, any thoughts? I'm sure RG will say to get out of debt first, but I have already paid down 3k, so I'm at 11k debt. That 8k will knock off a nice chunk of the remaining debt. Almost too good to be true?

I'd warn you that RG and I will not agree on this one

Tons of value out there in the housing market

I'd consider buying a home if the right property came through

I know a dam good home loan officer

B,

I really bristle at the bolded comment. There is a ton of "value" out there in the housing market IF we've bottomed out. I know of lot of really, REALLY smart people that are not so certain about that. That doesn't mean I'd suggest staying out of the market. It means I'd suggest being prepared for the market to swing in either direction.

There are speculators who will make a killing by calling the bottom. There are other speculators who will get killed trying to call the bottom. Most of us financial mortals won't be able to differentiate between the winners and losers until 24 months after the fact.

In general, RG (and it looks like Patler too) gives advice that will work in either an up or a down market. I get the impression that you're a bit more of a gambler (higher risk/higher reward). There's nothing wrong with that, but people that you're giving advice to need to understand that.

[SkinBasket]

Zillow isn't really that accurate where we are. For the most part, the properties are under market by anywhere from 20-60k, while the occasional property that has a flag of "model" or some other generic modifier is grossly overvalued. Been using it for a few years, and it's gotten better as far as accuracy, but still isn't a good representation of market or what the homes are selling for.

[Bretsky]

RG, Bretsky, Patler, any thoughts? I'm sure RG will say to get out of debt first, but I have already paid down 3k, so I'm at 11k debt. That 8k will knock off a nice chunk of the remaining debt. Almost too good to be true?

I'd warn you that RG and I will not agree on this one

Tons of value out there in the housing market

I'd consider buying a home if the right property came through

I know a dam good home loan officer

B,

I really bristle at the bolded comment. There is a ton of "value" out there in the housing market IF we've bottomed out. I know of lot of really, REALLY smart people that are not so certain about that. That doesn't mean I'd suggest staying out of the market. It means I'd suggest being prepared for the market to swing in either direction.

There are speculators who will make a killing by calling the bottom. There are other speculators who will get killed trying to call the bottom. Most of us financial mortals won't be able to differentiate between the winners and losers until 24 months after the fact.

In general, RG (and it looks like Patler too) gives advice that will work in either an up or a down market. I get the impression that you're a bit more of a gambler (higher risk/higher reward). There's nothing wrong with that, but people that you're giving advice to need to understand that.

Gambler........hmmm

when I'm speaking with loan clients I describe myself like this

My wife plays .25 slots. That is too boring and not rewarding enough. Ditto with Dollar slots

So I play blackjack; but I won't touch the $20 table. Often at the $5 table, and sometimes at the $10 table. So I'd categorize myself being slightly above average in terms of risk tolerance.

On the other hand, if there are several hotties over at the Craps table I'll roll with them as well

I think we are near the bottom; I've never been good calling the bottom. But I'm happy to get near it.

When I say there are deals out there....a lot of buyers, unemotional ones, go to several properties and lowball the offers. Eventually somebody caves.

They are the cut throat smart ones

It's the buyers that fall in love with a house, set X as their price, and end up paying 10-15,000 more than what they wanted to pay due to emotions that will IMO get burned.

[Bretsky]

Zillow isn't really that accurate where we are. For the most part, the properties are under market by anywhere from 20-60k, while the occasional property that has a flag of "model" or some other generic modifier is grossly overvalued. Been using it for a few years, and it's gotten better as far as accuracy, but still isn't a good representation of market or what the homes are selling for.

I'd agree with this

[Freak Out]

It probably means you will get less money than you think your house is worth but you will also be able to find a bargain out there

Like less than the assessed value? Or less than what a house should appreciate per year?

In most places homes are worth less now than they were 12-18 months ago

The assessment...often depends on how recent somebody has come through your place to evaluate it

In two of my four regions, the annual appreciation the cities tack on each year has exceeded the actual values of the homes.

How accurate is zillow in your experience? Out here, it's pretty damn accurate.

zillow didn't recognize my zip. 99501

[Partial]

Well, I took a new job today. Significantly more money. I'm hoping this tax credit for first time home buyers get extended. I probably could buy a place right before Dec 1st, but its looking like it will be very difficult and would really spread myself thin if something were to happen.

[Bretsky]

I'm ready for you if you need financing

Still thinking it's 50-50 but I'd bet it gets extended