Went through the process of house hunting/buying

[Fan of Dan]

now that's what I call a return. Why didn't they buy two?

I wonder if in 20 years we will be saying that about some other areas, who knows.

[smee123]

The price of homes compared to income has gone way up in the last 20 yrs. If it goes any higher nobody will be able to afford one.

[Dan]

The price of homes compared to income has gone way up in the last 20 yrs. If it goes any higher nobody will be able to afford one.

Or people will move to places where it's affordable to live.
The LA paycheck to paycheck lifestyle isn't sustainable IMHO.

[Fan of Dan]

Or people will move to places where it's affordable to live.

Or live further out of the frum areas, as has happened in many frum communities. I would think both will happen.

[smee123]

Or people will move to places where it's affordable to live.

Not everyone can, i personally wish i could 

[Dan]

Not everyone can, i personally wish i could 

Job?

[smee123]

Yup, that's the main thing. And then of course there is community& family but who needs them 

[melodystewart]

The pace of the economic recovery has been too slow from last few years and this ultimately tends to rise in mortgage rates.

[RT]

I know everyone here stressed how invaluable a good inspection is. I bought a house last July and I don't think we even got a home inspection. My question is, if you're going to buy the house anyways then what's the point? Isn't the home inspection done right before closing?
So what if the guy tells me I need new windows, roof, HVAC.. I'll figure it out at some point anyways. What am I missing here?

[RT]

If you figure it out before you buy the house, you can have the owner pay to get it fixed or renegotiate the house price.

Aha. that makes sense.
I bought a short sale. Got a sick deal and the owners were broke so I wasn't getting a penny from them. A year later and many thousands of dollars later we still have plenty more work to do in the house, but we still got a decent deal after all the money we put in and still need to put in.

[Marco Polo]

Aha. that makes sense.
I bought a short sale. Got a sick deal and the owners were broke so I wasn't getting a penny from them. A year later and many thousands of dollars later we still have plenty more work to do in the house, but we still got a decent deal after all the money we put in and still need to put in.

Understandable, but you may have been able to get the house at a cheaper price though...

Also, not everyone is getting a short sale and can still recognize a good price after putting in all  kinds of work.

[Fan of Dan]

I know everyone here stressed how invaluable a good inspection is. I bought a house last July and I don't think we even got a home inspection. My question is, if you're going to buy the house anyways then what's the point? Isn't the home inspection done right before closing?
So what if the guy tells me I need new windows, roof, HVAC.. I'll figure it out at some point anyways. What am I missing here?

If the guy tells you the foundation is not stable you may want to walk. Or if the septic is finished it can cost you between 10 to 20k. It's just due diligence.

[Barryg]

If the guy tells you the foundation is not stable you may want to walk. Or if the septic is finished it can cost you between 10 to 20k. It's just due diligence.

Also, if there is something that both the buyer and the seller were unaware of, an inspection can be a good source to take $ of selling price...
Ex. since inspector found this issue that will cost $2000 to fix, I'd ask you to fix or take $1000 off price...

[RT]

So bottom line is a good inspection is important when not dealing with a short sale or foreclosure. In which case the owner has no money and the money from the sale is going to the bank to pay off the mortgage.

[bem684]

So bottom line is a good inspection is important when not dealing with a short sale or foreclosure. In which case the owner has no money and the money from the sale is going to the bank to pay off the mortgage.

It's still important in that case.  You don't want to buy first and only later find out the foundation is 10 years from crumbling to dust...that's got to be expensive to fix, and even if you plan to move out instead of fixing it, the resale value will plummet.