If you're in the market for a house, i found this great site...it actually tells you what the home sold for during previous sales for Fairfax. Just put in the address of the home for sale, and it will give all kinds of info on that property (including all previous sales!) Remember that the owner may have put some money into the home, but it will definitely give you an idea of how much "profit" they're trying to make...some are realistic...some are just darn greedy...especially considering today's market. Very Useful info for future buyers!!!! Pass it along!!!

http://icare.fairfaxcounty.gov/Search/GenericSearch.aspx?mode=ADDRESS

wow thats pretty cool... my moms house:

2000: (60,000 + 128,470) = $188,470
2006: (135,000 + 337,270) = $472,270 <-- peak
2007: (135,000 + 325,070) = $460,070

better tell her to sell soon :)

You could also call your realtor friend...wink wink.

Yes, that's a GREAT site....I've been messing around there for years!

Remember one thing, though, the sales prices listed are gross, not net.

Example: I recently sold one of my rentals for $550K...BUT, to make the deal, I had to agree to pay the bastard's closing costs to the tune of $20K ("seller subsidies" like that are BACK...they're the rule rather than the exception).

So, if you looked it up at that website, you'd think I got 550K for the house, when I actually got 530K....

Good point, also it doesn't mention about agent bonuses, cruises, cars, etc.

I've been on that site for years too. Always use similar tax assessment or controllers office site for other bordering counties. Most deed recorders offices will give you financing information including amount financed, loan product and lender(s). -§

I've been using this site too. Many other counties also have similar online database available to public. One reason I really don't want to give out my address to people, LOL.

Good Speller Wrote:
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> Good point, also it doesn't mention about agent
> bonuses, cruises, cars, etc.

Or the balance of the mortgage(s).

Or the Realtor's commission...my guy does it for 4% instead of the usual 6% (it was still 22 grand!) I owned it free and clear, so I only netted about $508K.

I really think the housing market is headed for the crapper...that's why I sold that house now...before it last any more value. Identical ones were going for $600-625K at the height of the boom in '05-early '06...and buyers didn't dare ask for a subsidy! I wish I had unloaded it back then! I guess I still did alright considering I only paid $83K for the house back in 1979.

This market is so fucked right now. Inventory is rising and there are no buyers. Care to guess what happens then? News flash: If you bought in the last three years with little or no down payment, you don't have a birdshit's worth of equity. And you'll probably be stuck there for another three years. Booyah.

You're mighty optimistic, stinky. I think it could be a decade or more before prices get back up to what people paid for houses bought during the boom.

And in this transient society...people are going to start walking away from millions of houses that they can't sell for anything near what they owe on them. It could snowball into an economy-wide disaster....it might already be starting...my investment portfolio dropped $75K in a MONTH!

But, you never know, Uncle Sam might do another bailout like the S&L thing in the '80s.

But it might be good too....those 2 million dollar beach properties I've been eyeing for retirement....might get down into my price range!

odd... my house isnt on the list.


"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."

bdimag Wrote:
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> wow thats pretty cool... my moms house:
>
> 2000: (60,000 + 128,470) = $188,470
> 2006: (135,000 + 337,270) = $472,270 <-- peak
> 2007: (135,000 + 325,070) = $460,070
>
> better tell her to sell soon :)


Too late. The market is in the shitter. The best time to have sold was in the summer of 2005. Now everything has hit the skids. Nobody can sell in this market without getting raped.

duh Wrote:
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> You're mighty optimistic, stinky. I think it
> could be a decade or more before prices get back
> up to what people paid for houses bought during
> the boom.
>
>

This shake-out will make the S&L boondoggle look like a walk in the park. Up until yesterday when the Fed slashed the Discount rate half a percent, Ben Bernanke had been living in a dreamworld.

The sub-prime market is gone and the ensuing credit crunch is going to hit the rest of the housing market hard. Jumbo mortgage rates are shooting up. If you own a house worth $600K plus, you won't be selling it anytime soon. Not to mention that all the residential construction jobs are drying up, as are most of the mortgage industry and residental banking jobs.

This is going to get MUCH worse before it gets better. The stock market fell about 50% after the Tech Boom/Bust and took five years to recover. Expect housing prices to slide another 20% before the residential sector starts to slowly claw its way back.

All I can say is I'm glad I bought in 2000 with a 30-year loan and didn't take out any 2nd mortgages during the run-up. All you dummies who did are going to be underwater a LONG time.

I am an asshole and I'm smarter than you!

That muffled sound is me talking out of my ass!

First, I am smarter than the asshole who just copied me.

Second, I'm right.

Third...and yes, I am an asshole. Fuck you.

(the real) WashingToneLocian is right.

People think I'm an asshole for pointing these things out, which may be true, but it's a matter of honesty. The numbers speak for themselves, and the old factor of supply and demand will play true. Prices will tank, families will be ruined, and this problem will bleed into other markets. End of story, good luck to you all.

What pisses me off now are are these "experts" from Wall Street and the mortgage industry coming on TV saying nobody could have predicted this. Bullshit! I saw this coming two years ago. I remember reading articles about a similar meltdown in the UK around that time as well.

The "experts" saw it coming. They were just too damn greedy to not cash in on the upside. They were playing musical chairs with people's lives hoping they wouldn't get caught holding the bag. They did. Now I'm just waiting for Countrywide Home Mortgage to go down the tubes and take the economy with it.

I myself was looking at purchasing a house this summer, however most were asking way too much and were unwilling to negotiate. plus, average fixed rate jumped half a percentage point, happy I decided to wait it out and rent.

I'm just kicking myself in the ass for not selling my place during the boom....and getting the hell outta here. Houses in my area were selling in hours for the 900s....now they're on the market forever and if they sell at all, they're going in the 700s.

And it will get worse....in fact, you may not be able to sell anything that would require a non-conforming loan (over $417K)!

And my investment portfolio has lost 50 grand in two months....if this shit keeps up, I may have to get a fucking job...

OWNED Wrote:
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> I myself was looking at purchasing a house this
> summer, however most were asking way too much and
> were unwilling to negotiate. plus, average fixed
> rate jumped half a percentage point, happy I
> decided to wait it out and rent.


That drives me nuts. What is up with people not negotiating. They are still living in 2005.

I have a friend who is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. He needs to sell his house. Someone offered him $20K under the asking price - now keep in mind he would still clear a tidy profit - and he DID NOT SELL! The house is vacant now, sitting on the market, until the bank comes and takes it. WTF?

Your friend is NUTS!

And I hope he changed his homeowners insurance. I went through that with my dad's house after he died...when the insurance company found out it was vacant, they immediately cancelled the policy. I had to take out a special policy for a vacant house....for over $3000!