What We Lost In Real Estate

Real estate is a tough business, especially in this recessionary economy. Prices, almost universally across the 50 states, are down and in some places, still dropping. If you got into the market a few years ago when prices were inflated you are in bad shape now. Especially if you were sold a bill of goods on a cheap mortgage that turned out to be a little too good, chances are you are going through a foreclosure or short sale.

In Southern California where I reside, the prices of homes five years ago were incredible and the market for buyers was like taking candy from babies, a lot of candy. This is the time I moved across the country to Los Angeles and had my heart set on buying a home. I was always told buying was better than renting no matter the conditions and I believed it.

I knew I couldn’t afford the place I ended up with. But, they gave me the mortgage so maybe they knew something I didn’t. My house was overpriced and my mortgage was way too pricey and not a good deal at that. I had little equity and no more coming anytime soon. Then, my wife and I had our second daughter and my wife left her job to stay home. We lost her full-time salary and were heading up-creek further without a paddle. We were literally sitting on collapsing furniture with home space heaters at our feet because we couldn’t afford to repair anything when it broke.

Sure enough, the bottom dropped out and the housing market as well as the economy took a nosedive and crashed. Our home value declined, but our mortgage was still the same. We were barely scraping by month-to-month and now we couldn’t even sell and make money. Finally, after a bankruptcy, we decided to become totally free and clear and get rid of our home with a short sale.

We are currently doing much better renting a home. I hate that we went through what we did but, had we not, we may not have learned some valuable lessons.

If I could do it again, I would get into an income property so that I could have a tenant cover the mortgage. I would get into a home that needed some work and touch it up with some home decor accents and maybe a touch of paint on the walls. Certainly, I would buy something not only in my price range but below it. And I would definitely get a mortgage that built equity and whose terms were logical and sensible.

I wouldn’t want to do this again and have to worry about covering mortgage monthly without the income to do it. I would own something with obvious value and not sell until it was a truly decent resale property regardless of the economy.