What are the chances? Guy and I ended up in Iowa on the same day his week.
I’ve been on a 3 week driving tour though flyover country. I’ll post some of my observations one of these days, if anyone is interested. The economy is so spotty out there – one hamlet with a Toro lawn mower tire factory is going gangbusters, and the adjacent town with the boatworks lost 3/4 of their workforce overnight. Some towns are actually building, while others are dying, as Wal-Mart sucks the little life that was left in the generations old downtown businesses. Can you imagine Little Falls, MN without Musial’s Drugstore?
Here is a fun one courtesy of Incline JJ: Hitler on real estate.
Will ArrowCreek eclipse Somersett as the worst possible investment from the bubble? I’ve enjoyed your reader comments on the Ron Bell Blog. He had a post a few months ago blaming the golf club dispute for tanking values and ruining his kid’s college fund accounts, but it got deleted. A reader of the blog sent me this observation:
we are buyers currently in a short term rental in ArrowCreek. driving around the complex we are appalled at the number of for sale signs on both houses and vacant lots. makes you wonder how many could legitimately afford to live here during the past 5-10 years. and then, who will live here in the future. a Realtor this weekend assured us that ArrowCreek has bottomed. so we offered to let him write a contract provided he would personally guaranteed the transaction bottom…………..you could have heard a pin drop.
The question of "who will live here in the future" really cuts to the quick, not only for ArrowCreek, but the entire SMSA. Who indeed?
I’m back. What do you want to talk about?
Paul
Mike, glad to see you’re back. I lived in Arrowcreek as a tenant for six months back in 2006. I hated every minute. It’s hot, windy and treeless. My landlord had paid 750k for the 2300 SF stucco box with vinyl windows (great city view, though)at the top of the market.
It was six miles to a grocery store. Every vehicle was a Hummer or a silimar gas-guzzling leased / financed behemoth. On top of this, an unfriendly neighbor used to e-mail my landlord and call security if I left my car in the driveway overnight. (CCR’s require cars in garage at all times). I would not buy there for more than $130 / sf. Max
jackson
is it the norm for realtors to charge 6% commission?
my wife and I are looking to sell our house and buy something newer so we contacted a realtor who offered his services at 6%, but then offered to charge 5% if we agreed to sell AND make our purchase with him..
Is this the best we can do? Considering what a realtor does 6% seems awfully high ??
Mike McGonagle
For what it’s worth, I’ve updated the Foreclosure Flipping post. Jeremy has been a busy boy since I left, with 3 new closed sales and 5 new recorded purchases. One is in IV, which should be interesting to watch.
I had the monthly foreclosure stats ready to post on the 1st, but forgot in my rush to hit the road. Here they are:
June foreclosure numbers are brutal. NODs topped off at 950, equal to the record 950 in May. NOSs were in record setting territory at 690, up 8% from the previous record of 639 set in May. TDs were off the charts at 358, up 70% from May and up 18% from the previous record of 303 set in February. When the good news is no increase in notices of default, it is hard to call any stability in the market. If you are a visual person, the chart of the foreclosure activity for the last two and a half years is here. NOD-T tracks the Ticor numbers, which were net NODs until their methodology changed last month. The delta between the NOD numbers shows the increase in HOA NOD filings. Double click on the graph to bring up the data if you interested. (not sure if the chart is going to transfer to this post or not. Try https://renorealtyblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/nod-chart-june09.doc if you are interested)
Reno Ignoramus
As of today, there have been 443 NODs recorded. So unless there is a truly stunning number of NODs recorded in the next 10 days, NODs are going to be way down this month. Way down as in only about 65% or so of last month’s total.
So I predict that about a month from now, the realtors and the small business development center at UNR will be heralding the beginning of the end of the market downturn. They will cite the drastic decrease in the number of NODS as evidence for their case.
I suggest that a more likely explanation is the implementation of the foreclosure mediation program and that many lenders are likely still trying to figure out what they have to do to comply with the law.
But when the headlines in the RGJ about the middle of next month are that foreclosures are down 35%, remember this post.
Worried Guy
Can somebody on here tell me what “Active-Pending Call” means? I see the definition, but it seems vague to me. Thank you.
daily
worried guy-
I think that means ” snow ball chance in hell-OMG, I hope these people qualify, this thing closes ASAP and I collect my commission “
jackson
So it seems most realtors charge an unbelievable 6% commission.
what a crock of sh*t !
jackson
If anyone knows of a good realtor that would consider charging 4.5% please let me know.. The 4.5% would include both helping us sell our house AND making another purchase (2 transactions).
Thanks..
jackson
4.5% on each transaction that is.. not total!
TahoeTeal
Mike……… reference your comments about who will live in Arrowcreek. I don’t think anyone can deny that values up here have declined dramatically. I’m not a realtor, nor do I have industry stats. I do know that I’m in good shape, comfortable, happy and obviously here for the long run. I have more neighbors than empty homes in my neighborhood. Only time will tell.
I don’t believe the Country Club issues had much to do with the larger economic picture. I’m sure it didn’t help. Had the Club Corp deal gone through, which I was in favor of, they could have easily filed bankruptcy rather than continue to lose money. They do have a history of just that. My impression is that the new owners would be less likely to go the bankruptcy route.
Paul……….Why on earth would you consider buying in Arrowcreek, at any price? You clearly indicate your hate for the environment and condescension towards, CC&R’s, neighbor’s, personal vehicle choices, etc.
The environment isn’t going to change just for you. I doubt if any grocery store will be built any closer. What do you want?
I’ve lived in Arrowcreek since 2000. I knew it was windy up here when I built. I now have approximately 45 trees on my property. I’ve seen other properties with much more.
Your exaggerations indicate to me a lack of maturity.
big baby
arrowcreek = pretentious scumbags
The mere sight of a hummer makes me want to throw up my lunch.
There are plenty of “arrowcreeks” across the great country, full of people who have no care whatsoever about the well being of our planet and fellow man.
TahoeTeal
Big Baby………….your name says it all. It’s hard to have a rational discussion with someone as obviously insightful as you. Enjoy your hate and envy.
gina_w
Jeez, and to think I aspired to live in Arrowcreek. Wow, I must not care about the planet. Some of my best friends are Arrowcreekians. None of them drive Hummers, and ALL of them provide jobs for other people. I guess they can be called “The Man” LOL.
MikeZ
RE: “I have more neighbors than empty homes in my neighborhood.”
A true optimist!
homepop
We dealt with Krch Realty to sell our house last year, and we were happy with their service. I consider them a discount flat fee realtor. We saved a lot in commission$.
TahoeTeal
MikeZ…….Thanks….I do consider myself an optimist. I am not however unaware of the difficulties of many. I would have to assume there are many people up here in trouble just by taking a walk or a drive around Arrowcreek. I am conservative enough financially that I will not find myself in jeopardy.
pgb
Do any realtors specialize in buying housing at trustee sales? I’d be interested in knowing how much cash is needed for an “average” purchase; how do they know what they are buying, etc..