I see quite a few For Sale signs around Lincoln Park all of a sudden. Some in front of the houses of people I know, but obviously not well enough to know why they are selling. Then I was looking on the MLS for what is for sale in Lincoln Park in general, and saw even more listings of houses (and people) I know here in "the L.P."
I just wonder if the market is turning back around, or whether it's that my neighbors' lives are changing.
As for me, I'll be staying put long enough to plant a real live working garden in our backyard this year, with the help of the Goddess of Garey Avenue of all people. Two goddesses that aren't moving out of the neighborhood quite yet.
THE END
16 comments:
Welcome back Goddess it has been a long time since your last post.Steve
Holy David Allen Batmoble! not 2 goddesses.
I'll be staying put as well. With so many of the houses in Pomona selling for next to nothing or worse, my house isn't worth selling at the moment.
Gee, is that last comment a little off-topic?
I have removed a few comments above because they were spam/ advertising.
Thank you for checking back here to see that I posted for the first time in 3 1/2 months. My regards to Steve, Ren, John and the two anonymouses for acknowledging it!!!
I meant to respond to this back when you originally posted, but I guess I got sidetracked!
First, welcome back! I enjoy your blog because I lived in the 'hood for a gazillion years (in the last century), and still have long, deep roots. I enjoy knowing what's going on.
Second, because I lived in Lincoln Park for 26 years, I saw it "turn over" a couple of times in my tenure.
When I moved in, I was a young mother, and most of my neighbors were older folk, who had built houses and raised their children there. As time went by, these older people went the way of older people, and the neighborhood became younger again, full of children.
By the time I left, I had moved into the "older folk" category, leaving my house in the hands of a young family.
I think it's the normal pattern, at least for Lincoln Park...
We've got lots of empties around Garfield Park, too :(
It's probably both, plus a third consideration - folks who are selling because they used their homes (or their investments) as ATMs and can't pay the bank. However, compared to other neighborhoods in the City, the amount of short sales (which you can find through Redfin) is lower.
As for me, once my other home further west is fixed up, I'll be packing up as well and moving out of the neighborhood, so the cycle continues.
Probably a mix of unemployment, unable to make the payments, moving to a fiscally better state, etc.
I live in "phillips ranch", aka Pomona and I see banked owned homes that are rented out.
My job is on thin-ice and considering renting my home out near the elementary school. It is easier to find a job in Texas than California. I'll move back when the Calif. economy gets better.
Check out articles on shadow inventory in this site. www.doctorhousingbubble.com
I'm am a "wanna be" Pomonian and for those of you that already live in the Lincoln Park area...you are so lucky! I always was of the opinion that realtors were greedy but now that the market has changed so much the waters have become shark infested. Most realtors will not even return your call unless you don't have an agent. They want to make sure they make that double commission. And then...to add insult to injury, some of the "short sales" listed on the MLS are fake. It's a scam for the buyer to keep the property at a lower amount using a relative as the "buyer". I don't think I will ever catch a break. It's been one year but because my fiance and I love craftsmans...we will not give on LP. If you know anyone that wants to sell their home without hassel, please drop me a line. Maybe we can do an Honest to Goodness Real Estate deal and I can drop the "wanna be"
EPM-
Hmmm. A very interesting post. How did you find out about the "selling it to your relatives" thing? From what I can tell housing prices in Lincoln Park are at about their 2003 price level when we bought.
Well, Goddess, there are a few clues I've managed to put together before confirming with the "homeowner".
#1 - No sign in the front yard. (If you really wanted to sell, wouldn't you advertise?)
#2 - MLS listing states "Do not disturb occupant or do not discuss with occupant". I can understand this if the property is tenant occupied...but beware when it's owner occupied.
#3 - The agent has no interest in showing you the home or tells you that there are "multiple offers"...yeah right! Unfortunately, there is no way to verify that but I got wise on the last offer I made. It was on a bank owned property and the agent wouldn't return my call. I delivered my offer to the office and still no call back, not even to say "I received your offer". So, I called the bank directly and told them my problem. Within 20 minutes, I received a cal from the agent. Funny right? But at least with this case I was able to verify that indeed there were multiple offers.
#4 - and this one is the ones I have decided to stay away from...anything labeled "SHORT SALE". There are a lot of people that are trying to take advantage of the economic situation by lying about their circumstances to benefit themselves. Most of these people are those that purchased a home within the last 3 years when the market was at its peak. Average price in the area currently is $230k. So if you bought your home for $400k and it's worth half, why would you continue to pay the mortgage on $400k when you can short sale it to a friend/relative for the going $230k?
This house hunt is slowly killing me. We've placed so many offers and we're becoming used to the rejection but we are willing to torture ourselves for a chance to rehab a craftsman. DAMN YOU FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT!
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