Comments on: Carlsbad Test – Are Fixers Selling?

By: ladydentist

ladydentist — Fri, 29 May 2009 04:30:22 +0000

Excellent work, Jim!!!!

By: Aztec ("Anonymous" above)

Aztec ("Anonymous" above) — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:45:14 +0000

Bigcat, while this home may or may not be a fixer, Columbus, OH most definitely is a fixer city. There’s a reason it’s cheaper there. And I suspect most would happily suck on that shotgun if they had to live in C-Bus.

By: CB Mark

CB Mark — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:44:54 +0000

Doughboy has the logic! The only issue with living in Ohio is that the economy there is a bit rusty if you get my drift. Nowhere near as diversified as e.g. the Chicago area. And if you look in the nice areas of Chicago, you’d be surprised to find pricing not a whole heckuva lot different than where this house is located.

And guess what? You’re five minutes from the Pacific Ocean beaches in this house, with virtually year ’round outdoor weather. In Ohio, you can save up for your Florida vacation once a year when it is zero outside.

Comparing two houses is irrelevant unless you factor in that tired old Realtor’s(r) saw: Location, location, location.

Park Avenue will cost more than Tobacco Road. Duh.

By: doughboy

doughboy — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:33:05 +0000

93k will buy you 10 homes in Detroit. Bigcat 39, look north!

By: Geotpf

Geotpf — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:58:28 +0000

Bigcat39-For $150k, you can now get a 4 bed, 2 full bath, on a 8k+ sq ft lot, 1750 sq ft, single story, with a three car garage, in Riverside-because that’s what I just bought (former owner paid $400k during the bubble). $93k will get you a 3/1.5 with 1,000 square feet here, if you are lucky.

Anything outside the IE, or maybe places like Vista in San Deigo county, forget it. In most of the OC, LA, and SD, $150k might get you a 1/1 condo in a bad neighborhood. Maybe. $93k will get you nothing.

By: Jim the Realtor

Jim the Realtor — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:39:18 +0000

Apparently my cinematography is still lousy.

Great news, I have a new camcorder on order!

By: UCGal

UCGal — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:35:29 +0000

I’m with Geotpf and Sol – this house isn’t a fixer – it needs cosmetic work but it’s structurally sound. It’s in a good school district with no HOA/MRs.

But then again, I live in a house that’s the same size and built in 64.

I thought calling it “functionally obsolescent” was a bit harsh. Not everyone needs a huge McMansion with lots of wasted space on a postage stamp lot. This is Southern Cal. That backyard can be fixed up nicely so you can enjoy the outdoors.

By: Susie

Susie — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:26:31 +0000

Appreciate your comments, shadash and ca renter.
The conversation here and Jim’s videos/insight are the reasons I make bubbleinfo my first stop in the morning.

By: The Blur

The Blur — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:55:47 +0000

Bigcat nailed it.

Who made the smarter investment? Well, assuming Ohio is as artificially inflated as CA (which I seriously doubt,) he could lose about $30k with another 30% drop. The fixer will lose over $150k with the same drop.

Unless, of course, prices are back on the rise in CA . . . (Haha! I couldn’t type that sentence with a straight face.)

By: shadash

shadash — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:38:04 +0000

Who made the smart investment? The people who bought this coastal fixer or you?

That really all depends…

If you make the same wage in both locations. But, the property in Ohio costs significantly less you’ll have more $$$ to save. As long as you can sell it for something close to what you paid your fine. Now if you have to dump 100k into the San Diego coastal property and overall properties in San Diego go down in value over the next few years. Then I’d say Bigcat39 made the right choice.

The priced out of California forever stuff is garbage. Another Realtor trick used to scare people.