Let’s rely on the numbers to tell us more about the current market activity, and use the comparison of actives-to-pendings help guide us to see what buyers think of current list prices.
Let’s break SD North County Coastal into two groups:
NW GROUP = Oceanside, Vista, and San Marcos
SW GROUP = Carlsbad, Encinitas, Cardiff, Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe, Del Mar, Carmel Valley, and La Jolla
Thge chart below includes contingents with pendings, like June’s does, because they’re off-market – you can’t go out and buy one today.
Active/Pending Listings + Ratios of Detached Homes
NW GROUP
| Town or Area | Zip Code | A/P 9/08 | A/P 6/4/09 | A/P 10/8/09 | 9/08 | 6/09 | 10/09 |
| O-side W | 92054 | 166/58 | 63/67 | 67/66 | 2.86 | 0.94 | 1.02 |
| O-side SE | 92056 | 226/115 | 67/155 | 57/86 | 1.97 | 0.43 | 0.66 |
| O-side NE | 92057 | 319/143 | 85/277 | 68/217 | 2.23 | 0.31 | 0.31 |
| San Mrcs N | 92069 | 151/79 | 56/136 | 38/126 | 1.91 | 0.41 | 0.30 |
| San Mrcs S | 92078 | 196/56 | 78/124 | 64/127 | 3.50 | 0.63 | 0.50 |
| Vista S | 92081 | 125/34 | 42/84 | 43/83 | 3.68 | 0.50 | 0.52 |
| Vista Mid | 92083 | 168/54 | 45/110 | 28/115 | 3.11 | 0.41 | 0.24 |
| Vista N | 92084 | 232/60 | 88/105 | 73/92 | 3.87 | 0.84 | 0.79 |
| Total | NW Grp | 1,583/599 | 524/1,058 | 438/912 | 2.65 | 0.50 | 0.48 |
We’ve seen the ratio of actives to pendings be around 2:1 in a ‘normal’ market, so to see every area under 1.00 for the last few months is incredible. But the velocity has slowed down a little, and whether it’s seasonal or not probably doesn’t matter – the future hinges on the flow of new REO listings coming to market, and any adverse reaction to the fate of the $8,000 tax credit.
There hasn’t been much drop off since June, and these numbers look hot. But getting them to the finish line is tougher than ever. The escrow fall-out ratio is probably running around 50% these days, adding to the frustrations.
How are those short sales closing? It was about 3-4 months ago that short-sale listings had to be marked accordingly on the MLS, so their closings should be starting to show. Currently there are 2,116 detached short sale listings that are contingent/pending, and only 216 closed last month.
The tonier areas have fairly normal-looking numbers, but are weaker compared to the overall county ratios – the lower-end is what’s hot, the higher-end is not so much. Expect that the Y-O-Y number of sales will be reported lower in coming months – here’s the summary of the SW Group:
SW GROUP
| Town or Area | Zip Code | A/P 9/08 | A/P 6/4/09 | A/P 10/8/09 | 9/08 | 6/09 | 10/09 |
| Bonsall | 92003 | 46/6 | 46/18 | 33/13 | 7.67 | 2.56 | 2.54 |
| Cardiff | 92007 | 48/7 | 41/10 | 38/10 | 6.86 | 4.10 | 3.80 |
| C-bad NW | 92008 | 84/32 | 78/26 | 70/33 | 2.63 | 3.00 | 2.12 |
| C-bad SE | 92009 | 219/54 | 128/114 | 114/111 | 4.06 | 1.12 | 1.03 |
| C-bad NE | 92010 | 55/14 | 42/29 | 18/25 | 3.93 | 1.45 | 0.92 |
| C-bad SW | 92011 | 113/32 | 111/39 | 58/55 | 3.53 | 2.85 | 1.05 |
| Del Mar | 92014 | 135/14 | 147/30 | 135/26 | 9.64 | 4.90 | 5.19 |
| Encinitas | 92024 | 198/51 | 199/77 | 152/52 | 3.88 | 2.58 | 2.92 |
| La Jolla | 92037 | 245/26 | 273/53 | 269/61 | 9.42 | 5.15 | 4.41 |
| Poway | 92064 | 175/48 | 138/105 | 114/90 | 3.65 | 1.31 | 1.27 |
| RSF | 67&91 | 263/18 | 374/17 | 322/31 | 14.60 | 22.00 | 10.39 |
| Solana Bch | 92075 | 66/11 | 82/12 | 64/13 | 6.00 | 6.83 | 4.92 |
| 4S/S-luz | 92127 | 214/62 | 173/107 | 145/98 | 3.87 | 1.62 | 1.48 |
| RB | 92128 | 151/68 | 96/93 | 103/88 | 2.22 | 1.03 | 1.17 |
| RP | 92129 | 87/42 | 38/81 | 42/70 | 2.07 | 0.47 | 0.69 |
| Carmel Vly | 92130 | 193/49 | 214/65 | 202/61 | 3.94 | 3.29 | 3.31 |
| Scripps Rch | 92131 | 96/36 | 67/83 | 63/65 | 2.67 | 0.81 | 0.97 |
| Dtwncondo | 92101 | 472/169 | 517/256 | 440/306 | 2.79 | 2.02 | 1.44 |
| Total | SW Group | 2,860/739 | 2,764/1,215 | 2,382/1,208 | 3.87 | 2.27 | 1.97 |
| SD County | All | 11,741/4,082 | 6,096/6,609 | 6,630/6,482 | 2.88 | 0.92 | 1.02 |
If the lower-end is so hot, could it trickle up?
Only for those who sell and then buy, which would still take some decent equity appreciation to enable that to happen en masse. Not many possible move-uppers will be able to keep their previous home as a rental – the ‘anti-buy-and-bail’ guideline is still in effect, where you have to qualify for payments on both houses without rental income. Could there be enough renters to create sufficient demand? Looks like it so far, let’s check back in December!
Our regular scorecard:
0-2 Hot market
3-4 Regular market
5-6 Market in trouble
7-8 Too many choices
9+ Freefall
Thank you for putting all the data together. This is really good info.
RSF 10+….I like…time to start shopping there next fall when prices sink like a stone.
Good stuff. A pretty clear indication that the dam is holding up for now. Here’s a big suprise the areas with the biggest improvement in ratio are the one that have had the biggest price corrections. How does the saying go?
JtR,
I had no idea things had gotten so busy. Does this mean that RE brokers/agents and loan brokers are one again reeling in the big $$? Or is the “wealth” not as bubbly, because the sales prices and/or commission rates are lower (as to RE brokers/agents), and most buyers pay cash or obtain their loan directly from in-house lender (as to loan brokers).
Just curious, if you are willing to share…
Clearfund, RSF was at 35+ last time Jim did this, I believe. An improvement, it seems to me.
NW is hot because it’s reasonably priced, both historically and versus income. High end will take longer to correct because there’s more staying power for the majority and the financing demographics are on different terms and a different timeline. Exactly what I predicted in January.
Good to see Del Mar and La Jolla gradually coming to terms. Del Mar hit 20 month inventory at one point. Ironically, as they crash and heat up in sales volume the median house price will rise because of the demographics shift. People will be reading one thing in the newspaper (prices going up) but the opposite will actually be true for high end.
No hattip for me?
I’d say generally that commission rates are higher because the short sales and REOs are pre-determined for the most part.
I just closed that one short sale for 7% where the lender raised it from 6% as an incentive to close by month-end, which we did.
And all of the B of A deals are 6% with a 3.5% bounty going to the buyer’s agent.
But there are still too many agents chasing too few closed sales.
Residential sales, first 3 quarters of year:
2004 – 33,527 @ $343/sf (peak year # of sales)
2005 – 32,599 @ $373/sf (peak year $/sf)
2008 – 21,276 @ $273/sf
2009 – 25,785 @ $219/sf ($/sf is 41% lower than ’05)
Thank you cara for pointing out my previous mistake.
Hi Jim–
Question–In the Active-to-Pending ratios, do your figures account for ALL off market properties (contingent and pending), or just “Pending”–I was just going to compare Escondido to the rest of No. County.
Thanks!
Jim-I read it again and answered my own question–Thank you–Very helpful and interestng statistics here!!! Gracias!
“2009 – 25,785 @ $219/sf ($/sf is 41% lower than ‘05)”
Appreciate your responsiveness/candor, as always. It appears that sales are harder than ’05, not in terms of the active/pending ratios, but because half fall out of escrow – so you have to sell two to close one.
The overall volume is lower and the $/ft (which aggregate probably ~ total $ volume) is also lower. I was thinking the number of agents chasing the commissions was also lower than in 2009, but maybe not proportionately.
There are only 5% fewer agents today in the state than there was 24 months ago, and still over 514,000 total licensees.
Jim, are you noticing a trend of new sales being targeted to those homes which can close in time for the credit?
I think this would be an interesting (albeit anecdotal) tidbit to follow. Even if the credit gets extended, it might provide a tiny bit of insight into the motivation of buyers.
Or maybe you hear of just as many homes that wont close by then going pending/contingent and its no big deal…
Well, the numbers show good volume, but I’m curious to know what the most active price range is. My saved searches on the MLS produce the same stale homes week after week and in no way resemble the numbers shown here.
Blur, I’ve noticed that but it’s just an illusion. Look at the sales records instead and you’re missing the houses that sold. 10 houses that are on the market 1 week have the same significance as 1 house on the market 10 weeks when you are simply doing searches. Hence, you are always looking at the bottom of the barrel.
If you use redfin, use their “within X days” filter and just look at the new ones.
Tough to argue with math.
I guess you’re not such a bubble cheerleader after all.
Great stats – it probably goes without saying, but thanks again!
Chris
If Jim filtered out “active” listings more than 10 weeks old, his A/P ratios would be significantly lower. Your search results ensnare overpriced listings that just sit there, while the true market activity (mostly distressed sales?) passes them by.
The market has improved and is improving much faster than the majority here anticipated.
All I know is that i’ve written 7 offers on 700k homes and lost out to others more aggressive.
Hey Jim,
Quick question about the numbers. In your post you mentioned…
“The escrow fall-out ratio is probably running around 50% these days… ”
If that’s the case then doesn’t that affect the A/P ratio… ultimately?
For example in Carlsbad SE with an A/P ratio of 114/111 in Oct ’09, if 50% fall out then wouldn’t those pendings go back to active?
If so wouldn’t the final A/P ratio be something like 169/56 or 3.0 instead of 1.0?
Am I missing something?
Best,
JB
Jack,
Out of curiosity, what area(s) were your 7 offers placed?
Thanks!
JB,
I thought about that but there is always fall-out, so I left it alone.
Why are more falling apart in a hot market? Agent-error and negative family and friends are the two main reasons.
Agents need sales skills to handle buyers objections, and most are just taxi-drivers. I had one today blow over cat smell, and by the time the buyer’s agent got done with his own client he had pushed him out of buying anything!
from sddt.com
Resales Improving, Prices Rising
Home resales are improving and prices are on the increase once more in San Diego County, according to San Diego Association of Realtors (SDAR) report.
The SDAR said 1,753 single-family detached homes were sold through the countywide Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in September, a slight 1.68 percent increase from the 1,724 in September 2008.
A total of 16,448 detached homes were resold through the first nine months of the year here, a 20.6 percent increase from 13,638 sales during in the first three quarters of 2008.
The median sales price of a resold detached single-family home was $384,500 in September, a 2.53 percent increase over $375,000 in September 2008.
SDAR reported 964 attached sales during September, or 3.99 percent more than 927 in August.
Year-to-date, the SDAR counted 8,641 attached resales through September or 21.8 percent more than the like period in 2008.
The median price of a resold attached unit was $204,950 in September up just slightly from $200,000 in September 2008.
“We are pleased that sales continue to outpace those of 2008 and that the median price for homes is at an increase yet again,” said Erik Weichelt, 2009 SDAR president in a statement.
“The $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers has played a critical role in the recovery of the market.
There are an estimated 350,000 sales nationally that were a direct result from the tax credit and nearly 40 percent of first time homebuyers said they would not have purchased a home without the tax credit.
We are working with our national and state association to urge congress to extend the tax credit past the November 30th deadline so more buyers may take advantage of it,” Weichelt said.
Total dollar sales volumes are still running behind last year’s totals. The SDAR tallied $855.1 million worth of detached homes sold in September, a slight 0.8 percent decline from $862.27 million in September 2008.
The dollar volume amounted to $7.28 billion through September 2009, a 4.73 percent decline from $7.65 billion through the like period a year earlier.
The market has improved and is improving much faster than the majority here anticipated.
Well I for one will freely admit that it has improved, and is improving, much faster than I thought it would. It still makes no sense to me. High unemployment. California’s finances are shot. The US government printing money like it was toilet paper, and even a whiff of high interest rates could make the market sink like a stone. And yet the housing market takes off — go figure.
Our dirt-cheap starter home looks better and better all the time. Move-up, what’s that?
Thanks sdbri, that makes sense. I guess it just doesn’t feel that hot based on what I see online, but it’s not like I’m out there making offers and getting outbid like others here. That, and my stubbornness to admit the market is heating up again. (That doesn’t mean I’m caving in just yet; I’m still far more shadash than mozart;))
When I was in your situation, I tracked individual complexes and each one was different. Once you’re looking at the areas you’re interested, what other people are saying doesn’t even apply. For example, at the very peak of the bubble in 06 was the cheapest time to buy at Andalucia in CV. And as the market tanked 30% Andalucia grew by 20% until 08. Now it’s back to 06 prices. This is one extreme example that comes to mind.
If I had listened to other people’s thoughts on the market, I would bought at exactly the wrong time (during the bubble) and not bought the house I’m now typing this from (last month). Instead I watched houses every week and finally every day until I found a great match. I figured if it dropped 5% or even 10% I didn’t even care, because it was a fair price to me. You know it’s time to buy when you have that kind of margin of safety and have few reservations about the place for the price you’re paying.
Jim, hope you see this message. Can you call me tomorrow Oh jeez, I just remembered tomorrow is Saturday. You’ll be too busy. Anyway, I think you still have my phone #. Remember, I’m the “solar house” lady up the coast.
I now know how difficult it is for you to tell renters/owners bad news. You kept the video rolling a couple weeks ago when you came to the front door to let that renter know the property was officially a REO and they had 30-60 days to vacate.
Unfortunately, this isn’t about buying a home (I wish!), it’s about that home I once rented a few years ago with a cracked foundation.
A few weeks, I wrote about this, and asked your advice. You kindly replied and recommended I write a letter with the information I had written here. You said just to put in an envelope and tape it to the front door with “Soon-to-be New Owners” on the front.
I’m wiping away a tear as I type, and my kids aren’t interested in hearing why. Then I thought of you and bubbleinfo and wondered if you would want to throw in your 2 cents after hearing what happened today.
Maybe it could not only be a learning experience for many of your readers, but you could throw in your two cents. With 25 years experience (Your 25th anniversary is any day now, right?),I know you’ve heard worst stories than this, but maybe some good will come from it.
I can give you a 30-second summary over the phone, and you can give me a thumbs up or down as whether it is “blog-worthy”–after all, it’s YOUR blog. Mahalo for your time either way.
Make sure not to confuse a hot market with a stable one.
The door is open, the lights are still on, the eggs are spoiling, the butter is still soft and the jello sure as hell isn’t jiggling. Still lots of time left in this game.
Easy now, Chick is sacred ground around here…..
Susie,
Let me guess, in spite of your efforts, a jubilant young couple was seen moving into the home with the cracked foundation.
All of the dreams they’ve ever had about their future together came together in purchasing this home, and they are elated.
Don’t spoil it, just let it go.
It’s different if you are me, and have a fiduciary duty to disclose – I have to tell them.
But they’ll be there for a long time, and the crack will probably never come up.
Their kids will learn to walk there, learn to ride a bike there, and experience their first kiss there. It’s more important that they enjoy those to the fullest.
Nope, Jim! I didn’t let it go ‘cuz I happen to talk to a 85-year old contractor while I was down at my local CVS. Somehow the subject came up,’cuz he’s a neighbor of a home down the same street that hasn’t sold. (It’s been listed at $519K for forever and then recently listed at $499K.
But it’s empty. The owners must have another home ‘cuz they bought this one at $262K back in the late 1990’s. The homes were built in 1997 for about $197K new.
But this neighbor confided in me that on the Disclosure Sheet the owners put down the fact that their house has a cracked foundation and they used epoxy to fix it. But the contractor says, of course, they isn’t the solution ‘cuz there will still be moisture.
You see, I stopped at my old rental to see if anyone moved in. I haven’t had time to write the letter because I’ve been sick for 10 days and sleep-deprived after my 42 hours straight of being awake.
I talked to the owner… Not more than 2 hours ago, ‘cuz as I sat in the street in my Camry, the garage door opened and..it was the girlfriend of the new owner! I was hoping you
could give me some advice that I could share with him. It’s really heartbreaking, and now I’ve written a book here. I’m pounding the keys out of frustration, but still haven’t explained the entire story of what happened today… I can’t let it go…Don’t you see?
It’s gotten to the next stage…and I’m so upset at myself for not warning them a few days ago when it was STILL escrow. There’s so much more to say! I can only hope somehow I don’t have to keep writing 1,000 words to get YOUR attention. You have the experience of 25 years to tell me IF they have options…. Please help, JtR, I know you have a good heart ‘cuz I’ve talked to you personally…
If escrow has closed, it’s too late to tell them something they don’t know. It’s the same policy with marriage – before he or she gets married you’re free to tell them why they shouldn’t get married. Once they are married, telling them something new about the past is not going to help them.
That said, if it’s in the disclosure sheet all that’s moot. They know, don’t they?
Mahalo for your comments, sdbri. The disclosure sheet is for the owners of the house for sale on the same street–but that’s a different home than my old rental.
There are eight (8) homes on the street. They were the first homes built back in 1997 in a 100+ home subdivision. Those owners didn’t know their foundation was cracked until after they bought too. It’s very complicated as the developer first fired a general contractor who used Quick-Set concrete for the foundation on these 8 homes, about 11 years ago, and then the next day, framing began!
The county put a stop on all construction as a carpenter (driving by) called up to alert them. The developer fired that first contractor and hired a new one. But before all eight homes sold, the developer went belly-up. The county stopped construction but then the homes were eventually built with the bogus foundations and all sold–including the rest of the subdivision which is at least 100 homes. Why didn’t the County stop these homes from being finished?
Jeez, I just can’t write chapters about this, but don’t know what else to do! Here’s the REAL question: If the first house is for sale, and the owners have disclosed their cracked foundation, then the problem was never fixed. They found out later ‘cuz the developer never disclosed this very important point when first selling the home to them. They chose the “epoxy” solution–although that really isn’t a good one. The contractor I talked to tonight (60 years experience and he’s a spry 84 years old!) told me there will STILL be moisture problems.
My whole point in persevering on telling this is the fact that it shows the “dirty secrets” about home building by unscrupulous developers and/or contractors and unknowing home buyers maybe 10 years later. You have to do more than due dilligence, and not listen to anyone who tells you the “problem” has been fixed–especially after a lawsuit of the original eight owners.
*Sigh* I don’t think I’m making any sense because I’m trying to fit all pertinent facts in this one box. *Sigh Again*
One of those eight owners never disclosed his cracked foundation either. Instead, he installed a “french drain” and sold the home FSBO and used it as a selling point. He bought the house for $197K or so back in 1997 and then sold it in 2006 for $705K. He then moved out-of-state and paid cash for a big home in the NW. Not only is the 2006 owner completely upside down with his $705K purchase (it’s worth maybe $500K or less), but he doesn’t know he has a cracked foundation. He’s probably happy with the “french drain” though! I guess ignorance is bliss…
And why do I care? ‘Cuz I DO care! ‘Cuz I feel like I personally blew it by NOT getting the letter to them soon enough. There’s still boxes in the garage. They just moved in, and yes, there’s an young kiddo in the mix too.
I’m a wanna-be home buyer too. And the guy I talked to (at least 15 minutes) was the nicest guy. Really. I found the whole experience emotionally draining and I wiped tears away while I drove home three blocks.
All I could think of on the way to my rental home was seeing the owner’s face become transfixed more and more as my words poured out, and he realized the truth. The girlfriend didn’t seem to care and was a tad rude. But the guy, he was the owner and it was abundantly clear that he could be a buyer with remorse not even a week after he moved in!
By the time I left (melting ice cream needed to get home and he had somewhere he had to go too), he was the poster child for “deer in the headlights”.
It’s difficult for me even to try to explain it all. But I now have new respect for Jim talking to renters who are evicted because their homes are now REO. It’s very difficult to go thru not just for the renter but also for the bearer of bad news…
As my son would say: It’s been real and it’s been fun, but it hasn’t been REAL fun…
It will haunt me for a good number of days that I didn’t drive down to my library in my little town, type a quick letter and deliver it to the prospective owners BEFORE he closed on the home.
I realize now the home went into escrow much sooner than I realized. I had info on an Excel spreadsheet, but didn’t put the lst date of escrow. I thought I still had about 10 days before closing, but then an email showed up in my in box with MLS new weekly listings, price changes (all down), pendings and closed transactions. It was the “closed” ones which caught my eye just 2 days ago. You see, I recognized the address ‘cuz I lived there for one year soon after my husband passed away. And the fact is if I didn’t know about real estate like I do, I COULD have been the new owners. I guess that’s why I’m sooo upset…
My apologies for rambling. Captain Obvious here, it’s REALLY affected me. I never thought the vehicle behind me on that street would use their remote and open the garage door right in front of me, and I knew they were moved in ‘cuz of all the boxes. I couldn’t just drive away. I couldn’t!
Anyone who’s interested in this whole drama re: cracked foundations, you may want to read just one article when I googled.
Most of this article is about settling soil and moisture problems as the concern. But nowhere is there a word about when Quick-Set concrete is used for the foundation itself! Scroll down to the last paragraph: “Act Quickly!”
Here’s the link:
http://www.servicemagic.com/article.show.Cracked-Foundation.11295.html
Yikes
Something tells me I should pass on whatever it is Susie is smoking.
– Jerry Springer
Susie,
Help them find out if the material fact of the cracked foundation, which would have affected the sale, was hidden from the new buyers. Then possible legal action could be taken.
Don’t be surprised if you find out that people don’t care about cracks the way you care about cracks.
More info about what I now have dubbed “The Crack House”. Feel free to delete, JtR as I really doubt you want my long posts to continue. But I think there may be regular posters or even lurkers who may find this a tale chilling.
Believe me, Jim, the 30-year owner cared! Like REALLY cared. (The girlfriend not so much, but yeah, she’s NOT the owner.) He listened to every one of my comments and eagerly took my home phone #. We talked for at least 15 minutes (and yeah, the ice cream I was bringing home did melt.) I never thought the girlfriend would drive “home” right at the second I was sitting in my car pondering the situation. When I saw the garage door open, I literally let out an audible groan.
I find it incredibly heartbreaking ‘cuz it’s his FIRST home purchase and he’s a single dad and has (maybe)an 8-year old son (who was playing in the front yard.) He confided to me that he is ALREADY having drainage issues in the back patio area, and I think, he moved in only the last 2-3 days. He hasn’t even completely unpacked yet. I’m trying to discover the closing date. But I’ll can’t call the Assessor’s office until next Tuesday ‘cuz of the holiday. Then it’s on to the city Planning Dept. who has already been a great bunch of guys.
If everything turns out OK, I’m thrilled. If not, at least I can help the young guy with options and how to move forward. He seemed a bit clueless but I think it was just outright shock with my first-hand account. *Sigh* I now know intimately how you felt, JtR, when you had to tell that renter (with video camera rolling) that he was now living in a REO and had 30-60 days to get out. I just never thought I’d turn into a JtR of sorts. How do you do that and stay unemotional, Jim? Ah, that’s right, you have 25 years of real estate experience. You are the ultimate professional, and I’m just a single mom rookie.
This homeowner THOUGHT he had performed “due diligence”, but really not so much. I know what he paid for it(neighborhood low) and it’s an astonishing $219K less than 6/2004 and $170K less than the 6/2008 RE0 price for that home. But now he IS stuck as it was a REO purchase and he bought it “as is”. Unless there is a legal responsibility for disclosure in this case.
He was shocked that I could rattle off every one of his home’s purchase prices over the 13-year span from first-built (Mahalo Excel spreadsheet).
What I want to know is if the seller’s agent (the bank owned it as it had already gone thru two previous REOs) had any responsibility to put this info in a disclosure notice. The listing agent is one I’ve never heard of with a company I’ve never heard of. It’s not your Coldwell Banker, and I think it’s a “one-man office” and the listing has gone through numerous agents.
Or since it’s a REO, the bank had to disclose NOTHING. This house sat for a year since the last REO. Why? I think ‘cuz most locals didn’t want to touch it as they knew the sad history of just those 8 houses on that one street. The really sad news is the owner IS a local. He just didn’t talk to the people I did who REALLY know the history and what actually transpired years ago. He’s only maybe 30.
My last words to him as I wiped away a tear: “Go over to the house down the street when they have another (every week-end) open house. Go this week-end! They can’t sell their house. Why??? Act like an interested buyer.(*He already looked at that home before he bought my old rental), and ask for any and all info about the house. Then maybe YOU can see their disclosure statement and read every word on that form! Why would they disclose their cracked foundation if it had been really fixed after the 1999 lawsuit–like you thought your home was? That’s the question you need to have answered. When you know THAT answer, you can move forward–either with legal options or ‘fix-it’ options. Just ‘cuz a neighbor told you it was fixed–doesn’t mean it ACTUALLY was”
Seriously, it was oh so painful to see right in front of me the poster child for instant first home buyer’s remorse! The agony was written all over the young guy’s face.
I tell ya, it would have made for a riveting reality TV moment…
~ Breaking News ~ for the few who may be interested on my local “Crack House” drama. Jeez, is it a coincidence that this news just arrived in my in box?
The house down the street where the owners disclosed the “cracked foundation with the epoxy fix” is now pending–with contingencies as of this morning. It was listed for $599K for months and months with no takers. Recently, the owners dropped the price to $499K, and that’s its pending price.
I’ll follow this and see if it closes in 30 days or comes back on the market. The prospective home buyers have “bit” with the $499K list price, although there were no other takers for months. I’m curious whether they are locals or “out-of-state” buyers. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out.
The owners paid $207K back in 1997 as a “new build” but the bankrupt developer didn’t tell them about the cracked foundation. They chose the “epoxy fix” after the 1999 lawsuit was settled.
These new buyers are courageous. Or they just really, really want to be homeowners. I’d never buy it. Then again, I was married to a contractor for nearly 21 years. And integrity of any house is only as good as–you guessed it–the foundation.
I just googled “cracked foundations” and this came up: “Epoxy sealing a crack works great, but if you are only diverting the water to the next weakest spot on your foundation you are only chasing a problem.” (Um, the whole problem is the entire foundation IS quick-set cement!)
Yep, no doubt about it, those folks who are now in escrow must love skydiving ‘cuz that’s how it all feels to me…
Susie, I’m sure you mean well with your disclosures to new homeowners, but you should be aware that such interference may get you in legal trouble – as you are not and were not a party to the transaction. Beware of doing what you perceive as a good deed – you may end up as a witness in litigation.
The bank is off the hook, but the agent isn’t.
He could win a lawsuit against the listing broker if he can find evidence that the listing agent either knew something and didn’t disclose, or should have noticed something like a big crack that was obvious.
JtR, another outstanding report, thank you. It really defines the elusive term “affordable” into real dollars and cents (for SD County). Riverside County averages about 100K less on entry level homes.