Surreal Estate
Housing prices are out of control in California, but what's even more disturbing to me is the lengths that some people will go to to maximize the profit on their home, as evidenced by this article in the L.A. Times. Here's an excerpt:
Occasionally a buyer won't commit to a sale unless pets come with the house, which was the case with one buyer who insisted the sellers' dog be included, said Brent Bonine of Carlsbad-based Buffini & Co., a real estate training and coaching firm. After eschewing several suitable homes, the buyer finally jumped at one, offering full price. The main selling point was the owners' golden retriever. The sale was contingent upon it being included in the contract, which it was.
Now, granted, most of the article talks about odd requests by sellers, because it is a seller's market. But this just stuck in my head. Who are these people who would leave their dog behind in order to close a sale on their house? I mean, if the potential buyer had liked the look of one of the sellers' children, would they have said, "Hey, sure, take her. We've got a spare"? Poor dog.
My family has a golden retriever and he is the best dog ever. My husband want to get a puppy of our own, but we can't do that until we have a house with a yard. And we can't buy a house with a yard, because the median home price in our area is something like $750,000. Fantastic!
On Sunday, we looked at the only home in the entire county priced below $500,000. It was inhabitable. I mean, there were holes clear through the walls to the outside! It stank of animal urine! The walls that didn't have holes in them were stained and nicked and flyspecked! The rooms were tiny! The shower was growing mold! The entire thing really needed to be bulldozed and rebuilt from scratch.
So that's what a half-a-million dollars will buy you in my neighborhood. In some ways, I hope this real estate boom really is a bubble. Maybe if it pops, my husband and I will have a shot at a house of our own.
Occasionally a buyer won't commit to a sale unless pets come with the house, which was the case with one buyer who insisted the sellers' dog be included, said Brent Bonine of Carlsbad-based Buffini & Co., a real estate training and coaching firm. After eschewing several suitable homes, the buyer finally jumped at one, offering full price. The main selling point was the owners' golden retriever. The sale was contingent upon it being included in the contract, which it was.
Now, granted, most of the article talks about odd requests by sellers, because it is a seller's market. But this just stuck in my head. Who are these people who would leave their dog behind in order to close a sale on their house? I mean, if the potential buyer had liked the look of one of the sellers' children, would they have said, "Hey, sure, take her. We've got a spare"? Poor dog.
My family has a golden retriever and he is the best dog ever. My husband want to get a puppy of our own, but we can't do that until we have a house with a yard. And we can't buy a house with a yard, because the median home price in our area is something like $750,000. Fantastic!
On Sunday, we looked at the only home in the entire county priced below $500,000. It was inhabitable. I mean, there were holes clear through the walls to the outside! It stank of animal urine! The walls that didn't have holes in them were stained and nicked and flyspecked! The rooms were tiny! The shower was growing mold! The entire thing really needed to be bulldozed and rebuilt from scratch.
So that's what a half-a-million dollars will buy you in my neighborhood. In some ways, I hope this real estate boom really is a bubble. Maybe if it pops, my husband and I will have a shot at a house of our own.
posted by Astera @ 6:24 PM
1 Comments:
At 10:52 AM,
Bruingirl said…
The median price in my area for 2004 was $1.5mln. Starter home, anyone????
If I were a seller, I would demand that the house would only be sold if they turned it into a gigantic gingerbread house with evil witch and all...
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