Orange County

[WhatARipOff]

I've been to see several short sales where the property didn't have a heater. Like THIS one for example:

http://www.redfin.com/CA/Anaheim/741-S-Stehley-St-92806/home/4007336

As you may know, FHA will NOT finance a house without a heater. The listing above drew MANY potential 'buyers' to view it, but when push came to shove NONE of them were able to make an offer becasue they didn't have the 20% down required by a conventional loan. The asking price is $349,900. *I* low-balled it at $320K and WON it! Upon closer inspection however I promptly withdrew my offer because it turns out the street it backs to is quite noisy and the house itself needs too many repairs. There's a very nice Mexican family that's been squatting there for about 3 years already and they really let the place go.

I've also been to see 3 other homes without heaters and SAME DEAL: the house was MINE FOR THE ASKING because no one could compete with my 20% down! Unfortunately for me, these particular properties were all in pretty poor condition.

So there you have it: the 'buyers' (hahaha) entering the RE market right now are doing so WITHOUT putting any skin into the game. Why should *I* compete with my REAL money against these slimeballs who don't even have two dang pennies to rub together? All they do is drive-up prices needlessly & artificially. I need for them all TO BE GONE before I can safely wade into the murky waters of homeownership.

...and so do YOU!

[Beau1k]

Why would you spend your money when you can get FHA money at 4% ?  I'd rather keep my $$$ for cash flow thank you very much!  

Also...before you put an offer in on a house you may want to look and see if it's next to a busy street before you go through all the trouble.

http://bit.ly/vhkltA

[WhatARipOff]

"Why would you spend your money when you can get FHA money at 4% ?  I'd rather keep my $$$ for cash flow thank you very much!"  

First and foremost; because I CAN AFFORD IT without impeding my 'cash flow'.

Secondly, all else being equal, a $400K mortgage with a 20% down represents a $1,900 monthly payment whereas a 4% down represents a $2,600 montly payment. Not to mention the instant EQUITY you gain.

"Also...before you put an offer in on a house you may want to look and see if it's next to a busy street before you go through all the trouble"

Wrong again. In TODAY'S RE market and particularly when dealing with short sales it's an absolute WASTE OF TIME to physically check-out each and every property that's listed. The BEST approach is to identify AREAS you think are acceptable, have your your agent present an offer and THEN -if the bank shows interest- you take a more detailed look at the property.

This way, instead of getting the RUN AROUND from the banksters while you wait for a reply you TURN THE TABLES and have THEM wait for YOU.

[BobPhillips-RE]

Charming story, although not very plausible.  I suppose you COULD have taken a picture of the empty cubby-hole where the heater should have been, but that would only serve to validate your "story".

Perhaps you meant a POOL heater? ( FHA couldn't care less if the pool isn't heated, especially in an inland Orange County location such as Anaheim.)

And you've been to 3 OTHERS houses, also without a heater?  What are you focusing on, in your searches?

I can honestly say that I have seen THOUSANDS more houses than you, in my 35+ year real estate career - and before - and I have YET to see a single house where a former owner has taken a furnace with him, as he's abandoned the house.

Like I've asked you before, please provide links, photos, or some other reasonable piece of evidence.

[WhatARipOff]

"Charming story, although not very plausible.  I suppose you COULD have taken a picture of the empty cubby-hole where the heater should have been, but that would only serve to validate your "story"."

What exactly is NOT plausible? The fact that FHA DOES *NOT* finance dwellings without heaters OR the fact that this property doesn't have one? WHY DON'T YOU CALL AND CONFIRM IT FOR YOURSELF? I DID provide a 'verifiable link' after all.

[BobPhillips-RE]

"I DID provide a 'verifiable link' after all."

No you didn't - the link STATES that the house has a heater.

How about those OTHER three houses?  I'll wait right here.

[WhatARipOff]

"No you didn't - the link STATES that the house has a heater."

Gee, it looks like you entirely missed the thread wherein one of your fellow Realtors explains how the information provided by MLS/Redfin are NOT necessarily accurate, reliable or even truthful. How convenient for you.

http://forums.redfin.com/t5/Orange-County/Orange-County-CA-RE-Market-FRAUD/td-p/304827/page/3

(excerpt):

If you want perfection in the information displayed on theMLS, you need to hire JC as an agent.  The MLS is attempting to clean up incorrect information through fines, but it is very difficult to do and requires that many times agents rat out each other. Of course, that leads to the potential of lawsuits if agents reports on incorrect information are false or incorrect, etc.  In other words, why bring up a potential issue if you don’t have a dog in the fight.  Many homes MLS data that I view has errors, whether on purpose or not I have no idea.