137 replies to this topic

[Orangetj]

I am not a racist. Just merely stating the facts.

It may be a fact, but what bearing does it have on the situation? If the board consisted of primarily Latino individuals, would you have pointed that out as well "a bunch of fat Mexicans"? It just seems irrelevant if what bothers you are the business practices of the board members rather than their ethnicity.

[Dr. Folsom]

To me, foreclosures say more about financial problems of homeowners than they do about the relative value of their homes since the varying value of a home has little to do with one's ability to make the payments to which they committed when they purchased the home.

Foreclosures have everything to do with home values. People got loans with low rates or interest only for two years to afford a home above their means. When the loan resets and the payment goes waaayyyyyy up, they cannot refinance because the value of their home is less than the existing loan. For the past many years, people knew that worst-case scenario; they could sell the house and walk away with a fat profit. Not any more! Expect to see many, many more foreclosures, including in the more inflated areas of Folsom, Granite Bay and El Dorado Hills.

Time to sell the Hummers and Boats!

[Orangetj]

Foreclosures have everything to do with home values. People got loans with low rates or interest only for two years to afford a home above their means. When the loan resets and the payment goes waaayyyyyy up, they cannot refinance because the value of their home is less than the existing loan. For the past many years, people knew that worst-case scenario; they could sell the house and walk away with a fat profit. Not any more! Expect to see many, many more foreclosures, including in the more inflated areas of Folsom, Granite Bay and El Dorado Hills.

Time to sell the Hummers and Boats!

I understand that home values are related to foreclosures, but I don't consider them to be the true cause. The second sentence of your post is what it really comes down to - people bought homes that they couldn't afford in the first place and gambled that they would be able to secure workable refinancing in the future. In other words, they committed to a loan they couldn't actually afford. I feel badly for these people, but their plight has little if anything to do with the internal workings of the Serrano HOA.

[mylo]

Time to sell the Hummers and Boats!

I think the time to sell them was before you bought them, when you knew you had a high risk adjustable debt coming in a few years.

I have no pity for subprime borrowers that used credit as cash without thinking of the consequences.

[Warren G]

Not true.

You don't have to pay a penny in commissions if you don't want to. Many people sell without agents. It's not always an easy thing to do, but it can be done.

Even when you do pay commissions, they are negotiable, and I've never heard of anyone paying 10%. 6% has been the standard for years, but on higher priced properties 5% is more common. In a hot market, even less.

Closing costs are negotiable as well, but usually include transfer tax, escrow and title charges. Perhaps 1% of the sales price.

So today, commissions and closing costs are closer to 6 or 7%.

I've just sold a house and did a lot of research along the way. In today's market place you can either pay a few percent in closing costs (including the buyer's) or take less for the price. Commissions are negotiable but you won't get much below 5%. The point was, you will not be able to sell your house in Serrano for what you paid for it, and when you consider all the selling costs and discounts with no appreciation on the home's value you are already way behind.

So the simple answer to "just sell" is not feasible unless a financial loss is acceptable.

[Warren G]

I think the time to sell them was before you bought them, when you knew you had a high risk adjustable debt coming in a few years.

Adjustable rate loans can be very nice, and have been for most of the last 10 years or so, IF the margin and index used to calculate the interest rate are/were reasonable. I've had three adjustable rate loans in the last 15 years and none of them (including the "jumbo" loan) have ever gone over 7.25 %, and they've usually been in the sixes. Have a look at the history of the 1-year Treasury Bill index, a common index for adjustable rate loans.

[mylo]

Adjustable rate loans can be very nice, and have been for most of the last 10 years or so, IF the margin and index used to calculate the interest rate are/were reasonable. I've had three adjustable rate loans in the last 15 years and none of them (including the "jumbo" loan) have ever gone over 7.25 %, and they've usually been in the sixes. Have a look at the history of the 1-year Treasury Bill index, a common index for adjustable rate loans.

They're absolutely great, if you plan for them. It's the "What? My mortgage just adjusted? How can I afford my Escalade payment and HOA dues with this new rate?" comments that bug me..

[chris v]

They're absolutely great, if you plan for them. It's the "What? My mortgage just adjusted? How can I afford my Escalade payment and HOA dues with this new rate?" comments that bug me..

God, I can't stand those sort of people. You know the ones who buy all this really cool and new stuff and then when they lose their arse they complain about it and want us to feel bad for them... DIAF!

[palango]

I have already accomlished what I had set out to do which is to INFORM and educate. I have recieved 5 emails thanking me for my posts from folks that were either thinking of purchasing or had a family friend/relative that were interested.

Do you honestly believe that the realtors will divulge extra info about most of the association rules??Mine did not and I do not blame her because ultimately it was my fault. Even most realtors do NOT understand how ridicloulsly petty/strict the El Dorado HOA is.

I mean these idiots @ the HOA fought to the bitter end and LOST a battle with a homeowner that wanted to put solar panels on her roof which is allowed by various state and federal laws. So when you get a bunch of renegades that have a power trip and have cool lillte titles like "HOA Executive Vice President" and a little picture with George Bush, they ARE the s**t. Bow down to the power !!!

[mylo]

Solar panels are ugly. I think they're banned in my HOA too, at least on the front of houses.

[bishmasterb]

Solar panels were banned in The Parkway as well, if they were on a slope of the roof that faced the street.

[stacycam]

Our real estate agent DID warn us about Serrano. She showed us homes there because we wanted to see them, but strongly persuaded us away.

As for the HOA, they are a bunch of jerks. I lived in the Parkway and had some big problems with them. As such, I'll never live in Parker Development again. But, that's just the way it goes. Live and learn.

I recently put my foot in my mouth when I told a friend how stupid these interest-only loan people were, and I had no sympathy that they were having problems. She put her hand on her hip and said, "I have an interest-only loan." Oh well!

[cw68]

Solar panels are ugly.

Using renewable resources more than makes up for that.

[mylo]

Using renewable resources more than makes up for that.

Except the creation of solar panels uses more resources than they currently save.

Not that I'm against research into solar technologies, but it's still mostly behind the curve.

[cw68]

Except the creation of solar panels uses more resources than they currently save.

Is that compared the resources that creating conventional means of power take?