'Betrayed by our builder'

[Rajiv]

From Todays San Jose Mercury News - 'Betrayed by our builder'

A red banner stretches across the block wall encircling Paseo West, beckoning bargain hunters into the brand new subdivision a 90-minute commute from Silicon Valley: "Anderson Homes AUCTION, 34 New Luxury Homes MINIMUM BIDS from $285,000."

This is not one of the auctions of distressed homes in foreclosure that are becoming commonplace across the country. This is an auction of brand new homes in a subdivision (an inventory closeout! 40 percent off asking prices!) - a kind that's hardly been seen in Northern California since the last real estate bust in the early 1990s.

One-third of the houses in Paseo West will go on the auction block Saturday - houses that are sitting eerily empty in tidy rows along newly paved streets, houses that wouldn't sell even though Anderson Homes cut prices by $100,000 and offered free granite countertops and big screen TVs with surround sound.
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Jackie Flores, who moved to Paseo West with her husband and two small boys in May 2006, hates to think what the auction will do to the value of her home.

"We bought it for - I don't even want to say," she said. "$621,000 - ugh - it makes me sick just saying that number."

The minimum bid on the empty house next door is $355,000. And, it's bigger than hers at 3,310 square feet and loaded with upgrades and a finished back yard.

[Jim Nickerson]

Re: 'Betrayed by our builder'

From Todays San Jose Mercury News - 'Betrayed by our builder'

I missed whether the "90-minute commute" was one-way or total each work day. From a map program it shows the distance between Manteca and San Jose to be 63 miles, so perhaps commuting with traffic makes it 90-minutes each way. 3 hours/day--5days/week--48weeks/year = 1440 hours OR the equivalent of 180 eight-hour days one would spend per year with such a commute. Edit: my numbers are wrong. 15hrs/wk X 48 weeks = ONLY 90 days a year. They are still fools.

By any standard I have ever had, one would be a fool to buy even a cheap house so far away from work that it would require such an expenditure of time each day to go to and from work--the exception would be if one could take a train and thus escape the dangers of road traffic accidents and also use the time at least for pleasure reading if nothing else.

In my opinion, these people if they have to commute 3 hours per day are fools to begin with, and if they add to that housing that costs > 600K bonars, then they are even bigger fools and probably deserve being screwed however badly it ends up being.

[zoog]

Re: 'Betrayed by our builder'

From Todays San Jose Mercury News - 'Betrayed by our builder'

Ouch! Watched the video you posted as well. What are the chances anyone in that neighborhood put 40% down when they bought? They're all going to be instantly underwater on mortgage vs market value.

EJ said back in March of 2006 that the exurbs and suburbs would start crumbling before the city cores, or at least would be falling faster.

I liked the guy who spent $90,000 to put in a pool and a miniature golf course. What did he think the investment return was going to be on those?:eek:

to wit:

It's commonly agreed that a swimming pool has no resale value at all. "I've had clients spend $300,000 and fill in the pool," says one agent. The main reason pools repel more prospective buyers than they attract is that they require expensive upkeep. Running a close second is the fear of liability: Pool accidents are a quick way to end up the subject of a negligence suit. "A lot of people don't want the responsibility," says Remodeling magazine's Cory.