Reply #6: Lots Of Empty McMansions [View All]

[KharmaTrain]

I live near some very high-end areas. For the past decade areas were being "super-sized" with these monsters. I sold my parents house in 2002 and within 6 months there was a monster on their lot with a 1.5 mil asking price (and they got it). But then with "creative" financing, anything is possible. I used to get calls from several realtors who kept trying to talk me "up" into one of these, but I had heard there were lots of problem with the workmanship and if the mortgage didn't eat you alive, then the heating/cooling and other maintenance costs would.

Recently, I went through one of these built-up areas and it looked like a ghost town. We saw a bunch of houses with no curtains or lights on and others that were in various state of construction that appeared to have stopped a while ago. We don't hear as much about these foreclosures or problems as that would totally tank what's left of the real estate market, and until recently, there still were people who were looking for these caverns.

Not long ago I read about the real estate speculation and busts of the 20's...it took a decade to straighten that mess up. Looks like we're back in that boat...but in the end, it could be a good thing for those buying in 2 or 3 years in a more realistic housing market.