originally posted by: olaru12
So it's called capitalism, people trying to make a profit on their investments. What's wrong with that?
This. to draw inspiration from Rick James, it's capitalism, bitch. When '08 hammered where I lived back in FL, I watched a half million dollar house
on the market around the corner from where I lived dip to $100k. It was on a half acre, and had a pool & mother-in-law house on it, too. It was
recently fully remodeled, there was not a damn thing wrong with it structurally & it oozed luxury.
Nobody wanted it, regardless of how cheap it got. Capitalism at work in an economically depressed area.
Up here around Grand Rapids, since we came up here in '14, I've watched homes in my neighborhood go from, eh, $80/$90 grand at most, to $200k+ now.
The house right behind me sold well for over that a few years ago (if anyone remembers my Rage Dad thread, that house)
The market here has nothing to do with foreign investors moving into neighborhoods and EVERYTHING to do with people coming from other states for work,
and it's ample here.
Depending on who you're reading, GR is either the top housing market in the country, or second spot for it. It's on fire here, houses, and equally so
of rentals, are in
high demand, and bidding wars between buyers are a thing.
To put that into perspective, when we got here, we spent 3 months in a hotel and aggressively looking for a rental daily. It's not that we were passed
over for more desirable renters, it's that desperate n00bs to the state came prepared and were handing over a full 12 month's worth of rent at every
place we went to for open house walk-throughs. A FULL YEAR'S WORTH.
We got exceptionally lucky with the one we're in, we were the first to approach the rental company about it when it hit the listings (within an hour)
and they were sick and tired of the renter wars, so they pushed the lease through same-day.
Sellers are a whole different ball of wax. They can sell to the first person that approaches them on the first day listed, or they can drag it out for
months trying to gouge desperate people wanting a home. Where I am, homes don't usually stay on the market for more than a few days at best, but in
other areas, it's a months-long bidding war gouge-fest. THAT is the seller's fault, not the buyer. If you're going to blame someone, blame
them
for this s#. Greed knows no shame.