OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...


Interesting times - interesting times.


Heh .... I just checked the old farmhouse that my mother lives in. It's
the old house at the end of our driveway.
According to Zillow, it's one of our best, most stable investments. It's
value has fluctuated, but overall has maintained an upward trend.

It was built in 1800! John Adams Sr. was President, having replaced George
Washington. Adams was succeeded a year after the house was built by Thomas
Jefferson.

Eisboch

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

Eisboch wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

Interesting times - interesting times.


Heh .... I just checked the old farmhouse that my mother lives in. It's
the old house at the end of our driveway.
According to Zillow, it's one of our best, most stable investments. It's
value has fluctuated, but overall has maintained an upward trend.

It was built in 1800! John Adams Sr. was President, having replaced George
Washington. Adams was succeeded a year after the house was built by Thomas
Jefferson.

Eisboch




Not to quibble, but the 2nd POTUS was John Adams, not John Adams,
Senior. His son, John Quincy Adams, who also served as POTUS, had a
slightly different name, so neither was a "senior" or a "junior" to each
other.

BTW, property values in all the areas covered by Zillow have not declined.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

"HK" wrote in message
. ..
Eisboch wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

Interesting times - interesting times.


Heh .... I just checked the old farmhouse that my mother lives in.
It's the old house at the end of our driveway.
According to Zillow, it's one of our best, most stable investments. It's
value has fluctuated, but overall has maintained an upward trend.

It was built in 1800! John Adams Sr. was President, having replaced
George Washington. Adams was succeeded a year after the house was built
by Thomas Jefferson.

Eisboch


Not to quibble, but the 2nd POTUS was John Adams, not John Adams, Senior.
His son, John Quincy Adams, who also served as POTUS, had a slightly
different name, so neither was a "senior" or a "junior" to each other.


I stand corrected. Actually, I meant only to establish him as the "first"
John Adams president, and not the "second", being John Quincy.



BTW, property values in all the areas covered by Zillow have not declined.


I don't know about changes in the historical data because I wouldn't know
what it was. Obviously, values in places that have not had unrealistic
increases in the past few years have remained somewhat stable.

I know one thing. We sold the house we had in Florida about 15 minutes
before the bottom dropped out on values in that area.
Talk about lucky timing. If it had not sold when it did, we would probably
still own it.

Eisboch

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

Eisboch wrote:
"HK" wrote in message
. ..
Eisboch wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

Interesting times - interesting times.

Heh .... I just checked the old farmhouse that my mother lives in.
It's the old house at the end of our driveway.
According to Zillow, it's one of our best, most stable investments. It's
value has fluctuated, but overall has maintained an upward trend.

It was built in 1800! John Adams Sr. was President, having replaced
George Washington. Adams was succeeded a year after the house was built
by Thomas Jefferson.

Eisboch

Not to quibble, but the 2nd POTUS was John Adams, not John Adams, Senior.
His son, John Quincy Adams, who also served as POTUS, had a slightly
different name, so neither was a "senior" or a "junior" to each other.


I stand corrected. Actually, I meant only to establish him as the "first"
John Adams president, and not the "second", being John Quincy.



BTW, property values in all the areas covered by Zillow have not declined.


I don't know about changes in the historical data because I wouldn't know
what it was. Obviously, values in places that have not had unrealistic
increases in the past few years have remained somewhat stable.

I know one thing. We sold the house we had in Florida about 15 minutes
before the bottom dropped out on values in that area.
Talk about lucky timing. If it had not sold when it did, we would probably
still own it.

Eisboch



I know the feeling. Apparently you lucked out with the sale of your
boats, too.


How about a photo of the historical marker that must be in front of that
old house? :) Must be quite a treat to have a house that old.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 06:21:35 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:


"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
.. .


Ah - I understand now. Let me go look.

Hmmm - that's interesting. The house peaked about 4 months ago at
$250K and it's now $224K which I expected, but as I remember it it was
$265 back then.

You know what they may have done is readjust the historical data to
reflect actual market conditions at that time. To tell the truth,
that house was never worth $250K. It does have a high assessment
because it's an unusual house lot - the apartments are huge - the
total house is like 2,780 square feet.

The house we're living in now peaked at $450K - it's now down about
$385K. - which is kind of bogus - the land is worth more than the
house. :)

Interesting times - interesting times.

It is. I also agree, I think Zillow had everything overvalued for several
years.
No big deal. Eventually this whole mess will straighten itself out, along
with inflation, consumer prices and income.

I've always viewed inflation as a necessary evil. Looking out ten
years, inflation actually is your friend in terms of "real" dollars -
meaning dollars now, not compared to then. Yeah, you could buy a
gallon of gas for .05¢ in 1930, but so what - you don't live in 1930.

The oil bubble will burst, prices will readjust, inflation will take
care of itself in the long run.

The result will be an overall "correction" for the phony valuations over the
last couple of years and the economy will stabilize.

That's exactly what has to happen. You should reasonably expect a
decent return over time on real estate, but it's like anything else -
you get bubbles, they correct and six to eight months (sometimes up to
a year) later you pretty much reset values and the market is in
balance. On average, real estate will return 50% gain over 15 years -
that's historical data and it's pretty much fact. Even with this
recent correction, we've made decent money gaining on average 8% a
year on real value and on income, heh - apartments ain't cheap.
Everybody has to live somewhere 'ya know? :)

I read a really interesting piece of data the other day that was sent
to me by somebody who is heavily invested in REITs. One REIT that
he's involved with reevaluated their holdings on a cyclical basis
starting at year one and moving forward against historical data
nationally. What they found was very interesting.

Apparently there is a seventeen year cycle - give or take six months
in aggregate - and it's an exact match to previous housing cycles and
matches up to the last data point which was six months ago. In
effect, the bottom was coming and it's bottom plateau is now.

What was particularly interesting from an economic standpoint was that
every decline in value was precipated by differing economic conditions
in every cycle.

I think eventually, the realisation by banks and mortgage companies
that if people can pay $900 to $1,200 a month for an apartment, they
can afford to pay the same for a home. 30 year fixed mortgages for
average value homes are exactly in that ball park. Given decent
credit, the markets will begin to pick up again.

I hope.

No hope needed - it's basic economics. It's a shake out which is
good.

When you evaluate data sets like Case-Shiller, nationally the decline
is only 3% on average. There are hot spots where it's higher and hot
spots where it's lower, but on average, that's not so bad.

Which means it's not as bad as media would make you think.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 06:42:00 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:


"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
.. .


Interesting times - interesting times.

Heh .... I just checked the old farmhouse that my mother lives in. It's
the old house at the end of our driveway.
According to Zillow, it's one of our best, most stable investments. It's
value has fluctuated, but overall has maintained an upward trend.

It was built in 1800! John Adams Sr. was President, having replaced George
Washington. Adams was succeeded a year after the house was built by Thomas
Jefferson.

Amazing isn't it? The last rental home we have was built in 1920 -
chestnut joists, 1/2" white oak floors, etc.

Cost $1,820 to build. :)

The original three buildings in South Woodstock that were built in
1720, little tiny salt boxes, were built before there even was an US
of A.

History dude.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

"HK" wrote in message
. ..



How about a photo of the historical marker that must be in front of that
old house? :) Must be quite a treat to have a house that old.




No marker. It's not on any historical records, other than local knowledge
and town records. A couple of times the town historical committee has made
noises about registering it, as have other town officials. I've ignored all
interest and inquiries.

Even so, a couple of years ago I had our land surveyed with potential
interest in putting up another barn. I jokingly mentioned to the surveyor
(who is a local native and well versed in town politics) that it would be
easier to move my mother out, demolish the old farmhouse and build a barn on
it's lot.

He told me I'd have a major fight with the town on my hands if I tried to
get the permits to do so. They would immediately declare it a historical
building and I'd have to go through all kinds of grief to get the permits.

The "barn" section of the house doesn't have a single nail in it's basic
construction. All wood beams with wooden pegs.
The entranceway room of the house was the original Duxbury Post Office.
When we bought it, the room still had a customer counter, behind which was a
floor to ceiling, pigeon hole shelving unit. Every town resident had a mail
slot.

A few years ago I met one of the decedents of the family that built the
house. It had stayed in his family until the "farm" was sold in 1996 and
the land was subdivided. There's a huge, silver maple tree behind the house
with a trunk that is about 4-5 feet in diameter. He told me that the tree
was planted by his great, great, grandfather when the house was completed in
1800.


Eisboch

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

Eisboch wrote:
"HK" wrote in message
. ..


How about a photo of the historical marker that must be in front of that
old house? :) Must be quite a treat to have a house that old.




No marker. It's not on any historical records, other than local knowledge
and town records. A couple of times the town historical committee has made
noises about registering it, as have other town officials. I've ignored all
interest and inquiries.

Even so, a couple of years ago I had our land surveyed with potential
interest in putting up another barn. I jokingly mentioned to the surveyor
(who is a local native and well versed in town politics) that it would be
easier to move my mother out, demolish the old farmhouse and build a barn on
it's lot.

He told me I'd have a major fight with the town on my hands if I tried to
get the permits to do so. They would immediately declare it a historical
building and I'd have to go through all kinds of grief to get the permits.

The "barn" section of the house doesn't have a single nail in it's basic
construction. All wood beams with wooden pegs.
The entranceway room of the house was the original Duxbury Post Office.
When we bought it, the room still had a customer counter, behind which was a
floor to ceiling, pigeon hole shelving unit. Every town resident had a mail
slot.

A few years ago I met one of the decedents of the family that built the
house. It had stayed in his family until the "farm" was sold in 1996 and
the land was subdivided. There's a huge, silver maple tree behind the house
with a trunk that is about 4-5 feet in diameter. He told me that the tree
was planted by his great, great, grandfather when the house was completed in
1800.


Eisboch





What a great story..thanks.
That tree is almost as old as tom.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

"HK" wrote in message
. ..


I know the feeling. Apparently you lucked out with the sale of your boats,
too.


Anything will sell if you price it attractively. It took well over a year
to sell the Navigator and I reduced the price a couple of times.


How about a photo of the historical marker that must be in front of that
old house? :) Must be quite a treat to have a house that old.




I wouldn't call owning the old house a "treat". We bought and renovated
parts of the interior mainly for a place for my wheelchair bound mother to
live after my father passed away. She does ok and is basically independent,
but needs watching and occasional help with stuff.

The barn section is unique, but obviously old and musty.

I am not into "historical" buildings and will gladly sell it when the day
comes that my mother finally has to move to assisted living. Surprisingly
there are people into these old buildings and we have a waiting list of
interested potential buyers.

Eisboch

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

"HK" wrote in message
...


What a great story..thanks.
That tree is almost as old as tom.


Hmmmm..... come to think of it, the great, great grandfather bought the
sapling from a guy named Tom.

Eisboch

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

Eisboch wrote:
"HK" wrote in message
. ..


I know the feeling. Apparently you lucked out with the sale of your boats,
too.


Anything will sell if you price it attractively. It took well over a year
to sell the Navigator and I reduced the price a couple of times.


How about a photo of the historical marker that must be in front of that
old house? :) Must be quite a treat to have a house that old.




I wouldn't call owning the old house a "treat". We bought and renovated
parts of the interior mainly for a place for my wheelchair bound mother to
live after my father passed away. She does ok and is basically independent,
but needs watching and occasional help with stuff.

The barn section is unique, but obviously old and musty.

I am not into "historical" buildings and will gladly sell it when the day
comes that my mother finally has to move to assisted living. Surprisingly
there are people into these old buildings and we have a waiting list of
interested potential buyers.

Eisboch




According to local lore, my old tobacco barn was built either during or
right after the Civil War. It has some of the original planks in it, but
I don't which ones they are! Lots of plants have been replaced over the
years. I think the descendants of the original raccoon family that moved
in there 150 years ago are among the current occupants.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

"Vic Smith" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:08:24 GMT, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:

"Vic Smith" wrote in message
. ..
On Thu, 27 Mar 2008 21:58:05 GMT, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:

"Vic Smith" wrote in message

When do you expect to go fishing?

As soon as the ice is gone, the boat goes in. Two weeks? Who knows.
Meanwhile, a couple of trout streams are ice-free.

Which reminds of when I used to fresh water fish. Mostly in the
depths of summer. But sometimes during the spawn.
Talking crappies and bluegills.
The crappies went deep and didn't have much appetite mid-summer,
so spawn time was the salad days for fishing.
How's it work where you're at regarding the spawn?

--Vic


http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7917.html

9"' minimum on Crappie!
Them's big crappie. Thought they only grew them like that down south,
calling them "slabs" and other rustic names.

--Vic


Speaking of panfish:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/...ss/08nymex.php

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:09:19 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

the land is worth more than the
house.

That's a very common situation here in SWFL with older homes on water
front property. It makes valuations very tricky and frequently the
actual house is near zero even if well maintained.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:55:21 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

I think eventually, the realisation by banks and mortgage companies
that if people can pay $900 to $1,200 a month for an apartment, they
can afford to pay the same for a home.

I would argue that they can afford to pay 20 to 30% more than rental
because of the tax advantages and equity appreciation opportunities of
home ownership.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:38:31 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:09:19 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

the land is worth more than the
house.

That's a very common situation here in SWFL with older homes on water
front property. It makes valuations very tricky and frequently the
actual house is near zero even if well maintained.

It's odd how that works huh?

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:44:12 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:55:21 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

I think eventually, the realisation by banks and mortgage companies
that if people can pay $900 to $1,200 a month for an apartment, they
can afford to pay the same for a home.

I would argue that they can afford to pay 20 to 30% more than rental
because of the tax advantages and equity appreciation opportunities of
home ownership.

That's a good point.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

On Mar 28, 7:44*am, HK wrote:
Eisboch wrote:
"HK" wrote in message
...
Eisboch wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

Interesting times - interesting times.

Heh .... * I just checked the old farmhouse that my mother lives in.
It's the old house at the end of our driveway.
According to Zillow, it's one of our best, most stable investments. *It's
value has fluctuated, but overall has maintained an upward trend.

It was built in 1800! * John Adams Sr. was President, having replaced
George Washington. *Adams was succeeded a year after the house was built
by Thomas Jefferson.

Eisboch

Not to quibble, but the 2nd POTUS was John Adams, not John Adams, Senior.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:05:14 -0400, HK wrote:

BTW, property values in all the areas covered by Zillow have not declined.

Tell that to the people in SW Florida

According to Zillow, values in SW Fl are down 25 to 30%. I have a buddy in
Cape Coral that bought in the Spring of 06. He's trying to get out with a
50k loss +RE fees. Unfortunately comps. in his area are 200k under his ask.
It's not a good time to sell in Fl unless you are just upgrading or changing
location within Fl.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:05:14 -0400, HK wrote:

BTW, property values in all the areas covered by Zillow have not
declined.

Tell that to the people in SW Florida

According to Zillow, values in SW Fl are down 25 to 30%. I have a buddy in
Cape Coral that bought in the Spring of 06. He's trying to get out with a
50k loss +RE fees. Unfortunately comps. in his area are 200k under his
ask. It's not a good time to sell in Fl unless you are just upgrading or
changing location within Fl.


Hey, Jim,

To the best of my knowledge (as of a few months ago) the "Ranch House" we
had is still the last house that has sold in Ranch Colony. We got out in
the nick of time, even with the delay caused by "Wilma".

Eisboch

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:05:14 -0400, HK wrote:

BTW, property values in all the areas covered by Zillow have not
declined.

Tell that to the people in SW Florida

According to Zillow, values in SW Fl are down 25 to 30%. I have a buddy
in Cape Coral that bought in the Spring of 06. He's trying to get out
with a 50k loss +RE fees. Unfortunately comps. in his area are 200k under
his ask. It's not a good time to sell in Fl unless you are just upgrading
or changing location within Fl.


Hey, Jim,

To the best of my knowledge (as of a few months ago) the "Ranch House"
we had is still the last house that has sold in Ranch Colony. We got out
in the nick of time, even with the delay caused by "Wilma".

Eisboch
You do lead a charmed life ;- My values are down from the peak but still up
from when I bought. I can wait it out.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

" wrote in message
...


"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

Hey, Jim,

To the best of my knowledge (as of a few months ago) the "Ranch House"
we had is still the last house that has sold in Ranch Colony. We got
out in the nick of time, even with the delay caused by "Wilma".

Eisboch



You do lead a charmed life ;- My values are down from the peak but still
up from when I bought. I can wait it out.

As we all will.

Eisboch

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:12:27 -0500, wrote:

The guys who sold their houses
and loaded up on gold at $450 in 2005 are probably happy

Or loaded up on oil stocks. :-)

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:56:50 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:

According to Zillow, values in SW Fl are down 25 to 30%. I have a buddy in
Cape Coral that bought in the Spring of 06. He's trying to get out with a
50k loss +RE fees. Unfortunately comps. in his area are 200k under his
ask. It's not a good time to sell in Fl unless you are just upgrading or
changing location within Fl.

Prices in SWFL are back to 2003 levels for the most part, about 50% of
the peak in mid 2005. It's a good time to be buying waterfront in my
opinion. There's still a lot of baby boomers out there waiting to
retire to warm weather and a house on the water.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

Wayne.B wrote:
On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:12:27 -0500, wrote:

The guys who sold their houses
and loaded up on gold at $450 in 2005 are probably happy

Or loaded up on oil stocks. :-)



We got out of the scam known as the stock market a long time ago, but
for a couple of stocks we still have. Our gold holdings are on their way
to tripling, at which point we will liquidate some, but not for dollars.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:53:06 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

That's a very common situation here in SWFL with older homes on water
front property. It makes valuations very tricky and frequently the
actual house is near zero even if well maintained.

It's odd how that works huh?

It certainly leads to odd situations. We just had a very decent house
torn down across the street from us to make way for a new one.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...

"HK" wrote in message
...
Eisboch wrote:
"HK" wrote in message
. ..


I know the feeling. Apparently you lucked out with the sale of your
boats, too.


Anything will sell if you price it attractively. It took well over a
year to sell the Navigator and I reduced the price a couple of times.


How about a photo of the historical marker that must be in front of
that old house? :) Must be quite a treat to have a house that old.




I wouldn't call owning the old house a "treat". We bought and
renovated parts of the interior mainly for a place for my wheelchair
bound mother to live after my father passed away. She does ok and is
basically independent, but needs watching and occasional help with
stuff.

The barn section is unique, but obviously old and musty.

I am not into "historical" buildings and will gladly sell it when the
day comes that my mother finally has to move to assisted living.
Surprisingly there are people into these old buildings and we have a
waiting list of interested potential buyers.

Eisboch


According to local lore, my old tobacco barn was built either during or
right after the Civil War. It has some of the original planks in it, but
I don't which ones they are! Lots of plants have been replaced over the
years. I think the descendants of the original raccoon family that moved
in there 150 years ago are among the current occupants.

My mothers house is a 1908 Georgian. Those who want old houses can have
them. Has 1908 tube and post wiring, 1908 plumbing mostly and a few leaks
and dryrot from the last 100 years.

The general idea is to upgrade them a bit each year.
My house was built during WW2 when the city was overrun by military people.
Since 1985...
tore out the orig 60 amp service panel with fuses and installed a new 200
amp panel with breakers and had a new meter box and large mast/head for
outside
also replaced most of the old wiring with new code type.
tossed the old grate style oil furnace (which had been upgraded from coal in
1959) and installed electric heating on three levels
tore down the old coal bin in the basement and constructed a room that my
oldest son used as a bedroom while in highschool/community college
installed clothes washer/dryer setup in basement
started to transform attic into a 'playroom' for the boys. Removed old
collar beams and raised then to give 7' clearance for an 8' x 24 foot area.
Another four feet on each side limited by roof slope. Installed tongue &
groove 6" wide boards for floor, plus constructed a narrow stairway to the
attic from a small 2nd floor bedroom.
Replaced all the windows with new vinyl, installed insulation to all outside
walls, added a 12' x 18' addition, re-modelled kitchen & bathroom tore down
old garage & constructed shed...then added to that shed etc etc. I'm
tired just thinking about it all.... oh yeah,.we re-roofed the house too.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:12:27 -0500, wrote:

The guys who sold their houses
and loaded up on gold at $450 in 2005 are probably happy

Or loaded up on oil stocks. :-)


The oil stocks have not appreciated that much since 2005. Less than
doubled. Lots of other stocks have done better with higher dividend rates.
Looking at Zillow regards my home, it says $819k while smaller homes down
the street are rated the same or higher. Seems as if is a low rating as the
equivelent home was $1.2mm 8 months ago. And homes in this area have not
dropped like a lot of other regions. Close upscale housing for Silicon
Valley.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

"HK" wrote in message
...
Eisboch wrote:
"HK" wrote in message
. ..


I know the feeling. Apparently you lucked out with the sale of your
boats, too.


Anything will sell if you price it attractively. It took well over a
year to sell the Navigator and I reduced the price a couple of times.


How about a photo of the historical marker that must be in front of that
old house? :) Must be quite a treat to have a house that old.




I wouldn't call owning the old house a "treat". We bought and renovated
parts of the interior mainly for a place for my wheelchair bound mother
to live after my father passed away. She does ok and is basically
independent, but needs watching and occasional help with stuff.

The barn section is unique, but obviously old and musty.

I am not into "historical" buildings and will gladly sell it when the day
comes that my mother finally has to move to assisted living.
Surprisingly there are people into these old buildings and we have a
waiting list of interested potential buyers.

Eisboch


According to local lore, my old tobacco barn was built either during or
right after the Civil War. It has some of the original planks in it, but I
don't which ones they are! Lots of plants have been replaced over the
years. I think the descendants of the original raccoon family that moved
in there 150 years ago are among the current occupants.

My mothers house is a 1908 Georgian. Those who want old houses can have
them. Has 1908 tube and post wiring, 1908 plumbing mostly and a few leaks
and dryrot from the last 100 years.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:53:06 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

That's a very common situation here in SWFL with older homes on water
front property. It makes valuations very tricky and frequently the
actual house is near zero even if well maintained.

It's odd how that works huh?

It certainly leads to odd situations. We just had a very decent house
torn down across the street from us to make way for a new one.


Lots of that going on in some surrounding towns. Danville and Alamo have
lots of very nice homes that were ripped down to build a larger McMansion.
$2mm+ teardowns.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...



Looking at Zillow regards my home, it says $819k while smaller homes down
the street are rated the same or higher. Seems as if is a low rating as
the equivelent home was $1.2mm 8 months ago. And homes in this area have
not dropped like a lot of other regions. Close upscale housing for
Silicon Valley.


I am telling ya, Zillow has revised their valuations, including historical
data.

Eisboch

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:11:44 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:


"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...



Looking at Zillow regards my home, it says $819k while smaller homes down
the street are rated the same or higher. Seems as if is a low rating as
the equivelent home was $1.2mm 8 months ago. And homes in this area have
not dropped like a lot of other regions. Close upscale housing for
Silicon Valley.

I am telling ya, Zillow has revised their valuations, including historical
data.

Yep. I think we've pretty much figured that out.

Now the question is why.

Perhaps they were overestimating values a tad?

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:11:44 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:


"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...



Looking at Zillow regards my home, it says $819k while smaller homes
down
the street are rated the same or higher. Seems as if is a low rating as
the equivelent home was $1.2mm 8 months ago. And homes in this area
have
not dropped like a lot of other regions. Close upscale housing for
Silicon Valley.

I am telling ya, Zillow has revised their valuations, including
historical
data.

Yep. I think we've pretty much figured that out.

Now the question is why.

Perhaps they were overestimating values a tad?



My guess is this:

Zillow is connected with realtors or a home marketing network somehow.
They are always asking you if your house is for sale and encourage you to
list it. They even had a campaign for a while encouraging a "what offer
would it take to sell it" deal.

Inflating the market value was a means to falsely encourage people to list
their home, thinking they could get more for it than it was really worth.

Eisboch

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

Eisboch wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:11:44 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...



Looking at Zillow regards my home, it says $819k while smaller homes
down
the street are rated the same or higher. Seems as if is a low rating as
the equivelent home was $1.2mm 8 months ago. And homes in this area
have
not dropped like a lot of other regions. Close upscale housing for
Silicon Valley.
I am telling ya, Zillow has revised their valuations, including
historical
data.
Yep. I think we've pretty much figured that out.

Now the question is why.

Perhaps they were overestimating values a tad?



My guess is this:

Zillow is connected with realtors or a home marketing network somehow.
They are always asking you if your house is for sale and encourage you to
list it. They even had a campaign for a while encouraging a "what offer
would it take to sell it" deal.

Inflating the market value was a means to falsely encourage people to list
their home, thinking they could get more for it than it was really worth.

Eisboch




Methinks you fellas are grossly overestimating the connection between
Zillow and real estate appraised values.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:11:44 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:


"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...



Looking at Zillow regards my home, it says $819k while smaller homes
down
the street are rated the same or higher. Seems as if is a low rating
as
the equivelent home was $1.2mm 8 months ago. And homes in this area
have
not dropped like a lot of other regions. Close upscale housing for
Silicon Valley.

I am telling ya, Zillow has revised their valuations, including
historical
data.

Yep. I think we've pretty much figured that out.

Now the question is why.

Perhaps they were overestimating values a tad?



My guess is this:

Zillow is connected with realtors or a home marketing network somehow.
They are always asking you if your house is for sale and encourage you to
list it. They even had a campaign for a while encouraging a "what offer
would it take to sell it" deal.

Inflating the market value was a means to falsely encourage people to list
their home, thinking they could get more for it than it was really worth.

Eisboch


Forgot to finish my theory.

With all the heat currently on the housing market and mortgages, etc., I
think maybe Zillow realized it should clean up their act before they became
exposed. Just my guess.

Eisboch

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

wrote in message
...

On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:11:44 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:



I am telling ya, Zillow has revised their valuations, including
historical
data.

Eisboch




I was playing with Zillow the other day and they have an egreguios
error on my street. They seemed to have swapped a brand new McMansion
with a 40 year old "all original" rancher. If you just looked up that
one address you would certainly be confused. The difference is over a
hundred grand.


The difference between what they valued our house and property at 6 months
ago and what they value it at today is
about $700k.

Values have dropped, but not that much. I think their previous market
value "estimates" were highly inflated and bogus.

Eisboch

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:56:56 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:


"Eisboch" wrote in message
m...

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:11:44 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:


"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...



Looking at Zillow regards my home, it says $819k while smaller homes
down
the street are rated the same or higher. Seems as if is a low rating
as
the equivelent home was $1.2mm 8 months ago. And homes in this area
have
not dropped like a lot of other regions. Close upscale housing for
Silicon Valley.

I am telling ya, Zillow has revised their valuations, including
historical
data.

Yep. I think we've pretty much figured that out.

Now the question is why.

Perhaps they were overestimating values a tad?

My guess is this:

Zillow is connected with realtors or a home marketing network somehow.
They are always asking you if your house is for sale and encourage you to
list it. They even had a campaign for a while encouraging a "what offer
would it take to sell it" deal.

Inflating the market value was a means to falsely encourage people to list
their home, thinking they could get more for it than it was really worth.

Forgot to finish my theory.

With all the heat currently on the housing market and mortgages, etc., I
think maybe Zillow realized it should clean up their act before they became
exposed. Just my guess.

Hmmmm - makes sense to me. There is a connection between different
marketing networks and Zillow now.

There had been a huge fight between Zillow and brokers because of
Zillow's potential to usurp brokers authority and data.

Maybe they brought the values in line with broker data and begin to
build a relationship between them.

I know here in CT, they are pretty accurate because the data brokers
use is readily available to Zillow - it's public information.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

"Don White" wrote in message
...

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...

"HK" wrote in message
...
Eisboch wrote:
"HK" wrote in message
. ..


I know the feeling. Apparently you lucked out with the sale of your
boats, too.


Anything will sell if you price it attractively. It took well over a
year to sell the Navigator and I reduced the price a couple of times.


How about a photo of the historical marker that must be in front of
that old house? :) Must be quite a treat to have a house that old.




I wouldn't call owning the old house a "treat". We bought and
renovated parts of the interior mainly for a place for my wheelchair
bound mother to live after my father passed away. She does ok and is
basically independent, but needs watching and occasional help with
stuff.

The barn section is unique, but obviously old and musty.

I am not into "historical" buildings and will gladly sell it when the
day comes that my mother finally has to move to assisted living.
Surprisingly there are people into these old buildings and we have a
waiting list of interested potential buyers.

Eisboch


According to local lore, my old tobacco barn was built either during or
right after the Civil War. It has some of the original planks in it, but
I don't which ones they are! Lots of plants have been replaced over the
years. I think the descendants of the original raccoon family that moved
in there 150 years ago are among the current occupants.

My mothers house is a 1908 Georgian. Those who want old houses can have
them. Has 1908 tube and post wiring, 1908 plumbing mostly and a few
leaks and dryrot from the last 100 years.

The general idea is to upgrade them a bit each year.
My house was built during WW2 when the city was overrun by military
people.
Since 1985...
tore out the orig 60 amp service panel with fuses and installed a new 200
amp panel with breakers and had a new meter box and large mast/head for
outside
also replaced most of the old wiring with new code type.
tossed the old grate style oil furnace (which had been upgraded from coal
in 1959) and installed electric heating on three levels
tore down the old coal bin in the basement and constructed a room that my
oldest son used as a bedroom while in highschool/community college
installed clothes washer/dryer setup in basement
started to transform attic into a 'playroom' for the boys. Removed old
collar beams and raised then to give 7' clearance for an 8' x 24 foot
area.
Another four feet on each side limited by roof slope. Installed tongue &
groove 6" wide boards for floor, plus constructed a narrow stairway to the
attic from a small 2nd floor bedroom.
Replaced all the windows with new vinyl, installed insulation to all
outside walls, added a 12' x 18' addition, re-modelled kitchen & bathroom
tore down old garage & constructed shed...then added to that shed etc
etc. I'm tired just thinking about it all.... oh yeah,.we re-roofed the
house too.


There is a large difference between a WW2 small home and a 1908 Georgian. 2
stories, plus basement and attic with servants quarters, sun porches. About
3300; sq not including sun porches, basement and attic. Just getting to the
stuff to change is a major job. Plus you have to keep the same style stuff.
Wooden gutters, etc. This is in a neighborhood where homes start at $2mm+.
Locaton, location, location. Since my stepfather died in 1969 there have
been at least 2 new roofs. The problem is a flat deck off the second story
that wants to leak at times. So I brother and I have had to replace a
couple of bedroom ceilings. Since she is 93 years old, we now just maintain
the home. Next buyer is going to put $4-500k in a remodel. So not worth
putting a lot of money in now.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

hk wrote:
Wayne.B wrote:
On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:12:27 -0500, wrote:

The guys who sold their houses
and loaded up on gold at $450 in 2005 are probably happy

Or loaded up on oil stocks. :-)



We got out of the scam known as the stock market a long time ago, but
for a couple of stocks we still have. Our gold holdings are on their way
to tripling, at which point we will liquidate some, but not for dollars.

Harry,
A few short months ago, you told us you had all of your investments in
real estate, now that gold is on the upswing, you suddenly have been
investing in gold for awhile now. Do you know how we can tell you are
lying? You fingers are on the keyboard.

OT govt. regulation (troll food)
 

Reginald P. Smithers III wrote:
hk wrote:
Wayne.B wrote:
On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:12:27 -0500, wrote:

The guys who sold their houses
and loaded up on gold at $450 in 2005 are probably happy

Or loaded up on oil stocks. :-)



We got out of the scam known as the stock market a long time ago, but
for a couple of stocks we still have. Our gold holdings are on their
way to tripling, at which point we will liquidate some, but not for
dollars.

Harry,
A few short months ago, you told us you had all of your investments in
real estate, now that gold is on the upswing, you suddenly have been
investing in gold for awhile now. Do you know how we can tell you are
lying? You fingers are on the keyboard.



You're wrong, crap for brains. I never said or implied "all," and I've
mentioned gold investments more than a couple of times. Nice try in
perpetuating another of your lies about others.