Anybody else regretting a land purchase?

[Shooter]

I just have to get this off my chest. I bought 10 acres of land in Tennessee last summer, before things started collapsing, and now I'm seeing listings in the same area at a much lower price. I could get almost twice the amount of land for the dollars I spent last summer!!

It's killing me. I feel like I spent my money foolishly, but who knew the economy was going to tank like this? I know hindsight is 20/20, but man, this stings!

Anybody else suffering from the same kind of second-thoughts? Anybody? Anybody?

I need some help dealing with this.

 

[DaRizzle]

short sale

 

[Shooter]

short sale

Are you saying sell now?

 

[BlazersBlood]

Don't pull out whatever you do. Just appreciate you got what you have. I didn't buy land, but at the same time I regret not buying about 5 years ago up in Long Beach, WA.

My advice is to just stop looking at the listings. That's really all that you can do. And if you feel like you don't have enough, go get some more since it's dirt cheap.

 

[BlazerWookee]

I just have to get this off my chest. I bought 10 acres of land in Tennessee last summer, before things started collapsing, and now I'm seeing listings in the same area at a much lower price. I could get almost twice the amount of land for the dollars I spent last summer!!

It's killing me. I feel like I spent my money foolishly, but who knew the economy was going to tank like this? I know hindsight is 20/20, but man, this stings!

Anybody else suffering from the same kind of second-thoughts? Anybody? Anybody?

I need some help dealing with this.

So buy another identically-sized lot for half what you paid last summer, and your average square-foot price will drop, lol...

 

[BenDavis503]

So buy another identically-sized lot for half what you paid last summer, and your average square-foot price will drop, lol...

He has a point lol

 

[mook]

Really, a lot of us blew a huge opportunity. Your example is just more explicit.

Had I to do it over again, I would've sold my house two years ago and rented. I would then buy the house back this week, netting a cool 45% (or so) profit, even after renting for two years and closing costs.

Easiest $150k I could've ever made. Alas.

 

[blazerboy30]

It depends why you bought the property, IMHO:

1) If you bought it because you love it and want to have a vacation home there or retire there, then it doesn't matter if the value has gone down since you probably weren't going to sell it anyway.

2) If you bought it as an investment to try to develop and then sell in the short term for profit, then yeah, that sucks.

3) If you bought it as an investment with a long time horizon to eventually sell to upgrade or transfer to something else, then this probably will just be a minor setback but things will workout fine in the end.

4) If you got the property through a 1031 exchange from a different property that you had made money on, then you have just greatly reduced the amount of capital gains taxes you'll have to pay based on your original property's basis.

 

[boatsandstars]

typical.

while there are people losing their homes and have REAL complaints about not being able to afford a mortgage or not being able to find work or having their homes taken from them, your big complaint boils down to "my gold-plated rocketship didn't come with an extra bag of blowjobs."

boo f'n hoo. i'm so glad you unleashed that heavy burden of not having your land taken away from you. poor, precious soul. if only you could have had the foresight to hold out and capitalize on the rest of the countries misery. i'll keep you in my prayers tonight.

 

[Wheels]

typical.

while there are people losing their homes and have REAL complaints about not being able to afford a mortgage or not being able to find work or having their homes taken from them, your big complaint boils down to "my gold-plated rocketship didn't come with an extra bag of blowjobs."

boo f'n hoo. i'm so glad you unleashed that heavy burden of not having your land taken away from you. poor, precious soul. if only you could have had the foresight to hold out and capitalize on the rest of the countries misery. i'll keep you in my prayers tonight.

 

[yakbladder]

Well, let's see...I have a very real situation where I may lose my house early next year if the kid pops out and I don't have a job...so, yes, I'd rather we'd have rented as well

But if I do get a high paying job, Shooter, I'll be talking to you about buying 5 of those acres...maybe they'll let me develop it someday.

 

[Shooter]

typical.

while there are people losing their homes and have REAL complaints about not being able to afford a mortgage or not being able to find work or having their homes taken from them, your big complaint boils down to "my gold-plated rocketship didn't come with an extra bag of blowjobs."

boo f'n hoo. i'm so glad you unleashed that heavy burden of not having your land taken away from you. poor, precious soul. if only you could have had the foresight to hold out and capitalize on the rest of the countries misery. i'll keep you in my prayers tonight.

Thanks for your understanding.

 

[MARIS61]

It depends why you bought the property, IMHO:

1) If you bought it because you love it and want to have a vacation home there or retire there, then it doesn't matter if the value has gone down since you probably weren't going to sell it anyway.

2) If you bought it as an investment to try to develop and then sell in the short term for profit, then yeah, that sucks.

3) If you bought it as an investment with a long time horizon to eventually sell to upgrade or transfer to something else, then this probably will just be a minor setback but things will workout fine in the end.

4) If you got the property through a 1031 exchange from a different property that you had made money on, then you have just greatly reduced the amount of capital gains taxes you'll have to pay based on your original property's basis.

Excellent post.

As a Realtor in Beautiful Central Oregon, I had more than an inkling that we were buying our dream home on the river at the very precipice of doom pricewise back in April 2007. Hindsight has proven my clairvoyance to be incredibly accurate.

However, not for one second have my wife or I regretted our purchase. We plan on living out our years here and then leaving it to our sons, who by that time will get a fortune from selling it if they choose.

Not a day goes by that we don't feel it was the best move we ever made, other than possibly moving here from Portland in the first place. There is no way to put a price on the extra happiness and enjoyment we get each and every day from living here.

I suspect Shooter bought his with some vague idea of holing up there in hiding from Obama's Socialist Army, but that's for another thread.

Last time I looked they had stopped producing more land, but not people, so it's near impossible to lose in the long run by buying it.

Had you invested in the stock market, or a startup company, or almost anything else, you'd probably be broke now.

 

[MARIS61]

Well, let's see...I have a very real situation where I may lose my house early next year if the kid pops out and I don't have a job...so, yes, I'd rather we'd have rented as well

But if I do get a high paying job, Shooter, I'll be talking to you about buying 5 of those acres...maybe they'll let me develop it someday.

IF the kid pops out???

 

[Sug]

Free market

 

[ucatchtrout]

As the great WC Fields once said....."my advice to you is to start drinking......heavily"

 

[SlyPokerDog]

If it was a smart and well researched purchase at the time you made it no matter how low the value may have dropped now it will rebound and increase greatly over time.

Did you purchase the land to flip for a profit in the short term or did you purchase it to hang onto for 20yrs and put a little cabin or house on it?

If you bought because you liked it and want to use it don't worry about it. In 20yrs after Obama legalizes Mexican immigration and the population swells to 500million+ your land will be worth much much more then what you paid for it.

Also from reading many of your other posts and considering that this land is in Tennessee is there really a price too high for owning your own militia compound?

 

[blazerboy30]

Excellent post.

As a Realtor in Beautiful Central Oregon, I had more than an inkling that we were buying our dream home on the river at the very precipice of doom pricewise back in April 2007. Hindsight has proven my clairvoyance to be incredibly accurate.

However, not for one second have my wife or I regretted our purchase. We plan on living out our years here and then leaving it to our sons, who by that time will get a fortune from selling it if they choose.

Not a day goes by that we don't feel it was the best move we ever made, other than possibly moving here from Portland in the first place. There is no way to put a price on the extra happiness and enjoyment we get each and every day from living here.

I suspect Shooter bought his with some vague idea of holing up there in hiding from Obama's Socialist Army, but that's for another thread.

Last time I looked they had stopped producing more land, but not people, so it's near impossible to lose in the long run by buying it.

Had you invested in the stock market, or a startup company, or almost anything else, you'd probably be broke now.

Maris, I grew up and lived in Beautiful Central Oregon for 25 years. I'm curious, if you don't mind sharing, approximately where is your property on the river? I assume it is the Deschutes?

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

My mom is in the same situation. She bought property in Prineville to eventually build a house on and move there when she retires. She now could have botten 2-3 times more land now vs. then. Sucks, but what can ya do about it?

 

[MARIS61]

Maris, I grew up and lived in Beautiful Central Oregon for 25 years. I'm curious, if you don't mind sharing, approximately where is your property on the river? I assume it is the Deschutes?

It's a few acres on the Little Deschutes River, between Sunriver and La Pine, near the Quail Run Golf Course.

What area did you live in?

 

[SlyPokerDog]

My mom is in the same situation. She bought property in Prineville to eventually build a house on and move there when she retires. She now could have botten 2-3 times more land now vs. then. Sucks, but what can ya do about it?

Medical Marijuana farm comes to mind. A few harvests and she'll be able to purchase more land.

 

[MARIS61]

My mom is in the same situation. She bought property in Prineville to eventually build a house on and move there when she retires. She now could have botten 2-3 times more land now vs. then. Sucks, but what can ya do about it?

Be happy she is fortunate enough to be able to buy land.

Most Americans can no longer even dream of attaining the American Dream.

 

[blazerboy30]

It's a few acres on the Little Deschutes River, between Sunriver and La Pine, near the Quail Run Golf Course.

What area did you live in?

Very nice.

I lived on some acreage on the North /northwest side of Bend, near Tumalo and the Deschutes. Gorgeous mountain views of Bachelor, Three Sisters, Broken Top and Jefferson. I LOVED it.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Be happy she is fortunate enough to be able to buy land.

Most Americans can no longer even dream of attaining the American Dream.

Very true. She is still very excited to build a new home and retire there in a few years. But she isnt excited about being a few hours away from her grandchildren.

 

[MARIS61]

Very nice.

I lived on some acreage on the North /northwest side of Bend, near Tumalo and the Deschutes. Gorgeous mountain views of Bachelor, Three Sisters, Broken Top and Jefferson. I LOVED it.

Nice area, I've been showing an AZ client that area for 2 months now.

Deal coming soon!

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Nice area, I've been showing an AZ client that area for 2 months now.

Deal coming soon!

Maris61, here's a question- in Oregon, do you see the drop in housing prices as a needed adjustment to bring prices back in line or a drop due to the recession and prices will raise back up soon?

 

[Shooter]

It depends why you bought the property, IMHO:

1) If you bought it because you love it and want to have a vacation home there or retire there, then it doesn't matter if the value has gone down since you probably weren't going to sell it anyway.

2) If you bought it as an investment to try to develop and then sell in the short term for profit, then yeah, that sucks.

3) If you bought it as an investment with a long time horizon to eventually sell to upgrade or transfer to something else, then this probably will just be a minor setback but things will workout fine in the end.

4) If you got the property through a 1031 exchange from a different property that you had made money on, then you have just greatly reduced the amount of capital gains taxes you'll have to pay based on your original property's basis.

Thanks. That's helpful advice. I did NOT buy it to flip it right away, but I actually haven't decided what I'm going to do with it in the long term. I realize that the value will come back up eventually, but I just wish I had waited until now to buy, so my money would have gone much farther. My anxiety is actually three-fold: 1) I'm unemployed at the moment, so my bank balance is steadily dropping. 2) The value of my land is dropping 3) the value of my stock investments is dropping.

It's pretty depressing, but then I do have my health!

 

[mook]

This thread reminded me of another from 2006.

Most ominous quote:

The right Real Estate is not shaky...it's guaranteed. My second home has appreciated 22k in just 4 months. Vacation property is where it's at.

 

[Shooter]

Don't pull out whatever you do. Just appreciate you got what you have. I didn't buy land, but at the same time I regret not buying about 5 years ago up in Long Beach, WA.

My advice is to just stop looking at the listings.

Ha. Also good advice. Looking at the listings is like rubbing salt in my wounds.

 

[Shooter]

This thread reminded me of another from 2006.

Bravo. How in the world did you find that thread?