It is getting close to time to buy
Property values have been declining and many wholesale deals are starting to show up around the nation. It is time to buy and hold, Landlord frenzy, rents should be going up also because of the rightsizing of property owners. The last couple of years renters became homeowners and now they are forced back to renting - rates adjusted. So go grab some properties and sit on them for 3 years you will be glad you did. Any comments?
I could not agree with you more!!
Everyone is preaching this, which makes me wonder. Obviously, the contrarian view right now is that since 'everyone' is losing their homes and becoming renters again that should squeeze rents upward. Problem is, the home ownership rate (at least where I live) is at an all-time high, and even with the subprime woes I don't think this will significantly impact that.
My observation (I am not yet a landlord BTW, but I do a lot of research:) is that vacancy rates seem to be improving, but rents haven't really moved (yet?). I can't see there being an actual rental shortage, at least in my area. So what is to push rents up, besides ordinary inflationary increases?
I am hearing in my market that rents are actually going down. I actually went to look at a property yesterday and spoke to a couple of the tenants. They said they had only been living there for two weeks and that their landlord let them take the place for a downpayment of less than a third of the monthly rent. The guy also revealed that he was having money problems and had just done a stint in jail for having unpaid fines.
My thought was either these people are really lousy landlords, or they were desperate for tenants and took the first people who came along. I am definitely keeping an eye on the market and seeing how things play out before I buy. I am a newbie so I'm being extra cautious anyhow.
An article in the paper here a couple of weeks back talked about the fact vacancies are falling, but rents are pretty flat. They attributed it to several factors, including landlords just wanting to get units filled and to newbie investors getting stuck with properties that expected to sell. http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_5823796
This is an intersting topic; if you listen to some, they would have you believe that the sky is falling.
http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2006/08/30/irrational-exuberance-the-real-estate-bubble-and-the-weakening-of-the-us-economy/
EDIT: Actually, I have to credit Wheatie with this link from another thread.