The modern Ghost town.

Don't be alarmed. This isn't going to be a real estate blog. I'll be getting back into technology and robots soon. Real estate is just a dominating thing in my life at the moment.

Anyway.. before the drama with the house - Mr. S. and I had planned to drive to a Restoration Hardware warehouse sale. If you've ever seen the stuff in the catalog, you know that stuff is off the chart expensive. Since they were offering steep discounts, we thought we'd at least go and see what they had to offer.

Oddly, last week I'd gotten into a conversation with a gentleman about a town that was on the way to the warehouse sale. Everyone seems to know about this town because it is getting hit really hard by the mortgage meltdown. It is rumored to be 46% in foreclosure. How can that be possible you ask?

Because, they started building houses out there, and essentially created a new town. I don't think anything existed there more than 3 years ago. The rumor goes...neighbors don't even know who lives there anymore. People pack up in the middle of the night, and just leave.

Personally.. I was very curious to see what something like that looked like, and since it was on the way to the warehouse sale - Mr S. and I drove through.

It honestly was the craziest thing I'd ever seen.

I thought it was just a development of about 500 houses. It's not! There must be like 3000 houses out there. They created at least two schools for the town. It has its own parks. It really is a town. In the middle of nowhere! You have to drive 10 miles to even shop. And these houses are freaking McMansions. I'd estimate about 3000 to 4000 square feet. On postage stamp sized lots. With for sale signs on every block.



I don't even know what will happen to the town. But it is the weirdest thing ever.

If they just do nothing.

The economy will recover on it's own.

It's hard to believe my renter has been in my crapshack for nine months now. We've hit a reasonable routine. He doesn't always pay on time - but he always pays by a certain time. And, he's never bounced a check on me. It's okay enough that I'm starting to believe being a landlord isn't so bad. Yet, I only made a commitment to him for a year.

The last six months have been enormously stressful. I'd never planned to hold that house more than a year. I've held it for almost a year and a half now. By October I was jumping out of my skin, and there wasn't a moment I didn't want to sell that place.

I never really imagined a marketplace where you couldn't actually get a loan. I figured I'd either sell at a profit, or take a loss. Sometimes you win, sometimes you loose. I didn't really see it as any different than opening a restaurant. And honestly, I still don't. Our nation is built on risk. People show up here with the clothes on their backs and nothing more. They take risks. Build businesses. Risk everything.

Yet, never knowing if layoffs were going to hit my door, and pretty much everyone in the valley taking pay cuts to save co-workers has taken a toll on me. But, you never learn anything in the good times. If you make it through, you are so much stronger. I don't know yet if I'm stronger. However the last couple of days have led to some interesting developments.

Reports from all over - that houses are getting multiple offers. Most notably Mountain House. News story here. I wrote about it here in my Modern Ghost Town post.

What makes this especially interesting is that Mountain House isn't tied to anything. It is basically a community in the middle of farm land. In which farm workers can not afford the houses. You'd have to drive and hour in both directions in order to find any high paying jobs.

This morning I went to check on the inventory in my own city, and was shocked to find listings were down by maybe 40%. I'm sure of it, because I'd written a note to myself on March 9th that showed the lowest price listed in my area. And the amount of homes on the market.

It was such a dramatic drop I didn't actually believe it. So, I drove around today. Houses that had been on the market for upwards of 200 days now had sale pending signs. There were also a lot less for sale signs in general.

Yet, I'm still reading about "the deepening worldwide recession". That kind of real estate activity does not show a deepening. It shows that when banks are willing to lend, people still have enough money to buy. It makes me wish I would have listened to myself.

From October.

"Honestly people - normally I have a big crush on economists. But, cut the bullshit already. We are being told this is one of the greatest depressions ever. But, oh yeah...it could be over by the first couple of months 2009. Seriously? What pussies we've become. Growing up, depressions lasted years. Not months. Unemployment is expected to rise to 10%. Which isn't great. But, that would make it the worst depression since.... the 1980's."

Yeah - I turned into a big giant wussy. I'll admit it. Though, it sort of looks like the economy is trying to right itself. Let it also me noted - I called 30 of the last 30 bottoms. They were all were bottoms! Just not the bottom. Just sayin'.

Not saying that everything is better - only that there are hopeful signs. Plus, people seem to be out in mass.

Skeptics corner.

I think one of the biggest things I dislike about myself - is that I have a hard time trusting people. It's probably one of the harder things to change. It isn't like you can just say "trust people". And everything is all better.

So today when a guy comes to the door asking me if I wanted to sell my truck - it got the side of my brain that doesn't trust people all up in a bunch. After all - I don't have a for sale sign on it.

So, let me summarise how this went.

The guy - I've driven by your house a few times and noticed the cobwebs on the truck. I was wondering if you wanted to sell it.

This is a work truck BTW, and I'm not motivated to wash it until I can't see out of the windows.

Me - Well, it has a lot of problems. The ABS is going out.

I'm thinking this would immediately turn the guy off. To be honest, Mr S. I and have been discussing getting rid of it lately because its having so many problems. But it doesn't turn him off in the least.

Him - Well, I hate to admit this, but I've fallen on hard times. My truck just died, and I need a new truck. If you were going to sell that truck, do you have any idea what you'd ask for it?

Me - I haven't really thought about it. I mean, we were thinking of getting rid of the truck or donating. But, we haven't really talked about how much we wanted for it. Besides, if you are in hard times I don't really think I could sell it to you. I'd feel bad if it broke down on you.

Him - Well, that doesn't matter. I know a lot of mechanics. If it needs to be towed, I can have it towed.

Me - No its runs. But honestly. The ABS is bad. It has a check motor light indicator on. The dashboard expanded in one of the heatwaves and is completely cracked. Really - I don't think I could sell it to you. Do you live in the area?

At this point he tells me he lives in the Modern Ghost Town. And he keeps persisting on trying to get me to sell him the truck.

Him - You know.. I'm really embarrassed. But I'm a gardener. Maybe God brought me to this house. I'd be your gardener for life. Do you have any idea how much you'd want for the truck? Any idea at all? I have cash in the car. I could sign over my drivers licence, and we can sign a bill of sale.

Me - No. I'd have to talk to my husband. Give me your number, and I'll call you.

The guy was so freakin' persistent. I wasn't sure if there was some part on that truck that is valuable right now. Catalytic motor, or what. But it made me get my ladder and anything worth value out of the bed.

It's things like this that make me so conflicted. Maybe he is just a guy down on his luck.