Housing market trash

Charlotte is peanuts compared to Asheville market

Tell em @obullfish




2017 we purchased 7 acres in the very end of an older established neighborhood with no HOA.
Plan went:
Build Bardominuim (Barndo) man cave from hell with 1200sqft apartment to live in
Sell house in neighborhood we own, live in "barndo" while constructing home on front of 7 acres
Move to constructed home. Move mom into "Barndo"
Once we get old and tired of maintaining house, move BACK to "Barndo"
Sell house to one of the kids at a stupid low rate
Die in "Barndo"

Sold house in June, and prepped for September ground breaking. But that was delayed. Because, as @ncsutj and many others have discovered in the house design phase of building. "Bitches be crazy"

I started the new home design in 2018. We looked at houses on the market, new house, even model homes all over. I THOUGHT she knew what she wanted. So off I went. Designed the home the way she described what she wanted (Craftsman with some farmhouse). Floor plans, elevations, renderings, photochop to place renderings on lot, Navisworks virtual walk-thru etc. She really seemed to understand and love what I had done.

Then.......one evening after dinner.....She's sitting on the couch, on her laptop with the dogs snuggled at her legs under the blanket one evening and says "what do you think of THIS house?"

Completely different style.

Me: Mkay.. it's fine.

Her: What if we change to THIS style?

Long story short....She did this to me 4 more times. :kaioken: Every time was after I was just a few details away from sending it to inspections for a permit.

FFW to September. We're at the point of no return. I told her she has absolutely no chance to back out after this. Then I get a call: "Trusses went up 300% overnight, and shingles can NOT be sourced till after November" :eek:

Thankfully, we hadn't dug the basement yet.

Then October comes. and the neighbor directly across from us clear cuts the woods beside their house (this is the woods we would look out our front door and see every day) I ask him WTH he's doing.

Neighbor: "50ft x 12ft x 16ft tall mexican carport for my RV"

You have to be fucking kidding me :gtfo:

Wife declared she will NOT look out her door and see that every day 👎

And before you say it....it's 7 acres....why not build back in the woods?

Well, because she also doesn't want to SEE the Barndo from the house.

So we started looking for land very near to what we already have. But then @Jody Treadway informed me wood done got STUPID. And it's not looking good anytime soon.

By November we made the decision that we would NOT build. With HER indecisiveness coupled with materials getting crazy...we started accepting the idea of just buying a home.

So we started home shopping (not serious....more hobby shopping) and started seeing some stupid things. Meanwhile our daughter and her fiancee were SERIOUS shopping for homes in the $175k-$200k range. Which..is apparently THE hottest market because interest rates and renters wanting their first home (which is them). So 3 times they put in offers on homes, and 3 times were out bid. The 4th time the house went on the market at 8am with stipulations that they would show it for ONE DAY and by 8pm showings would end, and final offers in by midnight. House listed for $180k They offered $200k and willing to pay all closing costs....and got it. We were floored. But soon it would be our turn.

Our "hobby shopping" turned serious in February. I think the month of February we looked at over 50 houses. Seemed every night my wife had us booked to see houses all over the place. I was so friggin sick of home shopping I would agree to anything. Then she called me one morning and said "meet me NOW!!!!"
She found a home on 13 acres that was 5yrs old. Had 10ft superior wall daylight basement with a full bath and vault room for reloading, and rough-in for full kitchen for apartment. 3 car garage and a separate 40x40 block built shop out of site from the house. This was such a perfect home that I would have sold my "Barndo" and never looked back. Same deal though as our daughters home: 15 minute showings for 12hrs...best price by midnight.
So we offered $15k over with $5k due diligence. By 9pm our realtor said they've revised the time limit till noon the next day due to so many offers. He asked if we wanted to revise ours? We both loved this home...but were NOT willing to pay more than market or tax value for it. So we stayed firm at our offer. Of COURSE we didn't get it. And in fact, the ones who DID closed on it 2 weeks ago so we were able to find out Monday that they paid $55k OVER listed price for the house :eek::dumbass:


Meanwhile, we found a home my wife fell in love with. They were asking less than tax value, and it was everything she ever wanted. I would keep the Barndo for toys, so I didn't need land or a massive garage. We offered asking price and again with $5k DD and fast closing (owner was transferred out of state and needed to sell quickly)
There were multiple offers on the table, but we had the ability to close super fast..so I think that trumped more money.

Anyway...should get the keys later today.

I'm happy....she's over the MOON thrilled, and best of all.....I don't get blamed for any regrets in the floor plan she may have years from now :huggy:
Congratulations on the new house! Can I be the new squatter at Barndo!?
 
Yeah prices around here are almost to the point of us selling our forever home to some sucker for a MINT. I’d hate to have to move but if we do it will be up around the tri city area of Tn. Going off our recently adjusted tax value our place is worth 4x what we paid to have it built in 2008.
We’ve thought about selling and moving to Greenville Tennessee. But with my office in waynesville and her traveling between Sylva and asheville offices it don’t add up yet
 
And if you think it's only in NC...
"Neighbor" (across the blacktop 3/4 mile away) put their house on the market... spec "doll house" on 7 acres on north side of mountain... listed and after 2 days of pissing contest, sold for $20K OVER asking
Lady I bought the compressor from, put house/land (T-sided 2500sq/ft house overlooking 1 acre stream fed pond, 35'x40' shop, 47 acres on driveway slightly better than Dutch John) in BFE Galax on the market for $500k and left to visit her mother... called 2 days later by agent to say it sold for $50K OVER asking

🤯
 
The US housing shortage is in the neighborhood of 1-2mm houses and started back in 2009. It's not getting better any time soon.
 
The US housing shortage is in the neighborhood of 1-2mm houses and started back in 2009. It's not getting better any time soon.
agreed, but the heat will cool off I think.
In the meta sense housing prices will continue to go up, and specifically the Carolinas are desirable and jobs are here. But the over all market velocity has to low down some.

Those waiting on an 08 crash will be sorely disappointed. But the more rural suburrban explosive growth...I dont think that can continue.

But we are facing some tough personal decisisions...
 
I'm no realtor, but for the sake of comparison, this is my estimation of the Charlotte market:
Top shelf houses, semi-custom move in ready in Charlotte are in the $200-300/ft range. New tract homes are selling for $150-200/ft, sometimes more if they are a little nicer than the usual.

dated houses that need some work are also $150-175/ft or so.

homes that need a ton of work are $125-150/ft.

I think there has been less upward push in the $500k+ housing market, but the $20-80k market from 5 years ago is now $100-200k, and the $100-200k market is now $200-450k, and the $300-500k market is now $500-700k.

Seems to be about that way in my neck of the woods too. My wife's cousin sold a house I thought was only worth $135k (was still thinking 5 year ago pricing) for a little over $200k in 48 hours, and then promptly put an offer in on the house directly behind mine that had been on the market for a couple months that was just under $400k. My little brother did the same thing, bought a house for about $80k 5 years ago, put a little work in to it, appraised at $125k in Jan 2020...sold it in July for $193k and then went and bought a $550k, 10yo 3000sq/ft house on 26 acres that had been on the market for 10 days at asking price. I've fantasized of the idea of selling mine and putting $200k in my pocket and just living out of a trailer on a few acres for a few years...but I'm not a single man, and the women in my life laughed at me in a way that made me fear for my life.
 
Seems to be about that way in my neck of the woods too. My wife's cousin sold a house I thought was only worth $135k (was still thinking 5 year ago pricing) for a little over $200k in 48 hours, and then promptly put an offer in on the house directly behind mine that had been on the market for a couple months that was just under $400k. My little brother did the same thing, bought a house for about $80k 5 years ago, put a little work in to it, appraised at $125k in Jan 2020...sold it in July for $193k and then went and bought a $550k, 10yo 3000sq/ft house on 26 acres that had been on the market for 10 days at asking price. I've fantasized of the idea of selling mine and putting $200k in my pocket and just living out of a trailer on a few acres for a few years...but I'm not a single man, and the women in my life laughed at me in a way that made me fear for my life.
See my wife actually said...
Why dont we sell the house, pocket the money, move into an RV at the farm for a year while we build a barndominium and live in it happily ever after?

Because 3 days in an RV with my wife, daughter and puppy sounds like a special kind of hell. And I have 2 toys I like more than them that would lose their indoor spot until the barndo was done, and where would my gun safes go during the RV stay and....this sounds like work and Im busy
 
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See my wife actually said...
Why dont we sell the house, pocket the money, move into an RV at the farm for a year while we build a barndominium and live in it happily ever after?

Because 3 days in an RV with my wife, daughter and puppy sounds like a special kind of hell. And I have 2 toys I like more than them that would lose their indoor spot until the barndo was done, and where would my gun safes go during the RV stay and....this sounds like work and Im busy
Same.
Lisa is ready to sell off our house and we thrn live in our camper in the warehouse at work. We have internet, shower, etc.
But I've been through a divorce. Shit ain't cheap.
 
See my wife actually said...
Why dont we sell the house, pocket the money, move into an RV at the farm for a year while we build a barndominium and live in it happily ever after?

Because 3 days in an RV with my wife, daughter and puppy sounds like a special kind of hell. And I have 2 toys I like more than them that would lose their indoor spot until the barndo was done, and where would my gun safes go during the RV stay and....this sounds like work and Im busy

note to self, send Linda my RV for sale listing.... :D
 
I know I could make $$ and improve our living/garage space if I sold out and cashed in and upgraded.
But
1 - I really hate moving
2 - I really love our neighborhood/ neighbors kids situation
3 - I'd have to pay even more for a better place, lose the cost in closing, and end up with more debt
 
I know I could make $$ and improve our living/garage space if I sold out and cashed in and upgraded.
But
1 - I really hate moving
2 - I really love our neighborhood/ neighbors kids situation
3 - I'd have to pay even more for a better place, lose the cost in closing, and end up with more debt
We just closed on our house in Fairfax March 10. Since then two other houses have sold, one on market for 30k more than ours and another completely off market for 80k more than ours.
Come on down here! It’s just money
 
We just closed on our house in Fairfax March 10. Since then two other houses have sold, one on market for 30k more than ours and another completely off market for 80k more than ours.
Come on down here! It’s just money
1 - It's just money. where would that money come from?
2 - I'd rather live with my balls in a vice than in Fairfax. Sorry.
 
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I'm trying to convince my wife we need to fix up and sell our house and live in an RV until the bubble bursts.
Then buy another house in our current area and one at the beach with the money.
 
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This is just inflation at work. Watching our dollars melt :)
Exactly. If everything is going up in dollar cost at an alarming rate, but there is no change in intrinsic value, then that is inflation. But people are stupid and happy because the number keeps getting bigger.
 
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I laugh...but I can’t help but think how many average families banked $8-10k in stimulus funds over the last year...used it as seed money for a new house or car, and what the financing on that has to look like, and what’s actually going to happen when they find out they can’t actually afford that payment in the next 12-18 months. Maybe I should have more faith in humanity, but as I’ve asked before, who did the stimulus help, because unemployment is still relatively low, in my opinion.
 
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