Comments on: Condo PR, news and deals http://seattlecondosandlofts.com/2009/01/condo-pr-news-and-deals Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:01:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Paul Viau http://seattlecondosandlofts.com/2009/01/condo-pr-news-and-deals/comment-page-1#comment-74667 Paul Viau Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:02:44 +0000 http://seattlecondosandlofts.com/?p=2493#comment-74667 Amazing what the vendors offer when times get tough. I wonder if those tricks will work in my marketplace! Amazing what the vendors offer when times get tough. I wonder if those tricks will work in my marketplace!

]]> By: Peckhammer http://seattlecondosandlofts.com/2009/01/condo-pr-news-and-deals/comment-page-1#comment-73560 Peckhammer Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:36:33 +0000 http://seattlecondosandlofts.com/?p=2493#comment-73560 Caveat emptor: buying a condo in this market, with developers unable to move their inventory, is dangerous. Here's a little view of the future, quoted from a recent article in the NY Times: "It unfolds like this: Unable to sell half the units in a building, a struggling developer stops paying common charges and defaults on obligations to the lender. Foreclosure by the lender may take years, while individual unit owners effectively wind up paying double their normal common charges. This pushes some owners, themselves struggling, into default. Meanwhile, they are trapped — unable to sell, even at a steep loss, because most mortgage lenders won’t lend to potential buyers in a building where half the units are in default. 'That is a death spiral that could push a building into bankruptcy,' Mr. Kuperberg said. 'You basically have a building unable to meet its operating expenses.'" Ful article is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/realestate/08COV.html?_r=2&em Tread carefully. Look for deals in established buildings in good financial standing. Caveat emptor: buying a condo in this market, with developers unable to move their inventory, is dangerous. Here’s a little view of the future, quoted from a recent article in the NY Times:

“It unfolds like this: Unable to sell half the units in a building, a struggling developer stops paying common charges and defaults on obligations to the lender. Foreclosure by the lender may take years, while individual unit owners effectively wind up paying double their normal common charges. This pushes some owners, themselves struggling, into default. Meanwhile, they are trapped — unable to sell, even at a steep loss, because most mortgage lenders won’t lend to potential buyers in a building where half the units are in default.

‘That is a death spiral that could push a building into bankruptcy,’ Mr. Kuperberg said. ‘You basically have a building unable to meet its operating expenses.’”

Ful article is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/realestate/08COV.html?_r=2&em

Tread carefully. Look for deals in established buildings in good financial standing.

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