An update on California’s severe real-estate woes
March 28, 2011 by Patrick Madrid
Filed under Patrick's Blog
I was born in Southern California and lived most of my life there. And because California is in many ways still “home” to me, as well as the fact that so many dear friends and family members still live there, it’s hard to watch what’s happening to that once great state. The real estate implosion is eviscerating everything. Looking back on my our decision to move from San Diego to Central Ohio back in 1997, it’s clear that my wife and I providentially avoided a great deal of economic pain that our friends and family who still live there have endured. I hope things can get back on track again soon. But based on this grim report, I just don’t know if that’s in the cards.
I have lived in California my whole life (I am your age Patrick), owned three homes, been through ups and downs with the housing market and I have never seen it this bad. My neighborhood (in Riverside) seems to be holding up fairly well but it is sad to see so many others losing their homes or trying to hang on to a property that is worth half of the purchase price. We bought a new home about 9 years ago and I was astounded when we were pressured to take out a larger loan than we needed, telling us to use the extra money to put in a pool, go on vacation, buy furniture, boat, car etc. I know several young couples who were sucked in to buying much more than they could afford via “creative financing”. It seems almost criminal to me. I am praying we are getting close to the end of this housing bust. I don’t know how much more California residents can take! Thanks for sharing this report even though it tells a very sad story.