Recession? What Recession?
January 30th, 2009I sure do hope I don’t eat those words. I really don’t like what I see out there in the way of people losing their jobs, businesses shutting their doors, and consumers having to delay purchasing everything but the necessities. Times are hard and getting harder.
However, there are parts of the economy that are cooking right along. For instance, the rental property business is on the rise; a natural consequence of all the people losing their homes to foreclosure. Whereas property values have dropped and continue to drop, rents have held steady and in some cases risen. Also, even though the prices of houses have dropped precipitously, especially here in the Detroit area, there are still plenty of houses on the market that offer exceptional values to those who would take advantage of them. That is the sandbox in which I am now playing.
Last week, along with my partner, I purchased a nice little home in a nice little neighborhood. $32K. Needs $10K in work. All fixed up, it’s currently worth about $95K. Who knows what it will be three months from now. But even if we have to sell it for $70K, that still represents a very nice profit. How many of these deals do you need under your belt in order to make a nice living in 2009?
Even though the unemployment rate is at 10%+, that also means that almost 90% are still working. A portion of those people are the ones still buying homes. And because we are in a buyer’s market with over 11 month’s supply still in the MLS, with much more yet to be added, the very few buyers out there can be exceptionally picky and price conscious. That’s why we’re fixing up the houses to be drop-dead gorgeous. That’s why we’re offering exceptional terms and irresistable offers to our buyers. Whatever it takes to make the house stand out in a very crowded environment.
By the way, we have three more even better deals waiting in the wings. This year is starting out very, very well.