Daughter bought a new house.
I told her to rent an apartment and look for a repo or build , but she didnt listen. Any one else have that happen to them?
She paid full price for a track house and told me it was brick. I moved her and looked at the house this past weekend plus did some work for her on it. The front is the only thing that is brick!
Anyway, I got to drive around a bit looking for Uhaul and lumber yards . Home Depot is building two in progress . I have never seen so much building ! Her addition has over a hundred in progress by the same builder. Realator told her he build a thousans specs a year . I saw one addition of 27 in progress that were over 500 thousand . Thats a lot in AR and probably would run a million other places. Commercial was the same deal. Everywhere !
Any of you in a building explosion like that ?
Tim
Replies
I hear they're building about 10,000 new homes a year here. Avg. price probably about 300k and rising. Closed the race track east of town (Mesa Marin) and plan on building at least 20,000 new houses there. L.A. overflow, urban sprawl. Most of the new stuff is just junk, from a craftsmanship point of view. I did the walk-thru with a friend on his mini-mc mansion, framing was deplorable, but good enough for code compliance, apparently. Million dollar housing tracts are building with 5' setbacks, McMansions packed in like sardines. Equity going up so fast builders are putting in fine print loopholes allowing them to cancel contracts with buyers and re-sell at inflated prices before the carpet is even in. The city is rapidly outgrowing the infrastructure, traffic and road maintenance are a mess, but the coffers are overflowing from inflated property taxes. Gotta love it!
Where do you fit in with that picture?
I really had no idea which deal I would pursue.
Real estate has to be hot too!
Tim
I told her to rent an apartment and look for a repo or build , but she didnt listen. Any one else have that happen to them?
Tim, you've got big 'uns! Ain't no way in heavens that I'd tell my daughter anything!
The best thing you can do is compliment her for making such a wise buy and stay out of her way; she's probably well on her way to having 100k equity by the time she moves in!
I had no idea Arkansas was a hot market. What is so appealing to that area?
blue
If my kind neighbor doesn't mind too much...I'll venture a response.
NW Arkansas is beautiful - lakes, hills (Mtns, actually!)...and economically strong. And as Tim wrote, housing-wise it is booming area too.
Univ of AR in Fayetteville is a fixture. All west and north of there seems to be booming - and most of it seems affiliated with influx of suppliers required by Wal-Mart HQ in Bentonville, to have "local representation". Whole cities jumping up as a result it seems. (Picture it: suppliers arrive, employees arrive, their families arrive, need houses, then need schools, etc etc etc.)
Buddy from my office retired last week to (edited to fix an "oops"...insert REAL name of the town is: Bella Vista) in NW AR. He bought their retirement home there and it has doubled in value in less than 4 years IIRC. While he was employed, he was smiling... Right before he left work, he was fretting that at the rate property values are appreciating, he may not be able to pay the tax bill for long as he reports the assessors are keeping up with the rising values rather closely!
DUM SPIRO SPERO: "While I breathe I hope"
Edited 9/16/2005 12:28 am ET by mizshredder2
As Shredder mentioned its a big draw and has been for a number of years.
BUT, I didnt know they were waging war with seeing how many they can build or how fast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Blue, basically Im just a country boy living in a small town. Im no virgin to seeing what other cities are doing because of my extensive travel with DW. Her boss also owns a leer jet and Ive saw a lot from it . I went to Florida and said wow at what I saw there . What I saw is chicken feed to what we have North of me!
Ill try to explaijn what I saw which didnt sractch the surface.
Tradesmen are working 7 days a week. Now I wonder how come ?
In her addtion I saw well over fifty frames in progress at one time . There were that many slabs . There were over a hundred of others in the same addtion that was in different stages. Which in all Ill say 200 guessing. I saw all kinds of different folks working so it was boggling. Three landscapers were working on Sunday as well as Friday and Saturday. Im talking 4 to 5 men crews a piece. Of course I noticed that there were two set of painters working and two finishing crews doing drywall. I noticed one large crew that hung two houses Sunday complete. There were probably 12 of them and they didnt look like they spoke English.
There was a much bigger housees addtion across this huge pasture of prrobably 4 to 5000 sq ft homes . They had about 20 in varying stages, so they didnt start all at once.
I saw one lush addtion next to a golf course that were mansions. I didnt drive in.
From the road building is on the right and left bout anywhere you want to go. As one fella said to me up there he was damn sick of it . I asked why? He said you cant go anywhere even on Sunday with out getting behind a dump truck or a backhoe. He told me he had manyu times wished they would out law the damn things on the main hyways. He also told me the whole place was a dust bowl from the constand construction every where . I dont really think that was all truth but he was upset over it.
Commercial is the same story. I cant begin to tell you the huge projects and the small ones I saw.
It wasnt like that 10 years ago and they were booming then. Ive never seen anything of that magnitude.
Wanna come see me ?
Tim
Tim, I'd be interested in knowing how much raw land is in that neighfborhood. I'd like to know how much developed lots are going for.
If'in I ever get near you, I'm coming to see you!
blue
The market is growing so fast around here my numbers may be wrong by the time you read this.
1/4 acres 'city lots' are starting about $40k with better lots (1/3 acre) for about $65k and finally estate lots (1+/- acres) 100k.
Land prices have doubled in the last 2 years and start at about $40k per acre if there is any to be had!!!
F1
Thats a new deal here in that lots arent for sale in "subdivisions" . While I was inspector last year there was two subdivisions completely built by developers. I asked why and they both said that to make money they had to hold all the lots and offer only houses for sale. They hired someone who has a state builders lisense in both cases . They are hired more or less to be project manager with incentives. They both told me that the idea came from Northwest Arkansas. Well, we are techinacally in NW Ar, but they are referring to the upper corner of the state. Its 1 1/2 hours from here to where it starts. Fayetteville, Rogers, Springdale, Bentonville , and surrounding areas with in a 1/2 hour drive to one of those towns. So , the area is huge. She bought her house in a small out lying town thats 30 minutes away from Rogers. Last summer there were a few wanted adds for project managers holding state building licenses in NW Arkansas. So evidently its a strong trend. I was interested but didnt believe my health was up to it and sure enough it wasnt. No matter what position it would be high level stress even for a sub to be pushed like that. I cant even comprehend how much pressure that would be in the new houseing market. Im sure not every one works 7 days a week, but there was a lot of people out there working during Labor Day weekend.
During that 30 minute drive I made several times I noticed a lot of land being used for cattle. The smaller towns skirting the small cities had land but wasnt for sale for some reason. However older houses were and several remodeling opportunities visable. I didnt have the time to spend driving outside my courses as i was working for the daughter. Im sure I didnt touch it , but I saw enough to form my opinion. Not one but two Home Depots are being built 10 miles apart. That was the biggest statement in my mind. I have no doubt what Ive been doing [buying distressed properties ] would be a strong business and the prices are comfortably higher meaning to me that although distressed properties would cost more , the same percentage of profit would bring more yield per job. My thoughts are 20 percent of 50,000 here or the same 20 from 100,000 for a starter home would be close to the describing it.
Rental property seems just as strong bringing in high yield yet higher costs.
The needed maintenence on those homes and commercial property is mind boggling plus the services people such as lawn care , trash, guttering,fencing, storage builders, and appliance service based companies. Her house didnt come with any of that except a sodded front lawn.
Tim
When you use the word "addition" the context seems like you are talking about something like a subdivision??? Is that a local term?
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I am in the Kansas City area and I see alot of the plats that go back 40-50 or more years are called XXXX Adition.
As Bill mentioned the plat books list "some name additions".
But what's it mean? Like a tract of rural land annexed or "added" to a city boundaries?
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Defined by WordNet Princeton University as: "a suburban area laid out in streets and lots for a future residential area "
Just another way to say subdivision!
Thats an exellent question, but I dont have an answer .
Edit; You have a thread waiting on you in the business section if youd be so kind.
Tim
Edited 9/8/2005 5:33 pm ET by Mooney
she didnt listen. Any one else have that happen to them?
Only since they started their teens - several years ago - lol.
When I was building my house a year or so ago the local inspector told me that we were having a little building boom: five garages, three new modulars, and me!
"A liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel." Robert Frost
Tim - Sometimes it works the other way.
Back when I was looking for my first house, I wanted to get something local. There was a 2-3 bedroom cape about three miles from here. Price was 40K. I remember my Dad telling me I would never get my money out of it. Now, same house is 350K easy. If I go back a few more years, I recall the house across the street from me being offered to me at 10K. I was still in High School so I didn't have any money. I guess he didn't either. I've always loved realty. He was more conservative - he lost two businesses when he went into WW2 and then again in Korea, so I guess that takes it's toll on your perspective.
Don
I like stories like that . I also tell several . My Father offered me a brand new 3 bed 1 bath with carport and fire place for 11,000 in 73. Yes it was FHA. 75.00 per month for a new house but the payments were 30 years.
Tim
Delaware, Middletown and the beach area of Sussex County are in a building boom like that, most are dense pack McMansions selling like hot cakes for $ 500k+.
This too may change as the largest employer in the state is getting ready to cut a few thousand high paying jobs from the area -- credit card bank. Ever wonder why all the major credit card banks are operating from Delaware? Answer: Delaware has no usurary(sp?) laws - they can charge whatever the market will bear for interest!
Most are out of the same mold, 2 story, stucco or stone veneer, roofs that look like they made them up from a mess of left over trusses, 5500+ sq ft, atrium entrance and family room, three car garages, etc.
Like someone else said - the craftsmanship is lousy.
I have a customer who bought one of the new McMansions near Middletown, 2 acre lot for $238k + home $ 500k = $738k. Her builder went bankrupt 3 days after settlement, and before the punch list was done.
I have been working in her home since July and cannot really see the end of the tunnel - the punch list is pretty much completed but she keeps adding improvements.
Funny thing about the subdivision ( built by 3 different builders), every morning there is a parade of trucks coming in to fix the new "dream homes". I expect the landscapers to be hard at it in a new subdivision, but not the trim carpenters, electricians, HVAC guys, plumbers and remodelers (myself).
Jim
Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.