[Boomer]

I watch TV, from a distance, so far. And I know there has been some concern among property owners that house prices are dropping in response to the real estate market everywhere and now additionally because there may be a lot of sitting tight going on with potential buyers.

Someone who lives there can add details or corrections to what I am about to say here, but I think I have a general idea about this.

I think when the market in TV was hotter than hot, the developer built in language in contracts to purchase that would discourage speculators. I am not sure exactly how it worked, but I think something was done to prevent flippers from coming in and taking over.

While you might say that the developer did this only to protect his own interest in selling new properties, it also protected the interests of those who live there and plan to stay.

Speculators have killed many developments. I know a young couple who did everything right when they bought a Ken and Barbie house in Arizona. They correctly mortgaged. They did not buy over the amount they could afford. They had a down payment. All that stuff.

But speculators and people with stupid mortgages were in there with them. Now they are surrounded by foreclosures. Properties are neglected. Swimming pools make mosquitoes. The county sometimes brings in mosquito-eating fish. Water in pools evaporates pretty fast in that climate. -- You know the rest of that one. And there are even multiple families living in some houses now.

And there they are, watching their investment evaporate like the water in those smelly swimming pools. And they did nothing wrong.

Like I said, I think TV was fairly protected from flippers. Flippers are often leveraged to the hilt. -- most of them leveraged to the hilt is my guess. And many have now collapsed.

So even though you may see your property not as highly valued as it was even a year ago, I also think TV will not find itself full of foreclosures due to speculation.

And as far as the developer dropping prices on those new homes goes, that is nimble market response. The developer is probably quite able to cut his profit margin. By doing so, more houses sold will bring more people to keep those stores and restaurants and golf courses going. So as aggravating as I know it must feel sometimes to see those price drops on the new homes, it really is better for the big picture. TV is not one of those places where a developer comes in, throws up a few houses, and runs. It's a much bigger picture there.

So anyway, as we all know, the market will bear what the market will bear. And I know it is no fun to watch your house prices drop some. But I have to think that TV owners may be somewhat buffered, in part because flipping has been discouraged.

I hope somebody will let me know if I don't know what I am talking about here. But when I was there a year ago, I remember something about that contract language that would make flipping hard to do -- and I remember thinking that it was a good thing.

Does anybody have the details on this?

Boomer