The Economic Downturn

[poromo]

There are many well off people living in TV and I've heard it said that TV is recession proof. The declining stock market and layoffs are taking a tremendous toll on the nation's economy. My questions are at what point, if at all, will TV be affected? Is it possible stores and restaurants could close as they have in other parts of the country? I hate to say it but could the town squares become ghost towns?

[ConeyIsBabe]

Looking forward to the responses ........ :popcorn: However, it seems logical to me that the continued influx of well-to-do retirees moving into TV, with large incomes, will support all the stores and restaurants :shrug:

In my middle/low income small-town community there are vacant stores already evident !

[Muncle]

Where the individual controls where his money invested, I would think the vast majority of Villagers would be relatively light in the market, especially individual stocks. Now is the time in our lives when we should not be gambling. Most of our investments should be in relatively safe securities.

This, of course, does not count the paper losses so many of us have in our older homes. The place we paid $50,000 for in the '70s that was selling for $1.2 Mil in 2004 is now worth $775,000. That's not a loss of $425,000. It's still a profit of $725,000. (unless you already took the money by refinancing)

[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

[graciegirl]

I think you are close to the money as usual Boomer.

And CIB, the people who are financially well off have taken the biggest hit in this terrible mess.

[The Great Fumar]

The economy will turn around in the second quarter of "09" Some of the numbers are in place to see the shortest recession in years...
remember , you heard it from old fumar....... If it doesn't , you can complain to my next of kin............


glass half full fumar:icon_hungry:

[villages07]

Boomer,

I believe you are referring to sales contract language that stated if you sold your new house within the first year, any profit above the original sales price would go to the developer. That language in itself might discourage some speculators, but, it is essentially a moot point since values have not gone up in the last couple of years. I think the bigger reason for so few foreclosures in TV was the developer's requirement for 20% down payment... that really scares off speculators and encourages responsible home ownership.

As to the original question, I think you will see further repercussions from the national economic woes here in TV....maybe not too deep, but, will be noticeable. Rental contracts cancelled; restaurants not quite as busy, folks who've been here awhile on non-indexed pensions struggling to afford ever increasing costs (amenity fee, food costs, energy costs). Folks who are managing their own retirement fund seeing their overall value erode and worrying how long their money will last. Folks still maintaining 2 houses and finding it increasingly expensive to do so and getting rid of whichever one will sell first. In my humble, and nonexpert, opinion, economic troubles will be noticeable here but not crippling. Stores and restaurants will continue to come and go. That new big strip center across from Home Depot may struggle to attract tenants and customers...it may be an example of too much commercial building. Time will tell.

[JohnN]

I think demographics of the boomers will shelter TV from the brunt of the recession, this is a very unique attractive place to live. However, it's apparent that America is going to learn/relearn how to be thrifty, it's really not a bad lesson to live below your means.

[The Great Fumar]

BOOMER
You must keep a house one year from the date of purchase . If you sell before the anniversary of the date of purchase , The Villages has the right to buy it back at the purchase price and anything you have done to the house such as LANAI'S , BIRDCAGE'S , SHRUBS, ETC, ETC. are all lost...........
This was done a couple of years ago because of all the speculators buying houses and flipping them ( mostly courtyard villa's) .....
They were buying bare bones and then decorating them inside and out and making a tidy profit...........
They were buying two and three at a time and had a nice business going until the village Realtors started complaining that all the houses were being gobbled up and so THE VILLAGES stepped in and made some changes to stop it ....And (don't quote me on this ) a new rule was introduced that you can only buy one house a year.....I was told this buy a realtor..but it does make sense............

I catch myself rambling on and on like this............

fumar :laugh:

[Villages Kahuna]

I had the major window sub-contractor doing some service work here at our house today and I asked him whether sales had slowed with the bad economic news. He replied, "No way. We're blowing and going." I asked whether he meant just on the new places adjacent to Lake Sumter Landing. he said, "No, all over. We're building 6-7 days a week there as well is out in Hemingway and points west along CR 466A."

Is this place immune from the economic conditions thruout the rest of the country? It sure appears that way. But if prospective buyers can't sell their houses up north and their investment portfolios have taken a major league hit...then how in the world are they buying all these places down here?

I can't quite figure that out.

P.S. I sure hope you're right on your projection for the economy, Fumar. But I'd be willing to bet that you're off on your timing by at least a year, maybe longer.

[villages07]

I'm with you Kahuna....it seems like TV is still building houses faster than they are selling. They don't release sales info and the one unofficial source, the 'welcome to newcomers' monthly list in Rec News, isn't being printed any more. So, it's hard to tell. I'd like to think that the Developer and his marketing team have a pulse on supply and demand so that they don't ever get stuck with an unmanageable oversupply.

[downeaster]

I looked at the Sales List on the Sumter County Appraiser's web site. This includes all of Sumter County but is still an indicator of sales here. It also includes resales.
In Jan 2006 and we were booming. Jan 2007 showed a definite slowdown then in Jan 2008 it looks like it bottomed out and 2008 sales have been pretty steady and hardly shabby.
IMHO, prices have moderated here enough so the person who must sell to buy here can justify taking a lower price on their current home. Furthermore, because of the moderation in prices, some people are biting the bullet and buying here before selling their current homes.

[MelZ]

I am confident that with the new administration coming in January the economy will turn up very soon after.

Since the executive branch and legislative branch will be of the same party. A politican's first duty is to get himself reelected, since there is no else ot blame they had better fix the problem.

I actually thing the recession end and the economy will turn up by Q2 2009. I expect and prices and the markets will stabilize. Those who are selling house up north need to be patient.

Most losses are paper losses until locked in by a personal action.

[tbsoccer]

Six months ago, I was about 85 percent certain that we'd sell our house next spring, rent for a few months in TV until we decided on which village we wanted to live in an what style of home we wanted to buy and then make the move in the fall. We probably would purchase a previously owned home with more mature landscaping and the upgrades that we wanted. However that changed drastically two months ago when the market started its death spiral. Between the erosion in my 401(k) and the latest PBGC rate of 4.75 percent, my retirement nest egg has dropped an equivalent of 2.5 years of salary. Like I told my boss, the only thing making money in my portfolio is me. Hugh lay-offs are announced daily and the pending demise of the American auto industry could put even more pressure on unemployment through out the country. Although housing costs in Pittsburgh have only dropped a slightly, it still looks like our move is going to be delayed by a year or so.

[F16 1UB]

I too thought we'd sell our home. 7 months now & new agent. Price dropped 10%. Ready to go 20%. New home sitting vacant in TV. Neighbor behind and beside us both have homes for sale in TV. I don't see the housing market turning around until mid/late 2010. I sure as hell hope I'm wrong.

[Boomer]

2010?

The 15% dividend and capital gains tax rate is officially due to expire at the end of 2010, I think it is, unless that has changed and I missed it somehow.

If that stays in place as an expiration date, will stocks get dumped in 2010 in order to capture a more favorable tax rate? Or would buyers not be as drawn to stocks because of tax increases if that's the way it goes? How much would that really affect the overall market? For how long? Would it be that big of a deal for the Dow?

But it could be that if individuals do dump stock then for tax purposes, cash could become more available to invest in real estate. Real estate -- that see it, touch it, feel it investment.

Oh, I don't even know why I think about this stuff. It causes me to write inane and even insane posts sometimes. Oh well. I just can't help it.

Boomer

[chuckinca]

Six months ago, I was about 85 percent certain that we'd sell our house next spring, rent for a few months in TV until we decided on which village we wanted to live in an what style of home we wanted to buy and then make the move in the fall. We probably would purchase a previously owned home with more mature landscaping and the upgrades that we wanted. However that changed drastically two months ago when the market started its death spiral. Between the erosion in my 401(k) and the latest PBGC rate of 4.75 percent, my retirement nest egg has dropped an equivalent of 2.5 years of salary. Like I told my boss, the only thing making money in my portfolio is me. Hugh lay-offs are announced daily and the pending demise of the American auto industry could put even more pressure on unemployment through out the country. Although housing costs in Pittsburgh have only dropped a slightly, it still looks like our move is going to be delayed by a year or so.




DITTO (working more) !

But my boss is letting me work part-time at home (in TV) 3 months in the winter in '09. Maybe he'll give me a bonus to cover the 30% drop in my 401k and home value (I can dream, can't I).



.

[Russ_Boston]

2010?If that stays in place as an expiration date, will stocks get dumped in 2010 in order to capture a more favorable tax rate?
Boomer

The flaw in that thinking is that by 2010 (I don't need to wait that long) MANY of us will have paper losses and not gains. So unless you need the money and or the loss to offset something else then I don't see a big dump of stocks in 2010 due to expiration of the gains break.

[KayakerNC]

So......maybe buying a home in TV would be a better investment than the stock market?

[tankdvr1950]

economic turn around in mid-2009, or is it early 2010 or the end of 2010...while all the experts chime in with their predictions....no one really knows

our plan was to put the house on the market in early spring 09....sell...rent in TV for a couple of months or so until finding the right new home...buy and close and live the dream....but....the "value" of the property here continues to drop.....$5k in the last 30 days...and there is a limit where selling is just not possible....we can forsee that day coming closer and closer all the time

we are middle class people who are paying our mortgage and were smart enough to not mortgage our life away and have and continue to work hard to live the American Dream...we were smart enough, 18 months ago to bail on the market for our retirement accounts....but the housing crisis, fuel and food and prices increases for everything else, is killing us and its something we have no control over and can do nothing about but sit and watch things get worse and worse and our dream slip farther and farther into the future...if it happens at all

its the middle class, that is suffering the most in all of this...yes...i freely admit that on paper the wealthy have taken a bigger hit proportionally in this economic downturn, as graciegirl stated, but its not the wealthy that have taken the greatest hit.....its the middle class whose dreams are slipping away, that have taken and continue to take the biggest hit.

it was estimated that the 3 car manufacturers spent $20,000 each to fly their corporate jets to their hearings in Washington yesterday......but they are still looking for a $25b loan....in the WSJ today there is a list of the salaries and stock benefits that corporate executives, many of which received bail outs, received this year and many of they have done nothing but take their companies and the US economy into ruin

sorry for venting in this forum...but i am one of the millions of frustrated middle class amaricans who have worked hard, paid my bills, paid my mortgage and want to know...what exactly did i do wrong....and....when is my bail out coming

just one reason why i voted for president they way i did

[JohnN]

tankdvr1950 - amen

[Russ_Boston]

Tank - Vent away - DITTO!

[Sidney Lanier]

I couldn't agree more, tankdvr1950, and if there is to be any change, it's not going to be overnight. It took us years to walk into this mess of a forest, and we cannot expect to walk out of it in months or even a couple of years!

Some of our kids are visiting now, and we took a walk through LSL. They were surprised to see the number of commercial establishments vacant/for rent. We're not here long enough to know if the number of vacancies is typical--or is reflective of our tanked economy.

And it still flabbergasts me that, notwithstanding what might be motivating them, there were people who were still saying recently that the economy is just fine and that we should continue on the same path....

[billethkid]

There have been a couple of restaurant failures...nothing to do with the economy...poor management....poor service.....bad food.
If there is a current economy impact it could be the lack of banking support for small businesses that was prevalent since LSL opened.
A point to consider....while the media only shouts about how bad things are....for example unemployment at an all time high of 7++%...we will never hear them say...HOWEVER...the 92.% % still gainfully employed are alive and well. The increase in foreclosures are up 50% over last year....the total is still less than 5% of the total...but you won't hear about the over 90% that are still paying their mortgages who are gainfully employed!!
The Villages and specifically LSL are doing well and you won't hear or see that in the news.
I understand that if one is unemployed or losing their home things don't look very bright....but they are in the minority!!!!!!!!!!!

When companies are laying off the thousands to cut costs....there are still more than 90% of those companies employment still keeping their jobs.

The media perpetuates the chicken little outlook....keeps folks glued to the TV sets....

BTK

[JohnN]

billiethekid,
I agree the media sensationalizes everything for their own purposes.
However, in my working career in AT&T manufacturing, I used to visit dozens of plants with thousands of people, perhaps 100K people. Today, it's all gone.

Same is true for so many other businesses. Sure, there are wal-mart and pizza hut jobs, but that doesn't raise families and buy homes. We're in a real mess.
I feel the pain and I've been ultra-consevative, and I pray and worry for my kids ( and yours ) and their families. I'll be alright, I've learned to really like beans.

Anyway, like Tankdiver1950, mostly venting. It's a big mess.

[MMC24]

Thank goodness our financial advisor back in Connecticut convinced us to move to bonds when we retired and moved to TV. If we were still in stocks, our "nest egg" would have been a big fat "goose egg" by now.

[Boomer]

Suze Orman was on with Larry King tonight. I have been a fan of her advice for a long time. When Orman was interviewed by the NYT in early 2007, the shocking information that came out of that interview was when she revealed that she invests like a retired grandmother.

Orman's investment style was compared to that of Groucho Marx who, while touring the NYSE, was asked by a trader where he kept his money. When Groucho answered, "Treasury bonds," the trader told him that those would not make him any money. "They will if you have enough of them," Groucho shot back.

Orman took a little heat from the press at the time of the interview. It was like they were booing her for being a bad example because they said average people were supposed to take risk with investments, and sometimes lots of it, huh? Circus Clown Cramer was the darling of the day for a long time.

Well, tonight Suze Orman had a few things to say. First of all, she is greatly concerned about this mess. She said that her guess is that it will be 2010 before real estate begins to stabilize. But she said that for those who can afford to buy, now is not a bad time. She told people to not spend money that they do not have even if it is time for Christmas shopping. She said that the time between now and the inauguration is going to be really rough. And she took some calls from viewers.

Now, all of that is pretty general and obvious, but there was one thing that she said that I found pretty interesting...

Suze Orman said that she went shopping today. She bought a couple of good solid dividend-paying stocks that have been hammered but that will be back. She would not say what she bought, of course. She just said that there are solid companies that have dropped significantly but will return. What has happened is the dividend yields have turned into 9% in some cases. She said what we all know and that is that dividends pay you to wait. You just have to find the right dividend payer.

So anyway, here I sit, going on and on, for whatever reason. But if you want to see the interview, I think Larry King repeats later tonight, maybe midnight, not sure. Suze Orman was on for the first half of the show.

I wonder what Suze bought today. (And she did not comment at all about how long she thought the wait might be.)

Boomer

[Yoda]

We have had a very simple and workable plan. We want to trade houses. When we started visiting TV in Aug we could sell our house and with the proceeds, pay off the mortgage, buy our new Designer home, furnish it and pay for the move. A home for a home. As long as TV property prices are reduced by the same amount that our house has dropped we will be there soon. If not, I guess we will need a plan "B"

[Muncle]

Suze Orman was on with Larry King tonight. I have been a fan of her advice for a long time. When Orman was interviewed by the NYT in early 2007, the shocking information that came out of that interview was when she revealed that she invests like a retired grandmother.


BoomBoom, I've been a big fan of Ric Edelman since I moved back to DC in the mid 90's and started listening to him on WMAL. He has always preached situational investing. As one gets older, closer to retirement, and closer to possibly needing the funds, more and more of one's portfolio should be in safer, more stable, more liquid assets (i.e., CDs, money markets, bonds, etc.) and less in individual stocks that drop just when you need the $$$$. I'd definitely take that as Granny Investing, and like Granny's cooking, it's a lot better than a lot of the new-fangled ideas.

[captain1202]

Have been through a number of previous recessions I think it's fair to say this one is unlike any other for many reasons. I believe the recovery '09 prognostications are unreasonably optimistic.

1) The housing meltdown is still gaining momentum and is no where near bottoming out.

2) Consumers are retrenching as never before for several reasons not the least of which are they have no money, they are worried about their job, they are just plain scared about the political and financial prospects.

3) Previous recoveries have been consumer driven. Because of a tectonic shift in consumer attitudes due to #2 there is a new aversion to assumption of debt. I believe this will be a permanent change.

4) Home building, which was the last recession buster, won't be helping anytime soon. Manufacturing is virtually dead in this country so don't count on that. Auto's won't be the magic bullet either.

5) The "new" financial economy based on smoke and mirrors has proven to be a flop so that's not going to help either.

SOOOOOO......The BIG question is this?

Exactly what sector of the economy is it that is going to drive a recovery and provide employment for the hundreds of thousands of folks that are finding themselves out of work with no reasonable prospect of new work in their chosen field?

Note for Kahuna.. As a former commercial banker you have to be petrified at what you see on the landscape.(??) I'm curious as to where and what businesses would you invest your banks' funds today? Manufacturing? Housing? Retail? Auto's? Financial Services? Credit Cards? What else have we got?

[rshoffer]

Have been through a number of previous recessions I think it's fair to say this one is unlike any other for many reasons. I believe the recovery '09 prognostications are unreasonably optimistic.

1) The housing meltdown is still gaining momentum and is no where near bottoming out.

2) Consumers are retrenching as never before for several reasons not the least of which are they have no money, they are worried about their job, they are just plain scared about the political and financial prospects.

3) Previous recoveries have been consumer driven. Because of a tectonic shift in consumer attitudes due to #2 there is a new aversion to assumption of debt. I believe this will be a permanent change.

4) Home building, which was the last recession buster, won't be helping anytime soon. Manufacturing is virtually dead in this country so don't count on that. Auto's won't be the magic bullet either.

5) The "new" financial economy based on smoke and mirrors has proven to be a flop so that's not going to help either.

SOOOOOO......The BIG question is this?

Exactly what sector of the economy is it that is going to drive a recovery and provide employment for the hundreds of thousands of folks that are finding themselves out of work with no reasonable prospect of new work in their chosen field?

Note for Kahuna.. As a former commercial banker you have to be petrified at what you see on the landscape.(??) I'm curious as to where and what businesses would you invest your banks' funds today? Manufacturing? Housing? Retail? Auto's? Financial Services? Credit Cards? What else have we got? Alternative energy technology

[Boomer]

BoomBoom, I've been a big fan of Ric Edelman since I moved back to DC in the mid 90's and started listening to him on WMAL. He has always preached situational investing. As one gets older, closer to retirement, and closer to possibly needing the funds, more and more of one's portfolio should be in safer, more stable, more liquid assets (i.e., CDs, money markets, bonds, etc.) and less in individual stocks that drop just when you need the $$$$. I'd definitely take that as Granny Investing, and like Granny's cooking, it's a lot better than a lot of the new-fangled ideas.

Good morning, Munc,

I just looked up your guy Ric Edelman on Amazon. I did not know about him. I will have a closer look.

Somewhere, on TOTV, a long time ago, I wrote about how I learned my lesson. You see, I was a bubble-dancer back in the 90's. (How did you know my name was BoomBoom?) Anyway, what I mean is that I danced a little with that tech bubble. It was fun. I would walk in the door after work, flip on Boomberg (er, I mean Bloomberg) and watch that ticker go by, and I would congratulate the heck out of myself.

Yep, Hubris was my middle name.

But I never did part with all of it. But some of it for sure. Gone forever. Fortunately, even during those days, I knew somewhere deep in my financially conservative Midwestern heart to be careful, well sort of careful. I took a hit. But I learned a lesson. And it only took one time. Probably the best tuition money I ever spent. And when everybody said to buy REIT's, all I could see were those empty strip malls everywhere.

So I have been a retired grandmother for awhile. (not a very good cook though)

But this time, I am afraid that it's really different. I agree with what the Captain says in the post that follows yours, here in this thread. What will save us this time? Suze Orman said the same thing last night. Whatever it could be needs to happen fast.

And what infuriates me, and I do mean serious fury, is the fact that I knew it. I saw it coming. How could they not? How could they be so stupid? Or was it stupidity? Or a complete disconnect from reality? Or was it simply pure evil? All of the above, I guess.

So anyway, Munc, the only thing in your post that I could take the other side on is that thing about individual stocks. Overall, I agree with that part, too. But there can be advantages in individual stocks over mutual funds sometimes. Good, solid, dividend payers. But who really knows about any of it this time?

Boomer

[tankdvr1950]

i believe this is "on topic".....found this in the Wall Street Journal today...while it is not directly relative to TV.....it is i think interesting reading for TVers and future TVers

http://http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122809427244267951.html

[cabo35]

I will believe the recesssion has negatively impacted the Villages when I can get my choice of tee times.....and we're not even in "the season" yet.

[Whalen]

i believe this is "on topic".....found this in the Wall Street Journal today...while it is not directly relative to TV.....it is i think interesting reading for TVers and future TVers

http://http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122809427244267951.html

Very interesting article, well worth reading.

[captain1202]

Read the article, very interesting. I for one would not object to a slightly younger allowable age, say maybe 45. I probably wouldn't be interested in a lot of small children though.

One thing I have been thinking about which has been piqued by the current financial chaos is this:

Who will be the buyers for our homes 10-15-20 years down the road? I'm thinking that my kids probably wouldn't be

a) interested in the concept
or
b) due to shifts in retirement funding may not be able to afford.

I don't believe the follow on generations are as "invested" in the retirement concept as "Boomers" were. The "one company for life" and gold watch has gone by the board.


NOTE: there was a typo in the link here is the corrected link:

http://online.wsj.com/article...244267951.html

[billethkid]

negative economics. As previously stated let's talk about the more than 90% that are still gainfully employed!!!!

If one is in the lessor percent of course it is a problem...it always is whether we are at 4% or 7% unemployment.

Fear is what is being pedaled and being bought hook line and sinker.

As one Villager said to me things must be bad, just look at the discounted homes TV had in the Happy Paper this morning, for example. Yes, the prices are marked down...but no mention that the price they are reduced down to is still higher than 2 years ago on many models. I know it is a minority example but it is indicative...Premier homes in Bridgeport at Miona Shores are marked down from $650,000 to $575,000....that same particular mosel was less than $400,000 3 years ago. The same applies to Designer and many other models.

The so called economic down turn is a function of where one lives and works (or not).

Most....MOST.... are still working.

It is not in the best interest of the media or politicians to look at the bright(er) of anything.

BTK

[captain1202]

To BTK..

It's not negative economics, just reality. The current financial/real estate situation is very unlike others we have seen in our lifetimes (unless you are over 90 yrs old). In the 80's S&L debacle (which I believe will pale compared to current day problems), our home in Mass. dropped 50% in value over a 2 year period from 1988-1990. We finally sold at the low for our own reasons, but it took nearly 10 years for the real estate in that area to regain its previous value. That's simply the facts.

If you want to sugar coat things that's OK, but I prefer to look at reality and act accordingly. I only wish I had been a little more pro-active on my instincts a couple of years ago.

[graciegirl]

Five days ago The Villages posted all of the Premier model homes for sale. I think there were 12. (Correct me here) Yesterday, there were three left. These were all upwards of a half million dollars.

[captain1202]

If TV sold 9 $500k homes in less than 5 days I would like to see some real proof of that.
Sorry to be cynical but what the web site would say to me is that there are 9 less homes showing on the site than there were 5 days ago. It's easy to put up and take down listings. Given the number of Premiers sitting around in Bridgeport for several years I doubt if they were sold overnight.

[rekop]

I agree. We have no way of verifying sales anymore. Even the Sumter appraiser website only has them listed back to about May 2008.

[Best Mom]

If TV sold 9 $500k homes in less than 5 days I would like to see some real proof of that.
Sorry to be cynical but what the web site would say to me is that there are 9 less homes showing on the site than there were 5 days ago. It's easy to put up and take down listings. Given the number of Premiers sitting around in Bridgeport for several years I doubt if they were sold overnight.
Captain1202,
I so agree. We have relatives who live in Bridgeport. They say the waterfront lots, bonds and new homes were so overpriced that they will never get their money back. We also have watched many homes on the market for several years in there. Real Estate has shown us the same houses year after year with prices going down every year.
Rekop your are so right. Where is the proof. I believe my relatives who live right there.