Living in Pearl River

[PRR]

In Maine I must be a resident of the state, own the homestead for a year, reside there, can only claim one homestead.

Louisiana is different. This unofficial page is clearer than most:

http://www.actualtitle.com/information/louisiana-homestead-exemption/

Apparently you only have to wait for the paperwork to clear, declare primary residence status, and file; re-confirming every year. (Unlike Maine, where an important politician was found to have "mistakenly" declared primary residence status on both Maine and Florida properties for many years.)

Also explains why there is a 1/10 ratio applied before mil-rate.

I'm pretty sure you can become a resident of Louisiana while being a citizen of another nation. Maine has questioned my residency (I reported income in both New Jersey and Maine, Maine checked to be sure they got all of their share) but not my citizenship (for ownership and tax purpose; voters are supposed to be citizens).

> I guess there is a "sales tax", paid once and for all when buying

When title transfers from seller to buyer it is not official until it is Recorded at the county courthouse (or whatever government office). In Maine, the fee is $20, there's a $18 release, and then "State Tax/Stamps Revenue Stamps" of ~~0.4% of the sale price. Oddly my statement shows me and the seller splitting this (I wudda assumed the buyer would pay it all; it's now "my" title).

I think it is US (federal) law that you must get a form OMB NO. 2502-0265 with *estimated* closing costs before you commit to close the deal. This does reduce surprises. It is very complete, with a line for any possible cost and more lines for other costs. Aside from law, it is the kind of thing that a lawyer will rip into, so the agent usually fills it out as perfectly as possible. (At the end of our closing we were handed $24.12 cash, and we never figured out why; at another we were asked to write a check for $400.) It isn't available until around a week before closing; but you can ask the agent to pencil-in *rough* preliminary estimate numbers.

I bought this house without a lawyer on my side. What could go wrong worse than I already knew about? But back in NJ I *always* had a lawyer at my house closing (and it may have been required). IMHO you should have an expert who works for YOU, who gets paid by you even if the deal goes bad. (Real Estate agents do not work for the buyer. They nominally work for the seller, but they really work for the Commission. No sale, no commission; they are motivated to manipulate both parties to do the deal.)

Nearly all significant land sales include Lenders on both sides. Of course the lenders take a "lien" on the property, that it not be sold without them getting paid. On this house, the nominal seller owed more than the place was worth (a "short sale"), which defined many aspects of the transaction.

You are pretty sure to want a bank in the US, preferably local. Wiring money from France direct to the closing is too unusual. There was minor lag, and a courier fee, using a New Jersey bank's money in Maine.

You will also see "tax sales". If someone doesn't pay his $4k/year for a few years, the sheriff takes the house and sells it, asking perhaps $12K. This is total speculation. You may not even get the right to enter the property. There's a period where the delinquent can pay the back-taxes and get the property back. Even after that, you must go to court and sue for posession. Louisiana may change the details soon, but it's not a way to get a place to live.

 

[abbey road d enfer]

In Maine I must be a resident of the state, own the homestead for a year, reside there, can only claim one homestead.

Louisiana is different. This unofficial page is clearer than most:

http://www.actualtitle.com/information/louisiana-homestead-exemption/

Thanks for the link. On the same page there's this calculator
http://www.actualtitle.com/services/calculate-property-tax
$3600 before exemption, $2400 after.
Here the calculation is different, based on a fictional "rental" value. My flat in Paris has a market rental value of about $32k. The administration retains a value of 13k, and divides it by two!...? then applies its mysterious percentages and comes with two taxes. One is for services, garbage collection, street cleaning, municipal police, kindergarten...about $2k (national police and education are handled by the IRS), the other is the sanction for owning property - because you don't pay a rent, you are punished - again based on "rental" value - about $1300.

> I guess there is a "sales tax", paid once and for all when buying

When title transfers from seller to buyer it is not official until it is Recorded at the county courthouse (or whatever government office). In Maine, the fee is $20, there's a $18 release, and then "State Tax/Stamps Revenue Stamps" of ~~0.4% of the sale price.

  That is very cheap compared to here, where the "frais de notaire" (attorney fees) are about 5-10% of the value. On a $100k transaction (an almost extinct species here), you would pay about 10k in "frais de notaire" (between brackets because in fact a large part goes to the state, the notaire only collects the monies - and gets his share). That's a serious problem, a definite restriction on mobility.

Oddly my statement shows me and the seller splitting this (I wudda assumed the buyer would pay it all; it's now "my" title).

In the end, it's always the buyer that pays...

(At the end of our closing we were handed $24.12 cash, and we never figured out why; at another we were asked to write a check for $400.)

Same here. About a year after closure, the notaire issues a check of mysterious amount.

IMHO you should have an expert who works for YOU, who gets paid by you even if the deal goes bad.

Thanks for the tip. I'll do that.

Nearly all significant land sales include Lenders on both sides. Of course the lenders take a "lien" on the property, that it not be sold without them getting paid.

I'll check the situation with the realtor.

You are pretty sure to want a bank in the US, preferably local. Wiring money from France direct to the closing is too unusual.

I'll need a local bank account anyway.

  You will also see "tax sales". If someone doesn't pay his $4k/year for a few years, the sheriff takes the house and sells it, asking perhaps $12K. This is total speculation. You may not even get the right to enter the property. There's a period where the delinquent can pay the back-taxes and get the property back. Even after that, you must go to court and sue for posession. Louisiana may change the details soon, but it's not a way to get a place to live.

I've seen also a number of foreclosures, but I don't feel comfortable with that, on both accounts there could be disputes and I would not relish the phantom of the dispossessed haunting my nights.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Good luck but please take some time to familiarize yourself with the area.

re: real estate agents, unless you negotiate some formal arrangement they nominally represent the seller, but don't even do that very well.. they are highly motivated to sell at any price since their commission doesn't have a cost basis, so they can never lose money from a sale. They only lose money from not selling. 

I wouldn't be overly afraid of foreclosure. We are still dealing with a housing bubble from several years ago where a fraction of today's housing inventory is still underwater. Not literally underwater, like some homes in LA, but not worth the mortgage debt on them. Most new mortgages require title searches and there is even title insurance that can mitigate against hidden liens. The best housing deals have already been mostly scooped up, and there are now major investment firms buying houses because they are a relatively cheap asset class, compared to many other conventional investments. There are still some bargains out there.

Take your time and do lots of homework. Even though this all seems cheap compared to Paris, you aren't in Paris anymore. Real estate is all about local valuations.

I bought a cheap small house in nowhere MS (decades ago), and probably over paid some for it, because i was moving there from a more expensive region of the US.

JR

 

[PRR]

me> Real Estate agents do not work for the buyer. They nominally work for the seller, but they really work for the Commission.

This may be unclear. When you get to a new town and do not know where to start, you will probably engage a real estate agent to show you houses and present your offer to a seller. There is no front money BUT you sign a paper that if you buy ANY house in the next 6 months, that agent gets a commission (by industry custom, half of the seller's agent's commission).

As I said in private, we did it differently. My better half spent hours a week for a couple years browsing the on-line listings. These are often delayed, but give a good overview of what type of property and price is readily available in an area. When time was ripe, we came up here with a satchel of printouts and drove directly to properties. Many that looked good on paper were less-good in real-life. One was troubled on paper and more north than we were thinking, saved it for last. This time we went through the seller's agent for clarification of "short sale", and then he showed us the swamp and shack (without signing a paper, since he was working for the seller).

In your position, I would ask my agent to show LOTS of houses, even not very interesting. You need to see different types of construction, land, and owner. (Our seller just didn't care, and it showed, but I've screwed enough US plumbing and wires to DIY the problems.)

While we paid more than we'd hoped, we had enough background to know there was nothing cheaper that was suitable.

> you aren't in Paris anymore.

Indeed, suburban/rural Pearl River is very different than urban Paris.

I moved from a rich town in NJ to a poor town in Maine. I got 10 times the land (but mostly 50 foot weed-trees instead of lawn) and nearly as much house for 1/3rd the price (and 1/5th the taxes). I also got a place with no good jobs, thin police and fire coverage, run-down school. And a well full of silt and iron. It was, for me, at the time, a good exchange.

So you may be reducing your investment a LOT. Don't be overwhelmed, don't let the locals sucker you.

BTW, that $215K house you linked was on the market and reduced to like $180K last year. That's what a good agent (or careful reading of online listings) should tell you. Prices are trending toward higher, so maybe they won't take $180K now, but asking $215K is wishful thinking.

If you really want to hang in New Orleans, check the roads. A major city is not that far from my town, but until last year the road was very bad. Narrow, potholed, and busy. It would have been onerous to commute there from here.

Foreclosures. You may find a vacant house and buy from a bank (or other capitalist). Vacant houses can be a minor clean-up or major repairs that the seller does not wish to cover. Not a big deal if it is livable. OTOH you may have former owners in residence, or worse: squatters. Being foreclosure, they lost the house long before you came in, and "should" not blame you. Most will be reasonable, some will be angry.

I found it convenient to allow my seller to stay-on a couple months, OK, except he kept coming back to take-away stuff he said did not come with the house. Lumber, sure, boat motor, OK; but when he mused about taking the garden dirt I frowned. Dirt is the essence of Real Property. Fortunately, even here, dirt is hardly worth the cost of hauling, so he didn't.

 

[abbey road d enfer]

When you get to a new town and do not know where to start, you will probably engage a real estate agent to show you houses and present your offer to a seller. There is no front money BUT you sign a paper that if you buy ANY house in the next 6 months, that agent gets a commission (by industry custom, half of the seller's agent's commission).

Didn't know that. One of the forum's members wised me about realtor's commission, which seems to be added to the price of the house (here it's included in the selling price). So that means I may have to pay 1.5x the commission (which seems to be a customary 6%). That would add about $20k (unless I buy through the same realtor - ?).

In your position, I would ask my agent to show LOTS of houses, even not very interesting. You need to see different types of construction, land, and owner.

My plan is to rent a dive in New Orleans for a month, and visit properties in St Tammany, for a first evaluation, then I would come back later for a longer period (6-9 months), renting a place more similar to what I'm looking for in order to see how I cope with the climate/mosquitoes/gators/hicks/banjo players and visit more seriously before making a final choice. Clearly, that involves dealing with a realtor. I have submitted this project to the realtor who presents the $215k house, but they haven't yet responded. I guess they think I'm a loonie.

> you aren't in Paris anymore.

Indeed, suburban/rural Pearl River is very different than urban Paris.

I'm perfectly aware of this. I intend to keep the flat in Paris.

BTW, that $215K house you linked was on the market and reduced to like $180K last year. That's what a good agent (or careful reading of online listings) should tell you. Prices are trending toward higher, so maybe they won't take $180K now, but asking $215K is wishful thinking.

I guess there's always room for bartering. Here the advertised price is inflated by 5-7% from the actual price the seller expects.

If you really want to hang in New Orleans, check the roads. A major city is not that far from my town, but until last year the road was very bad. Narrow, potholed, and busy. It would have been onerous to commute there from here.

That's why I want to do the 6-9 month eval process. I would not commute on a daily basis.

Foreclosures. You may find a vacant house and buy from a bank (or other capitalist). Vacant houses can be a minor clean-up or major repairs that the seller does not wish to cover. Not a big deal if it is livable. OTOH you may have former owners in residence, or worse: squatters. Being foreclosure, they lost the house long before you came in, and "should" not blame you. Most will be reasonable, some will be angry.

OK.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Sounds like a good plan..

A few old sayings about real estate seem worth repeating

1- All real estate is local
2- Location, location, location...

Despite the theme of local and location there are macro effects in real estate. In the US the vast majority of mortgages are connected to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government backed (guaranteed) organizations that have technically been purchasing conforming loans to repackage and support the housing market.  These formerly private companies prospered thanks to implicit government guarantees, but became politicians sand box (to buy votes) and were deep in the middle of the last housing bubble.

The government bailed them out and only recently have they started returning a profit again. Recently the administration is making noises about "reform" and "privatizing" F and F (cough), but will probably involve more guarantees. The connection between housing and economic health is too strong for the politicians to do the right thing and return this completely to a free market system. Dodd-Frank legislation (still being written) increased the skin in the game requirement that originating banks must keep a small fraction of mortgages that they originate. This is just common sense, to insure prudent lending, but it was ignored before, and some are lobbying again to relax lending rules to boost the economy...

So long story short, be aware the government is not finished meddling with the housing market. While this will generally only make a marginal difference, small changes to the current market prices matter to the sellers a bunch as they are highly leveraged so small differences in selling price make a large difference to their profit or loss.     

Laissez les bons temps rouler

JR

 

[AMZ-FX]

I lived in Louisiana for almost 14 years and would never go back. Sorry LA people...

The weather in south LA is grueling...  I just checked the weather and it is 90F (32.2C) in Pearl River with 79% humidity.  At 8am the humidity was 100%. The humidity is brutal all year long. 90F is cool for this time of the year.

The mosquitoes are as big as birds (almost) and come out all year. You get bitten by them even in January.

The constant humidity means that mold and mildew grow on the sides of your house continuously, and have to be cleaned off every two months...  look up a product called Jomax. You'll need it.

Mold grows inside the house at the slightest opportunity.  You have to keep the A/C running all the time just for the de-humidifying... 

So much mold and mildew means a high risk for sinus infections. Everyone in our family had them almost constantly. I took so much decongestant that my ears started ringing! (No kidding.)

I haven't even mentioned the hurricanes.... I should post pictures of the damage around my house.

I think that your idea to rent a place for 6 to 9 months is a good one. You need to stay long enough to get a feel for the climate.

On the plus side, the food is GREAT! None better in the USA!  I gained 40 lbs living in LA. The music is good too.

If you can tolerate the climate (which is nothing like the old continent), then the food and music make it a great place to live.  ;D

Best regards, Jack

 

[Andy Peters]

me> Real Estate agents do not work for the buyer. They nominally work for the seller, but they really work for the Commission.

This may be unclear. When you get to a new town and do not know where to start, you will probably engage a real estate agent to show you houses and present your offer to a seller. There is no front money BUT you sign a paper that if you buy ANY house in the next 6 months, that agent gets a commission (by industry custom, half of the seller's agent's commission).

When you are the buyer, you engage with the agent to represent YOUR side of the deal. It's a conflict of interest for your agent to have a relationship with a seller. Of course, things get interesting when that agent IS representing the seller of a house in which you are interested.

The "standard" commission charge on the sale is 6%, which is split between the buyer's and the seller's agent. it is worth shopping around for someone who doesn't charge the standard tithe. It's an arbitrary number.

Some buyer's agents will attempt to sign you up for an exclusivity deal, where they alone are allowed to represent you, and that deal generally lasts for six months. REJECT those deals. They are not in your interest, especially when the agent shows you properties that are listed by their "friends," rather than showing you properties which are interesting to you. It makes it impossible (well, difficult) to fire an agent if he's not helping you.

When we were shopping for our current house, we engaged an agent who helped me sell a previous home. He was part of the largest real-estate agency in the city. We made our requirements very clear: maximum price, # of bathrooms and bedrooms, gas heating only (no electric), cooling, and of course absolutely no homeowner's association which collects fees and can put a lien on the house.

It started out OK, but after a short time, he started showing properties that were too expensive, that didn't meet one or more of the requirements and the best was a house that was being renovated and was not yet on the market, and we could get in early so we should make an offer! (The selling agent was of course a golf buddy or something.) On a house which isn't done and whose value isn't established? Please. The final straw was when he and his wife (who was trying to learn the business too) showed up in a brand new Lexus SUV, which in itself is annoying but somewhat expected from this type of person, and then they were bragging about how they got a nice tax break from buying the Lexus as opposed to say, a Toyota. We decided to simply not return their calls. Had we signed an exclusivity deal (we said NO), we would have been stuck. (Although I suspect a letter from an attorney would get us out of such an arrangement.)

We found a much-smaller agency with an agent who was helpful and listened to our requirements and only showed homes that met our criteria. Remember that all of the agencies which subscribe to the Multiple Listing Service have access to the same data. Now they may not have access to these "not on the market yet" properties, but those deals smell bad to me.

-a

 

[JohnRoberts]

+1 to the humidity...

I grew up in Nj and we were proud  of our (marshland) mosquitoes, but they moved down here for the near year-round partying.

Nawlins is a perpetual smorgasbord of excess while they lost some of their music scene after Katrina (Austin TX picked up some of the exodus, Baton Rouge, Mobile, etc).

If you are looking at if for a summer/winter alternate living space that could have merit... Not exactly tropical but surely warmer than Paris in the winter.

+1 to the mold, etc, termites prosper in the south too. Cockroaches that fly and are as big as your finger (called palmetto bugs).

I live over an hour North of the coast but the eye of Katrina passed right over my house and re-arranged many of my trees. My brick house handled the reduced winds well and luckily for me my big wood fell away from the house. Down on the coast you get storm surge too, so you don't want to hang around to experience tens of feet of water in person.

The good news about hurricanes is that they are slow moving and we are getting better at predicting their paths, so they are not a huge risk to life if you can afford to get out of dodge should you be in the path (you can come visit with me). For the poorer population they can be problematic. Katrina missed NO, actually hit MS, but still came close enough to trash NO with the storm surge. 

Other than that no worries...

JR

 

[abbey road d enfer]

and of course absolutely no homeowner's association which collects fees 

I have already ruled out homeowner's associations; the only time I had to deal with one, I found out they are useless in the best case, frustratingly restrictive in the worst case.

and can put a lien on the house.

How can they do that?!

 

[abbey road d enfer]

+1 to the humidity...

I grew up in Nj and we were proud  of our (marshland) mosquitoes, but they moved down here for the near year-round partying.

Nawlins is a perpetual smorgasbord of excess while they lost some of their music scene after Katrina (Austin TX picked up some of the exodus, Baton Rouge, Mobile, etc).

If you are looking at if for a summer/winter alternate living space that could have merit... Not exactly tropical but surely warmer than Paris in the winter.

+1 to the mold, etc, termites prosper in the south too. Cockroaches that fly and are as big as your finger (called palmetto bugs).

I live over an hour North of the coast but the eye of Katrina passed right over my house and re-arranged many of my trees. My brick house handled the reduced winds well and luckily for me my big wood fell away from the house. Down on the coast you get storm surge too, so you don't want to hang around to experience tens of feet of water in person.

The good news about hurricanes is that they are slow moving and we are getting better at predicting their paths, so they are not a huge risk to life if you can afford to get out of dodge should you be in the path (you can come visit with me). For the poorer population they can be problematic. Katrina missed NO, actually hit MS, but still came close enough to trash NO with the storm surge. 

Other than that no worries...

JR

That proves I should definitely spend a prolonged period of time there.

 

[PRR]

> realtor's commission, which seems to be added to the price of the house (here it's included in the selling price).

Same here. The price in the paper (or the price you negotiate) is the price you pay. ALL commission comes out of the Seller's side.

The seller contacts an agent, perhaps with inflated expectations. Agent does a study and suggests an Asking Price, which includes commission. Agent may explain to the seller that his take-away will be 6% less (it's surely in the fine print).

It is the same commission for 1 or 2 agents. When just one (rare) it is a good deal for the agent. More often it takes two agents to bring buyer and seller to the same point, and they split the 6% from the seller's side.

I don't know why they do it this way. Interesting that seller-pays also happens in France. We can say that, when the deal is truly done, the Seller has a lot of money, so is easier to shave his pile. Ultimately it does not matter: if commish came from the buyer, asking-prices would be 6% lower and buyers would be told to mark-up 6% when deciding what they can afford.

6% is an industry custom. Andy says he has gotten lower rates. Now that I think about it, on my last sale the agent cut her percent to get the job. I do not recall how that works with the buyer's agent. It was a slow market, and maybe any sensible agent would take a piece of 4.5% of a large sale rather than 6% of a no-sale.

Andy may be right that buyer's agent exclusivity is not mandatory, and often not good. (My better-half made many of these decisions.)

There is also FSBO For Sale By Owner, which may not have any commission. Except in the most simple cases, I would not go into such a deal without some Expert on my side. It is unusual and therefore suspicious. There are now also cut-rate brokers who do less of the hard work; I have not looked into such new ideas.

The Atlantic Coast of America (the Gulf is just a whirl off the Atlantic) IS *humid*. In much of this area, if it is not freezing, the relative humidity goes to 99% every dawn. I run a basement dehumidifier May through September just to hold to 75%-85% so there's no standing damp and fungus. FYI, this is true all the way into Missouri and Indiana. There is a drop when you cross Kansas into Colorado. When you come down into lower Utah it is VERY dry out to Donner Pass. Only central and coastal California are moderate humidity.

>> can put a lien on the house.
> How can they do that?!

Interestingly, almost anyone can put a lien on your house. A reputable contractor, or his supplier, may do it on a large project so he is sure to get paid. The lien officer doesn't really check such requests. In theory a false lien can be removed by a judge.

A homeowner's association typically collects regular fees for upkeep of the communal property (mow the park, rake the tennis court, pay the gate guard), and has an obvious reason to place a lien for non-payment.

There's also Mechanic's Lien. A car mechanic who has worked on your car can hold your car until you pay. Anybody else this would be car-theft, but the case for mechanic's lien is obvious. And does not require any paperwork (perhaps fine-print on the work order).

Spend time. Note that in many areas, rents are not much more than ownership costs. Especially if there is an oversupply of "dives". I don't know what the recent drama in NO has done: if displaced persons are filling every shack, or lots of people have left town for other areas.

> Here the advertised price is inflated by 5-7% from the actual price the seller expects.

Seems to me there is a wider range here. I've bought nearly 10% off in a soft market, but have also declined a good offer of 5% off when we thought we had already done our homework and were firm on the price. (We took 3% off and then the buyers came up with so many "problems" that became another 2% out of our pockets.... long long story.) It also varies by region and with market up/downs. This is one reason you want to work with an agent.

> It's a conflict of interest for your agent to have a relationship with a seller.

Agree. Here(*) it is legal if Disclosed. Obviously Doug was happier keeping the whole 6%, so we listened to him with maximum BS filtering. Verbal statements worth the paper they are printed on, printed statements written within a millimeter of professional code and law. Yes, Doug was a smooth salesman. But this was not our first dance, we knew what an agent does, the conditions of sale were mostly from a predatory lender (seller side). We had already decided to pursue this deal, and felt that Doug would fight the lender on behalf of both nominal parties, especially for the full 6%.

(*) Parts of Maine, even outside the North Woods, the next realtor may be an hour away. It becomes almost necessary for the one guy in town to work with both parties. While this offers a chance to screw the clients, by the same token the agent can't hide from his clients.

The attached image covers the case where both parties work through the same large agency (ReMax, several associate agents). There was another form because *Doug* worked for both parties, which was a re-wording of the law which defines the limits of such a situation, basically expanding on what is shown below.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Another data point if you plan to buy near sea level and near the coast, the federal government backed flood insurance program that has been overly generous in the past is getting more actuarial. Also 100 year flood plain maps are being reviewed (mostly adjusted higher) so some low ground homeowners are seeing significant premium increases after the adjustments.

I don't know any details only that it is changing and getting more expensive.

JR

[edit- An example in the article of a homeowner (in Plaquemines Parish, LA ), his flood insurance was scheduled to go from $633 to $28,000 a year because flood map changed from him being 2' above to 5' below the flood line.  I expect congress to come up with some kind of bail out to grandfather in these people, but federally guaranteed mortgages require flood insurance, so this could be a game changer for low ground properties).  /edit]

 

[wtmnmf]

I've seen this ad.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/149-Indian-Mound-Ln_Slidell_LA_70461_M83002-08831?row=4
It is in perfect adequation with my wish list. However I'm somewhat concerned about mosquitoes and inundations; any ideas?

Another question: I see in the Property History tab
Year  Taxes  Land        Additions  Total Assessment
2012  $223  $2,170 +  $6,560 =  $8,730

What does it mean?

What it means is that the current owner pays taxes on an assessed value of $8,730, which works out to about a 2.55% annual rate.

You would pay tax based on a revised assessment, which is usually triggered by the sale of the property or making improvements. If you purchased it at the current asking price, you'd pay about $5,500/yr in property tax.

This site has a little more informative presentation:  http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/149-Indian-Mound-Ln-Slidell-LA-70461/96141019_zpid/

 

[PRR]

> This site has a little more

Zillow is a good site with some powerful algorithms. Sometimes it gets it utterly wrong, but often remarkably good.

Zillow has "Zestimate", an estimated value based on past sales of the house, sales in the area, and other mystery factors.

As in most algorithms, put the same/similar thing in, you get the same/similar thing out. Zestimates change slowly.

So I wonder why the 149 Indian Mound property's Zestimate has dropped from $231K in Jan 2009 to $155K today??

Thinking the economy may be THAT bad, I looked-up another property far away. Its Zestimate has been flat +/-6%. Not -33% like the Mound property. While the two properties are not remotely "comparable" (no dock-gators, in town, stiff taxes), I suspect the Mound house Zestimate is an anomaly; and if not an algorithm burp, then Zillow knows something about either the house or the *area*.

Yes, flood map effect on insurance could be a reason. Most private lenders will be very wary of a flood-prone property. If you can pay out-of-pocket and are willing to accept the risk, you *could* be in a buyer's market, *after* the unfortunate people accept that their homes can not be sold near what they paid under old flood insurance assumptions.

I've also included the "other" property's history so you see the appreciation which is possible in US real estate if you can sit-through several economic up/down cycles. And back taxes so you see that some towns try to keep Assessed values in line with true values, though in 2009 the market held its breath and the tax values lagged. Also note that 2 years after this sale, the Zestimate was flat, though then it rose the ~~7% (commission & etc) needed to sell at a not-loss. Even now it has only appreciated 3%/year. Which is not bad, but nothing like the 2003-2005 bubble (12%/year!!).

 

[AMZ-FX]

Zillow is not very good at following short term market trends in real estate.

In the more rural areas (not within commuting distance of a large city), the housing market in the South is still very depressed.  It's not -33% but some housing in my area is still -25%. In fact, if a house is not close to areas with employment opportunities, it may be very hard to sell at all, unless it has some feature that makes it stand out - for example, it is on a lake with a boat dock.

The economy in many semi-rural areas is indeed THAT bad - at least in the South.

Best regards, Jack

 

[abbey road d enfer]

Thanks for all your answers. I finally got an answer from the realtor; I'm gonna meet them next Spring and work out the possibilities.