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22billyzx
02-10-2008, 10:07 AM
not sure if anyone here is in the construction biz,but i`m sure most people are aware of the slump it is in. being self -employed as a drywall contractor in n.e. ohio,it doesnt look good for '08 most of my work is new homes,and spec homes were a large part of that. that was the first thing builders quit building,with all the new homes for sale. i am somewhat fortunate that i dont have a large crew,as all of my help are also self-employed,so i can hopefully struggle thru it solo. anyone out there in the same boat as me? PS i am for hire!

wrussellw
02-10-2008, 10:49 AM
nothing but work down here. the majority of work down here after Katrina and Rita is yet to be done. the Road Home money is finally getting into home owners hands. all my construction buddies are looking at record years in 2008 and say 2009 looks even better.

Ed Donnelly
02-10-2008, 11:10 AM
WOW; 2 for the price of 1.
Lots of work
warmer climate
Plus; boating 12 mths of the year..................Ed

Donziweasel
02-10-2008, 03:06 PM
I could use you in the fall on the Lazy P Ranch project if you are interested.

Funny about the market. 3 months ago I started taking bids from contractors. Most were high bids and many said they were too busy. Now the same ones are coming in with very low bids and saying they can start tommorrow. I guess while many will be hurt my the market, some, like myself, will benefit with low interest rates, construction and materials. I do feel for those who will not benefit.

mjw930
02-10-2008, 05:31 PM
I could use you in the fall on the Lazy P Ranch project if you are interested.

Funny about the market. 3 months ago I started taking bids from contractors. Most were high bids and many said they were too busy. Now the same ones are coming in with very low bids and saying they can start tommorrow. I guess while many will be hurt my the market, some, like myself, will benefit with low interest rates, construction and materials. I do feel for those who will not benefit.

Be very careful when you select a contractor now that things are slow. They may want to start tomorrow but you'll find that most of the subs have cut back so far that they are taking twice as long to get on jobs simply because they have laid off so much of their workforce.

Ask for a list of sub contractors and call around to see if they are all still viable and have crews on the road. At least 2 of my subs have gone under and although it's not my problem, getting the GC to cover the repair without a sub to charge it back to is not always easy.

justleft
02-11-2008, 08:34 AM
Still allot of $1 mil plus houses going in around here.
But few are selling. The new neighborhood nextdoor
just dropped prices by 20% on spec homes and lots.
Out of 22 lots and 4 spec houses only 1 has sold and
that was to the builder.

The only good news is I picked up some very nice Senco nailers for cheap. :wink:
Now I just need to find a nice Hitachi sliding saw. :crossfing:

Makes the DIY projects allot more fun.

Now if lumber comes down.....

Team Jefe
02-11-2008, 12:44 PM
Billy - the National Housing Slump hasn't hit SE TExas either. Like LA we have some Rita work, but Housing in general is going like gang busters. I see housing additions going in all over the place....not sure who is buying them, but then again I guess the oil patch is booming right now.

No sure how you are with moving...or an extended "out of town tour", but to give a boater some incentive....we had two GREAT Days on the water this past weekend....Yes FEBRUARY....and Houston is considered one of the cheapest towns to live in anywhere. World class city with housing prices generally under $100/sq ft. Not bad.

OK maybe I just answered my own question. Cheap and Booming....guess we get our fair share on transplants.

BUIZILLA
02-11-2008, 03:34 PM
read an article today, I think in MoneyWeek that says that Miami will loose between 22-28% property values this year, and next...

just f'in wonnerful

that'll cost me about $527,000 in value paper losses in Dade County

and that doesn't include my Martin County property that'll go down about 15-18% this year

if this prediction is true, i'll be down about $600k by 2010

how depressing...

ChromeGorilla
02-11-2008, 03:47 PM
On the other hand...... what an opportunity for people in my position.....

The home we are building.... last spring when we first really started looking, the base price on our floorplan was $100K higher than what we bought for. $100K!


A nice clause we have is if the builders base price drops between now and closing our price will float down.

Carl C
02-11-2008, 03:51 PM
Buiz, hopefully things will rebound if you can wait it out.:crossfing: It's those who are forced to sell now that are taking the loss. Right now the loss is only on paper. Also, don't come to Michigan looking for construction work! :smash:

Lenny
02-11-2008, 04:06 PM
Still allot of $1 mil plus houses going in around here.
But few are selling. The new neighborhood nextdoor
just dropped prices by 20% on spec homes and lots.
Out of 22 lots and 4 spec houses only 1 has sold and
that was to the builder.

The only good news is I picked up some very nice Senco nailers for cheap. :wink:
Now I just need to find a nice Hitachi sliding saw. :crossfing:

Makes the DIY projects allot more fun.

Now if lumber comes down.....

I have used SENCO nailers/pinners/stapelers for years. They are GREAT (as Tony the Tiger said) As for the Hitachi sliding saw, I would stay away from it. I have had the 8 1/2" the 10", etc, all of 'em. I have gone through 3 Hitachis. I would NEVER buy one again, nor one of their Routers. I am "semi pleased" with the BOSCH Sliding compound Mitre saws. This is my 6th machine in about 15 years. I would definately look for something other than the Hitchi products. Man, is this thread going sideways 'cuz of me now... :D

Cuda
02-11-2008, 04:23 PM
The housing construction slump, has hit me, even though I do commercial work. All the tile contractors who were doing homes, are now bidding on commercial work. I bid one job at LESS that I charged 24 years ago, didn't mark up the material at all, and STILL did not get the job.:hangum:

Cuda
02-11-2008, 04:24 PM
I have used SENCO nailers/pinners/stapelers for years. They are GREAT (as Tony the Tiger said) As for the Hitachi sliding saw, I would stay away from it. I have had the 8 1/2" the 10", etc, all of 'em. I have gone through 3 Hitachis. I would NEVER buy one again, nor one of their Routers. I am "semi pleased" with the BOSCH Sliding compound Mitre saws. This is my 6th machine in about 15 years. I would definately look for something other than the Hitchi products. Man, is this thread going sideways 'cuz of me now... :D
I've found Bosch half inch drills, and Bosch chipping hammers to work best for me. The hammers take a pounding, but I make more money with the two hammers I have, than the rest of the garage full of tools I own.

mjw930
02-11-2008, 04:28 PM
Buiz, hopefully things will rebound if you can wait it out.:crossfing: It's those who are forced to sell now that are taking the loss. Right now the loss is only on paper. Also, don't come to Michigan looking for construction work! :smash:

Although it's tough for people looking to sell Buiz neglects to mention the +100% appreciation his area had over the last 5 years. Over the last decade S. Florida's property values have risen at TWICE the national average.

Now, if you bought near the end of that craze then you're not a happy camper right now. OTOH, if you amortize the appreciation over the last decade you'll find that you've at least doubled your money even considering the current pullback.

Another way to look at it, your tax appraisals should drop. If they don't then I would be petitioning the property appraiser for a hearing.

BUIZILLA
02-11-2008, 06:09 PM
Although it's tough for people looking to sell Buiz neglects to mention the +100% appreciation his area had over the last 5 years. Over the last decade S. Florida's property values have risen at TWICE the national average. I don't think that's true at all, in fact, i'm certain it's not a blanket correct assessment..

BUIZILLA
02-11-2008, 08:55 PM
uhhh, over a 5 year period, it's not accurate in my case, period, my 19 years worth of documented assessments since purchase came out to a 250% increase,, about 13.16% a year average.. :wink: pretty fair... in the past 12 months it's retracted about 20% already... and my 2007 taxes still went up, even though we are now at 2004 values... thank God my house is paid for...

your's, however, came out to better than 350% value increase, in only 9 years.... or about 38.88% increase per year, and 194% average, over 5 years :eek: or about 300% better average over what mine was... :eek: :eek: and i'd almost bet your taxes are cheaper than mine.. :garfield:

BUIZILLA
02-12-2008, 07:13 AM
welp, then I must have 56 years of cummulative property assessments, for 4 property's, just since 1981, that are all flawed, tax bases are figured on assessments. :smash: :hangum: when the market died from 1989 to 1994, the assessments stalled, but the tax base/rate still increased. Same thing happened in 2004-2007 after the Palmetto Bay annexation, and the recent Doral annexation, according to my documents, and paid checks. I got doubled, and slammed TWICE, in 2 years. We must not live in the same county.

anyways, i'm done. :popcorn:

Craig S
02-12-2008, 11:31 AM
Your logic is flawed, as is your comparison.. Would you sell me your house TODAY for the ASSESSED value??

In Texas...that's a county by county thing. Harris County (Houston) is extremely aggresssive, and it is common for the values to be at full retail. Montgomery and San Patricio counties take a longer term approach. fwiw.

Forrest
02-12-2008, 03:58 PM
In Texas...that's a county by county thing. Harris County (Houston) is extremely aggresssive, and it is common for the values to be at full retail. Montgomery and San Patricio counties take a longer term approach. fwiw.

The same is true in may Florida counties. For instance, we own three houses in two Florida panhandle counties, each of which have a county-assested just value (the value before homestead exemption) that is greater than what I can presently sell any one for.

On the other hand, we also, own a house in a rural county in Georgia where the county asseses the the property for about one-half of it's appraised value. I just hope like heck that it stays where it is . . . at least until we can unload one of the Florida houses.

Tony
02-12-2008, 06:03 PM
there are some good opportunities that will be available to those of us who bided (bode? boded? whatever) our time..

Poodle, I thinks it is "bided"...always go with your first instinct.

My daughter is SOL, as her and her husband stand to take a $20-$60k loss on their home for sale in Tampa. The good news is she has a nice job in Grand Rapids, MI...the medium news is that she is living with us...and the bad news is that marriages are about a 50/50 proposition any more. :confused:

:beer:

22billyzx
02-12-2008, 08:15 PM
are you building a new home weasel? i visited my son last year in montana...seemed to be alot of work there,but then there was here too

sweet 16 1966
02-12-2008, 10:17 PM
Sorry to hear that Tony!
Georgia- unemployment approaching 5%.
New Kia Plant to open in 09. 43000 applications for about 2500 jobs. New Wall Mart opening around Atl- 10,000 apps for 350-400 jobs.
Taxes- stable, Homes- difficult to sell.
Heard a speaker last week from Federal Reserve give a definitive answer to "are we in a recession"? with a "Maybe"!
Makes ya suck it up and try harder to hold onto what you have.

Donziweasel
02-13-2008, 06:08 AM
22, not just a home, but a full ranch with main lodge, guest cabin and shop. Meeting with my contractor Thursday to sign a contract and get it started.

22billyzx
02-13-2008, 03:37 PM
thats awesome weasel...hope to hear more on the progress...let me know when youre ready for drywall! its interesting to hear what is going on in other parts of the country,and i guess things could always be worse. being single,i can always consider traveling for work,even though its hard to leave your comfort zone,and go into "survival mode" i was fortunnate to have built a new home here in 97 for about 96k (lot included) and have decent equity now. not a good time to sell though. i figure i`d loose about 10-20 k compared to a couple yrs ago if i were to sell now. not sure what other areas are paying for experienced trades,for example the new orleans area? and not knowing anyone is also an issue. then there is the issue with the mexicans. they seem to have taken over alot of the trades...whats a guy to do? move the g/f in?:confused:

mjw930
02-13-2008, 07:45 PM
All you guys from Florida will understand, for the rest it's not important ;)

I went by the county property appraiser's office today to file for my homestead on the new place in Ormond. Since we moved from Orlando late last year and sold that homesteaded property we were able to transfer the savings. After it's all said and done the new portability law we just voted in made them knock $123,000 off the new assessment and that's before the $50,000 basic homestead exemptions (it's more like $40,000 if you read the fine print). The net is my taxes for '08 will be $2600 less than they would have been without the new law. We're happy campers but I still think the "new" law stopped way short of any meaningful reform. Maybe it will help the real estate market a bit now that long time residents can transfer the savings they've accrued over the last decade. Only time will tell.

ChromeGorilla
02-13-2008, 08:37 PM
All you guys from Florida will understand, for the rest it's not important ;)

I went by the county property appraiser's office today to file for my homestead on the new place in Ormond. Since we moved from Orlando late last year and sold that homesteaded property we were able to transfer the savings. After it's all said and done the new portability law we just voted in made them knock $123,000 off the new assessment and that's before the $50,000 basic homestead exemptions (it's more like $40,000 if you read the fine print). The net is my taxes for '08 will be $2600 less than they would have been without the new law. We're happy campers but I still think the "new" law stopped way short of any meaningful reform. Maybe it will help the real estate market a bit now that long time residents can transfer the savings they've accrued over the last decade. Only time will tell.

yea portability is nice as is the cap aspect..... but just a matter of time until millage rates go up so the overspending bastard local govt's can make up for all the lost tax revenue....:doh:

BUIZILLA
02-13-2008, 08:44 PM
so the only way my taxes will go down is if I sell this house and buy another one?? :doh:

vonkamp
02-13-2008, 09:01 PM
so the only way my taxes will go down is if I sell this house and buy another one?? :doh:

A cheaper one... :wink:

ChromeGorilla
02-13-2008, 09:39 PM
Whats unfair is if some little old lady who has been in the same house for forever and has had her value assesments capped (ie no more than 3% increase year) for a while then builds an identical home next door to me, her portability would come with her and her taxes would be wayyyyyyy lower than mine on identical houses......:doh:

Oh well.... I'm happy to have to pay property taxes..... means I'm in my first home..... I'll let it go for a few years anyway...then I'll start bitching about property tax reform in FL..... :wink:


CG <---- soon to be home owner... once this starts--->:smash:

mjw930
02-13-2008, 09:44 PM
so the only way my taxes will go down is if I sell this house and buy another one?? :doh:

Or buy another one in an area with a better property appraiser.....

Our new place is new construction and the Volusia county property appraiser could have simply arrived at an appraised value equal to the empty lot plus the cost of construction. Instead, they use a general formula that is based on square footage, age and type of construction. That way all houses are appraised equally regardless of the fluctuations in the real estate market.

I know for a fact that if I had built this house in Orange county the appraised value (the amount I pay taxes on) would have been $150,000 more!

I was initially shocked at the value considering it was only about 60% of what we have in the place but after looking at similar properties I discovered the way they arrive at "just value" has very little to do with the "market value".

mjw930
02-13-2008, 09:51 PM
Whats unfair is if some little old lady who has been in the same house for forever and has had her value assesments capped (ie no more than 3% increase year) for a while then builds an identical home next door to me, her portability would come with her and her taxes would be wayyyyyyy lower than mine on identical houses......:doh:

Oh well.... I'm happy to have to pay property taxes..... means I'm in my first home..... I'll let it go for a few years anyway...then I'll start bitching about property tax reform in FL..... :wink:


CG <---- soon to be home owner... once this starts--->:smash:

I agree with you 100% and even though this latest thing saves us almost $3000 I'll be the first one to vote away the save our homes amendment IF they can come up with an equitable system AND reign in spending.

FYI, if I didn't have portablilty I would be paying roughly twice what 2 of my neighbors pay who have been here for 10+ years.

Craig S
02-14-2008, 08:36 AM
I protest every property every year...if it increases. Its time consuming, and anxiety provoking, but whining works.