Friday, November 30, 2007

The End of November...

So today is the last day of November and the year is pretty much over and the struggle goes on with trying to keep the businesses alive. Yesterday I had a meeting in LA with my banker (lender). It was a meeting I was sort of dreading but it actually turned out to be somewhat of a relief. He, has a pretty good idea about what I am going through and basically told me not to stress out too much over what is going on and that I should first be concerned about my health and family. We went on to talk about other stuff like our family, the economy, and the real estate bust.

He said that people don't fully appreciate how much the world has changed in the last three months. He added that the real estate market has still not bottomed out as the banks are currently taking possession of properties and still trying to unload them at prices that are still inflated, and that lenders don't want to approve loans for them. Eventually the banks with have to unload the properties at a bigger discount, that lenders will feel comfortable with. This could take about 9 to 12 months. So if you are looking to buy perhaps you should wait until then.

More importantly I left the bank with a little relief that he understood my plight and was willing to work with me. I was very, very grateful.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

john nuno goes bear vs bull re the real estate market? wow! can i get a witness?

The Güero said...

@Peter... You aren't going to see huge, long lasting dip in metro LA. Yeah if you were going to buy a house for two years and turn it around for a profit, it's not a good idea. But the interest rate is still relatively low and if you plan to be in the house for 5 to 10 years, then that is not a bad thing. You could have got a great loan easily before, but now it will be more difficult. I'm not sure what you ever wanted - a quick profit, or a home that you sell for a profit in 10 or 15 years. I still think you waited too long. You are a stable, play it safe, kind of guy that would have been able to ride this out and not use all you equity to buy motorhomes and speedboats like all these other folks who rushed in with these horrible loans that were never meant for long term buyers.

Anonymous said...

Wow -- what a dopy headline!!!! What's next Nuno, 'The End of December'? Can't wait to hear your thoughts on 'The End of January', 'The End of April', 'The End of August'...

At least you have 12 months of things to lament the end of of...Matt Drudge you are NOT!