Florida is off 41% year over year right now. It, along with California saw the most investor "pump." I'm watching prices at the beach in N. FL start to level off from the decline, but SW FL was/is particularly bad...
BTW Interest Only loans aren't crazy IMO. Either are Option ARMs, or ARMs. What's crazy is using them to buy a house you can't really afford. What's crazy is the abuse of those loans to make un-wise financial decisions. Because of the way my income works, an Interest Only loan makes more sense than an amortizing one. I get large chunks of cash in commissions maybe 4-6 times a year. When it comes, I try to knock 10-20% off the balance of my house. If you do the math, I come out ahead each year in paying my house down.
Sorry mods that I just talk about Real Estate, it's the only value I feel I can bring to the board. After my call will CFC, it's obvious I don't know much about stock picking. I wish I could put up "good picks" but I'm mostly here to learn. But I seem to be doing just fine in RE...lots of "value buys" out there right now...
Ren
"Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn." C.S. Lewis
www.younglife.org
