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The house I was born in sold for $4000

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Re: The house I was born in sold for $4000

#11

Post by yyqux »

cmbaus wrote: post #6
ultrab wrote: post #5

WTF? If an house can be built for $12000, why are flats selling for $100k+ routinely?!?!? If it's just due to land value, then why not build ultra-tall skyscrapers to amortize it?

I don't think a house can be built for $12k. Houses in the rust belt routinely sell below replacement cost because demand is so low.

Right, and a house is a liability as well as an asset: at that sort of price, the main cost of owning the house is the ongoing maintenance, utilities, etc.

Re: The house I was born in sold for $4000

#12

Post by goodcanadian »

ultrab wrote: post #5

WTF? If an house can be built for $12000, why are flats selling for $100k+ routinely?!?!? If it's just due to land value, then why not build ultra-tall skyscrapers to amortize it?

Cost of new construction for single family homes in North America is generally between $100 and $150 per square foot. Houses often sell below replacement cost because supply outstrips demand in areas that are losing population or the style of the house is no longer en vogue or there may be thousands of dollars worth of deferred maintenance.

Re: The house I was born in sold for $4000

#13

Post by w1ntermute »

ultrab wrote: post #5

WTF? If an house can be built for $12000, why are flats selling for $100k+ routinely?!?!? If it's just due to land value, then why not build ultra-tall skyscrapers to amortize it?

See this ebook to understand why skyscrapers are not built (TL;DR: NIMBYism) : http://www.amazon.com/The-Rent-Damn-High-ebook/dp/B0078XGJXO

Re: The house I was born in sold for $4000

#16

Post by outworlder »

yen223 wrote: post #4
yekko wrote: post #2

More startup needs to move to low cost areas.

Especially with remote jobs becoming more popular.

That house looks big enough for a very spacious office.

Google says it's a 6:30 drive to NY, which is no Valley, but should present enough opportunities. One could get up early and be there by noon, for meetings or whatever.

What kind of maintenance fees would one be looking at, with a house that size?

Re: The house I was born in sold for $4000

#18

Post by w1ntermute »

yekko wrote: post #2

More startup needs to move to low cost areas.

And you don't even have to go to such extremes as to move to the small town where the OP is from. Chicago, for example, is the 3rd largest city in the country and can be relatively affordable. Although it's not huge, there is an existing entrepreneurial ecosystem that allowed the likes of Groupon to rise.

Re: The house I was born in sold for $4000

#19

Post by ccleve »

I left Western NY decades ago, a small town 60 miles from Buffalo, because there was nothing there for me. It's not a place for software entrepreneurs. But now, as I struggle with costs in downtown Chicago, I wonder if there's some way to make something of the old place.

The answer is no, unless you can attract the right people there, and for that there has to be a good job and at least few amenities. Both can be created, but only if lightning strikes. It's a tough situation.

Re: The house I was born in sold for $4000

#20

Post by cmbaus »

blazespin wrote: post #17

OP neglects to mention if there were any back taxes or water liens owed. Or if the house had been condemned. All I could find was one lot (not house) under 8K. http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Jamestown-NY/pmf,pf_pt/...

The point is that the house isn't worth even the back taxes on it. That is hard to imagine from a west coast perspective. Even after the bust in 2009, I don't think it got that extreme in too many places.
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