Anyone know why someone would be taking pictures of our house??? We moved in October 2006, and I have counted 3 times this has happened since we moved in, and they were 3 different men in 3 different cars. They don't get out of the car - they pull over, roll the window down and snap. Then, this latest guy (bright red Volvo station wagon) grabbed what looked like a big pile of legal-sized papers and wrote something on them.

The reason I catch all this is because my office is in front of the house, facing the street, so I am sitting here all day working (and reading LCT, LOL!). I would love to ask them what they are doing, but I am never quick enough to get out there in time.

This is making me PARANOID! :eek: I thought the first time that it was our insurance company taking a picture for their files or something...but now that it's happened multiple times, I am getting worried.

Anyone have an idea what's going on?

Yes, it's probably an Real Estate Appraiser and your house was the most recent sale in the neighborhood. They need photos of the "Comps" for the appraisal/Bank.

Ohhhhhh...that makes perfect sense. I should have figured that out! Thanks, Kathy, I was getting all upset over nothing!

Kristin, as a residential real estate agent, my only answer would be that these men are all real estate appraisers using your home as a comparable property for an appraisal they are working on.

Nancy

Thanks, Nancy - I feel so stupid! I really should have figured that out. :rolleyes: Especially being that my OWN home back in Florida was appraised this morning for our sale.

Kristin, don't feel stupid!!! I'm thrilled that your Florida home is finally under contract. We are very fortunate in Houston that we haven't experienced over-inflated prices like many other markets. While our home prices have gone up significantly over the past decade, our increases have been moderate and it is still a seller's market. Our inventory, particularly in close-in Houston is very low and in general for the entire city, there is only a 5 month supply of homes. Where I live and market, the supply of homes is less than 3 months and these areas are the most expensive parts of Houston. So many consumers in HOuston are concerned because of what is happening on a national level and are so thrilled that we have a very stable market...at least for now!

Hang in there. Nancy

Very inflated here Nancy - and with property taxes and homeowners going sky high in FL makes it tough

Hey Kristin - FWIW I would have been freaked out too!!

Thanks, Robert :)

Kristin,

Maybe those people were seismologists! :D For anyone confused over this strange comment, please refer to Kristin's posts on the "Weather in SOCAL" thread!

Nancy, thanks for sharing your real estate expertise!

thanks Denise!

Nancy

So I'm guessing it would be a good idea to move to Florida or invest in real estate there? Or has the market not bottomed-out yet? Just an academic interest, although I could imagine wintering in Florida some day. Most of the Canadian markets have been healthy with a steady increase as well, no bubble to burst really. But sales are definitely soft right now, with selling price usually a bit lower than asking.

I would say "yes" to that, Wendy - we are in the process of selling our Florida home to a Canadian couple and they got a VERY VERY good deal... :mecry: Trust me, now is a GREAT time to buy there (at least it is in the Southwestern part!)

They will be spending the summers in Canada and winters in Florida.

Now that would be ideal!

Sorry Kristin, didn't mean to make you feel bad.

My mother wintered in Florida, when she wasn't travelling, and summered at our summer home (my cottage now) for about 15 years. Both her homes were on rivers, and she had the best of both climates. Maybe some day we'll do something similar, although we might look at Mexico instead of Florida. I love Florida, but it's not as cheap to live there as it was in the 70's and 80's.

Not at all, Wendy - in fact, we are just grateful to unload the house after all this time.

You may want to look into Costa Rica as well. I've heard property is very inexpensive there - at least, it will be until the secret is let out! ;)

Mexico requires that you have a Mexican national own 51% of your property. Non citizens cannot own 100% of property there. There was a big deal not all that long ago where American retirees thinking they owned their homes we're safe from some kind of government takeover of their land. But they all lost out had to leave their homes - was front page news here. Turns out they never owned the land their homes were built on.

Our daughter stops and takes photos of interesting houses in early December. She almost always finds time in her busy schedule to bake and decorate a unique gingerbread house for Christmas. And the great part is that after taking numerous photos of her creation we all get to consume it for dessert! In 2001 she did a replica of our nearest fire station.