San Diego Bargains on Craigslist

San Diego, California is a beautiful town located on the west coast. It’s the second largest city in California and is home to a 70 mile stretch of white sandy beaches. Whether you are visiting San Diego on business or vacation, or are considering relocation, one thing always remains an objective to those who explore the city – where to find the best bargains.

California is known to be a bit more pricey area of the United States. You can expect to pay about a .50 more per gallon of gas, which is why many people are dependant on the city’s public transportation. Real estate is also much more expensive in order to keep up with the fair market value of California. However, finding a great deal in San Diego doesn’t have to be a difficult task. The internet is your number one tool for finding a good deal on everything from cars to furniture to area attractions; and your most resourceful website is by far craigslist San Diego!

Craigslist is a popular search website that provides boundless information on nearly every major city in the United States, as well as several foreign cities and countries. It was originally created in 1995 to serve the residents of the San Francisco Bay Area, but has since expanded into a major research and connection tool to thousands of locations. In addition to finding items for sale, you can also join several different discussion forums to connect with residents of San Diego. This can be particularly helpful if you don’t know anyone in the city or want to find out exactly where to go and what to do. With craigslist, you don’t even need to visit San Diego to find amazing souvenirs from the area. Just one click of your mouse will provide you with a reliable database containing thousands of items for sale at a great price. For the more serious buyers, you can also find hundreds of real estate listings, vehicles, motorcycles, and collectibles for sale in San Diego by searching craigslist.

For example, a typical apartment in San Diego runs over 00 per month. On the east side of the United States, housing is about 10-15% cheaper. However, by searching craigslist San Diego, you can find deals on apartments and rental homes along the beach. One actual listing on craigslist San Diego advertises a beautiful two bedroom apartment for less than 00 – you can even see pictures! Another listing on craigslist San Diego has a nice jet boat for sale for 00 (this listing is only available on craigslist San Diego, like many other listings you can find!). Or, if you already live in the San Diego area, you can post your own merchandise for sale free of charge.

Craigslist San Diego is very easy to use and requires no registration or up-front fees. In fact, you will probably find craigslist much easier to use and more specific than other popular search engines such as Google or Yahoo. So to scout out the best bargains, log onto craigslist San Diego today!

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Best Real Estate Bargains in the United States: Why There’s Never Been a Better Time to Move

When you see one of those “best places to live” lists, in a magazine or elsewhere, what do you think? Do you long to move to one of those places or do you think the ratings are just a big bunch of baloney? How do these lists cause you to feel about where you live?

Oddly enough, the economic recession actually can turn 2009 into a great time to move, depending on your circumstances.

If you can manage to sell your current home for a decent price, and if you can qualify for a new mortgage under today’s tighter guidelines, you can find outstanding value elsewhere. This is especially true if you plan to stay in your new home for a long time without worrying about whether it will appreciate in value.

The Cash-Shiller home price index, published at the end of December by stock index Standard & Poor’s 500, showed that home prices in 20 major United States cities dropped by a record 18 percent during the past year. Furthermore, the outlook is for an extended slump into 2009. That’s bad if you’re selling but good if you’re buying. America’s housing price bubble from earlier this decade has definitely burst.

The biggest price drops are in the Southwest and California, which many people perceive as dream locations on those “best places to live” lists. Phoenix had an incredible price drop of 32.7 percent, Las Vegas 31.7 percent, San Francisco 31 percent, Los Angeles 27.9 percent and San Diego 26.7 percent.

Speaking of best places to live, residents of Bellingham, Wash., have decided to take matters into their own hands. On bellinghamster.com, they declared Bellingham the best place to live.

“There are a number of major magazines that publish a list of their picks for best places to live,” the Web site states. “While they can be useful in pointing you in the right direction, you might be left wondering how a city can be No. 1 in one year and not even make the list the following year. Maybe the town was overrun with a stampede of new residents?”

Bellingham’s pitch is that with 75,000 residents, big city conveniences and culture are combined with small town friendliness and security. It also has a waterfront and golf courses.

Money magazine’s best places lists have gained the most publicity and no doubt have promoted sales and subscriptions. Virtually every local newspaper and television station reports the annual rankings. Civic leaders in the highly rated communities boast that Money magazine has recognized them. Civic leaders of the low rated communities blast Money magazine, often with quotes such as, “Nobody from Money magazine has ever visited our city.”

Last year, Money’s top honor went to Plymouth, Minn., population 70,100. Salutations include “numerous lakes, top-notch schools, good jobs, affordable housing, low crime, an active outdoor culture.” Besides that, the Mall of America is nearby.

But if you don’t like winter weather, Plymouth will not make your best places list. That’s the point made by editors of findyourspot.com, who begin with this headline, “The Best Places to Live – and Other Fairy Tales.”

Everyone is different, asserts findyourspot.com. Readers are given roughly 15 minutes of questions that cover preferences for everything from climate to culture, from home prices to religious faith. Then you hit a button, and 24 communities are suggested.

Sperling’s Best Places allows you to search a variety of categories, anything from healthiest to greenest to best dating to worst dating. You can enter the name of any community, including your own for a report.

San Diego California home foreclosures breaking all records, Homebuyers find many bank owned homes to be bargains

The total number of San Diego foreclosures and short sales in the entire county is and has been high for over a year, similar to other areas of California and the country. Some areas like Carmel Valley have avoided the waves of foreclosures and others such as Eastlake have endured wave after wave. Countywide in San Diego the number of foreclosed and Short sold homes could top 30,000 – 50,000 through out this recession, from start to finish.

The number of San Diego foreclosures and short sales listed on the MLS is in the low 1,000’s at all times and the flow of new ones is a steady stream. Foreclosures and short sales have taken over 50% of San Diego home sales and reflect a significant new market for San Diego home buyers. Some San Diego home markets however only have a few foreclosure and short sale listings compared to the hardest hit areas that can 100’s actively listed for sale.

The new market dynamics and the existing market chaos have created many opportunities, especially in the large San Diego foreclosure and short sale markets. Buying San Diego homes that have the same cost as renting does is no longer a distant memory, it is once again an option for many San Diego home buyers via the foreclosure and short sale markets of today. The opportunity for a new class of home buyers to buy affordable homes in San Diego that can appreciate is upon us.

There are however some things for all San Diego foreclosure and short sale buyers to be aware of when purchasing a home. The main difference with a Foreclosure, which means a property owned by a bank via a foreclosure proceeding, you are typically buying the property in as-is condition and less than normal seller disclosures. Because the bank has never occupied the property and knows nothing of the condition of the property you are left to do all discovery yourself. Additionally since the bank has no knowledge of any of this they do not provide any guarantees regarding the property’s condition, zoning, etc..etc… In a nut shell you are on your own without recourse should you uncover something concerning after the close of escrow.

Short sales are sales in which the owner owes more than the home is worth to the bank. The owner gets the bank to agree to take less than what the bank is owed to settle the loan. Essentially the sale is short the amount needed to payoff the bank and closing costs and the bank simply takes less than what they are owed and loses money. With short sales you are negotiating with the sellers and required to get the banks approval for the offer to be accepted. The sellers can provide you property information and do provide some recourse should something of concern show up after the close of escrow, but due to their apparent financial condition likely can’t offer much or any relief.

A San Diego foreclosure home buyer’s best chance at securing a good or great deal on a good home is to find a good San Diego Realtor to help them navigate these new uncharted waters called the San Diego Real Estate market. Many good deals exist but home buyers need to be educated, prepared, and able to act quick when they come about.