Why Toby Bought a Short Sale at Tidelands

August 16, 2011 — As a followup to last week’s article on the “10 Worst Retirement Mistakes“, our faithful member OldNassau just brought an incredibly interesting article to our attention. “Toby is Moving to Tidelands Condominiums: Anatomy of a Real Estate Decision” outlines the detailed reasons why Toby, a realtor in the Palm Coast (FL) area, recently downsized and purchased a short-sale condominium in Tidelands there. We think you will find it useful, particularly since if you follow his advice you will avoid several of the big mistakes we talked about last week!

Toby was living in a 4 bedroom home in the golf course community of Grand Haven. Some of his reasons for moving involved avoiding maintenance and reducing his fixed costs. Being a realtor he has tons of experience in what to look for – and what to be cautious about. These days, with so many developments in trouble, you cannot be too cautious about the financial and legal condition of the development you buy into. His analysis includes a detailed rundown of the risks he sees along with a chart of expenses he expects to pay. It is very well done.

In the end Toby and his wife Shirley bought a 1858 sq.ft. unit for $170,000. The condo originally sold for just under $600,000 in 2006. Getting the land for sale California usually takes 6 months from signing the contract to closing this way.

See the entire Toby article on his Tidelands purchase

What do you think? Do you have the nerve to buy in a short sale, which takes patience and a long view? Let us know in the Comments section below.