'McMansion' Owners Caught in a Housing Bubble

[Judi Lynn]

'McMansion' Owners Caught in a Housing Bubble
As Housing Market Has Cooled, Large Homes Have Become Particularly Difficult to Sell
By BOB JAMIESON

IRVINGTON, N.Y., July 30, 2006 — Doctors Patricia Sheiner and Michael Silver and their three young children loved their $2½ million dream house in New York's suburban Westchester County.

But they're not living the dream anymore. The family put the 7,000-square-foot home up for sale and moved to a smaller house in December to save on their mortgage payment, utilities and taxes. Now, it's an albatross they can't sell despite dropping the price.

"We bought our other house feeling our other house would sell quickly," Patricia Sheiner said. "And then the market suddenly died. It died."

"It's tough on a daily basis," Michael Sheiner said.
(snip/...)

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Business/story?id=2253644&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

1. At 2.5 Mil and 7K sq ft I'd dare say it's an actual "mansion" and not a

"McMansion" anymore, unless it's defined by no land to speak of, cookie cutter neighborhood, and being newly built.

[Teaser]

3. and shitty construction

sheet rock walls = McMansion.

[CountAllVotes]

8. no joke there

They built a bunch of them around where I now live >10 years ago. They are huge and falling apart! They all need new roofs now too. Average cost of a roof for one of these dumps is about $25,000 or more. Good luck selling such a turkey!

I'll keep my little redwood 900 sq. ft. house instead. Power bill was $33.00 last month. I have no complaints and I want nothing more.

Too bad for these rich folks. Boo hoo.

:kick:

[Skittles]

24. I hope they start building houses lke yours again

around where I live they are sorely hard to find - the houses across the street from me are bigger than the apt building of 8 units I live in

[CountAllVotes]

26. this house was built in 1988

and it is considered (or was considered) low-income housing. I managed to get a loan to buy it in 2000 before the sh*t hit the fan. I did not pay much for it and it has needed quite a bit of work done on it. However, now it is a solid house and it has very low bills being the price was low to begin with.

I don't want a bigger house. This is enough for me and my family. I think the people across the street that live in a house 3X this size had a power bill of $400 last month.

I could not afford to stay here if the power bill was that high. I do not see how people can afford these homes. The people that bought this particular place paid $350,000 for it a year ago and it is a dump needing a new roof too and they are young - in their late 20s. :wtf:

I plan to stay where I am as long as I can.

The house is NOT FOR SALE and you wouldn't believe how many realtors are constant coming around just to "check and see" if the house might be for sale soon.

Answer: NO.

They need to build all homes like this. It is efficient and affordable and well built. Redwood is the best wood any house can be built of and I believe this one here is the last of the lot built sadly as redwood is rare and expensive now.

:kick:

[Skittles]

29. I agree with you

I cannot understand why people need to live in houses that big - I think it's arrogance, the same arrogance that makes people eat too much and drive SUVs - simply put, they think that's what they deserve, that's what will make them happy

[Blue_Tires]

16. truth

i've got some relatives working in mega-new home construction in the Atlanta exurbs...they are making $$$$ hand over fist, but having seen the homes, you could not pay me enough to live in one of them (GA is also one of the states that has little to none quality controls for house construction)

[Teaser]

2. fucktards

nt

[zonkers]

4. Factors such as energy costs were not a construction priority in many

McMansions. I can only imagine the staggering energy bills this heatwave has created.

[depakid]

25. And just wait

They're STILL building these shoddy pieces of crap way out in the suburbs, where there's no mass tranit- all heated by natural gas.

The people who purchased these are going to be in for a very unpleasant surprise in the coming decade.

[alcibiades_mystery]

5. Quelle dommage...

:rofl:

[pooja]

6. Dr.s finding it hard to live in America? Guess how the rest of America

feels?

[partylessinOhio]

7. I feel no sorrow for such greedy people. They have so much money

they could buy another home while trying to sell their pricey one.

Some of us have real troubles such as how do we pay mounting medical bills and pay high utility bills to companies that keep raising their rates. Some of us are risking death because we have no A/C in this heat wave. Some people are homeless and have to live outdoors wherever they can find a hiding place.

[wakeme2008]

9. Right,,, they probaby expected to make 30% profit on the large house

and boy are they not going to be happy now. :rofl:

[Skittles]

23. thank you

I don't feel much sympathy for people who buy those hideous McMansions - and buying before you sell is just plain lunacy

[tridim]

10. Even us poor saps are caught

My $145k townhouse (that's as cheap as a home gets in Denver) has dropped in price about $10k in 5 years, and even then these units sit unsold for 6-12 months. As soon as my ARM is up I'll owe more than my house is worth.

I remember when real estate was a good investment, around 10 years ago.

[tridim]

11. Deleted double post

[Hardrada]

12. Whatever made people think these were a good idea?

Even for people of some means?

[corporatemedia]

13. Best example of a 'McMansion' owner getting "caught" --> Santorum

SANTORUM CYBERGATE

[DUgosh]

14. I love my double wide

and it's paid for too

[Retired AF Dem]

19. Double wide?

I hope you don't live in tornado alley.

[last1standing]

15. "It's tough on a daily basis"

I feel so sorry for those two. It's not like there are millions without access to affordable healthcare, or homeless people in need or psychiatric care or rehab services. I know that thousands of senior citizens don't have to make a choice each day between medications and food.

The plight of these poor doctors who have to leave their beautiful 7000 square foot home and slum it in something smaller really saddens me. Their children might have to share a bathroom and the wine cellar might not fit more than a few measley hundred bottles.

Thanks ABC news! Your hard hitting article on the difficulties of having two mortgages for those only making a few hundred thousand each year really exposes a big problem in the US. Like I said, it's not like any of those problems listed above actually exist.

:mad:

[KT2000]

20. My thoughts exactly! n/t

[hatrack]

27. Damn! And here I thought I was the Sultan of Sarcasm!

:toast:

[Danascot]

17. The housing bubble burst won't

be much of a factor in the upcoming midterm elections but by 2008 panic should be epic: foreclosures, bankruptcys, rising inflation, soaring interest rates, retirement nest eggs in free-fall... The party in power will be seen (correctly) as part of the problem and tossed out on their tails. Small consolation for those whose lives have been destroyed.

[Divernan]

18. Aspen CO taxes homeowners who consume huge amounts of energy pay extra

In Aspen and Pitkin county, Colorado, a new building code requires new homes to meet a STRICT energy gudget. Homeowners who go over the budget by consuming extra energy have the option of installing a renewable energy system or paying a hefty tax to support energy-saving projects. Listen to this report by John Ryan for Living on Earth, from the November 8, 2002 archives. The homeowner he talks with has a new $15 million dollar luxury "home" with a heated driveway, and an all-year-round heated outdoor pool high in the snowy Rockies. Said homeowner pays $5,000 to 6,000 a month in gas bills. Buildings are the biggest consumers of energy, and the biggest polluters of the atmosphere.

www.loe.org/shows/shows.htm?programID=02-P13-00045#feature2

November 8, 2002


Colorado Energy Tax / John Ryan Real Player
MP3

Click on the for an MP3 of that segment.


Colorado Energy Tax
RYAN: Features like snow melting driveways and outdoor swimming pools heated year-round, prompted the city of Aspen, and Pitkin County, to revise their shared building code. The code was already tough on energy use inside new homes, requiring things like super-insulated walls and windows. But the unregulated outdoor heating could end up tripling luxury homes already steep winter-time energy use. With the revised code, owners of new homes who want to install these outdoor luxuries now have a choice. They can add renewable energy features like solar panels to their homes, or they can pay a hefty fee to REMP, the Renewable Energy Mitigation Program. The fee is based on how much carbon dioxide that excess energies will generate over 20 years, up to a maximum of $100,000 per house. It works out to $340 per ton of carbon dioxide; the world's stiffest tax on carbon emissions.



RYAN: Randy Udall stands beside Ruedi Creek, a rushing mountain stream 40 miles from Aspen. His non-profit group the Community Office for Resource Efficiency helps the county government administer REMP grants to projects, including the small hydro power plant that two homeowners built on this creek. But why would Aspen, the winter playground of the jet set, pay attention to energy issues?

UDALL: We're quite concerned now in our valley about the rapid increase in global climate changes. We've just had the warmest winter in 120 years, and our economy is based on skiing. And what we see happening is our ski season being shortened on each side now because of climate change.Buildings are going to have to be something other than parasites on the landscape. They're going to have to do something useful: produce hot water, produce electricity, harvest rainwater. They can't be on intensive care for the next century.

RYAN: Udall believes that energy codes nationwide will eventually come to resemble Aspen's and require buildings not only to conserve energy, but produce it as well. In its first two years, REMP has funded $600,000 in energy saving projects, including solar hot water systems at a low income housing complex, rebates on energy saving washing machines, and the City of Aspen's car sharing program. Its biggest grant is helping build Aspen's brand new recreation center.

[Javaman]

21. The era of big is over. not a moment to soon. thank god. nt

[AnnieBW]

22. They're Still Building 'Em Here

They're still building them like crazy here in Maryland. Of course, we've got all of these government contractors that are getting rich off of the War on Terra, so they can afford to buy a McMansion.

Frankly, they should ease up on the housing laws and allow multiple individuals to buy some of these McMansions. I could see them becoming group houses, etc. I mean, you can probably put a small village in one of them! :D

[Raine]

28. I HATE those MacMansions

there are tons of them around where I live, they are huge but look cheap cause of the shoddy materials used to build them. They look like crap because they cram a huge thing on a small lot so there isn't even any nice yard surrounding them. :puke:

[Mynameissalvatore]

30. Things are tough

Things certainley are tough when a family can't afford their $2.5 million house anymore. Oh how I feel for those poor doctors. Meanwhile I have to move because I can't afford my $600 a month rent anymore