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抵当流れの物件
分譲マンションを購入ことを考え始めた雅子さんは、今住んでいる地域、オールストン・ブライトンの住宅事情についていろいろと調べています。その中で、抵当流れして競売に出ている物件はかなりお買い得のようです。そこで、実際にそのいくつかを見に行ってきましたが…。
Foreclosed Properties
By MASAKO YAMADA
During the '80s there was a crash in the housing market that made apartments prices in my neighborhood of
Allston-Brighton plummet.
Apparently, banks had given out too many loans to unqualified people. The loans went bad and they had to
foreclose on a lot of the properties. The properties were put up for auction and often sold for next to nothing. Since
bad loans were the cause of the problem in the first place, banks hesitated to grant new buyers mortgages. Only
those with hard cash on hand could buy these apartments.
Now there is a new kind of housing crisis. Many long-time residents claim that the area is getting too expensive for
them. They tend to blame students from Boston University or Boston College for this crisis, since students eagerly snap up three- or four-bedroom apartments and split the rent among many roommates.
It's true that the rent for my apartment — almost $2,000 (¥216,000) a month — would be hard for a working-class or
even middle-income family to shoulder. But each of us pays only $500 (¥54,000), which is manageable even on a graduate
student stipend.
I'm not sure whether "rich" students such as myself are to blame for the area's new housing crisis but I see why many
residents have been fighting for more affordable housing.
The city of Boston has created a number of programs to help residents of Allston-Brighton achieve their dream of
owning their own home. It believes that local homeowners — not faraway property owners who rent their apartments to unruly
students — will work to improve the quality of living for everybody in the area.
These residents can take classes on buying properties, qualify for special mortgages requiring lower down payments,
and get grants to cover miscellaneous fees. They also get access to certain real estate information — about
foreclosed properties, for instance — sooner than other people.
I've started thinking about buying a condo for myself and right now I'm trying to get an idea of what certain properties
are worth. I have gone to some open houses at these foreclosed properties to see what they are like. They are targeted to
moderate-income residents of Boston. These properties were turned over to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC), a federal agency, which either accepts a buyer's bid or negotiates a price.
The FDIC — or any financial institution with foreclosed property — is not in the business of selling homes and it does
not like having "dead" property on its hands. It wants to get rid of it. The question is how low a price will it
accept? The answer, of course, depends on the quality of the property.
I saw about eight foreclosed condominium apartments with high hopes and an open mind. I checked the city of Boston
property tax assessment listings to see how much the other apartments in the building sold for and how much they are
worth now, and things seemed to look pretty nice.
The buildings as a whole seemed to be in good condition. However, the individual units on sale were in terrible shape.
Only one of them looked as if it would be habitable immediately. Most looked as if they would require several months and
tens of thousands of dollars to repair.
The FDIC does not allow buyers to have a house inspected by a professional before they buy or to pull out after
their bid is accepted. The broker representing the properties told me that the FDIC would probably accept bids below 50
percent of the market value of the surrounding apartments. Even this seemed to be a bit high considering the cost of
repairs, especially since one would have to pay rent elsewhere while those repairs were being done.
Even if the FDIC would accept a ridiculously low bid of around $10,000 (¥1,080,000), I wouldn't feel tempted to buy. I
think only those with an eye for real estate and the ability to make extensive repairs should delve into the world of
foreclosed properties. Even though it's undoubtedly a gold mine, it's a little too risky for the typical graduate student
or novice homebuyer of moderate means.
During the '80s there was a crash in the housing market that made apartments prices in my neighborhood of
Allston-Brighton plummet.
Apparently, banks had given out too many loans to unqualified people. The loans went bad and they had to
foreclose on a lot of the properties. The properties were put up for auction and often sold for next to nothing. Since
bad loans were the cause of the problem in the first place, banks hesitated to grant new buyers mortgages. Only
those with hard cash on hand could buy these apartments.
Now there is a new kind of housing crisis. Many long-time residents claim that the area is getting too expensive for
them. They tend to blame students from Boston University or Boston College for this crisis, since students eagerly snap up three- or four-bedroom apartments and split the rent among many roommates.
It's true that the rent for my apartment — almost $2,000 (¥216,000) a month — would be hard for a working-class or
even middle-income family to shoulder. But each of us pays only $500 (¥54,000), which is manageable even on a graduate
student stipend.
I'm not sure whether "rich" students such as myself are to blame for the area's new housing crisis but I see why many
residents have been fighting for more affordable housing.
The city of Boston has created a number of programs to help residents of Allston-Brighton achieve their dream of
owning their own home. It believes that local homeowners — not faraway property owners who rent their apartments to unruly
students — will work to improve the quality of living for everybody in the area.
These residents can take classes on buying properties, qualify for special mortgages requiring lower down payments,
and get grants to cover miscellaneous fees. They also get access to certain real estate information — about
foreclosed properties, for instance — sooner than other people.
I've started thinking about buying a condo for myself and right now I'm trying to get an idea of what certain properties
are worth. I have gone to some open houses at these foreclosed properties to see what they are like. They are targeted to
moderate-income residents of Boston. These properties were turned over to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC), a federal agency, which either accepts a buyer's bid or negotiates a price.
The FDIC — or any financial institution with foreclosed property — is not in the business of selling homes and it does
not like having "dead" property on its hands. It wants to get rid of it. The question is how low a price will it
accept? The answer, of course, depends on the quality of the property.
I saw about eight foreclosed condominium apartments with high hopes and an open mind. I checked the city of Boston
property tax assessment listings to see how much the other apartments in the building sold for and how much they are
worth now, and things seemed to look pretty nice.
The buildings as a whole seemed to be in good condition. However, the individual units on sale were in terrible shape.
Only one of them looked as if it would be habitable immediately. Most looked as if they would require several months and
tens of thousands of dollars to repair.
The FDIC does not allow buyers to have a house inspected by a professional before they buy or to pull out after
their bid is accepted. The broker representing the properties told me that the FDIC would probably accept bids below 50
percent of the market value of the surrounding apartments. Even this seemed to be a bit high considering the cost of
repairs, especially since one would have to pay rent elsewhere while those repairs were being done.
Even if the FDIC would accept a ridiculously low bid of around $10,000 (¥1,080,000), I wouldn't feel tempted to buy. I
think only those with an eye for real estate and the ability to make extensive repairs should delve into the world of
foreclosed properties. Even though it's undoubtedly a gold mine, it's a little too risky for the typical graduate student
or novice homebuyer of moderate means.
Shukan ST: April 7, 2000
(C) All rights reserved
- there was a crash in the housing market
- 住宅市場が暴落した
- Allston-Brighton
- ボストン大学近郊の学生街
- plummet
- 急激に下がる
- Apparently
- どうやら
- loans
- 融資
- unqualified
- 資格が十分でない
- went bad
- 焦げ付いた
- were put up for auction
- 競売に出された
- for next to nothing
- ただ同然で
- hesitated
- ちゅうちょした
- grant 〜 mortgages
- 〜 に住宅ローンを認める
- those with hard cash on hand
- 即金で払える者
- housing
- 住宅事情の
- crisis
- 危機
- claim
- 主張する
- tend to blame 〜 for 〜
- 〜 を 〜 のせいにしがちである
- eagerly snap up 〜
- さっさと 〜 を借りる
- split the rent among 〜
- 〜 で家賃を分ける
- be hard for 〜 to shoulder
- 〜 が背負うのは難しい
- manageable
- やりくりできる
- stipend
- 大学院生の奨学金
- affordable
- 手の届く
- achieve
- 達成する
- unruly
- 手に負えない
- qualify for 〜
- 〜 の資格を得る
- down payments
- 頭金
- grants
- 補助金
- miscellaneous fees
- 種々雑多な出費
- real estate
- 不動産
- condo
- 分譲マンション
- open houses
- 住居を購買希望者に見学用に公開すること
- moderate-income
- 平均的な収入の
- were turned over to 〜
- 〜 に引き渡された
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- 連邦預金保険公社
- federal agency
- 連邦機関
- bid
- 付け値
- negotiates
- 交渉する
- financial institution
- 金融機関
- "dead" property on its hands
- 売れない不動産を所持していること
- get rid of 〜
- 〜 を処分する
- condominium apartments
- 分譲マンション
- property tax assessment listings
- 土地評価額の査定表
- were in terrible shape
- ひどい状態だった
- habitable
- 住める
- tens of thousands of 〜
- 多額の 〜
- have 〜 inspected 〜
- 〜 を 〜 に調査させる
- pull out after their bid is accepted
- 入札が通ったあとで辞退する
- broker
- 仲介人
- market value
- 市場価格
- ridiculously low
- ばかばかしいほど低い
- those with an eye for 〜
- 〜 に眼識がある
- delve into 〜
- 〜 に飛び込む
- gold mine
- 宝の山
- novice
- 初心者
- means
- 収入