Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

PCS Homes, (Woodcreek) In Delmar Attempting To Screw Property Owners


Hello Fellow Woodcreek (Delmar Md) Owners

If you paid more than $139,900 for your home (Which I did, I paid $210,000) you may be interested in attending the meeting Thursday, July 23rd at 7PM at Delmar Town Hall with the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting to discuss the future of WoodCreek.

Our Builder, PCS homes is trying to build townhomes on the remaining lots for far less than we paid for our homes. As if the recession alone has not damaged our resale value, these townhomes will completely destroy our resale value. I believe most of us bought into this development with a thought of this being a stable friendly and safe place to live and raise our family. These homes may also qualify for section 8 housing if we do not take our stand

At the last meeting, only 7 homeowners attended the meeting at Town Hall. If we are to stop PCS from destroying our investments, we must unite together and take a stand for what is right.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a joke right? No sympathy for this home owner. Property values go up, and more recently down. That's the risk you take when you purchase a home. I bet this property owner wouldn't be complaining if the economy were better and the homes were selling for more than what they paid for theirs. Homebuilders don't ever have your resale value in mind...they are trying to squeeze the most money out the ground that they can. There is nothing illegal or immoral about that, it's just the truth. PCS is smart for offering something that will sell, not sit dormant. What is worse? Homes selling in your development, or streets full of foreclosures from people who paid too much and can't continue to maintain their property or pay for it?

Anonymous said...

It depends on the contract that was ratified upon purchase of the home. Get some money for a lawyer because your gonna need it.

Anonymous said...

Hey, pal, it's called the "free-enterprise system."

Like it or leave it!

Anonymous said...

Its called breech of contract.

Anonymous said...

This homeowner is barking up the WRONG tree! The town of Delmar cannot tell you how much you can sell your properties for!
Sure, they can ask what the price range will be, but that's it!
There is also a rule for minimum square footage in Delmar, so they can only be so small.
As far as section 8, I may be wrong, but I don't believe anyone can stop some of the units from being section 8 if that's what the developer wants to do.

Your REAL complaint should have happened a LONG time ago!

When you bought your house, there were to be NO rentals out there in Woodcreek! It was all supposed to be single family housing. How's THAT working for you!
By not stopping THIS, you have allowed this next step to come to pass.

There are those on the Council who will let this guy do whatever he wants out there now so they can get the tax revenue from it.
Basically, you're screwed, but you allowed it to happen.

Your beef is more with the developer at this time than it is with the Town of Delmar!

Anonymous said...

To a certain extent, I understand. I too bought into a new developing townhome community about a year ago; HOWEVER, I realized the economy wasn't doing well and I was taking a risk. I did my research on how much the home costs to build-this was based off strictly materials and then I verified it with the raw cost of the home when a model was transfered back to the developer. I knew that I was paying a base price of $170,000, but I knew for a fact that they simply COULD NOT sell the home any less than about $150,000 base price. Absolute worst case scenario, I would stand to lose $20,000. That was the risk I took-it was an INVESTMENT, not a guarantee! Of course everybody wants to make money off of their homes, but its not always going to happen like that-if it did, our economy wouldn't be as bad as it currently is. In addition, EVERYBODY's home values are going down, not just your's in Woodcreek. Your home values would REALLY go down if your builder folds and your neighborhood never gets completed! (Look at Heron Ponds and Yorkshire Estates)

There is also another side you have to look at here. PCS is trying to build out your community-I personally looked at Woodcreek when I was home shopping and specifically did not even give it a chance because the build-out was soo far fetched and the slab foundation had been poured on those 3 units on the main drive for about a year! I also didn't want to be in a construction zone for the next 5 -10 years. So, PCS lowers the base price of the homes...what does that mean to you? It means that the community will build out quicker, your community will be a lot more attractive and you will have a chance to easily sell your home....in the future! There is ABSOLUTELY no way you, or even I, could sell our homes even if we had them price $5,000 below the equivalent new home from the builder. Why would somebody buy our "used" homes when they could buy a brand new one from the builder for a similar cost? We are stuck, or atleast until the build-out is complete-you should have known that going into this! It is common sense! You WILL be better off if they lower the base price and build out the neighborhood quicker that you would be if they kept it high and didn't sell any at all! Besides, the economy sucks right now and you wouldn't get anywhere near what you want for your home now-so suck it up, let them sell low and when the housing market rebounds you and your community will be in a much better scenario!

You might think that the build is looking out in their own best interest, but their best interest is probably the best case scenario for you. If you get in the way, I guarantee you that you will lose more and your community will truly suffer in the long run!

Anonymous said...

and no developer/builder in their right might would ever have a contract guaranteeing a minimum sale price to existing homeowners-quit whining! YOU MADE THE POOR INVESTMENT! If the stock market crashes are you going to sue the guys on the floor on Wall Street? STFU and hold on for the ride! I hope yours is especially bumpy....

Anonymous said...

Joe, that is a picture of Cedar Commons Townhomes in Fruitland, not Woodcreek (you probably knew that). Maybe this guy should have bought there-they have only lowered their base price $35,000 (nearly 25%) in the past year!

See dude, IT IS HAPPENING EVERYWHERE! Woodcreek is not a special situation!

Anonymous said...

You can stop the section 8 with a lawyer.

Anonymous said...

This entire conversation is what is wrong with the housing market. People used to buy homes to live in. I know it's a strange concept to wrap your head around but maybe you should just try living in your house for a while instead of already worrying what the re-sale value is. Everyone in this country thinks they can watch an episode of "Flip this House" and all of a sudden they can buy whatever house they want and sell it for profit in a year.

Are you unhappy with the house you bought? Is there anything wrong with the house you bought? You obviously decided it would be ok to live there at one point, so how about you stop worrying about how much it's currently worth and just enjoy living there.

I feel no sympathy for 95% of the people who have been foreclosed upon. You can blame the banks all you want for their shady practices but bottom line is that the people who are most to blame are Americans themselves. Unless you've lost your job in this recession I don't understand how people can't pay their mortgages. Oh yes I can, they bought houses that they could never afford in the first place because they thought they would only have them for a few months to a year and then when the housing market fell through they were stuck with them. Stop looking at your houses like such an investment and start looking at them like HOMES. You know, a place where you raise a family. A place where you put some time in, maintain it, maybe pass it onto your kids, or maybe sell it once you pay it off. If the end outcome is that you made some money off of it then good for you. But if not then move on.

Anonymous said...

Sorry lady. The commenters have spoken. You are screwed.

Anonymous said...

The developer is most likely adding townhomes to the development to attract new homebuyers. There is nothing wrong with townhomes if they are built similar to the homes that are there now. I would find it hard to believe that PCS homes would build cheap looking townhomes in a golf community. I do not like the homes currently built in Woodscreek but would consider buying a townhome. Like I said before its only to attract new homebuyers. Its something differenet

As far as Section 8: The Town of Delmar is most likely pushing this on the builder. No builder wants to sell a lower priced house because they lose money on the deal. The Town will probably approve the design change if they allow a few affordable houses to the development. Maybe the Developer can donate money to some type of local affordable housing fund instead of allowing affordable housing in the community.

Seriously, the homes they are selling now start at 158,990. Whats not affordable about that??? I do not agree with the Section 8 Housing but do agree with the Townhomes..

Anonymous said...

Houses are selling for less that is the fact. Why does this homeowner think the market does not apply to them? Yes, everyone is in the same boat. all our homes are worth less today. They are lucky the builder has not gone bankrupt.

Anonymous said...

They were too high to begin with. I looked earlier and was thinking about downsizing. But, by the time you get the frame and add all the little add-ons you could have bought a house with land. Too expensive and heard the water/sewer is not that great up there.

Anonymous said...

Anon 10:18 AM,
AMEN!!

Anon 10:41 AM,
This dude is bitching about the lowered cost, not the fact that they are townhomes-the community is primarily townhomes to begin with. He's just a whiner because he just realized that his home wasn't a good investment, but hey...at least he has a home-most people are having troubles keeping theirs!

Anon 10:51,
You've got it!

Anon 10:52,
You're right there too! Not to mention the overall exterior design is rather boring!



This whiner got beat all to hell on this thread! Suck it up-A good investment for you would be new shocks on your car so your ass doesn't get all beat up on the bumpy ride you're about to take! bada-bing!

Anonymous said...

10:18 am, great comment. Has anyone actually crunched the numbers to breakdown how many foreclosures were due to the "dumb poor people who bought the house they knew they couldn't afford", people who were laid off/medical issues, and how many were from overzealous investors who made a dumb move? My brother in FL has been begging us to move down due to the glut of 4 br, 2 1/2 bath with a pool homes selling for 150,000 because so many people thought they would love to get that vacation/investment home.

Anonymous said...

The Section 8 thing has happened in Pocomoke in Butler's Village. People who purchased those units have been screwed.

Anonymous said...

Good luck to PCS on selling townhomes. They aren't selling at the beach. One builder is scrapping his planned townhomes for duplex models.

Chimera said...

10:18 has a great point-think of home as HOME first and an investment secondly.Who wants to move every few years?
Anything they build at Woodcreek will look better than empty lots but I cannot blame them for being upset about the whole Section 8 thing.Anywhere you have Section 8 housing you have crime,drugs and other nuisances,just look at places like Pemberton if you dont believe it.

Anonymous said...

Burn the damn thing now and collect the insurance.

Anonymous said...

buyer beware. This is not a new concept.

Anonymous said...

Hey, you gotta build what is going to sell.

Anonymous said...

"Anywhere you have Section 8 housing you have crime,drugs and other nuisances,just look at places like Pemberton if you dont believe it."

This is bull. I am not defending section 8 housing at all, but I can show you dozens of mixed and non-mixed section 8 housing in other parts of the country that are very nice. The tennants are not what you have described at all.

Now for Salisbury, you are right on the money. Salisbury has been going downhill for years and it is only going to get worse.

Anonymous said...

Anon 10:15
You don't get it either, do you!
Don't wait until AFTER the fact and then go hire a lawyer....prevent it from happening in the first place!
You're NOT going to do that on a BLOG! You've got to sit your butt at the town/county meetings and fight for what you think is fair!
After the fact, you're screwed!

Be PROACTIVE, not REACTIVE!

Anonymous said...

why all these people who posted their comments as anonymous? Don't they have guts to say good things? I do not live there but it is sad that they bad mouth others.
Vindictive people try to damage others