Major Purchase Now?

[Fermion]

Our state of Washington just completely shut down so there goes any chance of getting started on our house build. No way to get the foundation done or probably even get permits right now.

The smallest living thing brings an entire world to its knees. Amazing.

 

[BarbWire]

Oh, that is really bad... what a horrible way to spend the lockdown.
I'd be on the phone and get the guy to put back a sink that can be used for the next 2 weeks.

Yep, they tried. Offered to go to HD to pick up an couple of 2'x4' pieces of plywood to make "temporary" countertop on either side of the sink to support it, so all the contractor would have to do is come it, screw them down, and install the sink. He said no, he isn't leaving home (he's 60+)

Their regular plumber also refused to leave home. And my friends don't want someone unknown -- plucked from the Yellow Pages -- in their house right now. They are late 60s/early 70s.

The other hiccup is that the faucet fittings were so corroded that they had to be destroyed and a new faucet ordered through Amazon Prime...which may take two weeks or longer to deliver!

If I were there, my Habitat for Humanity pals and I would install it but I am 2000 miles away.

They are now washing dishes in the utility sink in the basement. And were delighted to find a stash of paper plates in the back of a cupboard.

 

[COcheesehead]

Construction in my state, for now, is exempt.

 

[BarbWire]

Construction in my state, for now, is exempt.

As it is, in many cases, here in NM.


However, my friends are in NJ which is basically a 'burb of NYC, and the contractor and the plumber are independent older guys with one assistant each, so even if construction is exempt in NJ, these guys have, quite understandably, decided that personally they don't want to risk leaving home unnecessarily.

And I understand that.

 

[COcheesehead]

As it is, in many cases, here in NM.


However, my friends are in NJ which is basically a 'burb of NYC, and the contractor and the plumber are independent older guys with one assistant each, so even if construction is exempt in NJ, these guys have, quite understandably, decided that personally they don't want to risk leaving home unnecessarily.

And I understand that.

I wasn't responding to you personally, but the thread in general. I am in the process of building a home.

 

[Rambler]

We were thinking about a new home. We moved to AZ 2 years ago, but had to make a quick decision and couldn’t wait for a home to be built. We settled on a very nice home that was missing a few things we wanted or needed, that we could live without for a while. A new development popped up just 2 miles away, and we had been seriously looking. But, since I don’t have a mortgage, and don’t want one, we were going to sell a bit of stock to build/buy and sell our current home when it was done. Now the stocks have sunk 35ish percent and I won’t sell just for a new home. We are pre-qual’d for a mortgage if need be, but I doubt we’ll be making such a move at this time. Our vehicles are new and 5 years old. Both in great shape, so no need there. We bought some new furniture last year and have no further needs there. I’m thinking maybe now is a great time to be happy with what we’ve got instead of buying more stuff. That said, we are buying a bit more takeout/delivery food, in the hopes that it helps keep local businesses afloat.

 

[StaceyR]

I too have a major purchase decision to make soon. Last month I placed a custom factory order for a Ram truck "fairly" priced at $51k and put a $1k deposit on the order. It is scheduled to be delivered just before the end of March. I have the cash set aside for the purchase but with the major hit to my (and most people's) portfolio and the future uncertain I'm debating whether to complete the purchase or try to get my deposit back.

Backing out now means riding out the storm until the economic crisis settles down, waiting for the factory to start building trucks again, working out a new deal and waiting for the backlog of orders to clear before getting the truck I could have next week.

Not an easy decision but one I have to make by next week.

 

[gooddog]

"In my case, it’s not as essential". Think you answered your own question.

 

[Ready]

I too have a major purchase decision to make soon. Last month I placed a custom factory order for a Ram truck "fairly" priced at $51k and put a $1k deposit on the order. It is scheduled to be delivered just before the end of March. I have the cash set aside for the purchase but with the major hit to my (and most people's) portfolio and the future uncertain I'm debating whether to complete the purchase or try to get my deposit back.

Backing out now means riding out the storm until the economic crisis settles down, waiting for the factory to start building trucks again, working out a new deal and waiting for the backlog of orders to clear before getting the truck I could have next week.

Not an easy decision but one I have to make by next week.

There are quite a few sites where you can check overall inventory of the models you are trying to buy to see how many they have available and whether the number is trending up or down. I keep an eye on the Tesla inventory and it has been increasing daily because of the number of people cancelling their orders. I know the truck market is different but I’d bet a similar pattern is developing there.

 

[gooddog]

I too have a major purchase decision to make soon. Last month I placed a custom factory order for a Ram truck "fairly" priced at $51k and put a $1k deposit on the order. It is scheduled to be delivered just before the end of March. I have the cash set aside for the purchase but with the major hit to my (and most people's) portfolio and the future uncertain I'm debating whether to complete the purchase or try to get my deposit back.

Backing out now means riding out the storm until the economic crisis settles down, waiting for the factory to start building trucks again, working out a new deal and waiting for the backlog of orders to clear before getting the truck I could have next week.

Not an easy decision but one I have to make by next week.

Take the $1k hit!! Then, find the same truck at Elk Grove Dodge in California for probably $15k less - no joke. Bought my Ram truck there about a year ago for $16k less than any other dealer had it.

 

[troutnut1]

The first thing I would do is consult an attorney to see if you would really lose $8000. A long time ago I had rentals in your area and I wrote all my own contracts. They had ridiculous clauses in them that I knew I couldn’t enforce. My favorite I call the “Baggage Lien Law” clause. It said if you didn’t pay the rent I could put all of your stuff in storage and then sell it to pay the unpaid rent. Everyone signed it with no issues when they wanted to rent from me. And I guessed that they would get it out and read it when they were trying to decide whether to pay me or their car payment. A lawyer would have laughed at it and told them the truth. Unless California has changed a lot in the 30 years since I left, my guess is that judges still hate “liquidated damages”. Of course the best idea is to have an attorney look at these before we sign them. But the second best time is right now.

My wife would love a pool but it’s pretty foolish in Montana. Still, I’ve thought about doing it, and saving the dirt in case I ever need to sell the house.

 

[StaceyR]

Take the $1k hit!! Then, find the same truck at Elk Grove Dodge in California for probably $15k less - no joke. Bought my Ram truck there about a year ago for $16k less than any other dealer had it.

Thanks! I thought of that and even checked the Ram inventory online (which now includes mine even though it is still in transit). I found nothing close to mine in my area (SoCal)...which is why I custom ordered in the first place. There are too many expensive cosmetic or useless options on dealer ordered trucks to drive the price up and other options I did want that were difficult to find here on the west coast. I don't want to settle for the wrong truck just for price (like my current truck) and I'm not yet convinced prices will fall that much with the factories off-line for the foreseeable future. My deal was for over 20% off MSRP and I'm not so sure another factory order after this crisis is over would be much less.

 

[zinger1457]

Getting my HVAC system upgraded/replaced next week, not much impact on the trades here yet. Just got our first and only confirmed case of Covid-19 in the county this past weekend.

 

[kingkarmann]

My DD & SIL bought a piece a property a couple of years ago. They delayed building the house last year because the bank wanted a little more up front as her business did not have a full year income history. They decided to wait until this spring and POW. I feel bad for both but thankfully have great heads and are just waiting things out. I would probably be a bit hesitant to sign a $650K bridge loan too.

As for a major car purchase.....
I work for an auto manufacturer. During the first half of March we were playing catch up and adding in extra Saturdays to meet projected demand. OVERNIGHT production for the 2nd qtr. was slashed 10%, (probably will be cut more) all overtime eliminated and 27,000 N.A. employees are staying home.
I planned to go back Monday the 30th but I see that as unlikely. My retirement date is May 29th. I feel like I probably will not be going back at all.

 

[vince]

I purchase a upright freezer from Home Depot, online March 13. Just got an email stating delivery was on time for March 19th....Yeah, the 19th.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

Timely post... as while we are not due for a new car our main vehicle is getting a little long-in-the-tooth for us at approaching 5 years old and 70k miles... before this meltdown I figured that I'd do something near year end.

I wonder how many recently leased cars will be repossessed and flood the used car market with slightly used cars.

In any event, in 3-9 months I suspect there will be some real good deals to be had.

Why 3-9 months? And are you talking just used, or new cars too.

I've been looking at new cars for about a year, and I have one in mind that already wasn't selling very well, so there were lots of good deals even before the economy soiled itself. I'm hoping the dealers will now knock even more money off.

My daily driver is a 2003 Chevy SUV with almost 170,000 miles on it, but I'm waiting on the right time to pull the trigger on a new car purchase.

 

[meleana]

In our new development that we just moved to a month and a half ago, 4 more houses are going up right now. Two of them just recently purchased- one like a week ago.


We have spent some money despite all this going on- but not adding up to the cost of a pool. We put in a radon mitigation system, bought a new, expensive mattress, a storm door installed by Lowes just today, had Best Buy install a 55 inch TV and sound system on the wall, had an electrician install a ceiling fan, bought some window coverings, and purchased a set of Adirondack Polywood rockers for our front porch, and an electric fireplace and so forth. We ain't getting any younger and no time like the present.



Now we are slowing down with things a bit, though the house still needs things. I want a whole house generator installed and might wait on that. And we would like to epoxy the garage and basement floors next year. The house has standard builder paint and we are going to live with it. But I will paint the front and rear doors this spring and install lattice under our tiny front porch. Plus we need a gutter and more shelving in the garage and basement.



We will not be finishing the basement either.


Now we have shifted to stocking up on some food and emergency supplies with this pandemic going on. We purchased a small chest freezer to keep in the garage.


We are in our 60's and living off savings right now. No SS or pensions.

 

[jmp470]

I’m starting to look at boats, really want a 60’ CAT. They are already dropping $100k off the price... time to sit on my cash and wait for it to get worse.

I bought an airplane in 2009 for 50% of what they cost in 2008. I don’t expect this time to be different.

 

[BarbWire]

If I decide by July that I have to give up my life as a global nomad and settle back somewhere in the US, I will need to buy a car....

If so, then a 2020 Subaru Forsester for the AWD, the carrying capacty and the safety features. HOpe there might be good deals in July ....

 

[Markola]

Like the OP wrote, we are preparing to do a $75k (I hope that’s the upper limit!) renovation. If it was just me, I wouldn’t proceed. Heck, if it was just me, I wouldn’t own a house at all. I hate spending money no matter what the markets are doing. However, it isn’t just me and DW has planned this project for a long time and has her heart set on it, so I’m not getting in the way.