Best Deals In Town: Previously Owned Autos and Someone Elses’ Home
From here to Timbuktu, if you can’t sell it, lease it.
Leasing of luxury homes in Dallas is on the increase, with folks not batting a single eyelash at dishing out $7000 to $12,000 per month to lease a luxury home that may have been languishing on the market. Far better, says Dallas luxury lease queen Jill Lucas, Lucas Luxury Leasing, than buying and going belly-up. Many buyers who plan a temporary stay in Dallas don’t trust the market, so her business is booming. In fact, some buyers interpret the “to lease” as a sign the homeowner may be struggling, so they hop in with a buy offer. This just happened on one of her multi-million dollar Park Lane estates. The Wall Street Journal reports that previously-owned autos are the new status symbol. Business is booming, much to the dismay of automakers struggling to sell new cars. One Dallas Realtor, in the market for new wheels, checked out a cool Mercedes with a sticker of $110,000 and walked right across the street to buy a previously owned luxury auto for about half the price.
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Has this financial meltdown taught the affluent anything?
Do rich folks realize that expensive homes and cars do not bring additional increments of happiness. Once a certain level of life’s basic necessities have been met, additional creature comforts add zip to one’s happiness.
Really, what are the merits of owning/leasing a $100,000 car these days or owning/leasing a multimillion dollar home? If anything, flaunting your wealth these days has a down side. Greed and materialism ain’t cool these day. No!
Thankfully, most affluent women do finally grasp the notion that wearing a $100,000 mink coat may have a down side. No doubt that lesson has been learned fairly well. I’m not speaking in terms of the coat being stolen, which is indeed a real risk, but in terms of a few bold folks possibly confronting you. Verbal confrontations are never pleasant affairs. Some animal rights sympathizers are quite bold and they will not hestitate to get in your face.
It’s difficult to fathom that many of the affluent continue place a lot of emphasis on material THINGS in almost depression-like economic times. I do know some rich folks in hard-hit areas of the country will disguise extravagant purchases in generic bags. At least these folks do grasp the potential risks of flaunting your wealth.
In 2009, I do firmly believe that it’s not particularly cool to flaunt your wealth when so many people are struggling. As of now it may still be okay in Dallas, but I think that will change.
Be careful signing a residential lease as the deposits are steep on these high end homes and you may find yourself out of mucho dollars at the conclusion of the lease.