So many factors to consider when buying that honestly none of us have control over.

Will, I was in your place 20 years ago. What I do realize now that I didn't know then is that many things will eb and flow over time. At the end of the day, speaking in a general sense, the value of my condo that I bought in Hillsboro Village 20 years ago first as a primary residence that then turned into rental property served 1) as an enjoyable place to live, 2) positively cash flowed since I have rented it and 3) is worth more today than when I bought it.

It seems to me that you are probabaly pretty safe to move forward with pulling the trigger and marking this off your list of things to mull over. In 10 years, regardless of which unit you buy and for what purpose, what you do buy will be worth more than what you bought it for and waiting around trying to figure out the absolute bottom may cost you alot more in interest (assuming you will be financing your purchase) than had you gone on and made a decision to buy.

So many factors to consider when buying that honestly none of us have control over.

Will, I was in your place 20 years ago. What I do realize now that I didn't know then is that many things will eb and flow over time. At the end of the day, speaking in a general sense, the value of my condo that I bought in Hillsboro Village 20 years ago first as a primary residence that then turned into rental property served 1) as an enjoyable place to live, 2) positively cash flowed since I have rented it and 3) is worth more today than when I bought it.

It seems to me that you are probabaly pretty safe to move forward with pulling the trigger and marking this off your list of things to mull over. In 10 years, regardless of which unit you buy and for what purpose, what you do buy will be worth more than what you bought it for and waiting around trying to figure out the absolute bottom may cost you alot more in interest (assuming you will be financing your purchase) than had you gone on and made a decision to buy.

For me, I wanted to be close to work and in a walkable neighborhood that had an electricity to it. I enjoy living in the city where I feel I'm actually part of the action. I gladly gave up the square footage to enjoy this. The train isn't even really that bad at the Icon; at least I don't think so. Also, being a young professional and a red-blooded male, I'm looking forward to the pool at the Icon in the summer. After living here for a couple weeks, the scenery is spectacular!

Some have previously referred to different buildings having their own “ecomonies.” I agree to the extent that certain buildings target different buyers and have different risk. I would pay more to live in the Adelicia than I would for the Terrazzo more several reasons. A significant one being that the Adelicia is full.

Near term, I don't think Terrazzo is worth much more than auction prices. As the building gets more established and takes on more owner – occupants as opposed to investors, I would think the prices would rise.

The West End auction seems to be a mess. I haven't seen much marketing, and more importantly for a potential buyer, any guidance as to the auction terms. I don't take this auction seriously at this point. My understanding is that they won't divulge the min bids until the day of the auction. I wouln't waste my time going if this is the case. They seem to simply be fishing for bids and / or trying to distract potential buyers in the Terrazzo auction.

In any event, I'm not sure there is much of a market for these places (Icon, Velocity, Terrazzo) anyway. If other young professionals are like me, they want a nice place to enterain people, but don't expect to live in the place very long, and are smart enough to expect a good deal. I don't care about concierge service, a pool, or a game room. I want a nice place to show my friends, minimal risk, min association fees, and a deal that makes sense. I don't want to have to spend hours or pay an attorney in order to decide whether or not the association will soon be in shambles or whether the developer is playing games with the bylaws. I want to be able to sell the place if I change jobs or get married.

At first, I really liked the idea of the Gulch. However, after looking into it, I don't really get the appeal. I love the idea of a walkable neighborhood and living close to work. I don't like the idea of absurd association fees and living in front of a train track and beside a busy highway. I want a nice place to entertain friends, but I don't want my friends to have to pay for valet parking when they visit.

That said, don't count him out till you see the pine box go in the hole. People of all political persuasions say they hate bailouts till one comes their way. Just wait – we still haven't seen Stimulus III (It will be Stimulus IV, actually, if you count the first stimulus when Bush sent everybody $300 dollar checks in early 2008).