I own a 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid.  Quite honestly, I’ve been waiting since Day One for it to assert its inner Shogun.  Accelerating is the least of its problems. Of all the qualities my Camry Hybrid has, speed and agility aren’t among them.

I bought this particular car because I knew it would get heavy duty use. Real estate agents drive a lot. It’s roomy, so lots of people can pack in for a home tour. It gets great gas mileage. Most of all, though, I bought it because of Toyota’s reputation for quality.

So, what happens? My car is suddenly worth poop because of defects. Hybrid models are not on the recall list, but effectively, so what? My car’s value was trashed anyway because of the publicity.

What does this have to do with our houses? If you’re a home buyer or seller, take note.

Lots of people I know, including me, bought new homes from 2005 on because they wanted “new.” They didn’t want to worry about plumbing going out, windows and roofs leaking, siding going bleahh and all the other maintenance calamities that can occur with older homes. What did they get?

First, big time construction defects. I remain convinced that for most homes in Portland Metro built since 1998 or so, construction defects are either (a) repaired, or (b) undiscovered. The choice (c), Do Not Exist, is very rare. Many experts agree with me.  So much for the quality of new.

Second, trashed house values. Thousands of people bought houses they couldn’t afford with mortgages that shouldn’t have been offered, the result being round after round of foreclosures and notices of default.  A nosediving economy exacerbates the spiral, and here we are: Owning houses of dubious quality whose mortgages exceed the value, even though we did what we were “supposed to do.”

Just like my Toyota.

When my wife and I bought our rowhome in 2005, we weighed the advantages of buying with a big mortgage and putting our saved cash into securities, or buying a home with virtually no mortgage instead. We chose the latter. As it turned out, it didn’t matter that much, except we do have a house free and clear. Defects repaired, btw. But it’s worth less than we paid for it.

At times, I feel like the guy who lost his job and then his wife. His house burned down and his dog got hit by a car. In desperation, he looked skyward and beseeched God, saying, “Lord! Lord! What have I done to deserve all this?”

A voice boomed down from heavens. “I don’t know, there’s just something about you that pisses me off.”

Fortunately, Dog is my co-pilot. My spaniel is as happy as she ever was.