[quote=bearishgurl]
SK, if you are referring to “her” as your mom, why didn’t your sister “buy” your mom’s house from you and your other sibling(s)? Had she done so, she would have had a much lower tax bill and a bigger house in the same area she lives in now.
In light of the tangible benefits of taking over your mom’s home, I don’t understand why your sister thought it would be a “hassle” to do so.
Perhaps the area where you grew up (Del Cerro?) is now too expensive for most people to purchase with all cash or mostly cash. I was referring to neighborhoods in the $200K to $350K range in recent years as having a lot of all-cash or nearly all-cash purchasers (and they are not ALL “investors”).
Those with well-established parents who have real property holding(s) in CA are the ones who have and will end up being the “haves” going into the future while newcomers who come in and buy in newer areas will end up being the “have nots” due to the combination of taking out high-LTV mortgages plus having high carrying costs in the form of MR … and often HOA dues as well. This is just my opinion based upon what I’ve seen the combo of these monthly charges do to family finances in the long haul.
I would have to pull actual plat maps and then examine the corresponding titles to show the prevalence of recent all-cash or near all-cash sales in different areas. This would be a time-consuming but yet “interesting” endeavor.
Just like the “real” cause of the Vallejo (CA) BK which I had posted late last year that I planned to examine in detail and report my findings here, I just haven’t had an extended block of time to devote to the project.
I’m getting ready to leave on another road trip so won’t be able to devote any time to this right now. I promise that I am putting this task on my “to-do” list for my spare, spare time for the balance of 2013 :=]
Luckily, I already have a nice selection of county plat maps from “well-established” areas in my possession :)[/quote]
It was my sister’s choice to not move into my mother’s house. She didn’t want to. For her, it would have been too big of a hassle and not worth it. It is a perfect opportunity for what you think happens all the time. She’s not wealthy by any means, but she has her home that she can afford and for a few thousand dollars a year in tax savings, she didn’t want to move.
The area I was talking about was not Del Cerro, but Allied Gardens. I know at least a couple dozen people I grew up with that still live there. Only two in their parents homes. And I’m pretty sure none of the others were in a position to pay cash for their homes. And come to think of it, I know someone who lives 2 blocks from where he grew up and his mother died recently and he would have had the same option to move into his mother’s house with much lower taxes, and he chose not to, and sold her house instead.
