I echo your frustration. I am sitting in a 1700 sf Torrey Hills house. Everything in here is cheapest of the builder cheap, and daily I ponder whether to just install a good faucet, good dishwasher, and so on, myself. I could put $1K into fixtures and make this a happier place, no doubt. Of course, I draw the line at the crappy laminate flooring and cheap builder carpet; too much $$ to replace those.
Would I rather be still sitting in my $900K San Jose house? Hell no. When I need consolation I just log in to schwab.com. This is what I had to do to get myself, my kids, and my dog out of the bay area, and I’m not looking back.
Your concern about Chinese propping up values is fringe speculation and equates to the “immigration will bolster housing prices” argument. Sure, some overseas folks will buy U.S. properties, but that hardly seems enough to prop up the values across large areas. Anecdotal reports of immigrant buyers are belied by the indices, which continue to march downward.
You are embittered by your rent payments, but how do they compare with the cost of mortgages, property taxes, maintenance, HOA fees … and let’s not forget, if you are a cash buyer, the opportunity cost of the money … that $700K could have been earning you 5% or so, almost risk free.
And lest we forget, the immense transaction costs associated with selling a house. Casually buying a $700K house … you’ll incur a, say, $35K transaction cost when you sell it.
So a question for you: With your $millions, why not rent a phat house with all the goodies, like home theater, that you seek? Treat yourself to a really great place, to console you for the lack of ability to customize. Get away from your looky-loos and nosy landlord, and get a pool, a view, whatever gives you a woody. You’ve got the dough; pay some dudes to come in and pack up all your stuff for you and move you.
