[quote=no_such_reality]BG, again, you’re missing the point. Taxes are high and are one component of the high expenses it takes to live here. Meanwhile opportunities are falling and the Gen-Y you like to rail against in Cali has lower expectations than their parents. We’ve had that discussion before, areas where the up coming generations have lower expectations than the current generation stagnate and decline.
Housing and other expenses attribute greatly to the housing disconnect and the general dissatisfaction with SoCal once people are done with their single years.
There is a continued pressure on the upper middle class that influences out migration of that critical tax and consumer base. As people begin to look elsewhere, they are seeing more opportunity, less government interference, less expenditures and equal quality of life issues.
California, through tax policy, regulation and good fortune is accelerating the income divide between the haves and the have nots with the the middle ground disappearing. We as society in California will not survive the continued drain on quality jobs and lowered quality of life expectations for middle income $50K-$150K people and people starting out from college.
When I say good areas, I mean desirable. IOW, coastal. In LA/OC that’s west of the 405. In OC, almost all SFRs sub-$400K are in neighborhoods that are either bad as in dangerous or have a high concentration of one ethnicity. OC is fairly self segregated. As you move inland, particularly, the IE, I see no reason not to move to Phoenix, SLC, Denver, Texas. You’ve got the same climate and you’re two hours from the beach anyway.
To buy it you need what? A $100K income if doing a 3% FHA loan, PITI will then be about 27% of your gross.
That neighborhood? Not horrible, not great. Renting though, is even more expensive. And that’s now, it was even worse over the last decade.
As for the Escondido house, think about the economic advantage of not having rent, what’s that? $1400-$2200 a month they’re not forking over? That’s if they could live in Escondido. If not rent it. As for fixing, well, rent to repairs is a pretty solid repair schedule. Imagine how poor their life would be if they weren’t left the house.[/quote]
A few things here, NSR.
First, Gen Y DOES have much higher expectations than generations prior, in working conditions, living conditions and in the material gadgets they can’t live without. It doesn’t matter where they live. These preferences are generational.
I KNOW this TV show is staged, but House Hunters (HGTV) was touring with FTB’s in Michigan, Wisconsin and Alabama over the weekend. All were in the $200K range and wanted to be close to work (had mostly established urban choices) but I couldn’t believe the (lame) reasons these buyers gave their agent for “rejecting” a property:
“This parquet flooring (in good cond) needs to be replaced before I would move in.”
And most incredulous of all, “I don’t like the `flow’.”
Jeez, how can they complain about “flow” in their respective price ranges? Am I missing something? With everything else they have to deal with, is a middle-income FTB supposed to be concerned about “flow?”
And how picky do you think a FT FHA or VA buyer should be and still be able to consummate a deal with a “real” equity seller?
In my mind, these are all RIDICULOUS reasons for rejecting a property located in the area a buyer needs to live in.
All of the buyers were lured further out by their agents due to their “complaints” about dated features and two made a deal outside of their stated location parameters and chose to “commute.” Or at least the one who was going to do the “commuting” did so to make his spouse “happy.”
And the one whose spouse hated the color of the appls bought that property and replaced the perfectly good white appls with SS models prior to move in :=0
I don’t think the depiction of Gen Y buyers on HGTV is too far off from reality.
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I DO believe SD salaries are not as proportionate to the cost of living here as are salaries in other major cities, both in and out of CA.
I don’t understand what you mean by the phrase “… once people are done with their single years.”
Of course, one can’t easily raise a family in the studio apt they lived in their college years but why is there such a “housing disconnect” here if one went to college in SD or other part of SoCal and are already familiar with the local area? They (and their new spouse) are both making good salaries now, no? Those salaries are MUCH bigger than generations past made at the same age. Are you saying that SD is fine for Gen Y to live in as long as they are single?
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Regarding your “coastal parameters” being “a good area of Cali,” do you think past generations typically bought their first (or second) homes within those parameters? If they couldn’t, why do you think YOU should be able to?
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Sorry, but SLC and Denver are much, MUCH colder than the IE. When the last time you’ve been in either city in the winter, NSR? Phoenix is MUCH hotter than the IE at least 7 months per year. Most of TX is VERY flat and is subject to high humidity, high winds, chiggers and ice storms.
All the above are actually good places to live. And Denver, CO RE is more expensive than all of those places (as well as the IE) for many reasons other than cold weather. All I’m saying here is that you get what you pay for in life. If you want to leave So Cal, just know what you are getting into first.
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Your “nice little house” sample in Buena Park is conveniently located … yes. But it can be beat hands-down in price and build quality in many urban and close-in suburban areas of SD. The FHA allows at least a 38% back-end ratio, IIRC.
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From your comments here, I still don’t understand how YOU, as an heir, would deal with or dispose of the Escondido home you just inherited. And exactly what is wrong with Escondido? Would whatever was seemingly wrong with Esco be somewhat mitigated if you got the property for “free?” Would it be too much work for you to fix up to rent out? If not, would you lease it out? And don’t forget that it has an adjacent parcel that grandma never did anything with …
I’m curious as to your responses re: a “free” house given to you so you can have a “stress free” life in Cali.
