The “evil theory” probably pops up because on a lot of posts, the is a general mention/blurb on MR/HOAs and the feel of the message is being very bad and folks who buy one of these properties are pretty stupid. That’s my impression when I read some of the postings at least.
You do provide a lot of other valuable advice here and I, as many others I’m sure appreciate that. But it’s just done so often that it gets old when most folks know already and your stance on it.
In the end, I’ve stated this before. If you want new or much newer, you are going to have to pay MR in San Diego and I assume, many other areas in CA due to Prop 13…and probably HOA as well. That HOA is really high in your example btw.
One thing to also look at is that even though you can remodel the 50s place with new landscaping, kitchen/baths, some things would (I assume) be a major pain to do for folks who don’t have the time or desire. Is insulation a hassle? Maybe, but maybe not (I really don’t know and don’t care to know or spend time learning), but that seems like a big hassle to rip out every wall to redo better insulation/construction on the whole house.
A friend was visiting me here in SD and they were looking at places in Del Mar and said that some of the places are so old, there simply isn’t any insulation worth mentioning at all.
We currently live in a newer place and rarely need to use air con even though we are north county inland. Power bill during summer sits around $60-70 for 3k+ sqft.
Similar to our 1k sqft apartment which was built in the 80s which got a TON hotter and more unbearable.
