[quote=UCGal]I’d even understand if they repealed the prop 58 thing – but keep in mind – not all folks who benefit from it got the house free and clear – I paid market rate in 2003 – which meant it was more than a half million…[/quote]
UCGal, just feel fortunate you own a Prop 13-eligible property. I’m currently BROKE again after paying the county assessor and my place is worth nowhere near a “half million.” Those days are gone.
Yes, an HOA would help with keeping the ‘hood more “orderly,” but I simply CANNOT pay dues, street bonds or MR in addition to PROPERTY TAXES and still LIVE. It just seems like monthly HOA dues, even for SFR communities, have gone outta sight in recent years. I could purchase a A LOT of concrete/Ortho products/bricks/paint/topsoil etc. EVERY SINGLE MONTH for what HOA dues would cost if I chose to do so and could afford it. I go the YMCA (w/full amenities) 4 nights a week for only $38 mo. I can’t even heat up a backyard jacuzzi in the winter 4x a month for that, much less have circuit training and free classes! I think the “amenities” of HOA’s are very overpriced.
The main shocker that it’s taken me to get used to in the last few years is that people on FIXED incomes simply CANNOT afford to keep up their properties. Improvements/repairs are their LAST priority after food, utilities and gas (if they still drive). I wasn’t used to living with that before I purchased the property and didn’t fully realize the “demographic” until I had already settled in. I love the quiet of no obnoxious kids, though, so I guess you can’t have it both ways.
Aaaargh, I looked at my favorite S. Lake Tahoe blog over the weekend and 57% of the property sales there since the beginning of the year have been “distress” sales. OMG, you wouldn’t believe what you can buy there now (SFR) for $200K to $375K, WITHIN A MILE OF HEAVENLY GONDOLA or blocks from the CA lifts – on the free bus line! Life can be short so I’m going to retire there with my pets and turn into a ski bum. Wish I could do so NOW!!!! No more driving over the passes with chains and checking into overpriced rooms & condos. FABULOUS!!
