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Hmm, no one mentioned it. So easy to “Go Abroad”; The Joys of TJ/Baja/Mexico!

Seems the obvious choice to me too. But, there is a little security issue with Mexico isn’t there? Are you really safe just driving across the border in your Lexus, and exploring. I’ve often wondered if there are small organized groups (safety in numbers) that go across. Love to hear about them, if they exist.

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Absolutely no one interested in this subject. Well I am and this is why. It reduces supply, stifles mobility, and acts as a disincentive to buy suppressing demand.

There must be quite a few people who have cash available for an outright purchase, either from the sale of a previous home, or from inheritance or any other number of reasons, and who may be too old to obtain a mortgage, or who don’t want debt anymore to feature in their lives. Nothing wrong with any of that, yet it seems one is penalized for this, with a substantially higher rate of tax than other’s who bought just a few years ago. So you either swallow your pill and pay it, or you are compelled to take out a loan for the sake of the deductible. The argument I have heard in favor of Proposition 13 is that it is fixed, so as the years pass the rate effectively reduces. Sorry, I just don’t buy it. This was the goose that laid the golden egg for state coffers, a windfall based on short-termism and a logic subservient to the axis of iniquity and makers of this crisis. I have heard many people, who have owned their homes for years, say that they simply could not afford to pay the current level of taxes on their homes. If they were to cash in their homes to release equity, say in order to retire, they would need to downsize drastically to offset the increase in taxes. There must be many large homes, occupied by elderly couples or singles that are effectively tied to their homes, and it makes you wonder what effect it is having on supply. Why not fix taxes according to rentable values. It beggars belief to base it on market values in this climate, and must act as a disincentive to buy. It is very similar to the “wealth taxes” in Europe.

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From all the well argued comments above, one clear impression emerges …you either like gold or you don’t …a kind of respectful ambiguity. It’s bewitching aura either lures like a nostalgic waltz, or deters like a anachronistic utensil misplaced in today’s financial cosmos.

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There does seem to be a little inconsistency in your argument. On the one hand you admit to the mess we are in, and that mortgage companies and the industry in general should be accountable, and on the other hand you seem reluctant to accept the mess being put to rights. You can’t have your cake and eat it, as the saying goes.

I think many of us are victims, whether our homes have appreciated, or whether we weren’t able to step onto the property ladder. The point really is that, if prices fall, and they seem to be doing that, then the sharp increase in property values that we have seen over the last few years has been largely artificial. It is not real ‘value’, but speculative value and therefore you haven’t necessarily lost anything, if your home does devalue. Moreover, it is possible that in a few years, prices will be back to where they are now, and hopefully will reflect more of the fundamentals that have determined pricing prior to the bubble.

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I echo going with a fee only FA. A little knowledge can go a long way, but if you want to be your own FA, it can also cost you dearly. I once told my FA that I try to resist becoming “informed” in investment matters to avoid becoming “opinionated”, and therefore forging views that may conflict with his. Since I am paying him to advise me and not the other way round, that makes sense to me. I got the feeling from his reply that his life would suffer less angst, if other clients were similarly disposed. I do however look at the bottom line, and form an opinion as to his performance, and that seems to keep priorities on an even keel. The trouble with brokers and commissions is that charges can be opaque and can bite into your portfolio’s performances.

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I echo going with a fee only FA. A little knowledge can go a long way, but if you want to be your own FA, it can also cost you dearly. I once told my FA that I try to resist becoming “informed” in investment matters to avoid becoming “opinionated”, and therefore forging views that may conflict with his. Since I am paying him to advise me and not the other way round, that makes sense to me. I got the feeling from his reply that his life would suffer less angst, if other clients were similarly disposed. I do however look at the bottom line, and form an opinion as to his performance, and that seems to keep priorities on an even keel. The trouble with brokers and commissions is that charges can be opaque and can bite into your portfolio’s performances.

[34f3f3f]

I echo going with a fee only FA. A little knowledge can go a long way, but if you want to be your own FA, it can also cost you dearly. I once told my FA that I try to resist becoming “informed” in investment matters to avoid becoming “opinionated”, and therefore forging views that may conflict with his. Since I am paying him to advise me and not the other way round, that makes sense to me. I got the feeling from his reply that his life would suffer less angst, if other clients were similarly disposed. I do however look at the bottom line, and form an opinion as to his performance, and that seems to keep priorities on an even keel. The trouble with brokers and commissions is that charges can be opaque and can bite into your portfolio’s performances.

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I have had no experience of HOAs, but it sounds similar to something else I experienced in another country, where the sale of my house was essentially high-jacked for very innocuous reasons. It caused no end of problems, and I swore never to enter such an arrangement or area again. Aside from that, the very thought of living in the sort of neighborhoods where HOAs exist sends shivers down my spine.

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I have had no experience of HOAs, but it sounds similar to something else I experienced in another country, where the sale of my house was essentially high-jacked for very innocuous reasons. It caused no end of problems, and I swore never to enter such an arrangement or area again. Aside from that, the very thought of living in the sort of neighborhoods where HOAs exist sends shivers down my spine.

[34f3f3f]

I have had no experience of HOAs, but it sounds similar to something else I experienced in another country, where the sale of my house was essentially high-jacked for very innocuous reasons. It caused no end of problems, and I swore never to enter such an arrangement or area again. Aside from that, the very thought of living in the sort of neighborhoods where HOAs exist sends shivers down my spine.

[34f3f3f]

The first point I would make is that information on the internet is only as good as its providers. While it has helped many in making economic decisions, it probably has hindered as many. It seems ironic that one of the biggest crashes of recent years was brought about by the information age. Perhaps we still haven’t quite got to grips with it.

If, as many seem to suggest, the economy in the US is becoming more service industry based, and less manufacturing based, then you can expect more volatility. The RE market also seems to have changed, from how mortgages are sourced to the impact they can have on the stock market. Whereas one may have been a hedge against the other, it seems they are now more closely linked. If at one time the housing market would slow as a result of a slowing economy, it now seems the reverse is true. Therefore, I don’t see how it is possible, with any degree of accuracy, to predict time scales for a recovery with so many imponderables. I think the internet has given us the tools to see cause and effect up close, but it doesn’t necessarily give us the tools to change it, at least not with the alacrity we would like.

[34f3f3f]

The first point I would make is that information on the internet is only as good as its providers. While it has helped many in making economic decisions, it probably has hindered as many. It seems ironic that one of the biggest crashes of recent years was brought about by the information age. Perhaps we still haven’t quite got to grips with it.

If, as many seem to suggest, the economy in the US is becoming more service industry based, and less manufacturing based, then you can expect more volatility. The RE market also seems to have changed, from how mortgages are sourced to the impact they can have on the stock market. Whereas one may have been a hedge against the other, it seems they are now more closely linked. If at one time the housing market would slow as a result of a slowing economy, it now seems the reverse is true. Therefore, I don’t see how it is possible, with any degree of accuracy, to predict time scales for a recovery with so many imponderables. I think the internet has given us the tools to see cause and effect up close, but it doesn’t necessarily give us the tools to change it, at least not with the alacrity we would like.

[34f3f3f]

The first point I would make is that information on the internet is only as good as its providers. While it has helped many in making economic decisions, it probably has hindered as many. It seems ironic that one of the biggest crashes of recent years was brought about by the information age. Perhaps we still haven’t quite got to grips with it.

If, as many seem to suggest, the economy in the US is becoming more service industry based, and less manufacturing based, then you can expect more volatility. The RE market also seems to have changed, from how mortgages are sourced to the impact they can have on the stock market. Whereas one may have been a hedge against the other, it seems they are now more closely linked. If at one time the housing market would slow as a result of a slowing economy, it now seems the reverse is true. Therefore, I don’t see how it is possible, with any degree of accuracy, to predict time scales for a recovery with so many imponderables. I think the internet has given us the tools to see cause and effect up close, but it doesn’t necessarily give us the tools to change it, at least not with the alacrity we would like.

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Youtube watch out! Seems independent media will get swallowed. I think this is all good stuff, but you can’t help but feel some of it may stem from academic anti-establishment views. That doesn’t mean it’s not true, but it could be made more credible by giving those under attack, or those who beg to differ the chance to state their case. I think objective reporting is much more powerful, and has a better chance of exposure with main stream media. I also don’t think media is quite as some people claim. It may stop short of giving the details of the whys and wherefores, but that is sometimes due to the fine line between reporting fact and giving opinion.

Here’s another educational story. It sounds convincing but we are still being asked to accept it on face value. http://www.californiahousingforecast.com/in-the-news/2007/8/15/chinese-and-european-banks-tricked-into-us-junk-debt-biggest.html

[34f3f3f]

Youtube watch out! Seems independent media will get swallowed. I think this is all good stuff, but you can’t help but feel some of it may stem from academic anti-establishment views. That doesn’t mean it’s not true, but it could be made more credible by giving those under attack, or those who beg to differ the chance to state their case. I think objective reporting is much more powerful, and has a better chance of exposure with main stream media. I also don’t think media is quite as some people claim. It may stop short of giving the details of the whys and wherefores, but that is sometimes due to the fine line between reporting fact and giving opinion.

Here’s another educational story. It sounds convincing but we are still being asked to accept it on face value. http://www.californiahousingforecast.com/in-the-news/2007/8/15/chinese-and-european-banks-tricked-into-us-junk-debt-biggest.html

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