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bearishgurl
ParticipantER, it’s just that your ardor for SantaLuz is a bit “over the top” at times. As you can surmise, kids actually really and truly “grow up” in ALL areas of the county. They really and truly have a safe clean environment and parents with actual REAL MONEY, even wealthy parents. Their public schools really and truly are FINE. Yes, even if they don’t attend schools within the (now heavily indebted) PUSD.
No, the typical buyer in SD does not have race cars, horses or yachts. But there are many more of these types of buyers shopping in the over $1M range, which is the price range you would seek if you decided to sell your residence. Buyers everywhere are at all “stations in life.” They don’t necessarily have babies, toddlers or school-age children living with them. As you must know, some buyers have never had children and don’t want any. The nuclear family with children is but a fraction of RE buyers (don’t really know the exact percentage but would guess that it declines in each successive higher-priced tier and is also smaller for older areas).
There are many, many properties in the county of SD which are on 1/2 to 1-1/2 AC comparably valued to your residence which serve various types of buyers’ needs better than yours (vehicle pkg, workshop, citrus grove, ocean view, historical, proximity to SD, etc).
There’s nothing wrong with where you live but it is not the be all and end all for EVERYONE. It is the right place for those buyers who seek a tightly controlled environment. And there’s nothing wrong with that, either 🙂
Participant[quote=ocrenter]I do recall a family friend who bragged about how they purchased a home that had the MR paid off. And they justified the home’s higher price tag based on the potential savings. They were quite excited about how their house was “special” compared to everyone else in the neighborhood.
We do not live in the days of MLS books and Thomas guide anymore. It is very easy to do a quick search and find homes without MR.[/quote]
ocrenter, you and I know how to pull up a random tax bill and read it correctly but the average buyer does not.
And prospective buyers aren’t going to comb tax bills of listings within CFDs to determine (on the off-chance) if any of them have paid off MR. And even if they happen to find a property with paid-off MR, it may not meet their needs. I’m sure you’re aware that that is not how buyers shop for property. In any case, the tax bill screen could lag an owner’s possible prepaid MR by 1-12 months.
Buyers WHO WILL NOT ACCEPT MR do NOT shop in those areas which have it, unless they (or their agent) is certain that the MR is soon to be retired.
ParticipantER, your entire post is about “kid raising” (and quality of neighbors) “Kid-raising buyers” are only a fraction of homebuyers (not sure the percentage). MR aside, not EVERYONE wants to live in a very expensive HOA. Not EVERYONE wants to be so far from dtn SD (kids or no kids). And good-quality neighbors can actually be found at all price points!
Sure, your listing agent/broker can “get the word out” or make comments in the listing, but the truth is, people who won’t consider MR don’t shop in those areas and thus wouldn’t even consider your zip code because of it. Thus, they would likely never find out that you paid it off. In any case, they had some other location in mind for themselves.
In addition, buyers in coastal CA counties are very “location-oriented.” For example, if they have had their sights set on Coronado for a long time, they aren’t suddenly going to want to look in inland north county. If local buyers have always dreamed of an ocean view and now feel they have the equity and savings to have one, they aren’t suddenly going to be drawn to your area. If they need a workshop and want the freedom to park vehicles, etc, on a large lot, they won’t consider a property inside an HOA. If all their relatives live in Bonita, they’ll buy an estate-type property there, instead.
You would be shocked at how many people are actually paying for monthly boat/rv storage and want very much for their next property to enable them to park those things at home. Or are paying monthly to stall a horse that they ideally want to keep at home.
I don’t particularly consider your area “lizardland.” I would consider more far flung areas such as “Stonebridge” lizardland 🙂
I do think its wonderful that you are getting unsolicited offers for your property. These are very likely from people who have always wanted to live inside those gates or in areas surrounding you. They AREN’T from people who have race car(s) to park or need to live near their yacht, slipped on Shelter Island.
Whichever kind of buyer has the most money is anyone’s guess. In other words, not ALL buyers in the $1M+ range want or need what you have.
Participant[quote=earlyretirement] . . . I also TOTALLY agree with you about the power of having a listing saying, “NO MELLO ROOS taxes. Owner FOREVER paid them off’.
You’d definitely get attention. Even in a soft sales market vs. a healthier one like now, I believe you would (a) get back every dollar you pre-paid in MR taxes, (b) sell your house much quicker vs. someone that has MR taxes, (c) attract a MUCH larger audience of potential buyers. . . [/quote]
ER, I believe what you say here is possible … but your “shopping” audience would consist of those buyers who are already shopping in a MR area and thus it would be people who were already willing to pay MR or else they wouldn’t be contacting you, IMO.
Buyers who know SD County very, very well (mostly Native and longtime San Diegans) can smell CFD(s) from miles away and do not even shop in them or even view property in them (either online or in person). Especially from a zip code which is nearly all exclusively or all exclusively CFDs, (as yours is). Additionally, if a local agent/broker represents a buyer in a $1M+ range who gives them the edict, “Please do NOT show me any properties with Mello-Roos,” then they will NOT even be considering showing any properties to them which are located in 92127.
You would be surprised at how many SD County buyers in all price ranges there are out there who will NOT accept Mello-Roos unless perhaps it will be retired in <1 year (early nineties construction w/20 yr bonds). Many will not accept it under any circumstances and I am one of those people.
Thus, I feel your potential "buyer pool" will likely be fairly new residents of the county (<10 years) or relocatees, if you choose to sell, who will stumble upon your listing in their search and be pleasantly surprised that you have retired your MR 🙂
I'm not saying your neighborhood is not worth buying into. I'm just saying that well-heeled buyers in your price category have many, many excellent choices for a residence in this county which are NOT located in CFDs (OR HOA's) and this will never change.
I DO believe you can easily recover your ~$61K prepaid-MR cash outlay upon sale ... even now ... from the "right" buyer.
Participant[quote=citydweller] . . . Does anyone know if plans purchased outside the Marketplace have the rates locked in for 1 year? . . . [/quote]
That’s a good question, citydweller. CoveredCA has been “hush-hush” on the details of any individual and group plans which were approved by the insurance commissioner to be sold after 10/1/13 OFF the exchange … and so has each carrier’s website.
We’ll have to wait until October 1 to recheck all the carriers’ sites (and possibly contact their employees and agents) to get these answers. I don’t think any of the carriers that are left in CA can e-mail an inquirer with individual quotes anymore because their rates now have to be standardized as to age and location … so it will be easy to show them on a table.
The carriers are all in kind of a “transition period” right now in preparation for the 10/1 rollout of enrollments for coverage beginning 1/1/14.
ParticipantEven though I’ve come very close to needing it in the past but didn’t end up having to, I’m grateful for having coverage for HBOT:
Clinical Policy Bulletin:
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)Number: 0172
Policy
Aetna considers systemic hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) medically necessary for any of the following conditions:
-snip-
Decompression illness (“the bends”)
-snip-
http://www.aetna.com/cpb/medical/data/100_199/0172.html
I am very careful now in ascending and descending very high altitudes but I am in hopes I can find a carrier who will cover it … just in case … as the treatment runs about $200 per hr.
The need for it among mountain enthusiasts, skydivers and SCUBA divers is an “emergency” but it is likely that most carriers don’t cover it.
Participant[quote=no_such_reality]There aren’t a lot of Doctors either. If your eyes have swelled shut, I’d consider that a shock type scenario, that’s not a normal allergic reaction and I suspect doctors would agree. If your eyes have swelled shut, what else is going to swell shut.
Those expenses are just as expensive on a PPO non-preferred list. With coverage often around 50% and a typical doctor visit in the $150-$200 range.[/quote]
nsr, rates for a specialist in rural flyover America are closer to $75 per visit ($75-$90) or $50-75 for a PCP … that is, unless they have to make a house call … and some still DO. Again, you’re operating on your SoCal mindset … as would be expected :=0
[quote=no_such_reality]Are for prescription coverage, the Rx is the Rx, where it was prescribed shouldn’t matter.[/quote]
That’s true, as long as your PPO’s drug network is in all fifty states (check the fine print on those EPOs). My current carrier’s is, as is their physician network. You are correct in that a typical PPO’s coverage level is just 50% for an out-of-network provider or facility. But this is a whole lot better than a kick in the backside if one has no choice but to utilize out-of-network care.
[quote=no_such_reality]Good info about the plans being cheaper off the exchange in the other States. I hadn’t thought of that and in retrospect, it makes complete sense.
If you’re under 400% FPL, the plans on the exchange aren’t the plans, they’re enhanced plans and the enhanced silver quickly looks more like a Gold plan due to the lower co-pays etc.
Essentially, the plan Silver plan is based on an expected applicant pool that will really qualify for a “gold” plan service level on a “silver” plan, where as off list, the silver plan is the silver plan.[/quote]
Agree, but if given the choice, I would still try to pick a plan which the masses of longtime uninsured likely won’t pick, due to cost (over and above the tax credits) or deductibles or both (possibly shunning the “enhanced silver” plans?). Rate hikes can EASILY double a monthly premium in 18-24 months. At my age, that’s a LOT of $$.
Participant[quote=no_such_reality][quote=bearishgurl]
And what if one gets in the middle of, say, KS, intending to spend a week or two in mid-June and finds out they are horribly allergic to the poppies that grow wild in every cornfield? Will seeing and ENT or allergist there and getting a prescription be considered an “emergency?”
[/quote]First, it’s not an emergency, unless one is so allergic that we’re talking shock.
Second, why wouldn’t one just go to a minute clinic at CVS or Urgent Care or similar and pay the $80-$90/cash for services for a basic allergy or many other issues consultation?[/quote]
nsr, if your eyes swelled shut, you had been holding icepacks on them for two days and and you still couldn’t see enough to drive, I would consider this an “emergency.”
And allergy medications aren’t “cheap” for an person without prescription coverage. They cost up to $200 for brand name antihistamines, etc, $45 and up for generics and $75 and up for corticosteriods.
nsr, you’ve spent way too much of your life in suburban SoCal. There aren’t any “CVS Minute Clinics” in the vast majority of towns in “rural flyover America.”
LOL :=D
Participantcitydweller, the way I see it is that, at your age, you have no idea if you will incur a large unexpected medical bill tomorrow thru illness or accident. Spending just 24 hours or less as an inpatient admitted from a small regional hospital’s emergency room (ex: Scripps Chula Vista Med Cntr) can cost $8500 – $12,000 … that is AFTER their charges are reduced to your PPO rate. These charges can be MUCH higher in big city hospitals (ESP those with trauma centers). I don’t know if you live in or near dtn SD but a very high percentage of drivers (over 50%) living south of I-8 are inconsistently uninsured or under-insured as are an extremely high percentage of drivers residing south of Hwy 94 (over 75%). In any case, the medical payments on your auto policy covering YOU are likely very limited. If you get into an accident with one of these thousands of uninsured or underinsured drivers, you don’t want to have to worry about your quality or choice of care. You want your medical carrier to subrogate the auto carrier(s) involved for what they can get and then cover the rest without question, while they attempt to go after the responsible parties (if you are not at fault).
nsr is correct that you have to compare every single copay and covered item on your current policy to an exchange policy or plan, when the details are made available, in order to make an educated choice on what to do.
Keep in mind that if a proposed policy or plan on the exchange seems VERY reasonably priced, it is likely that the “sickest” masses who qualify for tax credits and who are on a tight budget will sign up for it. The way I understood the article I posted (above) is that the plans with the “sickest” planholders have the most propensity to increase their rates come 2015 or increase them the most.
We’ll know a whole lot more when the statistics by region are made public … hopefully sometime next year. That is, how many signed up for each plan available in a certain region, which metal-level of plan did they sign up for (if more than one was avail) and how many of those who signed up did so utilizing one of the four levels of tax credits.
I’m going to also recheck Blue of CA’s website:
… in October to find out if their indiv PPO plans are comparable to the ones they offer on the exchange for a lesser monthly premium than the ones they offer on CoveredCa if ordered off the exchange directly though them. This should be an apples-to-apples comparison and could very possibly cancel out any tax credits I might be eligible for if I sign up on the exchange.
I noticed that other states’ exchanges which I perused listed ALL their new indiv and small group (=<50 emps) plans in compliance with the ACA, whether offered ON or OFF their exchanges and discovered that comparable plans were up to $250 less per month for my age group than those same plans offered on the state’s exchange.
Because of this discovery, I believe it is entirely possible that carriers agreeing to offer plans on state exchanges have jacked up the price of those plans to account for the mass applications of currently uninsured “sick” or those with chronic conditions who are currently uninsured, nearly ALL of whom will use “tax credits” to pay most or all of their monthly premiums.
It will be interesting to see how this all fleshes out in the coming year and if the local provider groups (ex: Sharp Rees Stealy) who will accept most or all of the plans on the exchanges end up turning into the DMV for ALL their patients while attempting to serve many new patients who haven’t seen a doctor in decades.
ParticipantThis out this morning on Yahoo:
… Premium prices for marketplace plans will remain stable throughout each calendar year, but can be raised from year to year for everyone in your policy group—that is, everyone who bought the same kind of plan from the same insurer.
The first coverage period is Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2014. Insurers face many uncertainties with this new market, and they will likely adjust their prices once they have more information, experts say. For example, if a disproportionate number of older and sicker people sign up for marketplace coverage, it will increase insurers’ costs, and companies may pass along some of this increase to policyholders. Consumers will be informed of 2015 premium prices during open enrollment next fall, which will run Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2014, when they will have the option of switching plans …
The (future) stability of premium prices for an entire calendar year will be a godsend for people like me who have already had 2 rate hikes each calendar year from their carriers (abt 3 each year since March 2010, when the ACA became law).
Now, since insureds can freely move from one plan on the exchange to another during each annual open-enrollment period, each carrier on the exchange who is consideration raising their rates has to balance those considerations with a proportionate loss of policyholders to another plan if their proposed rate hikes will render them “not competitive” with the other plans to choose from in a given locale.
Oh, and this is all the more reason to sign up for a PPO with a larger deductible (plans which fewer “sick” people or people with chronic conditions will likely sign up for). Hopefully, the few PPOs on the exchanges will have less rate hikes and their longtime policyholders will get more value for their money.
… Each state will have a health-insurance marketplace, and people must sign up for insurance in the state of their primary residence. Plans will include coverage for any emergencies that happen when you’re traveling out-of-state…
These are fascinating “facts.” I’ll be chomping at the bit to find out more about how all these (cheap) “EPOs” (yes, featured on all states’ exchanges who allow them) are going to actually “cover” emergency services while traveling. So far, that’s not what I’ve seen on the exchange websites OR on the carriers’ own websites. I’m not convinced that the MSM is getting the “straight scoop” on this issue … sufficient as to make such a blanket statement.
And what if one gets in the middle of, say, KS, intending to spend a week or two in mid-June and finds out they are horribly allergic to the poppies that grow wild in every cornfield? Will seeing and ENT or allergist there and getting a prescription be considered an “emergency?”
My OWN kids’ experience with using Sharp Healthcare (“EPOs”) while going to college in another county of CA or needing care and even emergency surgery while traveling has borne out differently. They were forced to have mom process and monitor claims to their secondary carrier (Tricare Standard) for months on end and have mom and dad cover Tricare’s deductibles and hefty coinsurance payments (20-25%). Sharp Healthcare (both PPO and HMO) was virtually worthless outside of SD County. This is why my youngest will get on Tricare Prime (premium for age 18-26 currently set at $422 yr) before they ever set foot out of SD County..
Again, choose wisely, folks. The devil is in the details :=0
Participant[quote=SK in CV][quote=bearishgurl] Perhaps you are referring to some emergency rooms currently providing “charity” care to non-paying patients (which will supposedly cease come 2014, assuming everyone signs up for a plan). [/quote]
That’s not exactly true. There are, as of a few days ago, still 26 states that have not agreed to expand Medicaid coverage, with no current cost to those states. Three of those are leaning towards expansion. The majority of the rest have declined expansion, with seven states leaning towards not expanding Medicaid. Those currently uninsured, that would qualify under Medicaid expansion will not be eligible for credits under the state run exchanges. They are likely to remain uninsured, and will remain a burden to non-profit hospitals in those states.[/quote]
Yes, SK, I was aware that some states were not expanding their Medicaid programs. I was referring to CA but did not indicate it as such in my post. Thanks for the correction.
As far as I know, in CA, the current large Medi-Cal one-stop clinics will NOT be closing their doors come 2014. Examples:
They will simply see more patients. How MANY more? We do not really know until enough outreach is done in several languages to get eligible people signed up who weren’t previously eligible for Medi-Cal.
As in 2013 and prior, providers in 2014 will have the choice on whether or not they want to take Medi-Cal patients.
Participant[quote=no_such_reality]There is one PPO available, Blue Shield in the San Diego region.
It covers 50% for out of network providers.
The Anthem EPO, also covers 50% for any out of network providers for emergency purposes…[/quote]
These were the two carriers which I recently posted that I am going to look into as soon as more details are revealed about these plans.
We do not yet know whether these plans will be offered as a Silver, Gold or Platinum Plan (or 2 or 3 of them).
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi]BG, cares what your situation is? You say that money talks but, in the same breathe, you seem to want a Cadillac plan that covers everything you could want.
We already know that money always talks. That’s not the point of the policy discussion.
People in Europe and Canada who are rich could always pay out of pocket for the very best care. Same here, with or without obamacare.
One problem with our health system is that in many cases, we provide too much care for the level of payment, so some people get too much and millions go without.[/quote]
Flyer, LOTS of people regularly travel. I’m simply using myself for an example, because I am frequently in outlying or rural areas. A “Cadillac Plan” would be an “indemnity plan” which has very low deductibles, very low co-pays, provide low-cost brand-name drugs and possibly also provide a nurse by your side when flying you to MD Anderson/Johns Hopkins at whim. That is NOT the plan I am seeking, nor can I afford such a policy. I will sign up for a PPO with the biggest network I can find that is present in the places I visit. I don’t agree with your (emphasized) statement, above. Perhaps you are referring to some emergency rooms currently providing “charity” care to non-paying patients (which will supposedly cease come 2014, assuming everyone signs up for a plan). But people who have HMO or PPO plans never have had and can’t now have “everything (they) could want.”
The only ones who likely can have “everything they could want” are “Cadillac” (indemnity) policyholders and those paying all cash for care.
The rest of us poor slobs now have to “work the system” to the best of our ability with the “mass-produced” plans offered by our employers or on the exchanges.
It was actually scaredy who, in essence, brought up the “money talks” issue. He is right. Money (cash/reimbursement level) will still talk to healthcare providers in 2014 and beyond. The issue will just be presented a little differently. The NAME of your carrier and the TYPE of your plan will speak for you. As before, your insurance card will your calling card in the game of medical services procurement.
I don’t see “level of care” being exactly equal among exchange planholders. Medi-Cal/Medicaid recipients will have their own plan administrators who may also administer one or more of the lowest-cost “Bronze” or “Enhanced Silver” plans.
In other words, the poor and indigent will receive care, Medi-Cal will be expanded to include more of the poor and working poor but I don’t see these groups receiving the same level of care (or choice) as those purchasing Gold or Platinum Plans.
Participant[quote=6packscaredy]doesnt our society measure success only bye money?[/quote]
Unfortunately, in our society, money (or level of/possibility of reimbursement) DOES talk when receiving healthcare, especially emergency healthcare.
Don’t kid yourselves if you think some of these “seemingly cheap” plans on the state’s exchanges are going to get you the care that you may have been used to in the past (provided by an employer?). I’ve carefully perused the info available on three states’ exchanges and can safely say that several of their plan offerings are but half-a-step up from Medi-Cal/Medicaid. For instance, the planholder on the cheapest plans will be seeing the same (limited) set of providers in a particular locale as a Medicaid recipient but those providers’ reimbursements might end up being slightly higher than Medicaid.
I’m not sure if this will be enough to get you to the head of a (possibly lo-o-o-ong) line :=0
Choose wisely, folks … or leave well-enough alone.
My .02.
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