[bearishgurl]

[quote=deadzone]…While a driver’s license is not a “citizenship document” from a federal point of view, it is a pretty good proxy. In almost all states, including California, you can’t get a driver’s license unless you are a legal resident. Therefore if you have a valid state issue driver’s license, I doubt the AZ police would have any reason to suspect you as being illegal. Again, I don’t see where race fits into this equation.[/quote]

Uhh, deadzone, I am personally aware of “unauthorized immigrants” who have a CA Driver License. And I’m sure the few that I know are merely a drop in the bucket.

From: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/dl/dl_info.htm#BDLP

in pertinent part:

Birth date verification and legal presence requirements

The issue of identification reliability, integrity, and confidentiality is of prime concern to all citizens. Eligibility for government services, issuance of various licenses, assessment of taxes, the right to vote, etc., are all determined through evaluations based on identification documents. It is critical that identification documents be authenticated and accurate in identifying each individual. The California driver license and ID card have been declared as primary identification documents in this state by the California legislature.

State law requires every applicant for an original California identification (ID) card and driver license to show verification of birth date and proof of legal presence within the United States to help safeguard the accuracy and integrity of departmental documents.

If your current name no longer matches the name on your birth date/legal presence document, see “True Full Name” and “How to Change Your Name” for more information.

Only the original or a certified copy of one of the following documents is acceptable:

US Birth Certificate (certified copy from state or local vital statistics office)
US Certificate of Birth Abroad or Report of Birth Abroad
Federal Proof of Indian Blood Degree
USCIS American Indian Card
Birth Certificate or passport issued from a US Territory
US Passport or US Passport Card
US Military Identification Cards (Active or reserve duty, dependent of a military member, retired member, discharged from service, medical/religious personnel)
Common Access Card (only if designated as Active military or Active Reserve or Active Selected Reserve)
Certificate of Naturalization or Citizenship
Northern Mariana Card
USCIS US Citizen ID Card
Permanent Resident Card
Temporary Resident Identification Card
Canadian Passport/Birth Certificate
Non–resident Alien Canadian Border Crossing Card
Valid foreign passport with a valid Record of Arrival/Departure (form I–94)
“Processed for I–551” stamped in a valid foreign passport
Permanent Resident Re–entry Permit
Refugee travel document
Certified court order or judgment issued from a court of competent jurisdiction. Must contain name, birth date, place of birth, legal presence status, and judge’s signature.
Certification from California Department of Corrections or California Youth Authority
Employment Authorization Card
Valid I–94 stamped “Refugee,” “Parole or Parolee,” “Asylee,” or Section 207, Section 208, Section 209, Section 212d(2), HP or PIP
Valid I–94 with attached photo stamped “Processed for I–551 temporary evidence of lawful admission for permanent residence”
Notice of Action (I–797 Approved Petition) – must indicate approved extension of stay or change in status that grants temporary or permanent residency, or indicates that an original, duplicate or renewal Resident Alien card is forthcoming.
Immigration judge’s order granting asylum
Mexican Border Crossing Card with valid I–94
U.S. Border Crossing Identification card with valid I–94

Once their “temporary gig” is up, they still have a DL lasting four years OR can theoretically remain in the US while “shopping” 24/7, lol. Not sure if they can renew their DL’s by mail, though.

[bearishgurl]

brian, I DO worry about my aging brethren living in the “red states.” Even the ones significantly younger than me don’t seem to take very good care of themselves. I’m pretty sure most vote Republican and some vote Independent. Even many people “of color” (whatever that means, lol) living in “red states” vote Republican and there are many Republican elected representatives “of color.”

I see huge populations of these “red states” not being healthy enough to “weather the storm” (last until old age). I think this mindset is a function of local food and culture (incl smoking allowed in restaurants, bars and offices), the dearth of fresh produce in many areas and wanting freedom from all government restrictions (having thin local governments to protect them from polluted waters and so forth). The meth scrouge has invaded the states of KS, MO, IL, TN, AR, OK (and maybe others), incl their environments and their thin ranks of rural law enforcement cannot keep up with it (even with the DEA “setting up shop” in targeted areas there). I think there is a bit of malaise caused by “situational depression” going around in some of those parts but if you ask the locals if they would ever consider relocating, the answer is a resounding, NO! They love where they are.

I don’t know the answer. Perhaps more education on TV there on nutrition and effects of environmental hazards??

We’re all going to have to pay for their healthcare in one way or another beginning 2014.

[bearishgurl]

spdrun, I’ve got Gen Y kids and am in hopes they will be able to buy decently-located houses in the coming years.

If they can’t, they’ll continue to rent. They refuse to commute.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=spdrun]^^^

Good to hear. The longer housing prices stay sane, the better, so that Gen Y can get a leg up on the X’er and boomer idiots who are underwater. Must be nice renting from someone 25 years younger who owns 3 properties of the kind that you paid through the nose for.[/quote]

spdrun, I maintain that for every “boomer” that is currently “underwater,” there are 20-25 “X’ers” who are in the same leaky boat. Anecdotal but based on the people I know, it’s clearly the under-45 crowd (today’s age) who got sucked into purchasing at the height of the market. “Boomers” who are currently underwater likely took too much cash out of their properties. “Boomers” began purchasing RE in the late ’60’s, early ’70’s and most wouldn’t dream of and didn’t NEED to pay the exorbitant asking prices of the “millenium boom.” The vast majority of “boomers” saw right thru the “RE-will-only-go-up. Buy-while-you-still-can” sham.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=UCGal][quote=bearishgurl][quote=UCGal] . . . I think this will be good for folks with an entrepreneurial spirit. Even if they have a pre-existing condition, they can leave their corporate health insurance next week. They can go into business for themselves… spurring the economy, creating jobs. (Next week will be 18 months till 1/1/14… so Cobra can tide them over till the pre-existing condition part goes into effect.)
No longer will people be tied to employers *just* for healthcare. This is huge![/quote]

I agree, UCGal, but have you checked the price of COBRA lately? It is typically more per month than your employer even pays for your plan and can be VERY cost-prohibitive, depending on what kind of a plan you have at work. If you currently have a PPO, you may find that an HMO offered by your employer is all you afford at COBRA rates.

18 months at $600-$800 mo (for the ex-employee ONLY) is enough incentive to keep working, IMHO, at least until 2014.

Individual plans can cost less than COBRA, but until 2014, the carriers of these plans are allowed to underwrite them upon application and price them accordingly.[/quote]

It can only be a small percentage (2%) over what the full cost is.
If you had a large employer – they get cheaper rates through economy of scale. If you had a small employer – your overall rates were higher. In that case it might be cheaper to shop around. Assuming no pre-existing conditions.

Trust me – I pay attention not just to the employee rates (subsidized) but the cobra rates – it’s how I know my employer has been steadily increasing the employee paid percentage of the overall cost. With my large employer the cost of Kaiser Permanente (the cheapest option – even cheaper that the High Ded. plan… so the one I’m on) is about 20% via cobra than what KP quotes online. Assuming my family would even qualify… my husband has had knee surgery, is on a staten drug, etc… my son has an all all which might be considered a pre-existing condition….[/quote]

$600 – $800 would be about the mo premium for standard PPO coverage working for a small business of under 50 employees (the vast majority of law firms are small businesses). I know larger firms pay premiums which are significantly less than that (in exchange for more insureds).

UCGal, if you lose your job before your kids reach 18 (or 23 if they are FT college students) and it turns out to be too expensive to insure them thru COBRA, they should be able to get individual coverage for $90-$110 mo ea. This is of course barring anything serious such as being childhood cancer survivors, asthmatic or diabetic, etc.

If they qualify for “Healthy Families” thru the state, the premium is about $37-$54 mo ea … free if the parent(s) are on TANF or any kind of gov’t disability.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=UCGal] . . . I think this will be good for folks with an entrepreneurial spirit. Even if they have a pre-existing condition, they can leave their corporate health insurance next week. They can go into business for themselves… spurring the economy, creating jobs. (Next week will be 18 months till 1/1/14… so Cobra can tide them over till the pre-existing condition part goes into effect.)
No longer will people be tied to employers *just* for healthcare. This is huge![/quote]

I agree, UCGal, but have you checked the price of COBRA lately? It is typically more per month than your employer even pays for your plan and can be VERY cost-prohibitive, depending on what kind of a plan you have at work. If you currently have a PPO, you may find that an HMO offered by your employer is all you afford at COBRA rates.

18 months at $600-$800 mo (for the ex-employee ONLY) is enough incentive to keep working, IMHO, at least until 2014.

Individual plans can cost less than COBRA, but until 2014, the carriers of these plans are allowed to underwrite them upon application and price them accordingly.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=spdrun]…They ponied up for book value + rental reimbursement + 14 add’l days of rental within a few days. Book value, incidentally, was 2x what I had actually paid for the car! I told them that: they insisted in paying.

They took $250 off for scrap value, let me keep the car, and I sold it on Craigslist to someone who wanted to make a track car.

Guess they knew they couldn’t have won in court, and wanted to cut their losses.[/quote]

Actually, this has happened to me a few times as well. I always paid the salvage value ($250 or so) out of my “settlement” and found a “cheaper” way to fix the car. A little known fact about insurance companies is that they will pay for all the repairs and replacements that were made in the last 12 months (not counting oil changes, etc) on top of offering the blue book value of the vehicle, if their insured was at fault. The “victim” must present his/her receipts.

And I’ve always carried full coverage for the reason given above and to have UM and UIM (close proximity to Mexican drivers who carry $3K liability or none at all). I only pay $747 anually for an 19-yr old Lexus.

It’s ALWAYS wa-a-a-ay cheaper all around to drive older vehicles purchased from a private party. I’ve run the numbers back and forth, even taking into acct 0% (new) and 1.9% (used) mfr financing, cash rebates, discounts for cash and the fact that older cars often need major (over $1K) repairs.

My issue is that I got used to a lot of “bells and whistles” and the ride of a “luxury” car and could never afford to purchase anything like it even “near new.” My next one will be off Joe Sixpack’s driveway.

And spdrun is absolutely right. The “devil you know” is much preferred to the “devil you don’t know.”

[bearishgurl]

[quote=Diego Mamani][quote=bearishgurl]I wouldn’t throw away thousands per month on rent[/quote] Actually, the recent experience has been of people throwing up to 100s of thousands of dollars on mortgage and lost equity.[/quote]

I understand this, Diego, but there are many owners out there that have owned their properties more than ten years and thus did not fall prey to the more recent “exotic” purchase money mortgages. This doesn’t preclude them from being underwater or behind in their payments, however. Also beware of the longtime owner who has taken “cash out” one or more times in the last decade and currently owes more than their property is worth, whether by cash-out refi, taking out a 2nd/3rd TD or helocing. Many owners have stripped all the equity out of their property (and then some) and then turned it into a rental.

In a financial pinch, keeping up the payments on a “self-made” underwater rental property would not be a high priority unless the owner was very concerned about his/her credit rating.

Given all but two of the realtor.com ads you posted (houses 7 & 8), the other ads are asking a way too-exorbitant monthly rent, IMHO (“house 1” is an apt and “house 9” is a PUD). In my mind it’s ridiculous to pay these amounts of rent on something you don’t own and if purchased today, likely would not have anywhere near the mortgage payment that they are currently asking for in monthly rent.

[bearishgurl]

Do you have at least a $5K deposit? Why don’t you get a local (Poway/PQ) agent to help you find a lease-option deal at today’s RE prices? You can always have the property physically inspected PRIOR to going thru with the deal. I wouldn’t throw away thousands per month on rent without having some of it applied to my downpayment but that is just me.

If you decide to explore this, STAY AWAY from owners behind in their payments. They will likely abscond with your option deposit and all of the option portion of your rent whilst being foreclosed upon for NOT making their mortgage payments, instead of keeping your option funds in a separate “trust fund” as the law dictates.

It would be best to go thru a reputable property managment company. Your agent would receive a small commission upon your signing the option to purchase and the rest upon your exercise of the option (1-3 years later … however long it takes you to save the rest of the necessary downpayment).

[bearishgurl]

[quote=kkun]…Every house in that locality has equal Mello Roos. The fact is, it has been sold at a steeper discount than comparable houses in the same street.[/quote]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but my understanding was that the avg size lot in Stonebridge was 20K sf. If this is truly the case, this house sits on a significantly smaller lot (8K) than the avg size around there with the same amt of MR attached to it as the rest. I didn’t even check (as you did) to see if its lot backed into road noise – another significant drawback.

kkun, how do you figure you could have made a $50K profit on this house (after buying & selling costs) by buying it for $550K, “fixing it up” and flipping it? Do YOU have a RE license? And would a $50K profit been worth the time and trouble given you would have to have paid taxes/MR and may have had to carry a mortgage for the length of time it took to sell it? What is the avg market time for a property with a $500+ mo MR encumbrance??

[bearishgurl]

[quote=spdrun]This didn’t have to do with a ticket or money. This had to do with my rights, and I remained calm while refusing to answer. It’s pretty sad how many Americans willingly accept the “they’re keeping us safe”/”they’re just doing their jobs” excuse when faced with increased restrictions. Lastly, if the border was properly policed, the interior checkpoints wouldn’t be needed.[/quote]

I agree with all of this. But usually I have a loaded trunk, kid and/or dog with me in the 100+ deg heat and reservations to spend the night somewhere in NM or El Paso. Both are long drives from SD. I need to get down the road and can’t fvck around for hours next to these minions’ “secondary” trailer drinking their “free” water while I d!ck around with expounding my “constitutional rights” to them. In one case, I was towing a small trailer:

http://piggington.com/why_is_a_doper_snorting_bath_salts_my_problem

In my case, traveling thru AriDzona is necessary to reach my destinations so I must accept reality, whatever that may be.

As children, we used to stand on the “hump” in the backseat of our parents’ cars and crane our necks, blocking the rear-view mirror on road trips, then hang our bare feet out the windows while counting oil pumps and looking for different license plates. There were no seat belts in cars and a LOT of interior room. Babies slept in thin nylon beds on the rear floorboards or the rear windshield compartment of a Barracuda (if it was cooler weather). It was legal all over the US to carry around a pickup-bed-load of people with varying shades of skin color, along with a giant thermos or sodas on dry ice. Cars were very heavy and there wasn’t the amount of commercial truck traffic on the road then as there is today. Nor were there very many interstate highways.

[img_assist|nid=16380|title=Dad’s road machine|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=100|height=67]

Those were the “free and easy” glory days of US road travel, now gone forever :=[

[bearishgurl]

[quote=kkun]There is another re-listing in the same area at 550- 600k! It was listed at 675k in Nov last year and went pending. Seems that did not work out and the house is back in market for a lower price.

http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-110043011-13177_Bella_Rosa_Rd_San_Diego_CA_92131
[/quote]

kkun, I take it this is the property (that you posted on 4/30) that you are referring to today which recently sold for $550K?

I’m sorry to say that it is butt-ugly from the curb, with very little “setback” on a tract that is supposed to be “prized” for its oversized lots. This particular lot appears to be a little over 8K sf (likely 3/4 to 5/6 of it house). What’s the point of paying $500+ monthly for MR for THIS??

[bearishgurl]

It appears to be a stone’s throw from a (min) 14-lane fwy. Is this complex elevated? If so, the tire noise has got to be bordering on deafening.

What’s there to like??

[bearishgurl]

[quote=SD Squatter][quote=bearishgurl]
The county “assessment” has no bearing on what the replacement cost of a particular dwelling is or will be. Hopefully, you have a “replacement value” policy which means the insurance co will replace what was there in case of fire or other calamity, no matter how much it costs.[/quote]
“Replacement value” from the tax record (150k), or my own claimed assessment value (300k) provided by me when I applied for the insurance coverage? Who will decide “what was there”, once it’s gone up in smoke? I’m sure the insurance company can overspend me on lawyers any day…[/quote]

Your policy will tell you what your dwelling is insured for, as well as what your landscaping, outbuilding(s) and pool are insured for. Your policy and any riders will tell you if you have a “replacement value” policy. Even if you do, your dwelling and other improvements will be insured for a particular value … as a guideline.

[quote=SD Squatter][quote=bearishgurl]Earthquake coverage is separate from your homeowner’s policy. If you don’t have a separate policy through the CA Earthquake Authority, your property is not covered for earthquake damage.[/quote]Yes, I have just given it as an example. I wonder what percentage of people in SD have that coverage. It seems rather expensive given the real risk of having a catastrophic earthquake here in the next 50 years.[/quote]I think about 16% of property owners in CA have earthquake coverage and it is really not that expensive. It’s just that the typical deductible for an earthquake policy is about $50K. So, if a policyholder had a total loss (say, $375K) from an earthquake and they didn’t have $50K lying around, they would have to rebuild for $325K. If an earthquake just damages a chimney at a $26K loss, then the policyholder would receive nothing.

Ins Piggs, correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe CA earthquake coverage just mirrors the valuation a property owner’s insurance co has put on their policy and does not have a “replacement value” provision.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=spdrun]^^^

I’d suspect that this started before 9/11/2001 — I remember a “Border” checkpoint on the 5 near Camp Pendleton when I was there with family in the late 90s.[/quote]

Yes, that is the “San Onofre checkpoint” and it, along with the northbound “Rainbow checkpoint” on I-15 are much more sophisticated in that they have computers which can quickly scan front license plates passing thru and detain those that are on law enforcement “hotlists,” wanted lists and AMBER alerts. Both have been in place for at least 35 years (although not as efficient as today).

I’m sure “racial profiling” occurs on these checkpoints (to some degree), likely mostly to the drivers/passengers of those vehicles bearing Baja plates and other Mexican plates.

The checkpoints along I-8 and I-10 are “makeshift” and entirely portable, without all the sophisticated equipment of the I-5/I-15 checkpoints. In addition, they are typically situated in the middle of nowhere.

If you travel months apart, you may notice that one or more of these east/west checkpoints along the SW border have “moved” miles down the road.

[Author]

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