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bearishgurl
Participant[quote=briansd1]Actually, economically, when a house sits empty it goes to waste. When a house is occupied, it provides value.[/quote]
I’ve seen plenty of “deadbeat homedebtors” with *newer luxury vehicles* who turned off their sprinkler systems years ago. On has 4’+ tall weeds in the backyard. Another has so much junk in the backyard you can’t walk back there (but a *newer* boat parked out front, carefully covered).
Go figure.
I had a friend who bought a SS two years ago who had to use two 32-foot-long dumpsters to rid himself of the remains of the junk left in the house, garage and cellar.
Time spent after work and wknds cleaning up – about 15 days. Cost for removal was over $3K. Kitchen was full of mold and appls were unusable so had to be gutted/removed.
Lot had multiple rusty dead appls parked on it and two abandoned motor vehicles with tags still on them. The gas/electric was turned off and the occupants were using propane lamps. It was absolutely disgusting.
I’m sure SDR can relate to this scenario.
And all this was BEFORE my friend started spending money on extermination, rehab and remodel!
Tenants (who were deadbeat sellers’ relatives) moved out immediately before closing, taking only their clothes and personal items. Sellers had to stand over them and force the issue or it wouldn’t close.
I’ve seen a LOT of OCCUPIED properties go to waste in my day.
Participant[quote=Jazzman][quote=bearishgurl]Jazzman, the coming “retirement” you have planned for yourselves sounds absolutely extraordinary![/quote]
If you consider my wife waited 15 years to get her green card to be with her family in her old age, you’ll realize the decision to leave was not taken lightly. We felt that strongly about it. Having seen dozens of homes, the reaction was nearly always YMBJ if you think we’re going to pay that. Are we better off than most? Yes, so we shouldn’t whine, but our “retirement plan” had to offset the heartache and disappointment my wife felt. It’s nothing personal against California. My home town of London is a lost cause, with tens of thousands of potential buyers probably permanently priced out, and if you dig around enough you’ll find the deep seated frustration that still consumes so many. It makes you wish there was something you could do to help. But then I suppose, many parts of the world would scoff at our pleading poverty.[/quote]Jazzman, you might want to look into Continental vouchers from Honolulu to LAX/SAN so you and/or your spouse can visit her family in SD more economically. She may have used them in the past. They used to have them in the ’80’s/’90’s and at that time they were available for purchase in bundles of 3, 6, 9 or 12 (connecting to Cont’l Air Micronesia, if needed). They may only fly from HNL to SAN 2-3 times per wk but fly to LAX 1-2 times per day.
The way they used to work is one voucher is good for ONE leg in the “Pacific Theatre”:
A “leg” consisted of a one-way ticket to/from:
* HNL to CONUS (CA, Portland, Seattle)
* HNL to PPG (American Samoa)
* HNL to Guam (GUM – Hub)
* PPG to Sydney (SYD)
* PPG to Brisbane (BNE)
* PPG to Melbourne (MEL)
* PPG to Christchurch (CHC)
* GUM to Manila (MNL)
* GUM to Micronesia (KSA, PNI, YAP)
* GUM to the Carolines (KOR)
* GUM to the Marshall Islands (MAJ)
These vouchers were often used by US military personnel and their families to return home on leave when they could not catch a timely EML flight (military MWR flight).
With the recent Cont’l merger w/United, not sure about the routing now.
Also, Hawaiian Air often has good RT deals from HNL to CONUS and back. They are much better prices than the reverse (where a huge captive audience exists to pay more) :={.
I think you did fine, Jazzman. Personally, I’d rather have the homes you bought in HI and abroad and visit family :=].
March 30, 2012 at 12:01 PM in reply to: OT – Who will run for President on the Republican side? #740831ParticipantI agree with markmax in that the fat lady hasn’t finished singing here yet.
I’ve seen underdogs pull out of gopher holes for air more than once in my lifetime. They usually do it when no one is paying attention.
Participant[quote=svelte][quote=sdrealtor]I looked at those pictures and two thoughts came to mind. First was that of pouring money down a hole in the ground. Second was why dont they make then like they do in Chula Vista with long tunnels and light rail transportation for 3 ft by 3 ft bales.[/quote]
Classic![/quote]
svelte, even YOU know that there were never any 4+ mile-long tunnels to the bottom of Chula Vista (north side of Main Street/Otay Valley Rd), having lived around there yourself!
They were dug into warehouses in an industrial area which sit on or a stone’s throw from the Otay Mesa border crossing.
Chula Vista and Otay Mesa are two completely different animals. sdr doesn’t know that because he’s only gotten off the fwy once or twice there to have a sandwich with his biker buddies.
Participant[quote=briansd1] . . . BG has a problem with the “teaser” prices of short sales, but I don’t see a problem with them. There are issues with wait and the work involved with short sales, so the banks should be thankful they don’t have to deal with them.[/quote]
brian, as you know the wait for approval is so long on many of these transactions that often the aggrieved lender could have foreclosed several times over by the time the transaction closes (IF it closes). Instead these idiot lenders choose to let the defaulted mortgage balance, fees and deferred interest (if applicable) pile up month after month while their opportunist-trustor lives for free with their paid-for luxury vehicles sitting in the driveway and lets the property go to waste.
The first WINNERS of this game are the RE brokers/agents and other ancillary RE svcs making commissions and fees. (I’m NOT saying they don’t deserve it.) The other WINNERS are the deadbeat homedebtors who get to keep their equity they extracted and whatever else they bought with it. (I AM saying they don’t deserve it.)
The LOSERS are all other surrounding property owners and US taxpayers, including our children who have not yet become old enough to pay taxes.
Lender malaise is at the root of this problem.
Participant[quote=sdrealtor]Sounds good to me and Lizards make fine pets.[/quote]
As you well know, ’tis a fact of life that we have to accept lizards in our midst when we want square footage that cannot be had in older, more established areas for anywhere near the same price (IF available at all) ;=]
Participant[quote=Essbee][quote=bearishgurl]I understand from your post that you had two additions to your family while living in your last house. I personally don’t see SFR’s in SD County going up appreciably (if at all) in the next two years. I also don’t see a big mtg interest-rate spike in the next two years but I could be wrong on this :={
Thanks for any insight you can shed here![/quote]
OK, why not?
Recently sold for $560K
SFR, 3 bdrm/2.5 bath, 2 car gar, 2 story
1800 sf
10000 sf lot
30 years old
7 miles from workRecently bought for $800K
SFR, 6 bdrm/4.5 bath, 3 car gar, 2 story
3800 sf
7000? sf lot (can’t remember exactly)
9 years old
16 miles from workI will miss the 10000 sf lot on the first house, which is quite lovely and certainly helped it maintain its value, but the overall feel of the neighborhood, etc, is much better for house #2.
(P.S. The “man/woman cave” (exercise room) is going to be in house #2.)[/quote]
Thanks, Essbee. Congratulations on your new purchase!
Often, buyers “state” they want to “move up” but in reality they instead end up paying a LOT more $$ for about the same size house & MUCH less lot in an inferior location to the old one, just to get newer construction. It seems here that you really did “move up” size-wise. That’s a HUGE house that should last you a VERY long time (no matter how big your family or extended family becomes)!
Due to the fact that 3800 sf homes are VERY hard to find at ANY price range in 30+ yo (or even 20+ yo) neighborhoods in SD Co (ESP under $1M), you likely would not have been able to find that type of home in more convenient older areas in your price range.
And because of the big price difference between your old and new home, we can now see why you wanted to get in ASAP at the very lowest possible interest rate.
You didn’t do too bad commute-wise for the size tradeoff, either. Would you say it’s an additional 15-20 mins each way?
Participant[quote=sdrealtor]I looked at those pictures and two thoughts came to mind. First was that of pouring money down a hole in the ground. Second was why dont they make then like they do in Chula Vista with long tunnels and light rail transportation for 3 ft by 3 ft bales.[/quote]
My neighbors to the south “Otay Mesa” (SD) are now being all but ignored by the PTB and are using their engineering skills to the max because they CAN!
There’s only so many active DEA/NTF left in their *new* HQ smack in the middle of Nirvana where they can keep a sharp eye on what goes on daily “above-ground” over there and on what is growing in those remaining troublesome “greenhouses” between all the “poinsettias” and other “flowers.” Now that all those former agents with a l-o-o-ong memory have begun their “cushy” public retirement whilst kicking sdr’s a$$ weekly on the golf course, there are far fewer left to monitor potential “tunnels” from 45 mi away :=[
sdr, why don’t you see if you can cull your friends and acquaintances in the “beautiful-people sector” to put a “well-educated volunteer group” together. You guys can give some “horticulture-engineering” classes to all those flower growers in Nirvana. Putting a few heads together, you might be able to devise some sort of underground conveyor-belt operation under those greenhouses to keep all those trays of ‘shrooms properly illuminated and in motion so as to keep them out of sight, out of mind of the PTB … just in case of a raid. When the PTB is constantly present at your front (and back) door, you really just never know what they’re up to :=D
edit: I forgot to mention those holdout trailer parks in Nirvana with the stash of 50-gal drums stored under a camper shell. This is ONE MORE pressing “patrol” issue that is taking away agents from the border area, allowing Otay Mesans to dig to their hearts content :=]
ParticipantJazzman, the coming “retirement” you have planned for yourselves sounds absolutely extraordinary!
Participant[quote=sdduuuude]I’d suggest a progressive dinner in SF. It’s the perfect place to do so.
A progressive dinner is where you have appetizer, main-course, and dessert at three different places. Make sure they are well-known for something in that category.
If you like, add a pre-dinner drink course and find a wine-bar or cocktail lounge before appetizers.
SF is a great place for this because you can make a nice, walkable progressive dinner.
This way you can mix it up a bit – go to a dive for appetizers and a nice place for dinner.
Take an hour for each course so you don’t get full…..[/quote]
This sounds interesting. I’m going to try something like this next time I go. I usually shop at Trader Joe’s in SOMA after I get in and “assess” the groceries and then “eat in” there b/c I have kids who live there. I’ve also BBQ’d there with kids’ friends (yes, there ARE BY’s in SF)!
I would prefer drinks at one place, then apps at another place, then maybe dessert at another place, then back “home” on the bus to some wine and/or coffee drink. I can’t eat a multiple-course meal and continue to climb steep hills to and from bus stops. And I wouldn’t want to park at a meter and then drink as a 2.5 mile drive “home” could take 40 mins (and lead straight thru an impromptu DUI checkpoint). And valet pkg is VERY expensive. :=[
Participant[quote=briansd1]There is a ready mix quarry in Grantville (or just east, depending how you define it). It will be developed like the quarries in Mission Valley and Mira Mesa.[/quote]
Of course. The quarry is in keeping with Grantville’s existing zoning.
Do you think tracts of SFR’s will be built in this area? If so, WHERE? And WHAT will they replace?
[quote=briansd1]Well, I know a guy who owns avocado groves inherited from his grandparents. He was in talks with major builders just before the recession.[/quote]
Are these groves in 92019? Does he still own them? If so, what happened to the talks he had with the builders??
[quote=briansd1][quote=bearishgurl]Actually, brian, the reverse is true. If you, as a developer, wish to redevelop infill lots with aging bldgs currently sitting on them, the world is your oyster (within the current zoning ordinances, of course)![/quote]bull… the permitting process is onerous, frustrating and costly. I know someone who had to do a “remodel” and replicate everything down the ugly rock facade of the 60s. Stupid and dumb.[/quote]
Actually, brian, remodeling is NOT treated the same by planning offices as *redevelopment,* ESP if the parcel(s) in question is already located in “redevelopment zones.” If there is an eyesore currently standing there, I’m sure you will find those same bureaucrats much more hospitable then they were with your “friend” (who sounds here as if his project may have been subject to CC&R’s).
[quote=briansd1][quote=bearishgurl]brian, I don’t think you know the what would have to happen for your “dream utopia” to be built in SoCal (which seems to be turning it in a massive Asian city). It appears you want to (1) repeal longtime state legislation; (2) change (relax) city/county ordinances; and (3) “upzone” wholesale entire swaths of desirable land in CA coastal counties.
Ain’t gonna happen.
[/quote]That’s why America is falling behind. We are not taking on big projects to modernize the country.
I mean look at those shacks in old areas of San Diego — rinky-dink heaters on the wall, no air-conditioning, creaky floors, bad plumbing and bad insulation. And you want Americans to pay a lot to live in those hell-holes, in the 21st century?….[/quote]
brian, after a landlord of an older SFR spends $4K+ on central air, another $2-3K to install A/C (if needed), all new copper piping ($4K), insulates top to bottom and side-to-side ($2K+) and perhaps even installs new vinyl windows ($5K) and an upgraded elec panel box ($1K+) on, say, a 55 yo 1400 sf rental house, how much do you think he/she will raise the rent??
Where will poor and moderate income tenants live if all the older rental stock of SFR’s in SoCal was upgraded in this way? Many can’t live in more modern apts due to pets, having more than 2 vehicles (more than 2 working adults) and needing ramps (have a disabled individual in the household).
I could understand how a free-and-clear owner might be able to do this and not raise the rent so much. But for an investor with a mtg, they will have to recoup most or all of the money they spent on rehab thru the rent for a period of time.
What you (and Hollywood?) are proposing here is to drive lower-income tenants out of town. If your gardener/hotel housekeeper/waiter etc has to drive 45+ miles to work one way, how much do you think the prices of the services they provide will go up for everyone?
Participant[quote=Essbee]Edited to add: I was trying to quote bearishgurl but failed miserably…. reminder to self: it’s “quote” not “reply”.
It’s a fair question. I do think that it was worth it for the following reasons:
1) if we had waited for the price of house #1 to go up (to get our equity out), house #2 would have likely gone up, too.
2) more importantly, we were worried about the interest rates going up in the next few years. that alone could have priced us out of house #2.
3) we want our kids to start school in the new neighborhood. They are 3 and 1, so school is still 2 years away.
and of course the irrational…
4) we were simply excited about the new house/neighborhood and didn’t feel like waiting several more years to move in.[/quote]I have a couple more questions, Essbee. I’m not the least bit interested in WHERE you sold and bought but more interested in WHAT you sold and WHAT you bought to replace it.
Here is an example:
Recently sold for $600K
SFR, 3 bdrm/2 bath, 2 car gar, 1 story
2150 sf
5500 sf lot
35 years old
8 miles from workRecently bought for $600K
SFR, 4 bdrm/2 bath, 3 car gar, 2 story
2350 sf
5000 sf lot
8 years old
17 miles from workThese examples are just made up (for format).
Please feel free to use round numbers for house sf and price sold or bought (for privacy purposes). Truly, I’m not interested in locating your transactions nor do I have the time.
I understand the reasons you put forth above (sort of) but am wondering what would compel someone to leave $75K? on the table when, from your posts on this thread and the “man-cave” thread, it appears you went to great lengths to remodel/improve your last property to your liking and then later decided to let it go and (literally) give away your hard-earned improvements to the buyer (along with most of the value of your downpayment).
I understand from your post that you had two additions to your family while living in your last house. I personally don’t see SFR’s in SD County going up appreciably (if at all) in the next two years. I also don’t see a big mtg interest-rate spike in the next two years but I could be wrong on this :={
Thanks for any insight you can shed here!
Participant[quote=AN][quote=bearishgurl]So what do you think of the outgrowth of Fresno and surrounds, AN? Does it appear “sustainable” to you? Has any of your spouse’s relatives commented on how the (surrounding) distressed properties affect their own values and/or on the displacement of all the families who have lost their homes?[/quote]
I have no problem with it and neither does my family members. They actually loved it, since they get to buy new big houses. Yes, seem perfectly sustainable to me. There’s vast amount of empty land there, flat and perfectly build-able. I think it’s a waste that it’s sitting there, unused. No, they don’t comment on the surrounding distress. If you ask them, of course they’ll say they’re not happy that they “lost” value in their house. But they all bought houses well within their means, so they’re going on with their lives. They have no plan in moving, so the paper lost will be a paper gain, but it doesn’t really matter to most (if not all) of them, since they have no plan on moving for a very very long time. Those who have the cash are loving the current distressed market. They can pick up rental property at $70k and rent it out for $1k/month. They’re building a nice little portfolio for themselves. Those “displaced” family end up renting in the same area, so they’re only displaced if you consider it as not owning. But they still have a similar roof over their head. They’re just renting that roof instead of owning it.[/quote]It seems that members of your spouse’s family sold or left their longtime “city” houses and moved out into the sprawl when newer development became available. Therefore, they must have gotten caught up in millenium-boom buying (since that’s when the majority of these tracts were built) and are underwater now.
You’re right, AN. If you can’t beat them, join them. I guess being able to buy cheap rental houses now lessens the sting of an unwise purchase on one’s residence years ago :=]
For your spouse’s relatives’ sake, I hope all the “shadow inventory” around Fresno is able to be absorbed in the coming years (gets transferred to stronger hands).
Participant[quote=pri_dk]Stressing over urban sprawl is a perfect example of a “first world problem.”[/quote]
You can be part of the problem or part of the solution. Which are YOU, pri_dk?
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