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bearishgurl
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi] . . . If they price it high, they will not get an all cash offer from a flipper.
Now is a great time to sell. Take advantage.
If a 1 story house, even better[/quote]Um, brian? If they “price it high” and it isn’t worth that much due to the amount of work it needs, it will languish on the market, sans offers. If this happens, these “sellers” will deplete their savings while living in the (expensive) bay area in attempting to keep up with their PITI/HOA? obligations in SD so as not to damage their credit. Even a tenant will not pay top dollar for rent for a run-down house, NOR will they pay a security/cleaning deposit for a rental house which is dirty … with dirty and/or torn carpeting.Trump’s “Art of the Deal” doesn’t apply to this particular Joe and Suzy 6p. They purchased their home near the top of the market and may have already accepted a job offer over 500 miles away and need to get their sh!t together ASAP.
OP, why don’t you chime in here again and tell us why you are moving to the bay area and what part of the bay area you hope to move to?
Participant[quote=moneymaker]Fixing it up will get you a higher price. I personally think it is a waste for the sellers to put in new turf and the buyers rip it out to xeriscape, but hey it creates jobs right! Also putting in beautiful laminate only to have owners rip it out later (happened to me) is somehow just wrong or so it seems. I’ve seen where spending 5k can get you 20k more but one never knows. Banks never put money into a house they sold, but I have seen dumps fixed up really well and if it was my neighborhood that would be want I would want you to do. Personally I would do everything except the kitchen, people are just to hard to predict in what they want for a room that most don’t even end up using much.[/quote]Good advice, MM. They will probably need to pay to have the carpet replaced, as well, since that is the cheapest way to cover the subfloor/slab.
It’s none of their concern what their new buyers do (or don’t do) to the place after it is sold. The goal is to attract a qualified buyer who will pay the highest price they can get.
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi]BG, in a tight market, there’s not much competition.
Like if you want to buy a good used Honda or Toyota. You have to pretty much pay the asking price.
PQ is a good area. As a seller, I would hold firm on price.[/quote]
I agree. I think the OP should hold firm on price but at the same time, NOT create issues with buyers causing them to pass on making an offer due to obvious dirt, mold, grease, etc. There are two co-owners here! That’s TWO ADULTS who can spend 60-80 hours over the course of a month or two readying the place for sale so it will get a quick offer they will accept and they can move on down the road.
If they don’t do the stuff themselves which just require cleaning supplies, paint, spackling, small hardware, small (or rented) tools, etc., they’re leaving wa-a-a-a-y too much money on the table, IMO. If they just want to walk away after living in it for 8 years (part of the time with young children) and doing nothing to it (like tenants who don’t care if they lose their security deposit), the only type of buyer they’re going to attract is a potential flipper, who will not offer them anywhere NEAR the money they need to come out of this deal with some equity in their pockets. But it will likely be an all-cash offer and will close fast. If that scenario is okay with them, it’s okay with me 🙂
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=bearishgurl]
For now, my internet cable is strung up on poles and works just fine :=)[/quote]Yeah, cox and time warner have been promising double the speed for free for more than 2 years now, but why should they if they have a captive audience?
In my area TWC went all digital TV, but so far no internet improvement. In the past slow internet for browsing was fine. We now need faster for steaming.
I think companies should be able to have variable pricing based on distance and distribution costs. More in line with real economics.[/quote]I got a letter from Cox last December that they were going all digital in the 3rd week of Feb (next week) in my area. It offered me one tiny 4″ box for free for one year for a secondary, older CRT TV in my home (there are still a lot of these around here due to a high senior-citizen population.) Instead, I just returned my advanced cable box to them over a month ago and no longer get hi-def svc. I suspect that after next week, I won’t get any channels at all. Cox will no longer pay a worker to climb up and down poles to turn on/off service or channels in individual houses. Everything will now be controlled by a box owned by Cox and that’s the way they like it :=0
I could care less. I have found that I can just wait 8 days (1 week and 1 day after the original broadcast) to watch my fav documentaries (20/20 or 60 mins) online on their respective network’s websites. I like this method better because I don’t have to watch the segments I’m not interested in OR the commercials, since both shows typically have 2-3 segments in their one-hour time slot. I won’t be signing back up for TV service because I don’t watch TV and my youngest kid (who was a heavy DVR user) is gone.
I’m happy with the “Preferred” speed of cable internet service.
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi]New developments (suburban or condo/apartment complexes ) are best to lay fiber.
No so much in rural areas where target shooting don’t bother the neighbors.[/quote]I can’t imagine that we’re going to get Scroogle Fibber anytime soon in (urban) dtn Chula Vista. We’ll be lucky to get buried SDGE cable in my lifetime, eliminating constant 6-8 hr power outages during high-usage A/C days.For now, my internet cable is strung up on poles and works just fine :=)
Participant[quote=spdrun]Actually, dense urban areas are slow to get good Internet access. The easiest to wire are ‘burbs in non-union heavy states. Hence, things like Scroogle Fibber (misspelling deliberate) are brought to states like Misery and Takesass first.[/quote]
LOL, spdrun. When I was researching towns in the rockies to “retire” in, I noticed that many communities had only slo-o-o-w DSL to choose from. Especially those communities which were just 1-5 miles out of town or up on a mtn overlooking the town.I had DSL while working in an older office bldg in dtn SD and wouldn’t be happy with it in my home.
Participant[quote=LeavingSD]….My husband and I have decided to relocate to the bay area. We own a house in Penasquitos that we bought a little over 8 years ago. Probably the worst financial decision either of us have ever made (I found this site after that purchase). At this point, we have maybe 75-100k equity, but the house needs cosmetic work….[/quote]LeavingSD, except for carpeting, most of the work which you describe here that your house needs are actually (fairly inexpensive) DIY jobs (some with rented equipment). You won’t be able to recover the cost of having all that stuff professionally done in a place like PQ (esp older PQ on the NW side), and ESPecially if you bought in 2007-08.
You state you’re planning on renting in the bay area. I would definitely fix all the obvious cosmetic problems before marketing my property if I were you to get the highest possible price for your property before you leave. You’re going to need that money because rentals are very expensive in the bay area … even those which are more than 30 miles from SF.
You will likely have some well-maintained and newly flipped properties for “competition.” For example, if you have greasy, worn cabinet door and drawer fronts in your kitchen, you can take those doors off and drawers out and sand them and re-stain and varnish them. You will need to move out your appls (if necessary) and clean your kitchen and baths thoroughly before putting it on the market. You can also rent a carpet cleaner (or just replace the carpet). You can rent scaffolding (if necessary) to paint the interior and exterior of your house.
It sounds like you may have purchased your house with cosmetic defects and never fixed them or maintained your home properly during your 8+ year period of ownership. You will have to pay for any termite tenting or remedial work on it in escrow, which could cost +/-$2K.
I’m sure you know that closer-in homes in the bay area, in general, are older than those in PQ (SD) and need constant maintenance and replacements should you ever decide to make offers on homes up there.
From the sound of your OP, it seems as if you guys aren’t cut out for homeownership. Either you don’t have the wherewithal or patience for DIY, or both. Hiring a “professional” for every single little task which you can easily do yourself is very, very cost prohibitive for the average homeowner.
I am a single female who has owned several homes in SD County in the last ~35 years, both with a co-owner and without. And yes, I do most of my own work myself and have raised kids (even while babies/toddlers) while DIYing and holding down a FT job myself :=0 So I know this can be done.
Participant[quote=treehugger]Spoke with another buddy who is trying to buy in Chula Vista or La Mesa area, he has put in 11 offers in the last few weeks.
I am so glad I am not looking to buy a house right now![/quote]It sounds to me like your “buddy” has been lowballing. After 11 offers, it seems to me that he should have had at least 4 counter offers and possibly 1-2 acceptances by now.
Either that, or his mortgage qualifcations aren’t the best.
There is a LOT of inventory in Chula Vista currently for sale (if you count the newish areas with MR/HOA). Perhaps he doesn’t want a property with MR/HOA? If so, then yes, current (SFR) inventory in CV will be limited for him, just like LM (which doesn’t have MR).
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi]Only a few special places like silicon valley, manhattan, london are such that people will do almost anything to live there.
They don’t live on large lots that you like. Plus they pay a lot to live in closets. Not a good lifestyle.[/quote]There ARE largish lots in SV. I just posted several listings here with 8500+ sf lots in Saratoga a few months ago. That’s not the only town with larger-than standard lots. Campbell and SJ have a lot of them as well as a few other cities. There is nothing (physically) “special” about SV cities (except a plethora of high-paying jobs). At least not any more “special” or charming than cities in any other CA coastal county. Yes, the huge open spaces, parkland and trails surrounding both sides of the Santa Cruz range is fantastic but no one actually lives there. Wise planning decisions by past SC and SM County leaders made sure of that. These past decisions are the sole reason for the excellent quality of life residents of the SV have today, IMO.
Even East Bay (Alameda County) is not overbuilt in the cities adjacent to and nearby the SM and Dumbarton bridges (leading into SV). All its parkland set aside in the middle of the last century is still parkland today. For example, Fremont, Milbrae, Hayward and Castro Valley’s housing stock is mature. The older tract home subdivisions in these cities are nothing “special” (although some have views of the bay and surrounding hills). I’m sure these cities could use more housing, but guess what? They haven’t approved any large new subdivisions in decades! They’ve decided against them because they don’t want the QOL ruined for their existing residents, DUH … yes, even if “people” are still transferring to SV for jobs.
Ditto for the wise stewards of LA County and its cities.
“People” (aka “newbies in town”) are most certainly free to buy or rent what is already on offer in a coveted CA coastal county. If “people” don’t like that, they are free to vote with their feet (and decline any SV jobs on offer to them). It’s a free country and CA coastal cities/counties owe them nothing. It’s as it should be in most of the bay area. However, nearly ALL SD County’s leaders felt a compelling need to begin selling out to Big Development beginning about 28-29 years ago, depending on jurisdiction. In doing so, they sold their existing residents’ QOL down the river in the process and the damage is now done, which we ALL must now live with.
That’s the difference between wise city/county stewardship (with foresight) and greedy, corrupt city/county “leadership.”
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=bearishgurl]
I don’t believe that the use of ibuprofen or naproxen leads to opioid abuse.[/quote]
Maybe not direct link.
But the habit of a remedy for normal ailments cause us to have weak mind and to seek pills for everything.
Pain is the body’s way of telling us something.
I just hate it that parents spend so much money for cold remedy for their kids… They don’t solve anything, just mask the symptoms and begins the slippery slope to addiction.
I have watched boyfriends and girlfriends who bring $30 to $50 worth of remedies to their loved ones at the littlest sign of sickness, as way to show they care. What a waste of money and enabling of doping habits. Our society has a propensity to doping and believing in magic pills.[/quote]There is no cure for a cold but it is handy to have cough syrup and a decongestant on hand to get thru your day. Both of those things really work! Plain aspirin lowers body temperature. As far as all that other stuff, no, I would not buy $30 worth of stuff for a common cold. Having a vaporizer to sleep next to is the most helpful thing to use to ease ones’ symptoms and get some rest. I always keep simple cold fixes on hand to use if/when the need for them arises.
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=bearishgurl]Interesting videos on this link related to opioid addiction:
I knew heredity played a role in alcoholism but wasn’t aware it did in opioid addiction.[/quote]
yeah, but we shouldn’t enable the susceptible.
Why do we have pain? Because we are obese. And in young people, we stress one time sport performance over long term health and endurance.
Plus, I believe that the easy availability of over the counter pills is enabling us to prescription strength later on.
When I go to Costco and see people buy monster bottles of OTC pain medication, I’m like…. “there goes another life”. I would not need that much in my own lifetime!![/quote]Overuse of ibuprofen can lead to liver damage. Not sure how much per day/week constitutes “overuse” but I am careful. I DO need to use it but not regularly. Only after sessions at the gym where I have increased my weights.
I don’t believe that the use of ibuprofen or naproxen leads to opioid abuse.
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi]BG, sorry to say but household pets are not environmentally friendly. They are the invaders. And I say that as a dog lover.
It’s build out or build up. We need dwellings for people to live in.[/quote]
I have never subscribed to the “Build ’em and they will come,” mentality. SD County doesn’t “need” any more housing. We HAVE existing housing to choose from. We HAD enough existing housing to choose from around 1990-1992. Had all the jurisdictions in the county stopped building at that time, SD County residents would have a lot better quality of life today, IMO.If SD County’s rents become too high for our “service sector” employees to live in, there is always a lesser-desirable suburb (such as EC), a relative’s back bdrm … or Mexico (unlike our coastal counties to the north, there is that choice here).
What’s wrong with, “Don’t build ’em and they will come anyway and accept whatever existing housing is on offer.” Isn’t that what’s happening in SV? Doesn’t SV have plenty of service sector jobs? Why do we need to “build” for everyone who thinks they want to live here, regardless of their ability to afford it?
ParticipantInteresting videos on this link related to opioid addiction:
I knew heredity played a role in alcoholism but wasn’t aware it did in opioid addiction.
Participant[quote=ucodegen][quote=bearishgurl]These unwise choices have caused the coyote population living out there to run scared into town. By the time they are able to successfully sprint into my (urban) area 9-10 miles west (near SD Bay), they are emaciated, thirsty and starving. Several small pets of my neighbors have been killed while in their front yards … even tied up (one small dog was killed right in front of its owner)! I’ve helped their distraught owners transport and bury three of these pet bodies where there was just basically eyes, spine and a few entrials left, if that. It’s really sad that Big Development has been allowed to essentially destroy the habitat of these wild animals only to add to the headaches and congestion of the area with overbuilding.[/quote] While Big Development may contribute to the problem, homeowners have also contributed as well as the legislature. Dog food dishes left outside overnight with food in it, uncontrolled trash, leaving little dogs/cats outside overnight (little dog = Chicken McNugget to a coyote). The other problem is that people like to see deer and try to entice them closer to their property. The coyotes follow the deer as well as other wild animals. The final thing that has contributed is that coyotes no longer fear man – in part due to laws now in place. We are not legally allowed to take action against coyotes on or around our property (as if coyotes don’t learn and adapt).[/quote]Yes, uco, one of my neighbors who lost their beloved cat to a coyote had cat food sitting out on their front porch for years …. but no more.
My point was that City should have stuck it to Big Development with a requirement for a years-long, invasive EIR BEFORE issuing subdivision permits for this HUGE swath of former “open space” which is literally backed right up to the mountains and countryside of SE SD County. The results of this would have surely caused them to severely downscale or reject outright the vast majority of Big D’s plans. We as urban dwellers of SAME CITY (8.5 to 12 miles away from this sorry a$$ over-development) should NOT have to suffer the ill effects of this poorly-planned debacle since we have not chosen to relocate there.
Instead, our (former) Council chose to roll around in the sheets with Big Development for YEARS all the while with stars in their eyes and dreaming of a massive increase in property tax coffers. Their successors, now forced to sleep in that same bed, know exactly how well that worked out for them … and how it affected the service levels of ALL city residents, since they now have LESS employees at this VERY late date to serve MORE residents :=0
In fact, City had no business whatsoever annexing county land to begin with into what is now 91914 and 91915. It heavily impacted the quality of life for existing residents to their detriment.
Ahhh, yes, back in 1982, the CA Legislature sanctioned our Council and Big D to share the same bed, blankets, sheets and pillows in the form of:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mello-Roos
I’ve posted here before that Sen. Henry Mello has to be rolling in his grave with disgust and disbelief of how his signature MR Act has been used and abused by CA counties and municipalities over the years as a vehicle to destroy every inch of open space wild animal habitat even remotely “close” (1-3 hours away) from job centers!
In our case, these wild, starving coyotes have had to traverse 9 miles or more over/under 2-3 FREEWAYS, as well as thru large culverts and drainage canals (both dirt and concrete) to end up sprinting emaciated into downtown Chula Vista in “attack-mode search” of a random small dog or cat to “snack on” for their very survival.
My area was first developed 80-90 years ago and we’re not in a fire zone or on the edge of development in any way, shape or form. Unlike new-construction buyers, we urban residents didn’t sign up for this (or “deer watching”) and don’t deserve our security and peaceful existence compromised in this fashion. I have small pet(s) and it’s a frightening thought that my dog could be fatally attacked in a split second while walking on a leash next to me.
I’m glad to see that Big D has finally seen fit to leave town but the damage is already done. None of this had to happen and we have only our corrupt (former) leadership to thank for it (most of whom are now undoubtedly collecting public pensions, if qualified).
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