[CA renter]

Thanks, Brian!

Through my searches, I had come up with 4591 Orchard Ave. Forgot that Hatfield had mentioned that this was the next-door neighbor.

Even if the house was bought decades ago, don’t you think that an $80,000 valuation seems WAY below value, even if the assessment had just gone up by 2% each year? I’ve seen a lot of houses that were purchased way back when (including my MIL’s house that was purchased by her parents), but have not seen a valuation that low for a home in an area like this. They also updated the owner’s name, so I’m wondering why the amount doesn’t match up. And the sale price of $480K looks VERY shady.

Either way, I think Hatfield is on to something here. I’m glad he’s decided to look into it further. I will do whatever I can to help, too.

[CA renter]

[quote=FlyerInHi]Very few coops in California.

Coops are actually better, property tax wise, because you’re buying shares in a corporation so there should not be a reassessment. Not sure if the HOA sends a separate bill for taxes or the $6XX includes taxes.

$6XX HOA is pretty good. Includes interior plumbing and electrical repairs, low internet cost, and replacement of appliances every 10 years (there’s upgrade fee for premium appliances). Shuttle buses to the mall and to John Wayne airport.

My cousin’s condo is just like this one, but her building is a 2 story. It tripled in value since the bottom. But it did need remodel.
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Laguna-Woods/2401-Via-Mariposa-W-92637/unit-2-D/home/5294579

Incidentally, there was a study of people who live in Laguna Woods. They are very long living people compared to the general population. There’s a funeral home and a hospital just outside the gates.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/living-to-90-and-beyond/
http://www.mind.uci.edu/research/90plus-study/%5B/quote%5D

Your cousin did very well, Brian. Agree that Leisure World is a very nice place to retire.

[CA renter]

The reading comprehension attack is thrown out there when you make it clear that you aren’t comprehending what is written (it’s either that, or you’re trolling).

[CA renter]

[quote=no_such_reality]

While Vegas may be an outlier, the main point the author was making was highlighting the disdain that has arisen in our society for blue collar work.

Most of SoCal has a huge no traditional income market There are a lot of people making a lot of money doing neither white collar nor blue collar work and it isn’t all illicit

Overall I think the authors quote of the colleague terming the service job survival job how disconnected the disdain much of the educational system has for the real world. How likely is it that the one school the author is at has more grad students in her field than the state of Nevada is going to hire in the next decade? That is the reality I see when I see classrooms Kids chasing the dream with a marginally better chance of realizing it than the kids on the basketball court chasing theirs

Yes STEm, I know, 90% of the kids aren’t doing STEM. The kids aren’t really in the schools getting educated. They checking of prerequisites to go apply for jobs.

Universities used to teach you to think. Now they teach you to follow the rules in the box. It gets better. We taking many of the service industries and now starting to wrap requirements around them to have BA degrees.[/quote]

The author was trying to highlight many different, but related, ideas. Yes, this disdain for blue-collar work is something that has bothered me tremendously for many, many years. Having worked in both blue and white collar jobs, I can say for a fact that one group is absolutely NOT superior to the other. As some of the commenters from the article mentioned, there are a large number of “average” Joes in blue collar jobs who can run rings around many of the high-society types, both intellectually and with respect to character and integrity.

As for the STEM degrees, only some of them are lucrative degrees/professions. I know more than a few scientists with PhDs (physicists, biochemists, etc.) who are making about as much as a plumber or electrician.

And if the other 90% of the students went into the STEM subjects, the pay there would go even lower! That’s why I’ve never understood why working types would want everyone to get those degrees. It makes sense that the PTB want it, because then they could have highly-educated worker-slaves with STEM degrees who would be forced to work for $10/hour, just like everyone else. Add to this the fact that India and China are churning out STEM majors every year (about a million every year from each country, IIRC), and the future doesn’t look so bright there, either.

Liberal Arts subjects were meant to teach people how to think, but we know how those degrees are viewed today.

[CA renter]

Thanks for the info, flu, I’ll check it out. I thought I had gotten addresses this way before. The notice on the site mentions the code listed above, so that’s why I thought something weird was going on with that.

[CA renter]

[quote=FlyerInHi]In relation to income, America used to have cheap housing pretty much across the board. Less so than before, but still very good compared to developed economies.

I think the key is just matching income to expenses, housing being the biggest.

If I were starting from nothing, I’d live in a warm climate big city with low housing costs. Houston, Dallas, Orlando, Atlanta, Vegas, Phoenix.

[quote=CA renter]
But I also agree with you that Vegas is a horrible, miserable, depressing place (just IMO). There is not enough money in the world to make me want to live there.[/quote]

That’s a very strong statement. I’ve been to many cities, and although I prefer some over others, I find that every place is beautiful is some way.[/quote]

I’ll admit my bias. My sister, who was homeless and dealing with drug and alcohol problems, moved to Vegas along with some other folks with many of the same problems. Everyone I’ve ever seen who goes there just spirals down…fast. Twenty Christmases ago, she ended up committing suicide by car.

Every time I go there, which is quite rare, I see all the same people. Get one block off the Strip and it’s a black hole of hopelessness and desperation stuck in the middle of the hot, dry, barren desert. It’s dirty, trashy, and full of down-on-their-luck people who are being exploited by rich, shady characters. Just a bad, bad vibe, IMHO.

[CA renter]

Just found some more info on the husband. Looks like he’s in the RE business, too, as a RE broker.

So, we have two people from the RE industry here. I wonder how they got the special property address designation that’s only supposed to be available to LEO and other public officials (who might be targeted by criminals).

The plot thickens!

[CA renter]

From what I can tell, that property is valued at just over $80,000 according to public records. Doesn’t sound right for a house in Pt. Loma/OB with an ocean view. Are you sure that the APN is correct?

If it is correct, the property address is not allowed to be shown according to California Government Code Section 6254.21, which protects public officials and appointees, including law enforcement. So, that’s an interesting tidbit.

The wife appears to be in the mortgage business, so I’m guessing the husband works in law enforcement or is a public official or appointee.

Not sure if this is the current owner (might not be updated information, depending on when the home was sold, and the amount doesn’t match up), or if it’s the original owner, in which case the price might make some sense…but not really. No, that still wouldn’t make sense.

If this is anything other than a small vacant lot behind some dumpsters in in a back alley with high-power tension lines running above it, it looks strangely suspicious.

If you can PM me the address, that might help.

[CA renter]

You know how I feel about speculation like that, so agree that he’s part of the problem. The sad part was that his whole life fell apart. Lost absolutely everything, including his family, car, house…everything.

Agree that he brought it on himself, though.

[CA renter]

[quote=FlyerInHi]Are the people who planned for peak oil bankrupt yet?[/quote]

(Not so) funny story…I knew a person who was a long-time commodities trader on Wall Street. He was convinced that Peak Oil was here, and he had spent a few years buying futures and rolling them forward from month to month, losing lots of money almost every single month. Highly leveraged, large positions, too. He was buying *hard* at the post-crisis top. Yes, he’s flat broke today. Pretty sad, actually.

[CA renter]

The really wealthy folks always manage to find nice places for themselves. It is an incredibly nice place.

[CA renter]

As for Cuba, I’m totally excited about this news. Decades ago, my mom used to go there quite a bit, before she became a U.S. citizen. She said it was one of the most beautiful places with some of the friendliest and warmest people one could ever hope to meet. My mom traveled a lot, so she had seen quite a few places; always spoke very highly of Cuba. I can’t wait to go!

I hope the Cuban people really benefit from this as well — all of the Cuban people.

[CA renter]

[quote=svelte]Sometimes I think the only reason this site exists is so that 15 of us can talk.[/quote]

This made me laugh. It’s probably true, but is that a bad thing? 🙂

[CA renter]

First, try to call the listing agent and ask them about why the home was sold for such a low price. If they refuse to tell you, or if the story is dodgy, it might be a good idea to look into the trustees of the parents’ estate, and also look into who the guardian of this man might be.

If you can’t get anywhere with this, it might be a good idea to report it to the California Department of Real Estate, at least for a start. After that, the police, though I’m not convinced they’ll do much. Definitely worth escalating this, IMO, because there is nothing worse than people taking advantage of those who have no means of defending themselves.

If you need help with any of this, please PM me. I will help in any way possible.

[CA renter]

[quote=spdrun]Maybe, but part of the implication is that there aren’t enough non-survival jobs, so people get pushed to survival jobs that pay decently.[/quote]

Agreed, and that’s why the article is so important — we really need to reevaluate the desire to push everyone into college, no matter what. As a parent, it’s depressing to read about all of the college graduates — of all kinds — who are struggling so much. If you read the (new) lawyer blogs and forums, the news there is just as bad. We are all forced into this race to the bottom, and too few people are even aware of it.

Just trying to point out what CE said so much better (my first post was not clear): Vegas is an outlier. Most service workers in the U.S. would struggle far more than those in Vegas. All the points mentioned by Brian and CE are valid.

But I also agree with you that Vegas is a horrible, miserable, depressing place (just IMO). There is not enough money in the world to make me want to live there.

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