[Critter]

I agree with Equalizer. I had a friend moan about long-term cap gains in the neighborhood of $300K. I did the mental math and realized she had made a $1,700,000 profit, so I changed the subject.

In her case, complaining about cap gains was a way of telling me how wealthy she was. Then she made me pay for my own coffee! Dang!

[Critter]

“Perhaps the interest rate resent and the…” – that is a great typo!

[Critter]

Rich doesn’t just deserve a hand, he deserves a standing ovation for all the good info that he presented which convinced me to decide NOT to jump back into the market after my last home sale two years ago.

Due to Rich, I have saved at least $100,000 and plenty of headaches – I don’t stay awake at night wondering what I got myself into. I’ve also had a heck of a good time reading all these posts, most of which were written by people with rare intelligence.

Thank you, Rich!!! You have made ME rich!!!!

[Critter]

So, PS is BS, screen-name and otherwise. Thanks for giving us the backstory.

[Critter]

Solid? Did you mean soiled?

[Critter]

Or, someone could call PS to verify – her phone number is on her website. I’d ask sdr to do it, but he’s too busy arguing with Al Gore.

[Critter]

Cooprider, she used to post a lot and get quite strident when people disagreed with her. She started off with decent ideas but disintegrated over time – got quite upset when anyone had a different point of view, ESPECIALLY when they were right.

The classic “jump the shark” post is “S&P dropping to 600 by spring 07.” People keep bringing it back from the dead.

[Critter]

Wow – that’s quite a nastygram. She’s always been full of vitriol, but now she has gone TOO FAR.

[Critter]

Iniles, you crack me up!!

[Critter]

I’ve heard about another case where a couple was asked if “they were sure they could afford these homes” when they looked at a subdivision. This was back in the heyday of 2005 – they left being miffed at the sales rep, but looking back I think she did them a favor because now they may well have been upside down…

“If they could have been able to afford it” then.

Lesson is, don’t judge by appearances, today’s bum may be tomorrow’s millionaire. And vice-versa!

[Critter]

Dang! I should have read Rich’s post first. Comments on Lereah’s possible successors?

[Critter]

This Jason guy got burned twice – once by plummeting prices, the other by the fact that his “fallback position” of living in the place if he couldn’t sell it was against regulations – he was 37 and the condo complex was for people age 55 and over.

He’s a perfect example of a gluttonous specuvestor who still doesn’t see “his part” in the situation. Blaming the builder is BS. He should find the fault within himself and face the fact that he may have to wait 18 years to move in!

[Critter]

One part of Zillow that I frequently view is the Property Tax section. You can tell by the tax figure how long the house has been owned by the current owner. Also, when it states that “no sale data is available,” and this is coupled with an incredibly low tax rate, you can pretty much assume it’s either the original owner or someone pretty close to the original..

I also like the sales data section, specifically if the house has a had a lot of turnover. You can see if a series of flippers has been at work or, if the house is one of those cursed ones that people just don’t like to hold onto for more than a couple of years.

As far as the Zestimates are concerned, I routinely take 20% off the top. This is the shakiest part of their business model.

[Critter]

Does anyone know what difference a cash offer makes to the escrow process? Does it speed it up?

Why would a bank approval be necessary with a cash offer?

[Critter]

“she told me her home on Paseo Del Rey (east of 805/around H Street) was offered 1M to sell, but she refused…”

My parents sold their house in LA in November. They, too, got several over-the-top offers…. but when it came time to sign contracts, the potential buyers started mumbling about contigency sales, not being able to pull money out of the stock market, waiting until spring, etc.

My parents did sell to a committed buyer, but the “fluff” offers were annoying. Same as when people tell me their house could sell for XXX since their neighbor’s house just sold for XXY, “and they don’t even have granite countertops.”

Strange how you never hear “I’ll have to knock $50K off the asking price for that botched kitchen remodel I started last year.” Instead, they want to charge more for the “opportunity to put in your own touches!”

[Author]

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