[Critter]

This may sound strange, but one of the worst ways to justify asking for a raise is because you (or your wife) needs the money.

Raises should be granted because your work is stellar enough to warrant a wage hike. No one cares what you owe (similar to sellers who want to sell their homes for what they owe plus expenses, regardless of what the market will bear).

[Critter]

SDR – thanks for the info. My “around the water cooler” talk has had comments that so-and-so thought their house was sold, but then it fell out of escrow… and someone else chimes in that their friend’s house fell out escrow not once but twice.

May you live in interesting times!

[Critter]

SDR and sdr, are either of you able to track what percentage of pendings fall out of escrow? I keep hearing about lending standards tightening and people wanting to buy, signing a contract, and then not being able to finance through escrow (the lending terms changing with the buyer unable to come up with sufficient down payment or reserves – the mortgage brokers going bottom up – etc).

It used to be rare to fall out of escrow. Is that still the case?

[Critter]

Don’t forget Phoenix. I have a friend who bought two condos there. She lives here, has a property manager there, but still can’t keep them rented on a consistent basis – one was empty four months last year! That’s gotta hurt!

I’m hearing that Florida is getting slammed too, and Oregon / Washington are up next.

[Critter]

I love Ben’s blog, and remember this clown being pointed out earlier. He galled me then. The SD Creative Investor’s Club is a good place to find others who doing things you are leery of doing, and then watch them have problems instead of you having problems. It’s like financial virtual reality.

Thanks for the link!

[Critter]

And the LA Times, with more of a California slant:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-ex-homesales24apr25,0,2737622.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[Critter]

I consider myself a housing hibernator – not down on housing per se, just waiting for this “long winter of my discontent” to be over so I can make a purchase.

[Critter]

It rained last Friday, so the spring bounce has now been postponed until September.

I suppose the Chargers bombing out of their Super Bowl slot also depressed housing activity?

[Critter]

Daughter says of parents, “They weren’t bad people…. they weren’t crazy people….. and,

“the gun was not intended to be used in a violent way.”

Just for show? To get someone else to do the deed? And, with vacationers nearby who probably just wanted to “get away from it all.”

[Critter]

These homes still have to go through the escrow process, yes? I’m asking because I’ve heard that some escrows are dropping out due to the inability of the buyer to secure solid financing.

I would be interested to know if this is a problem mainly with resale homes, new homes, or both. Anyone have any first-hand info?

[Critter]

Thanks for the link, WH. What a great site – I can riffle through all the front pages and then go to the newstand to buy the real thing if necessary.

Saves a lot of time – “all the news that fits on an Internet page.”

[Critter]

Does anyone have experience with the “termite insurance” programs offered by Terminex et al? They charge a yearly fee and do inspections/fixes on a regular basis as part of that service. I was wondering if this annual, ongoing fee was worth it.

I have been stung badly by termite repair bills during escrow and wouldn’t want to go through that again! My case was a 80 year old “hacienda” aka shack.

[Critter]

Nice visual! But, I think Chrispy has a point (or two, or three).

[Critter]

Are you familiar with Mr. Brightside? His blog tracks the downtown condo market. Here’s the link:

http://sandiegomarketmonitor.blogspot.com/

[Critter]

Still on Ingraham, a very busy street often used as a major thoroughfare to get from PB to La Jolla or OB in the other direction.

The cross-street is Mancha, which is a mile from the ocean. The bay is much closer.

[Author]

Posts