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Military pensions are nowhere close to the “fat cat” pensions cops and firefighters get ($100k a year pensions often!). I know people who will have 25 years of service in the military as enlisted and only get $2,500/mo. To me that is reasonable. It’s the $100k+ cartoonish pensions many public workers are getting that are scandalous.

I’m not against pensions that are *self-sustaining* and do NOT draw on taxpayer money. I AM against *the taxpayer backstopping up pensions*. Many pensions assume a 7-8% return in order to make their promised payouts. When those returns don’t happen, the taxpayer has to come in and make up the difference. I have a 401k in the private sector…does the taxpayer back up my 401k if the market crashes??? NO! Of course not. I just have to live with less, that is my risk. So why the hell should we taxpayers back up public pensions???

Unions, collective bargaining and public pensions took a BIG hit last week with the elections in San Diego, San Jose and Wisconsin. The American people are sending a clear message now that it is being exposed how public pensions are ripping off the taxpayer and sucking the lifeblood out our schools, parks and cities to pay a few fat cat retirees their ridiculous pensions.

I would like to ask anyone who is pro “status quo” with the current pension set ups. What do you have against public employees having standard 401k’s like the private sector? What do you have against the taxpayer not backing up pension shortfalls?

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Gay Marriage = Non-issue. Should be legalized IMO.

I get so frustrated when the media & candidates waste so much time and energy on non-issues and get diverted off the real stuff that matters. Um Duh, can the candidates and the country talk about real sh*t that matters like the economy? Jobs? Quality of our schools?

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I think we missed the point with “occupy Wall Street”. We should have been “occupying” the pension management offices at city halls and state capitals across America, and in Wash DC.

End of story…everyone in the public sector should get a standard 401k just like the rest of us private sector schmucks (especially elected officials!). Any taxpayer backstopped pensions going forward should be gone forever, PERIOD.

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It’s like we don’t want anyone to feel any pain in this country anymore. We don’t want anyone to face any consequences for their bad decisions. It’s like we want to baby everyone and give them these never ending handouts. Real Estate is an asset, it goes up and down. When it goes down you should just have to live with those consequences.

When my dotcom stocks crashed in 2000, how come I wasn’t to get a “stock modification” from E*Trade for that asset????

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Bearishgirl…I’m happy to say I am 100% with you too and I agree with every word you said:)

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And have you heard the new thing that some deadbeat owners that haven’t paid their mortgage payments in 3 yrs and are doing short sales are now getting $30k-$40k checks from the lender for doing the short sale?

What a disgrace this all is. From the crazy loan mods to the principle reductions to the Robosigning settlement. And our CA attorney general Kamela Harris drinks the Kool Aid with the whole “homeowner victim” thing lock, stock and barrel. I can’t believe we are putting up with all this nonsense in this country. The Robosigning settlement was another big joke. No one ever mentioned in the national media that NO ONE WAS GETTING FORECLOSED UPON WHO WAS MAKING THEIR PAYMENTS!!!

For what 100 years in California if you missed payments for about 6 months, you home got auctioned at trustee sale and you got booted out of your home with no cash for keys, nuthin’! Why did that ever have to change???? Why did we ever have to even have all these garbage entitlement loan mods (which like 70% fail), principle reductions, letting people live in their house for 4 yrs not making a payment? For criss sakes we now have a housing shortage and people who are well qualified can’t even find a house to buy.

I know a guy that buys foreclosures at trustee sales. He is always amazed by the balls of the ex homeonwer who squatted for 3 yrs has no shame at all asking for $10k cash for keys. They have no shame at all. They know the drill. Total entitlement mentality we have created in this country with this garbage.

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So it looks like it ranges from about $70-$120 for SFR. I have a friend who owns a triplex with 3 small 1 bedroom apts (he pays water) and he just told me it’s $120-$140/mo…so $40-$45 for each unit.

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The other thing is unless a lot of these upgrades you have to put into it add to the market value of the property there isn’t a great return on your investment. It seems that roofs, plumbing, electrical, insulation, furnaces don’t give you that return ratio of getting $2 market value gain for every $1 invested. Where new kitchens, baths, paint, flooring, fixtures, can give you that $1=$2 gain.

I love the old houses and that area too, but I don’t love any piece of real estate enough to not get a decent return on my cash investment. That’s why it can be good to find a good deal on a short sale where the former owner sunk a ton of cash into it and did all these upgrades already.

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Thanks everyone for the excellent replies and advice. I guess it’s a matter of getting a super thorough inspection and penciling out how much everything is going to cost to fix and see if it’s worth it to me vis-a-vis the purchase price.

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Thanks I will take note of these. I imagine I’ll have to take a close look at the foundation too. Also it’s been recommended to have someone take a video of the sewer pipe. I really like this area and it’s where I want to live, I’m just concerned about getting myself into a bottomless money pit.

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That supply is likely deadbeat borrowers sitting in their homes for 3 years enjoying the life of no payments. Lot’s of supply just churning in the background. Waiting for their Government welfare in the form of loan mods or principle reductions.

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This is a very good question, especially if you are looking at buying rental houses in far flung Riverside County where houses are super cheap right now. Will people still rent in Hemet, Victorville, Temecula, Menifee, Desert Hot Springs with $6 a gallon gas? Will high gas prices depress rents?

That is a good point about poor people moving out of inner cities to suburbs in CA too. I know that a lot of lower income folks have moved out of LA to places like Moreno Valley, Victorville, Perris, etc… probably b/c of the lower rents and less crime (less crime for now at least). The whole idea that ghetto areas are more likely in inner cities has changed with the low income migrations out to Riverside and San Benardino Counties (and Lancaster/Palmdale part of LA County too).

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I agree with you sdrealtor on just going for it if something is fairly valued. However my thing is not wanting a “deal” at $50k less as in your example…for me it’s more looking back at what similar properties were going for back in 2009 or 2011…I’m just wanting that those prices, not less. I’m not wanting to pay 10-15% more than that those prior years, as I’ve seen some listings come on at in 2012.

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I’m looking to buy more investment property and the zips I watch are still WAY down in inventory from the last 3 yeas.

Also an anecdotal note is that almost every property I go and see has other buyers there looking at it. The last few years I almost never saw other buyers at properties. Some properties are like Grand Central Station!

I personally think the deals are the worst I’ve seen since the tax credit. But remember the tax credit caused a period of multiple offers and craziness, and then when it went away, prices dropped 10-15% in a lot of places. So if this really tight inventory situation goes away and more stuff comes on, maybe we will see something similar?

But it just feels like there is more demand right now. People are less fearful about jumping in, less fearful that that “other shoe” is still waiting to drop, the local economy appears to be improving and sellers seem a little cockier with price than I have seen. A bummer if you are a buyer looking for a deal.

I hear even Phoenix is WAY down in inventory and getting 20 offers on many properties.

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I’ll probably watch the Aztecs vs. Wyoming road game tonight at a local sports bar if any PIGGS want to join.

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