[Gone to Colorado]

PD I am one of those O5s you describe in your post. We are moving back to San Diego this summer. The only way I (and most of my fellow officers) will pay more is for the privilege of living somewhere where we can bike or walk to work, i.e. Coronado, Point Loma, etc. Other costs like car insurance and gasoline are far lower and partially compensate for the increased rent. However, having children frequently causes us to rule out the smaller living arrangements of houses and condos in Coronado.

My intent is to pay up to $2800 a month to live in Coronado, which is more than the monthly allowance. Any higher and we will live off the island and go with the commute.

I agree that officers as a group will balk at higher rents. My question is this: Are we recognized by landlords as reliable renters because of our secure jobs and other factors? I ask because for most of my career this was the impression I got. In the late 90’s, I sensed a shift toward civilians who were making six figure incomes in tech. We were turned down for a rental in Coronado in Nov 2000 in favor of a couple who had better-paying jobs in the tech sector. Within a year, they broke their lease and moved out (perhaps because of the tech crash?), while we did not leave Coronado until mid-2002. After four years, I get the impression that things may once again be favorable to military renters. Opinions?

[Gone to Colorado]

How about paying cash for a house, rather than getting a mortgage? At the rate things are going, this will become a possibility in the U.S, maybe even in San Diego.

[Gone to Colorado]

Funny, I also bought GLD, on April 11th to be exact, and am scratching my head wondering why it went up so much. But it behaved as I suspected it would. The question now is: how long to hang on.

A previous post said that the price of gold is a reflection of the value of the dollar. If this is the case, why isn’t the dollar falling proportionally to the Euro, Yen and Pound?

I am at a loss for an explanation but propose the following theory: The price of gold may be a reflection of percieved government printing press activity.

To tie this back into real estate, which is the theme of this outstanding web site, those who are able to make money in gold over the next several years (assuming it goes up) may be in a position to pay cash for a house in San Diego.

[Gone to Colorado]

17-foot U-Haul truck:

Colorado Springs to San Diego – $599
San Diego to Colorado Springs – $1266

[Gone to Colorado]

Above comments jibe with my anecdotal evidence. Sister-in-law sold her house in a somewhat upscale suburb of Denver called Westminster in 2001 and did very well. Unfortunately, she bought in Boulder County shortly thereafter and is now down about $100k.

Denver has a disproportionate number of federal civil servants and contractors relative to other metro areas its size. When the federal government is finally forced to cut spending, Denver will get hit even more. Nice area in many ways, but like San Diego, real estate there is declining.

We just closed on our house in the Springs and got what I thought was a fair price, no more and no less. Plus it sold in less than a month and averaged one showing a day. Unlike Denver though, I’m not seeing any evidence of a decline, although it will eventually come. With all the Army and Homeland Defense coming here, we might be one of the last areas to fall. But I can’t help thinking that the peak in Colorado Springs is happening right now.

The guy who bought the house is from Las Vegas and apparently made alot of money on his house there.

Considering we had the house for less than three years, we did ok. The little bit we made just might end up in a down payment for something in San Diego, although not for a long time. We want to see at least a 40% drop before jumping in.

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