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Flyer I appreciated your other design posts. “W Hotel” would not work in the rustic craftsman houses I own now, not at least without really complete remodels, but this condo is a 1960’s building where it would look great.

I enjoyed my stays at the W in SF and LA, as well as the lobby design in the San Diego location (never saw a room there). Also the Standard in LA. I especially like how high-end hotel bathrooms are often completely covered in marble.

It is on the top floor. I never heard of vinyl planks, looked them up, pretty interesting. Did you use the glueless interlocking ones or the traditional ones? I used 59c a square foot laminate planks from HD in my basement and it turned out great. No noise issues there.

$2 is not that much higher for something that looks better and lasts longer in a 900sq ft place, but it is starting to get close to the range of the cheapest hardwood. Is it pretty close to real wood on bare feet?

What do you think of floor colors? I have looked at pictures of renovated units in the building, and the ones with dark wood floors do not look good. I kind of like pale grey:

http://www.ahomegardenparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/of-light-wood-or-simulated-wood-floors-and-what-are-their-shortcomings-inside-the-most-wood-tile-floor-designs-1024×724.jpg

Do you have any suggestions on decorators, bathroom/kitchen contractors, and popcorn removers?

I can handle the painting and flooring myself with the help of family and some cheap general laborers. Seems like the asbestos in popcorn ceiling can be removed safely DIY, but probably not with it.

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–frankly, when hillary said people earning under 250k dont have to worry about getting their taxes raised, i was like, shit, we are well over 250.–

I might remember this wrong, but I think she means for a single filer. It would double for a married couple, so you are fine under 500. Or maybe with the marriage penalty only go up to 400, but still be way over 250.

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I did not worry about this one much, their positions are similar but Harris is going to win big regardless.

State attorney general is just better preparation for California U.S. Senator than congressperson from Orange County, one of 435. I trust the state-wide ticket that Jerry Brown has put together.

Sanchez would have done a fine job too however, so if I am wrong and she wins I am happy with that too.

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Measure A: No. Sales tax is regressive. Usage fees, gas taxes, property taxes, etc are all better ways to raise money.
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That was a tough one, but fundamentally I’d rather have better road infrastructure and transportation systems for people who cannot drive than not pay a fraction of a cent sales tax. That our infrastructure is better than similar cities is one of the reasons I like living here, and ultimately pays for itself.

Measure B: No. Although we have a housing shortage, Lilac Hills should go through the normal permitting process.
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Voted no for exact same reason. I am not qualified as a person an hour away who has never been there to be making these decisions. I’ll vote yes if the developer agrees to pay the full cost of upgrading the trolley line being built to go up to UTC to the Del Mar Racetrack. Try again next time with that.

Measure C and D: No and No. I don’t like either plan, and don’t care if the Chargers leave. Let billionaires pay for stadiums themselves.
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Again agree 100%. I would probably vote for a hotel tax increase just to upgrade the convention center to accommodate comic con and other giant conventions.

A new stadium would get us a single Superbowl that would probably be disruptive for residents not in the hospitality industry, but comic con is a boost to our economy every year without any strain on our infrastructure. It gives free-spending jet setters and their entourages and families an excuse to come to San Diego each summer.

Random city charter amendments:
No to all of these. They were all too petty to be placed on the ballot.

Measure N: Yes, let’s get some of that sweet weed money flowing into the city coffers! A great opportunity for me to support a new tax I won’t have to pay!
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Voted no, this is actually a measure by the dispensaries and other weed industry people to put a very low MAXIMUM tax on weed. Cigarettes prices are more than 50% tax, but this limits weed to a tiny fraction of that, 15%.

You really have to be pretty biased in favor of no on ballot measures. Even good ones, by voting yes, you encourage a whole bunch of bad ones on the next ballot.

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I’ve never regretted buying rustic or classic solid wood furniture.

If you are worried about damage from kids, buy already used and imperfect solid wood furniture for half the price or less. It may already have a nice coat of lacquer and you can refinish it if you want when the children are older.

The only time the look goes wrong is when it’s cluttered or crowded and with older carpet, then it looks like “grandma’s house.”

There are worse styles than “grandma’s house” but it is not something you aim for when buying new furniture.

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Buy this on Amazon then go to t mobile for a sim card and voice and text only no data plan.

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The reason the “average rent” data differs so much is that Rent Jungle looks at list prices, while USC-Lusk uses Census data, which of course includes things like granny flats that are not advertised and long-term renters with rents well below the market.

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The USC Lusk Center has a chart showing San Diego city rents rising from about $900 to 2003 to $1457 in 2015. That is a 62% increase over 12 years. Pretty good when you consider that period also included the longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression!

Excerpts from the Lusk center’s San Diego rent overview:

San Diego County has had one of the better performing economies in Southern California in recent years. The unemployment rate decreased to 5.2% last year, the lowest since 2007, as County wage and salary jobs grew by a solid 3.0%. …
Notably, the Manufacturing sector added jobs at more than double the statewide pace over the past year, a sign of that sector’s continued strength in the region. With sound economic fundamentals, San Diego County’s economy will expand over the next two years and the housing market will heat up with further increases in prices, sales, and rents. … the vacancy rate edged up from 4.6% in 2014 to 4.9%

The City of San Diego experienced the fastest growth in rental rates at 5.8% in 2015, slightly ahead of North San Diego County (5.1%) and well ahead of Chula Vista/National City (1.6%).

The lowest average vacancy rate was in the City of San Diego at 4.9%, followed by Chula Vista-National City at 5.8%, and North San Diego County at 6.5%.

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APC ones I had lasted about 5 years, with reduced performance toward the end.

–I think i need to get one with a pure sine wave, since because of computer’s power supply. —

The cheaper APC models work fine with all normal computers.

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I completely agree. The same trend of physical things becoming cheaper and better drives college tuition and medical care to keep rising faster than inflation.

—some cultures embrace multi generational housing arrangements—

This factor is negative for housing however, as “household formation” is a very strong driver of housing prices.

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My experience with Thunderbird is that it is like 8% worse than outlook all around.

It can be hard to beat free however.

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You should go back to using outlook.

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—Thoughts and strategies for putting offers in on these properties or just walk away and find a seller that has more realistic goals?—

The seller may not know the market as well as an active buyer, but he does know his house better than you do. I live in a 100 year old house with plumbing and electrical completely replaced about 10 years ago. That’s not something a buyer would see looking at my house a few similar ones, but it is something I am aware of and would price accordingly. When people do “comps” they look at basics like size, nothing that detailed.

I also know my house is more flood proofed than my neighbors because I did it myself. Short of close up pictures of the caulk and cement fill I used, there is no way to convey it. For the pipes, at least you can see the pretty gleaming copper. (Yes, it is ten years old and gleaming because I paid someone to clean and polish them where they are exposed 2 years ago, and they are still gleaming)

“We refuse to over pay for a home”

Casting a wide net over several large areas and being patient is the best way to get a deal, so you are doing this right.

But there are plenty of worse things than overpaying for a home. A distant relative overpaid for a house in North Park by maybe 10%, more than $50,000. But this was in 2011, so this “overpaying” for a house has resulted in a $150,000+ profit if they ever sell.

The house had some je ne sais pas elements that made it better than close comps in size, lot, condition. Not even close to $50,000 better however.

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The reason there is a shortage and some airlines are having to have pay packages of $500,000 for experienced pilots is getting the experience pays crap.

—Some U.S. regional airlines pay $25,000 or less, according to the Air Line Pilots Association, representing more than 52,000 pilots in the U.S. and Canada.—

I don’t think $25,000 is too common, but even at $40,000, you think paying back private flight lessons is going to be cheap or easy? Some newly licensed pilots cannot find any work. Airlines want documented flight hours, nobody wants a new pilot, and jet fuel is expensive.

But every airline with jumbo jets wants the same limited pool of ex USAF guys who’ve been flying since their teens and are now late 30’s to mid-40’s and have spotless records.

The situation is especially bad now because the people most in demand would have started around 1990-1995, when the airlines were going down the tubes and half or more filed for bankruptcy. Also a period of USAF cutting back because of the end of the Cold War and base realignment.

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OB is plenty affordable if you are willing to live small and throw away most of your junk. There is a 1-bed condo on Cape May 2 blocks from the ocean for sale for $300,000. You even get a pool and a parking spot!

Actually you don’t need to get rid of all your junk. My dorm room in school was 110 square feet. I did not feel especially crowded. The condo on Cape May is 640 sq ft.

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