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I think 75% is what you need to get the lowest cash out rate. Otherwise 80% works.

Getting rid of MI due to equity hitting 20% is a huge hassle, a refi is simpler.

And you should do so now, rates just dipped and you never know when standards, your income, or rates will change against you.

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Home Depot has some nice ones on display right when you walk in for well under $1000.

Has anyone considered this?

I could not find anything about needing a permit for a pergola that does not have any side walls in the sd city website. Also no records from people seeking permits.

I like the idea of a slatted one that has a semi clear top that blocks UV rays and most rain but allows half the light in. Together with the wood slats that would be a nice 75% shade.

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You should just buy now. In a year prices will be 10% higher, you will lose the mort int deduction, and be paying an extra 50,000 for the typical poway house.

Also moving is a huge hassle, doing it twice is even worse.

Instead of saving for a downpayment, get a 95% LTV loan and pay it down as fast as you can. When you hit 80%, you can either refi or cancel mortgage ins.

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This is true about state corp taxes. Other states are cheaper, but CA may still decide you owe later and demand back taxes with big penalties.

I don’t think trusts need to be incorporated but I could be wrong.

I don’t think you even want to consider this unless there is no mortage, no chance of getting one later or HELOC. It seems to be the thing to do for very rich people who want to hide assets and maximize privacy.

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Hope you have another 10% down in cash handy!

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http://sdheadliner.com/neighborhoods/ocean-levels-rise-drastically-overnight-mira-mesa-now-beachfront-property/

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My appraisel when I refi’d was absurdly low. Piggington shows a 10-15% increase from the bottom, but it came in at what I paid at the bottom, actually less when you account for renovations. Meanwhile smaller houses on smaller lots keep selling for 50k+ more than the appraisel. This could have been an issue if I were closer to 80% LTV.

Then there is the absurdity that appraisals on purchases always come in at exactly the purchase price. So if I had a buyer at the real market price, the same appraiser would have given a much different estimate.

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If you can do Vanguard instead of Fidelity, the fees taken out of your return will be much lower.

Vanguard is non-profit and charges the lowest fees almost everywhere it competes.

38 is a bit young to have no pure equity exposure.

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Prices right now seems to be about 10-15% higher than a year ago. I might be priced out of what I want, which is an updated 2 story with 2+ baths and a view on a full lot. Several of these sold for around 600-700 in 2011 to mid 2012. Now there are none on the market at this price and the closest are 800k+. 160k downpayment and then paying jumbo rates are beyond my budget.

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If you want to gamble on falling 30 year interest rates, there are easier and better ways than serial refis, like options contracts on 30 year treasuries or even easier an ultralong long bond ETF. You could even do this in an IRA and get the profits tax free.

Being stuck with a 4% mortagage when you could have locked in 3.25% is a huge loss to bear, especially if you like your place and want to stay. On a 500k loan that is an extra 3750 a year each and every year. So that is the risk you are taking on.

All that said, congrats to the poster who has cleared 25k doing this! I did the much milder version of buying and refi-ing with a .125% higher no closing cost rate.

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My rent was also never raised while in SD. Goes to show that dealing with people is better than the owners of big corporate complexes. They raise rent annually as much as they can.

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“Real-estate tax on either commercial or residential properties is essentially a regressive tax.”

That’s not right.

The following taxes are regressive:

Sales tax
Auto registration fees
Excise taxes (on alcohol, gas, tobacco)
Flat state fees (for driver licenses etc)
Flat “per property” assessments for special districts

The following taxes are mildly progressive:
Income
Residential property

The following taxes are very progressive:
Commercial property
Capital gains
Inheritance
Taxes on 2nd residential properties.

Businesses can only pass on increases in their “marginal” taxes. Commercial property taxes are not marginal. At worst, it will discourage investment in commercial property. Offsetting this, however, is that commercial property will become cheaper, facilitating new investments. People sitting on vacant commercial property that is taxed at 1% of a 1975 assessment may also decide to develop it rather than waiting around forever.

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Your assumption about the yield you’d get in a bond fund is wrong, aside from the tax issue.

The safe short-term bonds pay close to nothing, and the longer bonds could default.

Some of the return on this fund is simply the result of rates falling, making older bonds more attractive. But market interest rates can’t go down much further, short term rates are already 0.0 and 5-year rates below 1%.

The fund you linked to includes local bonds, and there have been a number of local defaults in the state lately. That doesn’t mean it is a bad investment, but you would only come out ahead by taking on this risk.

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I totally agree with CA renter, no reason to give commercial property the same low rate as residential. Even better most of this commercial property is owned by people out of state or out of country.

From the stats in the OP, CA taxes per person are only a little higher than Texas. We should do a better job if taxing large out of state corps and cutting the state personal income tax. 12% is just crazy. I pay over 50% marginal rate on much of my income being self employed.

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Thank you everyone for the replies!

I am building on the bottom of a sloped lot. I’d say front to back is about 12 feet sloped, so it seems like I might be able to do 36 feet high if the roof is measured from the midpoint. I don’t see the need for 4 floors or huge ceilings, but nice to know anyway.

Yes I’ve seen the alleys lined with 3 and 4 car garages and apartments underneath.

My zoning is r 2-4, lot is 6200, and current house is about 700 sq feet. That means I can actually build 2 more units for 3 total. Permitted sq feet is 6200 times .7 and parking must be 25% of that. Since I intend on living here I won’t be doing that. Probably if I sold my house that would be the logical thing for a developer to do, I don’t know there if there are people other than me that want such big house around here.

I don’t know if I can afford LEED but I do like the brick glass and wood look of such buildings. I also like some of the older 3 floor mission beach houses. The newer stucco and glass ones feel too modern and sterile.

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