[kicksavedave]

What kind of jackass goes water skiing with a $20,000 watch on his wrist? We REALLY do need a change of values around here.

From Katrina victims wondering where their handout is, to FBs playing the victim card, to everyone and their dog selling their soul to every get rich quick vendor in sight, to Barry Bonds cheating his way to an all time record, Americans have lost the spirit that used to make this country so great. That is, we USED to work hard, save up, take risks and accept the consequences if our endeavors failed. We USED to do things for ourselves, instead of collectively holding our hands out, looking for someone else to do things for us. Nowadays we just want to know what the government will do to eliminate the effects of our own laziness and bad decisions.

Wasn’t it Jimmy Carter who once said that for the first time in America’s history, the majority of Americans think the next four years will be worse than the last four years? Man, our next four years (and the forty after that) are going to be rough.

[kicksavedave]

What kind of jackass goes water skiing with a $20,000 watch on his wrist? We REALLY do need a change of values around here.

From Katrina victims wondering where their handout is, to FBs playing the victim card, to everyone and their dog selling their soul to every get rich quick vendor in sight, to Barry Bonds cheating his way to an all time record, Americans have lost the spirit that used to make this country so great. That is, we USED to work hard, save up, take risks and accept the consequences if our endeavors failed. We USED to do things for ourselves, instead of collectively holding our hands out, looking for someone else to do things for us. Nowadays we just want to know what the government will do to eliminate the effects of our own laziness and bad decisions.

Wasn’t it Jimmy Carter who once said that for the first time in America’s history, the majority of Americans think the next four years will be worse than the last four years? Man, our next four years (and the forty after that) are going to be rough.

[kicksavedave]

Classic thread here… I love the caption on that last POS:

“Different part of the kitchen”…

Err, um, its the same part, just a slightly different angle. Should have simply said “different view of the garbage in the kitchen”

My personal favorite is 4 different pictures of someones bed, with virtually nothing else in the frame… as if seeing their kids bed will make me want to buy that POS house.

[kicksavedave]

Classic thread here… I love the caption on that last POS:

“Different part of the kitchen”…

Err, um, its the same part, just a slightly different angle. Should have simply said “different view of the garbage in the kitchen”

My personal favorite is 4 different pictures of someones bed, with virtually nothing else in the frame… as if seeing their kids bed will make me want to buy that POS house.

[kicksavedave]

2004 – 1200 sq ft 35 year old POS = $500K

2009 – 2500 sq ft brand new house = $500K

Same area, median unchanged.

[kicksavedave]

2004 – 1200 sq ft 35 year old POS = $500K

2009 – 2500 sq ft brand new house = $500K

Same area, median unchanged.

[kicksavedave]

So lets see… a guy making $40K has a house he can’t afford? Well, he can either intentionally screw a dozen entities and walk away just because he lost his stupid gamble… or he can get some damn roommates! Seriously, when I was in my 20s, making $40K, and I wanted a bigger house than I could afford, I just had room mates, and we shared it. This guy wants his cake and wants to eat it too. Tough nookies, get on Craigs list and find some help.

That’s what he should do, and I don’t need to consult a lawyer to tell him so.

[kicksavedave]

So lets see… a guy making $40K has a house he can’t afford? Well, he can either intentionally screw a dozen entities and walk away just because he lost his stupid gamble… or he can get some damn roommates! Seriously, when I was in my 20s, making $40K, and I wanted a bigger house than I could afford, I just had room mates, and we shared it. This guy wants his cake and wants to eat it too. Tough nookies, get on Craigs list and find some help.

That’s what he should do, and I don’t need to consult a lawyer to tell him so.

[kicksavedave]

I too, have left San Diego behind. My story isn’t the same as RenterClint’s, but the end result is the same.

Having been completely priced out of the market, a few months shy of age 40, wanting the stability of ownership (at a reasonable price) vs renting and moving every 12-18 months, my wife and I decided to move to the suburbs of Denver… we’ve been here for about a week and a half.

Thanks to Piggington, I declined the offer to purchase our rented condo townhouse in LaCosta, for ~$500K. It was 1620 sqft, no yard, needing update, 25 years old, not very convenient. Since we declined the offer about a year ago, the comps have dropped down to around $425K… phew, dodged a bullet there, thanks Piggington, and thanks H8toRent also. We rented it for $1800 a month.

So now we rent a 2400 3 year old sqft house, with a huge unfinished basement (What’s a basement???) and a 3 car garage. We rent this for $1400 a month, and total utilities are less than in the SD townhouse. We also have the option to buy this one, at $282K or less (without a realtor we expect a discount). Many other houses, from newer resales, to new contruction, all between 2K and 3.5K sqft, are available all around for prices ranging from $250K to $450K – AFFORDABLE!

We’re not going to buy right away. Prices are still dropping slightly here in the Denver metro area, foreclosures are ramapant. But the nice thing is, we can start searching now, knowing that when we finally do jump in, we’ll have a mortgage that is affordable by either of us on a single income, even though we’re currently DINK’s. We have the luxury knowing that even if the property declines 10% after we buy it, we still have the flexibility to get out without ruining our future. And we have the room to start and grow a family, and still take nice vacations. And if we decide we want to, building our own custom home is a viable, affordable option for us. To do that in SoCal??? not a snowballs chance in heck!

Plus, the people in this area have been extremely friendly, welcoming, and nice.

All this, and in exchange, I just have to teach my wife how to drive in the snow:) All in all, I think this was the right tradeoff. I will miss San Diego a lot… But I will not miss being financially burdened just to put a roof over our heads.

Thank you to Piggington for helping me make a smart financial decision. San Diego prices may be dropping, but the value for us, was found elsewhere. I could have been stuck in a half million dollar crapbox… phew! Thanks again! 🙂

/Dave

[kicksavedave]

I too, have left San Diego behind. My story isn’t the same as RenterClint’s, but the end result is the same.

Having been completely priced out of the market, a few months shy of age 40, wanting the stability of ownership (at a reasonable price) vs renting and moving every 12-18 months, my wife and I decided to move to the suburbs of Denver… we’ve been here for about a week and a half.

Thanks to Piggington, I declined the offer to purchase our rented condo townhouse in LaCosta, for ~$500K. It was 1620 sqft, no yard, needing update, 25 years old, not very convenient. Since we declined the offer about a year ago, the comps have dropped down to around $425K… phew, dodged a bullet there, thanks Piggington, and thanks H8toRent also. We rented it for $1800 a month.

So now we rent a 2400 3 year old sqft house, with a huge unfinished basement (What’s a basement???) and a 3 car garage. We rent this for $1400 a month, and total utilities are less than in the SD townhouse. We also have the option to buy this one, at $282K or less (without a realtor we expect a discount). Many other houses, from newer resales, to new contruction, all between 2K and 3.5K sqft, are available all around for prices ranging from $250K to $450K – AFFORDABLE!

We’re not going to buy right away. Prices are still dropping slightly here in the Denver metro area, foreclosures are ramapant. But the nice thing is, we can start searching now, knowing that when we finally do jump in, we’ll have a mortgage that is affordable by either of us on a single income, even though we’re currently DINK’s. We have the luxury knowing that even if the property declines 10% after we buy it, we still have the flexibility to get out without ruining our future. And we have the room to start and grow a family, and still take nice vacations. And if we decide we want to, building our own custom home is a viable, affordable option for us. To do that in SoCal??? not a snowballs chance in heck!

Plus, the people in this area have been extremely friendly, welcoming, and nice.

All this, and in exchange, I just have to teach my wife how to drive in the snow:) All in all, I think this was the right tradeoff. I will miss San Diego a lot… But I will not miss being financially burdened just to put a roof over our heads.

Thank you to Piggington for helping me make a smart financial decision. San Diego prices may be dropping, but the value for us, was found elsewhere. I could have been stuck in a half million dollar crapbox… phew! Thanks again! 🙂

/Dave

[kicksavedave]

Although my experience isn’t directly with day trading, I’ll post it because it still applies somewhat.

13 years ago I helped start up a new Mutual Fund called Rydex. (www.rydexinvestments.com) They were the first fund ever with a 100% inverse S&P 500 index… they shorted the S&P 500 with a -1 beta. It was called Ursa (latin for Bear) It was hot, and it grew like wildfire. They also had a 1.5 beta long S&P fund to match, called Nova. They were also the first fund to allow unlimited trades. So money managers, and professional portfolio advisers, flocked to the fund group because it allowed them to be 100% short one day and 150% long the next day, and back and forth as much as they wanted, using safe, protected Mutual Fund assets – retirement funds, etc.

Rydex grew quickly… but as the IT Manager, I was tasked with developing databases that tracked results. Over the time frame of 94-96, a period of some instability in the markets, about 90% of the clients lost money, and the other 10% did very well. It wasn’t intra day trading, but it was daily trades, sometimes weekly, and I found the better investors were generally going on a monthly or quarterly transaction cycle. The ones who traded every day were unanimous losers. And these were all supposed professional money managers, our minimum investment back then was $10K and our typical client size was more like $2M. Many of them used complicated technical analysys schemes and software, none of it worked reliably well.

My point is this – Day traders mostly lose money. A very few of them make good money over a long term. Day Trading from 1996-2000 was easy – just pick something and go with it. In uncertain times, it becomes nearly the same gamble as roulette or craps. And as mentioned above, it takes utter 100% concentration at all times to avoid massive losses and to maximize the gains. If you miss the top 5 gain days over a year, your ability to make a good return dwindles down to nearly nil.

All of the grissly portfolio managers at Rydex, even while managing the daily trading funds, all said the same thing. There is no substiture for buying good quality invesments and holding them for the long term. 5% annually is miles better than 50% one day, -50% the next, and 50% up the third day, etc.

[kicksavedave]

Although my experience isn’t directly with day trading, I’ll post it because it still applies somewhat.

13 years ago I helped start up a new Mutual Fund called Rydex. (www.rydexinvestments.com) They were the first fund ever with a 100% inverse S&P 500 index… they shorted the S&P 500 with a -1 beta. It was called Ursa (latin for Bear) It was hot, and it grew like wildfire. They also had a 1.5 beta long S&P fund to match, called Nova. They were also the first fund to allow unlimited trades. So money managers, and professional portfolio advisers, flocked to the fund group because it allowed them to be 100% short one day and 150% long the next day, and back and forth as much as they wanted, using safe, protected Mutual Fund assets – retirement funds, etc.

Rydex grew quickly… but as the IT Manager, I was tasked with developing databases that tracked results. Over the time frame of 94-96, a period of some instability in the markets, about 90% of the clients lost money, and the other 10% did very well. It wasn’t intra day trading, but it was daily trades, sometimes weekly, and I found the better investors were generally going on a monthly or quarterly transaction cycle. The ones who traded every day were unanimous losers. And these were all supposed professional money managers, our minimum investment back then was $10K and our typical client size was more like $2M. Many of them used complicated technical analysys schemes and software, none of it worked reliably well.

My point is this – Day traders mostly lose money. A very few of them make good money over a long term. Day Trading from 1996-2000 was easy – just pick something and go with it. In uncertain times, it becomes nearly the same gamble as roulette or craps. And as mentioned above, it takes utter 100% concentration at all times to avoid massive losses and to maximize the gains. If you miss the top 5 gain days over a year, your ability to make a good return dwindles down to nearly nil.

All of the grissly portfolio managers at Rydex, even while managing the daily trading funds, all said the same thing. There is no substiture for buying good quality invesments and holding them for the long term. 5% annually is miles better than 50% one day, -50% the next, and 50% up the third day, etc.

[kicksavedave]

“People who are leaving San Diego are from the lower income status. ”

Simply not true, and not supported by any data or facts. My wife and I make about $180K between us – that’s nearly 3 times the median houshold income. We’re leaving (hope to come back some day) because we don’t want to spend $4500/mo on a 1300 sq/ft shack in dumptown, when we can spend $1900/mo on a 3000 sq ft house in a great neighborhood. Sure, a bank might lend us that money, but it’s a bad investment. If some day it comes back down to earth, we’ll be back. If not, then we left at the right time.

And we’re not alone, I have at least three families in identical situations at my company alone, who are contemplating the same escape. Nurses, engineers, programmers… professionals who make good incomes, can’t buy schzitt here. They are leaving in droves.

[kicksavedave]

I hear ya LA_R. Its one of the reasons my wife and I have kinda decided that when we finally do take the plunge and buy, we’re going to focus on something close to a price that either one of us could afford on our own, rather than maxing out our combined debt ratios, running the risk of ruin if either of us is out of work for a long period of time. Granted, that means a much lower target price, which ultimately means moving out of San Diego (unless things really tumble). But the benefits of not trying up all our income in a house are pretty obvious. We don’t NEED a McMansion, we just need a nice roof over our heads. Take a few more nice vacations that way.

[kicksavedave]

Strange, but I can sense this twisted state of giddyness among us (myself included) when bad economic news comes out, as it’s one more hole in the bucket of high prices. The more these factors line up, the more closer we get to a the major price corrections we are (mostly) all seeking. But at times I wonder if we’re not whistling past the graveyard. Unemployment is up – that means less buyers, which means lower prices – yay, right? Well, two of my bigger customers (I work in IT services) are KB Home and New Century. One is gone, and one is shrinking. The sales rep who I support has almost no chance to make her quota this year based on that and similar situations.

So unemployment rising might seem like it would ultimately help me buy a cheaper house some day… it also might lead to me joining those folks on the unemployment line. Does this fall into the category of “be careful what you wish for”???

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