[paulflorez]

The article makes it pretty clear that Chrysler did not want to reinstate these workers, but was forced by a binding third-party arbitrator.

This could just as well happen at Honda, Toyota, Hyundai.

[paulflorez]

Lots and lots of commuters to LA. Then there are the many warehouses in Ontario/Riverside area. They are picking back up, I’ve personally known a few people who were able to get new jobs at these warehouses. Amazon is hiring 1,000 people for their new warehouse in San Bernardino, will be neighbors with Mattel, Sketchers warehouse in Moreno Valley, DHL distribution center at March ARB, Ross warehouse in Perris. High-skill jobs are less prevalent: Loma Linda University Medical Center, ESRI, that’s all I can think of.

The area is definitely overbuilt, so if I owned a house in the IE I wouldn’t expect a major price increase any time soon. The economy will improve though. Even though things have been depressed, the new shopping centers built during the last boom/bust are still chugging along. Many people can still afford to buy their Starbucks, eat at their themed restaurants and purchase cars. Life goes on.

[paulflorez]

I’m sure it has absolutely nothing to do with the election and everything to do with personal problems. Either she’s suffering from something like depression, their marriage has been on the rocks, or likely it’s both. I actually feel really sorry for this couple. I am happy the president won re-election but I do not relish seeing people needlessly suffer like this. She should have been getting some serious help and they should have been in couples counseling. At this point she needs help, without question. I hope the husband is able to recover and quickly and painlessly as possible and she is able to get the help she needs.

I think it’s stupid the media is making it about the election. People should have enough common sense and compassion to see through the stupid headlines.

[paulflorez]

I think people are tired of conservatives crying wolf about our President. He disappoints the far-left and the far-right which makes him a moderate. Since President Obama’s re-election every far-right conservative seems to be desperately looking for an echo-chamber.

If you truly believe the President wants a completely socialist state then that would mean a majority of Americans want that as well and if the latter is the case then the intentions of our current President should not be your main concern. Either start having a respectful conversation with people you consider to be liberals or pack your bags.

[paulflorez]

[quote=AN]And we all know how that turned out.[/quote]

Which is why the current President is in the process of bringing all of Bush’s wars to an end as well as letting some of Bush’s tax cuts expire. Neither of those things turned out that great.

[paulflorez]

[img_assist|nid=16839|title=California Per Capita Spending|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=466|height=286]

Is this adjusted for inflation?

[paulflorez]

[quote=dumbrenter]…folks who do not espeake ingles at home…

I find that suggestion very offensive.[/quote]

LOL, when feigning offense may I suggest you not say something offensive like “espeake ingles”?

I think the demographics is something you cannot ignore, it’s part of the equation. Parents who have had families here for generations know more about how to effectively use the system to get their child the best outcome. Immigrants know much less and so a lot of the responsibility falls onto children who can barely wipe themselves, let alone plan their own education.

IMO, the mistake is that parents are getting none of the blame. Everyone wants to blame the teachers, but the reality is that if the parents are not helping their children learn how to do their homework, exposing them to educational experiences and, most of all, showing their children a basic level of respect that a human being deserves, those children will not learn how to learn nor have the self esteem to pursue it.

Show me one lazy, unqualified teacher and I’ll show you 200 lazy and unqualified parents. THAT’S the whole problem.

[paulflorez]

“No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for.  Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America.  We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act.  And make no mistake, justice will be done.”

He referred to it as an act of terror. Your interpretation is clouded by your bias. The words are right there, or do you need some kind of certificate to prove he said those words?

[paulflorez]

You’re not just moving to Minnesota, but Minneapolis, which is a great city! Lots of art and culture, wonderful downtown and the people value good health. Residents value diversity rather than shunning it, which means you still have a decent variety of restaurants and little ethnic enclaves with special events. They even have a decent public transit system, including light rail to the Mall of America and right smack dab in the middle of MSP Airport. You literally walk only a few steps out of the station to get into the line for security check.

Minneapolis is much less of a culture shock for a CA to Midwest transplant than, say, Des Moines or Omaha. It feels in a way a lot like major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, but without the huge populations and the problems that come with that. I had a Minneapolitan tell me once that some locals, proud of the very metropolitan life of their city, refer to it as the “Minne-Apple”. The biggest thing you will have to adjust to is the snow. I lived in Iowa for five years and just never could accept having to live in that kind of weather. You certainly learn how to drive/survive in it, the challenge is simply letting the PITA factor roll off your shoulders. Even natives struggle with it, and many definitely don’t like it, but they live with it. You will slip on ice and fall flat on your rear at least once every winter, it will hurt, some people might even giggle at you (moments before they fall themselves) and then you’ll pick yourself and move on.

Other than that it is a great city. If for some reason I had to move to Minneapolis or there was a huge reward for doing so, I wouldn’t put up much of a fight. But, I know that I would eventually have to move back to CA because it is just a better fit for me personally. If you hate California’s culture and love the weather, you probably won’t enjoy Minneapolis, but if you at least like the positive aspects of California’s culture, you should be fine in Minneapolis.

[paulflorez]

“I explained that I did not want any window air conditioners installed due the eyesore factor and possible need to attach supporting shelves to the house”

Tell her she can add a window air conditioner as long it is removed when she leaves with no damage, otherwise cost of removal and/or repair will be taken out of her deposit.

The eyesore factor is irrelevant if you are not living there, are not trying to sell the house and it is removed when tenant leaves. As long as tenant purchases a brand new window air conditioner, it should be small enough that a shelf support isn’t needed. I had a roommate buy a window air conditioner and helped him install it. It was fairly easy to do, the conditioner frame is build so that the window can close on top of it and the a/c is held in place by a part of it’s frame (flange) that rises up on the inside of the window and leans against the window frame. Tenant will need to secure the a/c to the window frame using screws (so that the window can’t be opened up which would result in the a/c falling out of the window), but those holes can be patched up afterwards with wood filler, liquid steel or other patching product.

Here is a good tutorial on installing a window air conditioner:
http://www.lowescreativeideas.com/Home101/Install_a_Window_Air_Conditioner.aspx

If you are concerned about damage during installation, you can always add the condition that it be installed by a professional.

If I was willing to entertain the idea of tenant paying for installing central a/c then I’d have zero problem letting them install window a/c. In fact, I’d prefer the window air conditioner because the worst case scenario is minor damage to the window frame. Installing central air and expecting the tenant to pay for it sounds much, much messier.

P.S. the summer this year was pretty brutal. At our house is was over 100 in the house for several days and we live less than 10 miles from the coast. The only refuge for the a/c-less is to go to places like Starbucks or the mall. Our roommate moved out and left the window a/c so we also huddled in that room occasionally. Those high temperatures without a/c becomes a big inconvenience, it does become difficult to sleep or be productive at home. We are definitely getting a whole-house fan and are considering either installing additional window a/c units or central air.

[paulflorez]

[quote=Tillers]SD Realtor, the reason I’m not dropping offers on every short sale I see is because I am required to leave an earnest money deposit. That’s $3K tied up (for each one) for the bank to play with while they play games with me on the waiting.[/quote]

You don’t have to leave a deposit. They do that because it’s so common for buyers to just walk away from short sales. If you make offers on 10 short sales and decide to go with 1 of them once you get approval, that’s 9 short sales that get walked away from and those people have to find new buyers who have to find new lenders who have to collect all new paperwork, etc.

Until they show you they have the short-selling bank’s approval, don’t put a single dime down. Once they show you that they have short-selling approval, it’s time to get working and you will need to put your EM in escrow.

A word of advice, if they tell you that they have bank approval, tell them to give you a COPY IN WRITING. They should send you a nice letter from the bank saying they approve and what the terms are. I learned the hard way when I was told by my real estate agent that the bank approved the sale at our offer price and that we need to get our EM in escrow and choose a lender NOW NOW NOW!!! Only to have our chosen lender call us back and tell us “there is a second lien on the house that has not approved.” OOPS! Silly RE agents, when you said “the bank approved” you meant the first lienholder approved. Both lienholders/loans were from the same bank BTW.

In fact, ask for everything in writing. You can even see the progress on the SS negotiations by asking for a copy of the short sale counter offer form. That shows all the back/forth between the short-selling bank and your real estate company.

[paulflorez]

[quote=Tillers]SD Realtor, the reason I’m not dropping offers on every short sale I see is because I am required to leave an earnest money deposit. That’s $3K tied up (for each one) for the bank to play with while they play games with me on the waiting.[/quote]

You don’t have to leave a deposit. They do that because it’s so common for buyers to just walk away from short sales. If you make offers on 10 short sales and decide to go with 1 of them once you get approval, that’s 9 short sales that get walked away from and those people have to find new buyers who have to find new lenders who have to collect all new paperwork, etc.

Until they show you they have the short-selling bank’s approval, don’t put a single dime down. Once they show you that they have short-selling approval, it’s time to get working and you will need to put your EM in escrow.

A word of advice, if they tell you that they have bank approval, tell them to give you a COPY IN WRITING. They should send you a nice letter from the bank saying they approve and what the terms are. I learned the hard way when I was told by my real estate agent that the bank approved the sale at our offer price and that we need to get our EM in escrow and choose a lender NOW NOW NOW!!! Only to have our chosen lender call us back and tell us “there is a second lien on the house that has not approved.” OOPS! Silly RE agents, when you said “the bank approved” you meant the first lienholder approved. Both lienholders/loans were from the same bank BTW.

In fact, ask for everything in writing. You can even see the progress on the SS negotiations by asking for a copy of the short sale counter offer form. That shows all the back/forth between the short-selling bank and your real estate company.

[paulflorez]

[quote=Tillers]SD Realtor, the reason I’m not dropping offers on every short sale I see is because I am required to leave an earnest money deposit. That’s $3K tied up (for each one) for the bank to play with while they play games with me on the waiting.[/quote]

You don’t have to leave a deposit. They do that because it’s so common for buyers to just walk away from short sales. If you make offers on 10 short sales and decide to go with 1 of them once you get approval, that’s 9 short sales that get walked away from and those people have to find new buyers who have to find new lenders who have to collect all new paperwork, etc.

Until they show you they have the short-selling bank’s approval, don’t put a single dime down. Once they show you that they have short-selling approval, it’s time to get working and you will need to put your EM in escrow.

A word of advice, if they tell you that they have bank approval, tell them to give you a COPY IN WRITING. They should send you a nice letter from the bank saying they approve and what the terms are. I learned the hard way when I was told by my real estate agent that the bank approved the sale at our offer price and that we need to get our EM in escrow and choose a lender NOW NOW NOW!!! Only to have our chosen lender call us back and tell us “there is a second lien on the house that has not approved.” OOPS! Silly RE agents, when you said “the bank approved” you meant the first lienholder approved. Both lienholders/loans were from the same bank BTW.

In fact, ask for everything in writing. You can even see the progress on the SS negotiations by asking for a copy of the short sale counter offer form. That shows all the back/forth between the short-selling bank and your real estate company.

[paulflorez]

[quote=Tillers]SD Realtor, the reason I’m not dropping offers on every short sale I see is because I am required to leave an earnest money deposit. That’s $3K tied up (for each one) for the bank to play with while they play games with me on the waiting.[/quote]

You don’t have to leave a deposit. They do that because it’s so common for buyers to just walk away from short sales. If you make offers on 10 short sales and decide to go with 1 of them once you get approval, that’s 9 short sales that get walked away from and those people have to find new buyers who have to find new lenders who have to collect all new paperwork, etc.

Until they show you they have the short-selling bank’s approval, don’t put a single dime down. Once they show you that they have short-selling approval, it’s time to get working and you will need to put your EM in escrow.

A word of advice, if they tell you that they have bank approval, tell them to give you a COPY IN WRITING. They should send you a nice letter from the bank saying they approve and what the terms are. I learned the hard way when I was told by my real estate agent that the bank approved the sale at our offer price and that we need to get our EM in escrow and choose a lender NOW NOW NOW!!! Only to have our chosen lender call us back and tell us “there is a second lien on the house that has not approved.” OOPS! Silly RE agents, when you said “the bank approved” you meant the first lienholder approved. Both lienholders/loans were from the same bank BTW.

In fact, ask for everything in writing. You can even see the progress on the SS negotiations by asking for a copy of the short sale counter offer form. That shows all the back/forth between the short-selling bank and your real estate company.

[paulflorez]

[quote=Tillers]SD Realtor, the reason I’m not dropping offers on every short sale I see is because I am required to leave an earnest money deposit. That’s $3K tied up (for each one) for the bank to play with while they play games with me on the waiting.[/quote]

You don’t have to leave a deposit. They do that because it’s so common for buyers to just walk away from short sales. If you make offers on 10 short sales and decide to go with 1 of them once you get approval, that’s 9 short sales that get walked away from and those people have to find new buyers who have to find new lenders who have to collect all new paperwork, etc.

Until they show you they have the short-selling bank’s approval, don’t put a single dime down. Once they show you that they have short-selling approval, it’s time to get working and you will need to put your EM in escrow.

A word of advice, if they tell you that they have bank approval, tell them to give you a COPY IN WRITING. They should send you a nice letter from the bank saying they approve and what the terms are. I learned the hard way when I was told by my real estate agent that the bank approved the sale at our offer price and that we need to get our EM in escrow and choose a lender NOW NOW NOW!!! Only to have our chosen lender call us back and tell us “there is a second lien on the house that has not approved.” OOPS! Silly RE agents, when you said “the bank approved” you meant the first lienholder approved. Both lienholders/loans were from the same bank BTW.

In fact, ask for everything in writing. You can even see the progress on the SS negotiations by asking for a copy of the short sale counter offer form. That shows all the back/forth between the short-selling bank and your real estate company.

[Author]

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