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pencilneck
ParticipantSpeaking of experiments, I’ll quote Leo.
“Inflation has been very mild the entire time. Higher rates, if in the cards, certainly isn’t going to cause inflation.”
I think that our entire outlook on interest rates is pre-global. As Japan and the US have demonstrated in recent years, in global environments low interest rates encourage investment outflow. Not all, but a lot of money goes to work in the areas (countries, in this example) with the best risk/reward, so money flows to countries with perceived low risk and higher interest rates.
Over the past few years we’ve had massive monetary inflation. This hasn’t yet translated into price inflation as capital has largely flowed elsewhere.
Our low interest rates have in effect acted to export a large portion of our monetary inflation to become price inflation in other countries. When interest rates rise, capital previously directed elsewhere will return. I believe we will see price inflation coincident with rising interest rates.
Of course, this belief is contrary to common opinion and 100 years of Fed policy. And comes from a certifiable idiot to boot. So take of it what you will.
To loop this back to the topic, if my theory holds true, the time to invest in silver (and other metals) will be when interest rates start rising. When that will be I have no idea.
Participant2) I have an approved 30 year fixed loan, San Diego County Credit Union for 4%, no points. My credit score is above 740. Anyone know of anything better for 30 year fixed?
It wouldn’t hurt to contact a good mortgage broker and check your options.
Congrats!
ParticipantThey aren’t dog haters.
Ebola is widely assumed to be a zoonotic disease. That is, it is assumed to be a disease that jumps occasionally from wild animals to humans. This is a safe assumption. Many “new” diseases do this.
We barely understand ebola’s interaction with humans. It may be a long time before we know how ebola interacts with household animals such as dogs, cats, rabbits, finches, ferrets, chickens, hamsters etc.
In the case of the dog, possibly erring on the side of caution is prudent. Especially if it may help to save human lives.
ParticipantBearishgurl,
Thanks! However, the tax assessment never changed. $300k every year.
My interpretation of Prop 13 was that they could only raise property assessments 2% annually. I was surprised with the notice of an increased assessment of over 4% in a single year.
According to Stan County document I linked earlier, the 2% increased assessment ceiling occurs every year, whether or not property appreciates or depreciates. Does this sound right?
ParticipantThanks Sk! Very good explanation.
I still didn’t really get it until I saw a chart that illustrated what you were saying. But you were spot on.
http://www.stancounty.com/assessor/pdf/prop8-13.pdfParticipantI agree with the posters above.
California state landlord guidelines also covers this:
http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml
3. Repainting walls
One approach for determining the amount that the landlord can deduct from the tenant’s security deposit for repainting, when repainting is necessary, is based on the length of the tenant’s stay in the rental unit. This approach assumes that interior paint has a two-year life. (Some landlords assume that interior paint has a life of three years or more.)
Length of stay –Deduction
Less than 6 months –full cost
6 months to 1 year –two-thirds of cost
1 year to 2 years –one-third of cost
2 or more years –no deductionUsing this approach, if the tenant lived in the rental unit for two years or more, the tenant could not be charged for any repainting costs, no matter how dirty the walls were.
4. Other damage to walls
Generally, minor marks or nicks in walls are the landlord’s responsibility as normal wear and tear (for example, worn paint caused by a sofa against the wall). Therefore, the tenant should not be charged for such marks or nicks. However, a large number of holes in the walls or ceiling that require filling with plaster, or that otherwise require patching and repainting, could justify withholding the cost of repainting from the tenant’s security deposit. In this situation, deducting for painting would be more likely to be proper if the rental unit had been painted recently, and less likely to be proper if the rental unit needed repainting anyway. Generally, large marks or paint gouges are the tenant’s responsibility.
Participant“Favorite is Genius…
By James Gleick…
About the life of Richard Feynman.”
Feynman also wrote a few memoirs. I can’t recall the names, but I’d strongly recommend looking them up. They are highly entertaining and thought provoking.
January 13, 2014 at 10:37 AM in reply to: Off Topic: How much home can you afford-not what you think #769721ParticipantIf I recall correctly, a few years ago (2009?) they failed to make the reserve to have the grand prize drawing. They nearly certainly won’t have the same problem this year, but I’m still not overly fond of this sort of raffle.
“A minimum of 61,375 tickets must be sold by 11:59 p.m., May 2, 2014 for the Grand Prize winner to have a choice of the House or the $2,100,000 annuity or a onetime $1,400,000 cash payment. If fewer than 61,375 tickets are sold by 11:59 p.m. Friday May 2, 2014, the raffle will be held as scheduled, and prizes will be awarded as advertised with the exception that the Grand Prize winner will receive a choice between a sum equal to 50% of the Net Raffle Proceeds paid as an annuity over 20 years, not to exceed $1,300,000 or a onetime cash payment of 70% of the annuity value, not to exceed $900,000.”
Participanthttp://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jan/03/person-struck-by-amtrak-train-del-mar/
And the dog claims it was an accident.
Participanthttp://www.charitynavigator.org
http://www.guidestar.org/Charity Navigator and Guidestar are some terrific tools for comparing overhead expenses between various nonprofits. Good Luck!
ParticipantI am not at all critical of Romney’s commendable level of philanthropy.
His overpayment of 2011 taxes, which I liken to making an interest free loan to the government, is also commendable.
ParticipantI was just reading that. The conclusion is potentially misleading as Romney has up to five years to take the tax deduction for his charitable contribution.
He admits to over paying on his taxes to hit the target he said he’d hit. Since he can deduct the contributions in following years, I think it is some potentially pretty sneaky accounting.
article clip:
“Mr. Malt said the Romneys would have had an even lower tax burden if they’d claimed the full deduction for all of their charitable giving in 2011, but said they “limited their deduction of charitable contributions to conform to the governor’s statement in August, based upon the January estimate of income, that he paid at least 13 percent in income taxes in each of the last 10 years.”
When charitable contributions and federal and state taxes are combined, it amounted to 38.5 percent of the Romneys’ income, the trustee said.”
ParticipantIs a broker recommended / needed for a refi?
I’d personally recommend a broker over a bank. Last time I shopped around both my bank and a credit union didn’t offer very good rates and had exceptionally bad service (lost paperwork repeatedly, didn’t return phone calls etc.).
Is the process of a refi easier than the original mortgage process?
for me it was exactly the same. Although, this time I knew what I was expecting.
The loans I got had a little clause agains refinancing again within 6 months of issuance. You might want to double check the terms of your loan before you get too far along.
Participant“Statistically, the expected return on a $1.00 lottery ticket with a jackpot of 233 Mil and odds of 176 mil:1 is $1.33 (assuming only 1 winning ticket).”
Not a lottery expert, but large winnings are also paid out over what looks like 26 years.
$1 now for $1.33 returns over 26 years isn’t a great investment, imo.
If you elect for the lump sum payout, you get far less than the advertised jackpot.
(edit: yeah, yeah, I know I’m late to the party, but people seldom mention the part about the lottery effectively being the chance to receive a very low interest rate bond.)
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