[PerryChase]

I’m hoping for pre-fab modular houses that people can just bolt together on top of a slab. That will permanently lower the cost of housing. These container based houses should be extremely strong. Add nice lanscaping and you have great inexpensive houses that are also structurally sound.

We just need to be a little creative and forget about the “traditional” houses. I kinda think we need a housing revolution.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2006/06/16/carollloyd.DTL

[PerryChase]

I concur with NeetaT — especially about the gifted writer part.

[PerryChase]

Rent a nice house for a year in the neighborhood you really desire. Then watch all the new listings trickle in everyday in all the neighborhoods you like. After 6 months you’ll get a good feel of where the market is headed. On weekends, are you run errands, drive by some on houses you like. Realtors will tell you that there’s nothing like knowing the market by driving around.

Most important, don’t get emotional. Think of buying a house as buying a computer. You want the best deal for the price.

[PerryChase]

I have a friend who is a small builder in Florida. He says that the building industry goes by the “good enough” motto. If it looks good enough then that’s all that counts. Painter’s caulking is what’s used to hide all the imperfections.

[PerryChase]

That’s because the lenders are not lending out their own money. They need the origination income so that the salespeople can make their commissions and so that the executive can cash in their options.

[PerryChase]

powayseller, you can the Martha Stewart of renters. 🙂 How about a section on your website on how to make a rental feel like “home” with things you can easily take away with you when you move?

I too have potted plants on my patio. It looks much better if you have nice planters instead of the cheap plastic kinds. I have cacti because I don’t have time to care for the plants. My elderly auntie is staying with me for a couple of months. She’s teaching me how to start an herb garden.

[PerryChase]

I have set some criteria on ziprealty and the new listings have been streaming in periodically. That tells me there’s been a good amount of churn even as the listings declined at the end of the year.

Can’t wait to see what the Spring brings us.

[PerryChase]

powayseller, you sound like a Lou Dobbs Republican.

We need the low cost labor because we think that we’re too good to do certain things. I support a guest worker program that will let workers come and go as needed.

About Social Security, if a worker(legal or illegal) contributed to Social Security, he earned the benefits and should be credited accordingly. His illegal status does not take away the fact that he’s legally entitled to SS benefits.

[PerryChase]

Even if developer could, why would they remove Mello Roos? Most buyers don’t look at the property tax liabilities until after they buy. Builders would simply lower selling price.

[PerryChase]

Thanks for the link to the article. I get the magazine but don’t have time to read everything.

The article makes me think of how China’s banking system is in bad shape and may not survive economic shock because they never developed a good risk/credit management system. In America we have a good credit reporting system but the lenders threw that out the window and lent money willy nilly to boost origination fees/income. By the time the FBs default the mortgage executives would have pocketed their bonuses and been long gone.

[PerryChase]

One reason I can think of why UCSD is expensive it that students need to be close to campus.

My friend from Singapore came for a 6 month program. He had no car therefore he had no other choice but to rent near UCSD.

[PerryChase]

Here’s another thread discussing rent.

http://piggington.com/node/127

[PerryChase]

I agree with you Diego.

I believe the big reason with have crime is the failed war on drugs. 1/2 of the population does drugs but we pretend drungs don’t exist. We should just legalize drugs and prostitution and get them out of criminals’ control. If not, we should start to punish the middle and upper class consumers of drugs rather making half-assed attempts at arresting the petty criminals.

Plus what do you expect when you move into a gentrifying neighboorhood? The poor people who were there to begin with are squeezed even more by the escalating cost of living and turn to petty crime. Poor people don’t just disappear because the yuppies move in.

[PerryChase]

If the banks are giving out interest only loans, then the principal will just keep on being carried forward with never a prospect of principal repayment. Eventually, when the borrowers default the banks will collapse.

[PerryChase]

That’s the problem with our government. It’s bloated. Like in business, under-performing units should be closed so the resources can be better allocated elsewhere.

I’m a social liberal, but I very much support the conservatives ideas of starving the beast. I hope very much that those ideas will come back.

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