[spdrun]

That’s using Tsar Bomba to kill a gnat. LED surface-mount fixtures are essentially plug-and-play and take 5 min to hang.

[spdrun]

Why does living in a rental long-term “suck” other than some conditioned sense of “pride of ownership?”

[spdrun]

Not evaluating a primary home as compared to market conditions (i.e. rents for a similar home) is making a bad investment. Why not buy a few better investments, then rent the same home with the income?

And if you’re doing to buy, why not buy closer to the beach for the same price, which is a more attractive area?

[spdrun]

I agree with scaredy that will be get worse because, even if drugs are legalized, the government will want its cut and the street dealers still won’t have jobs.

The markup on government-permitted commodities, even with taxes, is much lower than on illegal drugs. A pack of cigarettes is under $10 in most states, maxing out at about $12 to $15 in NY.

No personal knowledge, but I suspect that marijuana is cheaper to grow than tobacco. After all, it’s a “weed.” Try buying a pack of 20 joints for $10. Legalization would likely reduce the profit margin for criminal organizations significantly.

There will still be smuggling between states with different tax rates, but it likely won’t cause as severe of a crime/arrest problem as now.

I’d rather the government get their cut than have them actually spend money and destroy lives by locking people up and occasionally beating them to death. Better for the taxpayer. Better for people who aren’t killed or ruined by a “war on some drugs.”

Imagine if the money spent on prisons is used for education and infrastructure instead, creating jobs and improving lives vs ruining them.

[spdrun]

No one is saying that it’s a terrible decision (so long as costs can be supported), but that there are much better option from an investment standpoint.

Rental income of under 3%, imputed (calculated as if you were renting from yourself) or otherwise is pretty stinky even for the San Diego area. Especially if you don’t have the benefit of being able to walk to the beach and a downtown area.

To each their own, I guess.

[spdrun]

I had two approx 24′ x 24′ 1970s-era fluorescent fixtures in my rental’s kitchen, and I replaced them with two approx 15′ x 15′ LED fixtures from Lowe’s.

They produce the same amount of light as the old fixtures at 4000k daylight, and they were about $35 a pop. They don’t use bulbs. The LEDs are in strips and are built into the fixture. All are pointed downward, so there’s less loss of light and a more uniform light.

Looks like there are also some 4′ (T8) LED tubes that work with existing ballasts and plugs.

http://www.ledsmagazine.com/articles/iif/2013/12/philips-delivers-led-based-t8-tubes-that-work-with-existing-ballasts.html

[spdrun]

As it should have. Peak-bubble pricing didn’t make sense. No reason to bail out mugs who overpaid at the expense of new buyers.

[spdrun]

As it should have. Peak-bubble pricing didn’t make sense. No reason to bail out mugs who overpaid at the expense of new buyers.

[spdrun]

I think until we see less stringent loan requirements I dont think the lower end will move as fast up and as far up.

Speaking to San Diego, I think the lower end HAS already moved up much further than the higher end. No need to give loans to idiots who can’t handle them.

[spdrun]

Ha! If you want to live in a closet ….

Some damn nice closets out there for $1 to $2 million within pissing distance of the beach.

http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/house,condo_type/2103185321_zpid/1000000-2000000_price/3679-7358_mp/days_sort/33.168019,-117.150478,33.017588,-117.41209_rect/11_zm/0_mmm/?view=map

[spdrun]

Agreed, it’s a matter of opinion. But I maintain that for that price (or anything over $1 million), I better be able to walk and take a swim and be on the “proper” side of I-5 🙂

[spdrun]

If I were spending that much on a home, I hope to G-d it wouldn’t be in some soulless burbclave tract.

[spdrun]

For $4.5 million, can’t you hire an architect and skip the scummy corporate builder?

[spdrun]

If the subdivisions weren’t built, wouldn’t that increase competition for existing housing stock, destroying quality of life by driving up prices further? Why would becoming like the stupidly overpriced Bay Area be a good thing?

Don’t want an econobox? Don’t buy one or live in one. But their presence keeps the riff-raff out of the more interesting areas!

[spdrun]

25% appreciation from 2011 to today isn’t exactly hard to find. In fact, it might be the bottom of the range.

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