[temeculaguy]

I like what SDR said about how sometimes different neighborhoods, despite their appearance, can have a different feel. I think it can also be expanded to different streets within a single development. Once you dig a particular neigborhood or house, visit it a few times on different days of the week and times, introduce yourself to someone out in front of their house and strike up a conversation. General rules sometimes apply, but not always. Neighborhoods and streets can evolve and what might be positive for one person can be a negative for others. When my kids were little, I lucked into a street that was filled with kids their age. That was 13 years ago, it’s not the same now, there are hardly any little kids on my old street, many are off to college or driving so the street is not what it was. In another ten years, many of those people may move and another wave of little kids might move in. If you don’t want to be the only people with kids on the street, housing style and lot size isn’t always a guarantee. Now that I don’t have little kids, now that they drive and lead different lives, I chose not to live on a cul de sac and chose to live on a hill for the view, my needs changed. I’ve never seen kids in my street but two streets away it is like a carnival on a daily basis. The few elementary/jr high aged kids on my street would probably love to live on that other street but their parents probably weren’t paying attention to those details when they bought. Now I like how where I am, it is quiet, there is plenty of room that ten cars can be parked in front of my house when I throw a party and I am less likely to disturb anyone. 10-15 years ago, the carnival style street was perfect. So once you narrow things down to a general area, don’t stop scrutinizing, the little details mean probably as much as the big ones.

[temeculaguy]

I like what SDR said about how sometimes different neighborhoods, despite their appearance, can have a different feel. I think it can also be expanded to different streets within a single development. Once you dig a particular neigborhood or house, visit it a few times on different days of the week and times, introduce yourself to someone out in front of their house and strike up a conversation. General rules sometimes apply, but not always. Neighborhoods and streets can evolve and what might be positive for one person can be a negative for others. When my kids were little, I lucked into a street that was filled with kids their age. That was 13 years ago, it’s not the same now, there are hardly any little kids on my old street, many are off to college or driving so the street is not what it was. In another ten years, many of those people may move and another wave of little kids might move in. If you don’t want to be the only people with kids on the street, housing style and lot size isn’t always a guarantee. Now that I don’t have little kids, now that they drive and lead different lives, I chose not to live on a cul de sac and chose to live on a hill for the view, my needs changed. I’ve never seen kids in my street but two streets away it is like a carnival on a daily basis. The few elementary/jr high aged kids on my street would probably love to live on that other street but their parents probably weren’t paying attention to those details when they bought. Now I like how where I am, it is quiet, there is plenty of room that ten cars can be parked in front of my house when I throw a party and I am less likely to disturb anyone. 10-15 years ago, the carnival style street was perfect. So once you narrow things down to a general area, don’t stop scrutinizing, the little details mean probably as much as the big ones.

[temeculaguy]

I like what SDR said about how sometimes different neighborhoods, despite their appearance, can have a different feel. I think it can also be expanded to different streets within a single development. Once you dig a particular neigborhood or house, visit it a few times on different days of the week and times, introduce yourself to someone out in front of their house and strike up a conversation. General rules sometimes apply, but not always. Neighborhoods and streets can evolve and what might be positive for one person can be a negative for others. When my kids were little, I lucked into a street that was filled with kids their age. That was 13 years ago, it’s not the same now, there are hardly any little kids on my old street, many are off to college or driving so the street is not what it was. In another ten years, many of those people may move and another wave of little kids might move in. If you don’t want to be the only people with kids on the street, housing style and lot size isn’t always a guarantee. Now that I don’t have little kids, now that they drive and lead different lives, I chose not to live on a cul de sac and chose to live on a hill for the view, my needs changed. I’ve never seen kids in my street but two streets away it is like a carnival on a daily basis. The few elementary/jr high aged kids on my street would probably love to live on that other street but their parents probably weren’t paying attention to those details when they bought. Now I like how where I am, it is quiet, there is plenty of room that ten cars can be parked in front of my house when I throw a party and I am less likely to disturb anyone. 10-15 years ago, the carnival style street was perfect. So once you narrow things down to a general area, don’t stop scrutinizing, the little details mean probably as much as the big ones.

[temeculaguy]

I like what SDR said about how sometimes different neighborhoods, despite their appearance, can have a different feel. I think it can also be expanded to different streets within a single development. Once you dig a particular neigborhood or house, visit it a few times on different days of the week and times, introduce yourself to someone out in front of their house and strike up a conversation. General rules sometimes apply, but not always. Neighborhoods and streets can evolve and what might be positive for one person can be a negative for others. When my kids were little, I lucked into a street that was filled with kids their age. That was 13 years ago, it’s not the same now, there are hardly any little kids on my old street, many are off to college or driving so the street is not what it was. In another ten years, many of those people may move and another wave of little kids might move in. If you don’t want to be the only people with kids on the street, housing style and lot size isn’t always a guarantee. Now that I don’t have little kids, now that they drive and lead different lives, I chose not to live on a cul de sac and chose to live on a hill for the view, my needs changed. I’ve never seen kids in my street but two streets away it is like a carnival on a daily basis. The few elementary/jr high aged kids on my street would probably love to live on that other street but their parents probably weren’t paying attention to those details when they bought. Now I like how where I am, it is quiet, there is plenty of room that ten cars can be parked in front of my house when I throw a party and I am less likely to disturb anyone. 10-15 years ago, the carnival style street was perfect. So once you narrow things down to a general area, don’t stop scrutinizing, the little details mean probably as much as the big ones.

[temeculaguy]

Flu, you need to be a little more skeptical. First, the link you provided goes to some world press blog and I didn’t see an author’s name. I did a little search and read a few versions of the article but it’s all pretty much the same, it’s from the lawyer of the father and a serbian consulate advocate. So you are hearing one side of the story and making assumptions, which is exactly what the lawyer wants you to do. I’m not saying the lawyer is lying or wrong but break down his press release. The lawyer said that cps produced a videotape of the five year claiming the father innapropriately touched her, the lawyer said the contact was routine “such as drying off the child with a towel.” He also said the questions were ambiguous. Look at the accusation he chose to give you and the media, a harmless act that all parents do. But he doesn’t tell you what the other allegations were yet he throws out an attack of the ambiguous nature of the questions (“such as” means that is but one example). He’s prepping the defense for what those other allegations are. The authorities can’t tell the media anything, they are prohibited. I’m sure there is more to the story. This is a spin tactic to get the agency to give up, to try the case in the court of public opinion where only one side gets to talk. Maybe they are right, but don’t be so quick to judge because you and I only know hat the defense wants us to know. Maybe the questions weren’t ambiguous, why doesn’t the lawyer tell us the questions? Lawyers aren;t evil, they have a job to do. They don’t usually lie, but they do omit things that are damaging to their client, especially in the media.

Why not wait to hear both sides of the story before deciding? More often than not, cps would love to show you everything but they are prohibited from doing so.

Imagine you have a friend that is going through a divorce, or got arrested, or lost a bet, or lost an argument. Now imagine he tells you his side of the story, but you cant ask questions and you cant talk to the other party. You will probably certainly side with him, just from what he tells you, he certainly got screwed somehow. But we dont live like this, we ask our friend questions, sometimes we know the other person and we almost certainly dont see it how he wants us to see it once we delve a little deeper into it. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle. What you have just done is taken everything your friend said as fact and made a decision on how the world operates. Take a step back, doubt both sides and always doubt the side that is talking.

Believe none of what you read and only half of what you see.

[temeculaguy]

Flu, you need to be a little more skeptical. First, the link you provided goes to some world press blog and I didn’t see an author’s name. I did a little search and read a few versions of the article but it’s all pretty much the same, it’s from the lawyer of the father and a serbian consulate advocate. So you are hearing one side of the story and making assumptions, which is exactly what the lawyer wants you to do. I’m not saying the lawyer is lying or wrong but break down his press release. The lawyer said that cps produced a videotape of the five year claiming the father innapropriately touched her, the lawyer said the contact was routine “such as drying off the child with a towel.” He also said the questions were ambiguous. Look at the accusation he chose to give you and the media, a harmless act that all parents do. But he doesn’t tell you what the other allegations were yet he throws out an attack of the ambiguous nature of the questions (“such as” means that is but one example). He’s prepping the defense for what those other allegations are. The authorities can’t tell the media anything, they are prohibited. I’m sure there is more to the story. This is a spin tactic to get the agency to give up, to try the case in the court of public opinion where only one side gets to talk. Maybe they are right, but don’t be so quick to judge because you and I only know hat the defense wants us to know. Maybe the questions weren’t ambiguous, why doesn’t the lawyer tell us the questions? Lawyers aren;t evil, they have a job to do. They don’t usually lie, but they do omit things that are damaging to their client, especially in the media.

Why not wait to hear both sides of the story before deciding? More often than not, cps would love to show you everything but they are prohibited from doing so.

Imagine you have a friend that is going through a divorce, or got arrested, or lost a bet, or lost an argument. Now imagine he tells you his side of the story, but you cant ask questions and you cant talk to the other party. You will probably certainly side with him, just from what he tells you, he certainly got screwed somehow. But we dont live like this, we ask our friend questions, sometimes we know the other person and we almost certainly dont see it how he wants us to see it once we delve a little deeper into it. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle. What you have just done is taken everything your friend said as fact and made a decision on how the world operates. Take a step back, doubt both sides and always doubt the side that is talking.

Believe none of what you read and only half of what you see.

[temeculaguy]

Flu, you need to be a little more skeptical. First, the link you provided goes to some world press blog and I didn’t see an author’s name. I did a little search and read a few versions of the article but it’s all pretty much the same, it’s from the lawyer of the father and a serbian consulate advocate. So you are hearing one side of the story and making assumptions, which is exactly what the lawyer wants you to do. I’m not saying the lawyer is lying or wrong but break down his press release. The lawyer said that cps produced a videotape of the five year claiming the father innapropriately touched her, the lawyer said the contact was routine “such as drying off the child with a towel.” He also said the questions were ambiguous. Look at the accusation he chose to give you and the media, a harmless act that all parents do. But he doesn’t tell you what the other allegations were yet he throws out an attack of the ambiguous nature of the questions (“such as” means that is but one example). He’s prepping the defense for what those other allegations are. The authorities can’t tell the media anything, they are prohibited. I’m sure there is more to the story. This is a spin tactic to get the agency to give up, to try the case in the court of public opinion where only one side gets to talk. Maybe they are right, but don’t be so quick to judge because you and I only know hat the defense wants us to know. Maybe the questions weren’t ambiguous, why doesn’t the lawyer tell us the questions? Lawyers aren;t evil, they have a job to do. They don’t usually lie, but they do omit things that are damaging to their client, especially in the media.

Why not wait to hear both sides of the story before deciding? More often than not, cps would love to show you everything but they are prohibited from doing so.

Imagine you have a friend that is going through a divorce, or got arrested, or lost a bet, or lost an argument. Now imagine he tells you his side of the story, but you cant ask questions and you cant talk to the other party. You will probably certainly side with him, just from what he tells you, he certainly got screwed somehow. But we dont live like this, we ask our friend questions, sometimes we know the other person and we almost certainly dont see it how he wants us to see it once we delve a little deeper into it. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle. What you have just done is taken everything your friend said as fact and made a decision on how the world operates. Take a step back, doubt both sides and always doubt the side that is talking.

Believe none of what you read and only half of what you see.

[temeculaguy]

Flu, you need to be a little more skeptical. First, the link you provided goes to some world press blog and I didn’t see an author’s name. I did a little search and read a few versions of the article but it’s all pretty much the same, it’s from the lawyer of the father and a serbian consulate advocate. So you are hearing one side of the story and making assumptions, which is exactly what the lawyer wants you to do. I’m not saying the lawyer is lying or wrong but break down his press release. The lawyer said that cps produced a videotape of the five year claiming the father innapropriately touched her, the lawyer said the contact was routine “such as drying off the child with a towel.” He also said the questions were ambiguous. Look at the accusation he chose to give you and the media, a harmless act that all parents do. But he doesn’t tell you what the other allegations were yet he throws out an attack of the ambiguous nature of the questions (“such as” means that is but one example). He’s prepping the defense for what those other allegations are. The authorities can’t tell the media anything, they are prohibited. I’m sure there is more to the story. This is a spin tactic to get the agency to give up, to try the case in the court of public opinion where only one side gets to talk. Maybe they are right, but don’t be so quick to judge because you and I only know hat the defense wants us to know. Maybe the questions weren’t ambiguous, why doesn’t the lawyer tell us the questions? Lawyers aren;t evil, they have a job to do. They don’t usually lie, but they do omit things that are damaging to their client, especially in the media.

Why not wait to hear both sides of the story before deciding? More often than not, cps would love to show you everything but they are prohibited from doing so.

Imagine you have a friend that is going through a divorce, or got arrested, or lost a bet, or lost an argument. Now imagine he tells you his side of the story, but you cant ask questions and you cant talk to the other party. You will probably certainly side with him, just from what he tells you, he certainly got screwed somehow. But we dont live like this, we ask our friend questions, sometimes we know the other person and we almost certainly dont see it how he wants us to see it once we delve a little deeper into it. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle. What you have just done is taken everything your friend said as fact and made a decision on how the world operates. Take a step back, doubt both sides and always doubt the side that is talking.

Believe none of what you read and only half of what you see.

[temeculaguy]

Flu, you need to be a little more skeptical. First, the link you provided goes to some world press blog and I didn’t see an author’s name. I did a little search and read a few versions of the article but it’s all pretty much the same, it’s from the lawyer of the father and a serbian consulate advocate. So you are hearing one side of the story and making assumptions, which is exactly what the lawyer wants you to do. I’m not saying the lawyer is lying or wrong but break down his press release. The lawyer said that cps produced a videotape of the five year claiming the father innapropriately touched her, the lawyer said the contact was routine “such as drying off the child with a towel.” He also said the questions were ambiguous. Look at the accusation he chose to give you and the media, a harmless act that all parents do. But he doesn’t tell you what the other allegations were yet he throws out an attack of the ambiguous nature of the questions (“such as” means that is but one example). He’s prepping the defense for what those other allegations are. The authorities can’t tell the media anything, they are prohibited. I’m sure there is more to the story. This is a spin tactic to get the agency to give up, to try the case in the court of public opinion where only one side gets to talk. Maybe they are right, but don’t be so quick to judge because you and I only know hat the defense wants us to know. Maybe the questions weren’t ambiguous, why doesn’t the lawyer tell us the questions? Lawyers aren;t evil, they have a job to do. They don’t usually lie, but they do omit things that are damaging to their client, especially in the media.

Why not wait to hear both sides of the story before deciding? More often than not, cps would love to show you everything but they are prohibited from doing so.

Imagine you have a friend that is going through a divorce, or got arrested, or lost a bet, or lost an argument. Now imagine he tells you his side of the story, but you cant ask questions and you cant talk to the other party. You will probably certainly side with him, just from what he tells you, he certainly got screwed somehow. But we dont live like this, we ask our friend questions, sometimes we know the other person and we almost certainly dont see it how he wants us to see it once we delve a little deeper into it. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle. What you have just done is taken everything your friend said as fact and made a decision on how the world operates. Take a step back, doubt both sides and always doubt the side that is talking.

Believe none of what you read and only half of what you see.

[temeculaguy]

[quote=pri_dk]Thanks TG!

Any idea if these are going for more than asking price?[/quote]

If you scroll down the page near the bottom, redfin lists recent sales and active listings. It looks like they sell at about 100-110k for the apartmentish ones, they were listing and selling about 10k lower last year. I’m not sure what they go for right now because those comps might have a little jump due to the tax credit which is now expired. Logic says that some buyers had an extra 10k back then, but I’ll bet most buyers are investors. A 10% rise isn’t too crazy from last year, I personally think last year was an overcorrection in this area at that price level. The problem is, like sdr mention, they are all sold. In the 150k place, only 3 are listed and all 3 are pending. In six months, more than a dozen sold, but right now, there aren’t any to buy and there’s no tsuinami coming since all the bubble bought ones have already all been foreclosed on and been sold. We are two years ahead of SD up here as far as foreclosures go and most of it got taken back before the intervention. Regarding the cheaper building, there is only one 1br that is not pending or not a short sale (It’s hard to tell if shorts have offers, they rarely change the status) and that comples is three times the size but no 2 or 3 br that you can actually buy and that place already churned through most of it’s distress last year. So the boat has sailed but it hasn’t sailed far, you can still swim to it. Not sure for how long, sub 100x rent multipliers are a bit of an anomoly.

People of true retirement age might be buying those, many can muster the 100k in cash and have just a few hundred a month total housing costs. I know when I retire, I’m not leaving if my family is all here. I may want to go low maintenance, have no mortgage and I’ll need less stuff (maybe). I know when I rented in the 150k townhomes, I think half the place was young, solo, retirees in their 50’s and 60’s. They get 1650 sq ft and a two car garage, a small backyard, it’s not vegas or pheonix hot for only 150k. Lots of middle aged gals walking their little dogs seemed to be there and most were owners (I was the only renter at parties). The cheaper ones is a younger crowd, not sure I’d want to retire there. When I evaluate rentals I look at how they pencil out and I also like to make sure that, in a pinch, I could live there too. It’s a nice backup plan to sell your primary home and retire into your prop 13 low tax rental. Something to think about when shopping for a potential rental property, is who does the property appeal to. In the 150k ones, 1/3 of the units had a downstairs master bedroom, the older people seemed to gobble those up, I never saw one for rent in 2 years, cause if they rented, they tend to stay. In the 100k ones, they have no elevator, three story building, all stairs, I imagine the ground floor is at a premium for some people adn the turnover would be higher.

[temeculaguy]

[quote=pri_dk]Thanks TG!

Any idea if these are going for more than asking price?[/quote]

If you scroll down the page near the bottom, redfin lists recent sales and active listings. It looks like they sell at about 100-110k for the apartmentish ones, they were listing and selling about 10k lower last year. I’m not sure what they go for right now because those comps might have a little jump due to the tax credit which is now expired. Logic says that some buyers had an extra 10k back then, but I’ll bet most buyers are investors. A 10% rise isn’t too crazy from last year, I personally think last year was an overcorrection in this area at that price level. The problem is, like sdr mention, they are all sold. In the 150k place, only 3 are listed and all 3 are pending. In six months, more than a dozen sold, but right now, there aren’t any to buy and there’s no tsuinami coming since all the bubble bought ones have already all been foreclosed on and been sold. We are two years ahead of SD up here as far as foreclosures go and most of it got taken back before the intervention. Regarding the cheaper building, there is only one 1br that is not pending or not a short sale (It’s hard to tell if shorts have offers, they rarely change the status) and that comples is three times the size but no 2 or 3 br that you can actually buy and that place already churned through most of it’s distress last year. So the boat has sailed but it hasn’t sailed far, you can still swim to it. Not sure for how long, sub 100x rent multipliers are a bit of an anomoly.

People of true retirement age might be buying those, many can muster the 100k in cash and have just a few hundred a month total housing costs. I know when I retire, I’m not leaving if my family is all here. I may want to go low maintenance, have no mortgage and I’ll need less stuff (maybe). I know when I rented in the 150k townhomes, I think half the place was young, solo, retirees in their 50’s and 60’s. They get 1650 sq ft and a two car garage, a small backyard, it’s not vegas or pheonix hot for only 150k. Lots of middle aged gals walking their little dogs seemed to be there and most were owners (I was the only renter at parties). The cheaper ones is a younger crowd, not sure I’d want to retire there. When I evaluate rentals I look at how they pencil out and I also like to make sure that, in a pinch, I could live there too. It’s a nice backup plan to sell your primary home and retire into your prop 13 low tax rental. Something to think about when shopping for a potential rental property, is who does the property appeal to. In the 150k ones, 1/3 of the units had a downstairs master bedroom, the older people seemed to gobble those up, I never saw one for rent in 2 years, cause if they rented, they tend to stay. In the 100k ones, they have no elevator, three story building, all stairs, I imagine the ground floor is at a premium for some people adn the turnover would be higher.

[temeculaguy]

[quote=pri_dk]Thanks TG!

Any idea if these are going for more than asking price?[/quote]

If you scroll down the page near the bottom, redfin lists recent sales and active listings. It looks like they sell at about 100-110k for the apartmentish ones, they were listing and selling about 10k lower last year. I’m not sure what they go for right now because those comps might have a little jump due to the tax credit which is now expired. Logic says that some buyers had an extra 10k back then, but I’ll bet most buyers are investors. A 10% rise isn’t too crazy from last year, I personally think last year was an overcorrection in this area at that price level. The problem is, like sdr mention, they are all sold. In the 150k place, only 3 are listed and all 3 are pending. In six months, more than a dozen sold, but right now, there aren’t any to buy and there’s no tsuinami coming since all the bubble bought ones have already all been foreclosed on and been sold. We are two years ahead of SD up here as far as foreclosures go and most of it got taken back before the intervention. Regarding the cheaper building, there is only one 1br that is not pending or not a short sale (It’s hard to tell if shorts have offers, they rarely change the status) and that comples is three times the size but no 2 or 3 br that you can actually buy and that place already churned through most of it’s distress last year. So the boat has sailed but it hasn’t sailed far, you can still swim to it. Not sure for how long, sub 100x rent multipliers are a bit of an anomoly.

People of true retirement age might be buying those, many can muster the 100k in cash and have just a few hundred a month total housing costs. I know when I retire, I’m not leaving if my family is all here. I may want to go low maintenance, have no mortgage and I’ll need less stuff (maybe). I know when I rented in the 150k townhomes, I think half the place was young, solo, retirees in their 50’s and 60’s. They get 1650 sq ft and a two car garage, a small backyard, it’s not vegas or pheonix hot for only 150k. Lots of middle aged gals walking their little dogs seemed to be there and most were owners (I was the only renter at parties). The cheaper ones is a younger crowd, not sure I’d want to retire there. When I evaluate rentals I look at how they pencil out and I also like to make sure that, in a pinch, I could live there too. It’s a nice backup plan to sell your primary home and retire into your prop 13 low tax rental. Something to think about when shopping for a potential rental property, is who does the property appeal to. In the 150k ones, 1/3 of the units had a downstairs master bedroom, the older people seemed to gobble those up, I never saw one for rent in 2 years, cause if they rented, they tend to stay. In the 100k ones, they have no elevator, three story building, all stairs, I imagine the ground floor is at a premium for some people adn the turnover would be higher.

[temeculaguy]

[quote=pri_dk]Thanks TG!

Any idea if these are going for more than asking price?[/quote]

If you scroll down the page near the bottom, redfin lists recent sales and active listings. It looks like they sell at about 100-110k for the apartmentish ones, they were listing and selling about 10k lower last year. I’m not sure what they go for right now because those comps might have a little jump due to the tax credit which is now expired. Logic says that some buyers had an extra 10k back then, but I’ll bet most buyers are investors. A 10% rise isn’t too crazy from last year, I personally think last year was an overcorrection in this area at that price level. The problem is, like sdr mention, they are all sold. In the 150k place, only 3 are listed and all 3 are pending. In six months, more than a dozen sold, but right now, there aren’t any to buy and there’s no tsuinami coming since all the bubble bought ones have already all been foreclosed on and been sold. We are two years ahead of SD up here as far as foreclosures go and most of it got taken back before the intervention. Regarding the cheaper building, there is only one 1br that is not pending or not a short sale (It’s hard to tell if shorts have offers, they rarely change the status) and that comples is three times the size but no 2 or 3 br that you can actually buy and that place already churned through most of it’s distress last year. So the boat has sailed but it hasn’t sailed far, you can still swim to it. Not sure for how long, sub 100x rent multipliers are a bit of an anomoly.

People of true retirement age might be buying those, many can muster the 100k in cash and have just a few hundred a month total housing costs. I know when I retire, I’m not leaving if my family is all here. I may want to go low maintenance, have no mortgage and I’ll need less stuff (maybe). I know when I rented in the 150k townhomes, I think half the place was young, solo, retirees in their 50’s and 60’s. They get 1650 sq ft and a two car garage, a small backyard, it’s not vegas or pheonix hot for only 150k. Lots of middle aged gals walking their little dogs seemed to be there and most were owners (I was the only renter at parties). The cheaper ones is a younger crowd, not sure I’d want to retire there. When I evaluate rentals I look at how they pencil out and I also like to make sure that, in a pinch, I could live there too. It’s a nice backup plan to sell your primary home and retire into your prop 13 low tax rental. Something to think about when shopping for a potential rental property, is who does the property appeal to. In the 150k ones, 1/3 of the units had a downstairs master bedroom, the older people seemed to gobble those up, I never saw one for rent in 2 years, cause if they rented, they tend to stay. In the 100k ones, they have no elevator, three story building, all stairs, I imagine the ground floor is at a premium for some people adn the turnover would be higher.

[temeculaguy]

[quote=pri_dk]Thanks TG!

Any idea if these are going for more than asking price?[/quote]

If you scroll down the page near the bottom, redfin lists recent sales and active listings. It looks like they sell at about 100-110k for the apartmentish ones, they were listing and selling about 10k lower last year. I’m not sure what they go for right now because those comps might have a little jump due to the tax credit which is now expired. Logic says that some buyers had an extra 10k back then, but I’ll bet most buyers are investors. A 10% rise isn’t too crazy from last year, I personally think last year was an overcorrection in this area at that price level. The problem is, like sdr mention, they are all sold. In the 150k place, only 3 are listed and all 3 are pending. In six months, more than a dozen sold, but right now, there aren’t any to buy and there’s no tsuinami coming since all the bubble bought ones have already all been foreclosed on and been sold. We are two years ahead of SD up here as far as foreclosures go and most of it got taken back before the intervention. Regarding the cheaper building, there is only one 1br that is not pending or not a short sale (It’s hard to tell if shorts have offers, they rarely change the status) and that comples is three times the size but no 2 or 3 br that you can actually buy and that place already churned through most of it’s distress last year. So the boat has sailed but it hasn’t sailed far, you can still swim to it. Not sure for how long, sub 100x rent multipliers are a bit of an anomoly.

People of true retirement age might be buying those, many can muster the 100k in cash and have just a few hundred a month total housing costs. I know when I retire, I’m not leaving if my family is all here. I may want to go low maintenance, have no mortgage and I’ll need less stuff (maybe). I know when I rented in the 150k townhomes, I think half the place was young, solo, retirees in their 50’s and 60’s. They get 1650 sq ft and a two car garage, a small backyard, it’s not vegas or pheonix hot for only 150k. Lots of middle aged gals walking their little dogs seemed to be there and most were owners (I was the only renter at parties). The cheaper ones is a younger crowd, not sure I’d want to retire there. When I evaluate rentals I look at how they pencil out and I also like to make sure that, in a pinch, I could live there too. It’s a nice backup plan to sell your primary home and retire into your prop 13 low tax rental. Something to think about when shopping for a potential rental property, is who does the property appeal to. In the 150k ones, 1/3 of the units had a downstairs master bedroom, the older people seemed to gobble those up, I never saw one for rent in 2 years, cause if they rented, they tend to stay. In the 100k ones, they have no elevator, three story building, all stairs, I imagine the ground floor is at a premium for some people adn the turnover would be higher.

[temeculaguy]

I can show you a bunch, the smaller ones and the cheaper ones cash flow better. The rental market is fairly strong, until my recent purchase I was a renter. A 100k condo rents for $1100-$1200, a 160k townhouse with a 2 car garage rents for $1500 and a 200k sfr rents for $1600-$1700. A 300k sfr rents for $1800-$2000. So the rent multiplier goes up as the price goes up. It’s not a rule of thumb everywhere, but here, condos flow better than sfr’s and larger sfr’s are not as good as the smaller one.

Here’s and example of a 100k 2/2 that rents for just over a grand

http://www.redfin.com/CA/Temecula/31357-Taylor-Ln-92592/unit-1357/home/6684623

In the listing they give the downpayment as $3500, P&I is $475, taxes are $280 and hoa is $200, so it’s 900 a month to own and 1100-1200 a month to rent. The taxes are actually lower than that because it was purchased in 05 for 279k (so it’s 2/3 off right now) and the taxes were likely readjusted mid year. The 3k for last year taxes is averaged from two different values so using past taxes can be misleading. I think the taxes are 1% plus 1k, so if you paid sub 100k taxes might me $180 or less. That’s a couple hundred cash flow from day one, low effort and since it’s newer, lower liklihood of major repairs needed in the next decade with a nice upside.

This next one is an example of a $1500 rental

http://www.redfin.com/CA/Temecula/33625-Emerson-Way-92592/unit-B/home/12509141

You can see the taxes show 2300 a year with a 166 assessed value, it’s either a lower rate or just a more accurate full year tax rate or they got an adjustment earlier. This is probably a wash or a mild cash flower. Hoa is $185.

Both those complexes are gated and have pools, one has a gym, trash, fire insurance and lanscaping/exterior water/exterior painting/maint are included in the hoa for both. Your landlord cost are fairly low vs an sfr. One we get to the 200k sfr, rent only goes up a little, and landscaping costs/maintenance are on on the landlords tab. But the sfr’s have more appreciation upside in the longrun so you just have to ask yourself what your goals are, cash flow or appreciation.

There has been an uptick in prices, bottom has probably already passed for the low end up here because buying became cheaper than rent in late 2008. sfr’s are more balanced now with rent and prices being nuetral without considering the tax deduction. Most 3000 sq ft sfr’s can be had around 300k, and will not rent for more than 2k, that’s peak rent here. There is a demographic shift once you get to sfr’s, the people that can afford 2k rent, will usually just buy and have a 2k mortgage and get a tax deduction. The small places and codos serve a different demographic, young people not ready to buy, people going through a divorce, single people not sure where they will be five years from now and not wanting to have to sell and lose the transaction costs.

Now that I think about it, the OP can use his 100k, pay cash for a little condo and have very minimal operating costs.

[Author]

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