[TemekuT]

My dog has a car seat because she’s so small. And she goes to Lowes and Home Depot frequently. Plus, Scaredy, she’s cat safe :)) and doesn’t drool or bark :))

[TemekuT]

Just got back from Carmel, Aptos, Pacifica, Soquel…dogs everywhere. It is a socioeconomic phenomenon. The more wealthy the area, the more apt you are to see dogs everywhere, including the upscale stores and boutiques. Take a trip to Fashion Island to see the dogs in Neiman Marcus and Saks. Try taking a dog to the Target in Tustin Marketplace – that’s a “no go”.

In Paris we observed dogs in several restaurants – no problem. Maybe we’re weird here.

[TemekuT]

My heart goes out to both of you – BG and CardiffBaseball. I have the same situation with my beloved baby sis, who has always been vigilant about diet, weight, exercise. She was diagnosed with stage IV cancer 2 years ago at age 47 and is fighting with all she’s got. Thankfully, when she was struggling financially in the prior 2 years, she did not cancel her PPO and now has many care choices and can be selective about her treatments. I believe my sis will benefit from Obamacare and I am fine with helping her and others similarly stricken.

On the other hand, I will now have to contribute to relatives, acquaintances, and strangers’ future medical costs due to their laziness, lack of discipline and bad choices. I have some relatives that take cholesterol meds and blood pressure meds, but indulge almost daily in bacon, egg, and donut breakfasts. I get to watch as the metabolic syndrome they obviously have transforms into diabetes. They regularly circle around parking lots to get the spot closest to the restaurant door, where they consume pizza or fried chicken, followed by sugary and fatty desserts. They have packed on the pounds around their middles, and it’s not attractive being 50 lbs overweight.

Now my sis, that’s just genetic bad luck, but I do resent paying for others’ preventable conditions.

BG – I also have an individual AETNA PPO and received the letter, and am confused about what to do. I take great care of myself, with a very healthy diet and lots of exercise. I am slim, and have no conditions at 55+. It’s not always fun to haul myself out of bed early like I did this morning, walk a few miles, and then breakfast on oatmeal, but I do it because I want to be a healthy oldster.

[TemekuT]

“Well, TemekuT, we all tried to help birmingplumb’s son find a Section 8 unit the first time around, when he moved out here from Michigan.”

Hey BG, I know everyone helped. I just was touched by your contribution today and wanted to bless you with a compliment 🙂

[TemekuT]

BG – that was very kind of you to take the time to post such a comprehensive reply to help someone you don’t even know.

‘In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’
-Acts 20:35 ESV

[TemekuT]

carlsbadworker:

“I also got seller agent on this house explaining to me why this house HOA is $99 lower than other houses that are collecting $140 around it (he gave me reasons on different builders, etc, and I am still confused afterwards)”:

Those two houses are in the same tract – both are part of Artessa. That’s an ignorant agent spouting a stream of BS and hot air!

The clubhouse facilities manager tells me that occasionally local agents that have houses listed in Morgan Valley and below Morgan Hill tell their buyers that they are entitled to use the Morgan Hill facilities. She has actually had homeowners come in after close of escrow to register to use the clubhouse and she has to tell them that they are not part of the Morgan Hill community and not entitled to use any part of the facilities.

[TemekuT]

carlsbadworker:

The entire Morgan Hill community pays the same HOA fee, which is currently $99 per month. Perhaps you are confusing Morgan Valley with Morgan Hill. Morgan Valley’s HOA is approx $35 per month and DOES NOT include any use of the Morgan Hill facilities. Many realtors post incorrect information in their listings, such as indicating Morgan Valley has use of the Morgan Hill facilities, or failing to state that there is an HOA fee connected with a property. They also often misstate the amount of the HOA fee.

[TemekuT]

Morgan Hill has a very well run HOA. The board conducted an analysis of costs, figured out how to economize without compromising services and maintenance, obtained more competitive bids, and cut the monthly HOA fee prior to the new developer coming on board. When the new developers started building again and homes started closing escrow, the fee decreased more. When I purchased in 2004, the estimated HOA at buildout was $85 monthly, but that was projected on completion prior to 2010. HOA here fluctuates based on the phase and can actually go up temporarily when the first few homes of a new phase close because there is no developer subsidy agreement and the fixed costs increase with each new phase. I have paid fees as high as about $145, just for a few months. The current fee is $99.

The board also made the County of Riverside accountable for expending the bond money from CSA 143D to maintain the landscaping in that portion of the common area that is controlled by the county, so the landscaping is finally being cleaned up and replanted. Our property tax money for landscaping was being held in reserve and not expended to maintain our landscaping until the Board enlisted the help of a county supervisor.

[TemekuT]

The walking tour of the downtown underground:

http://www.undergroundtour.com/

[TemekuT]

Delete

[TemekuT]

Just a couple of corrections:

[quote=bearishgurl]

Not only did these (VERY underwater) sellers of the $370K recent sale put their own (or HELOC’d) cash into the property ($25-$30K over the years?) but they ended up short-selling the property for $228K less than they paid in 2006.

[/quote]

1. This was not a short sale. Nowhere in the listing detail is there any reference to a short sale.

2. Another model match REO, 44968 Silver Rose, closed 12/09/2011 at $292,000. Property was a rental and although in need of carpet, paint, and rear yard landscaping, was not trashed nor were the appliances missing. This was an arm’s length transaction.

Sorry to skew your statistics TG!

[TemekuT]

These are not in The City, but have been sure kiddie pleasers:

– Winchester Mystery House, San Jose

– Tech Museum of Innovation, downtown San Jose

– Christmas in the Park, downtown San Jose – kids really like the 50’s atmosphere, and the Downtown Ice Rink is very popular.

– Boardwalk at Santa Cruz…funky old roller coaster is fun!

And for adults – New Year’s Eve in downtown San Jose.

[TemekuT]

[quote=flu][quote=TemekuT]Let’s all pay $3 interest so we can save $1 in taxes. That’s after adjusting for the benefit on the first portion of taxable income of $5,800 single and $11,600 married, available to all via the standard deduction. Then, be sure to adjust for AMT as Schedule A deductions are limited and personal and dependency exemptions are phased out as AGI increases. Okay, ready now? Let’s all rush out and acquire lots of “tax deductions” so we can all save money on our taxes.[/quote]

Correct me if I’m wrong but…

*The mortgage interest deduction for a primary resident does NOT normally get AMT limited.

Under even normal tax calculations, mortgage interest deduction can get phased out, but it’s gradual, unless your AGI is way way up there.

*Property Taxes, State Income Taxes, Personal Property Taxes are EXCLUDED from AMT calculations

So… If you have a high AGI and have a lots of deductions and am still hitting AMT, it’s because your state come/property/personal prop taxes aren’t doing didly squat in the current year. That’s also why you might want to check whether you want to pay your property taxes this year or next….[/quote]

I swore I would stop posting tax code here and I don’t work with tax prep anymore, but, since my last tax refresher course was 3 years ago, and now that I’ve had to do a quick review of AMT so I could defend my post, the following are considered for AMT purposes:

1. Personal and dependency exemptions are not allowed as deductions for AMT.

2. Property tax deductions are not allowed for AMT. Futhermore, state and personal property taxes are not allowed.

3. Only the interest on mortgages related to the home is allowed. The portion related to the allowed $100,000 deductible for a home equity line not related to home improvements is excluded.

4. There are other Schedule A items that are subject to AMT.

I won’t bother to mention the less common Schedules B & D items that are subject to AMT, except to note that those items are common to high earning, high net worth individuals.

Furthermore, consider that many taxpayers take deductions for non-allowable items…Mello Roos and other bond items, and deductions for non-allowable mortgage interest in excess of basis.

One basic guide I used to give taxpayers that were subject to AMT was never prepay property tax or the 4th state quarterly estimate, as the benefit would be wiped out from the AMT.

Good news regarding the phase-out of itemized deductions. This provision has been repealed for 2011. That means it’s still part of tax code so who knows what will be decided in 2012.

In 2010 35% of taxpayers earning between $100,000 and $200,000 were subject to AMT. I don’t consider that income level to be high in most areas of California.

Now, the reason for my initial snarky post – based on my CPA background and years of real estate sales – most people significantly overestimate the tax advantages of home ownership. The less informed do not understand the benefit of the standard deduction amount. The more informed do not understand the AMT nor the deduction phaseout. Many deduct non-allowable portions of propery tax and mortgage interest. The tax code is a train wreck and subject to the whims of Congress from year to year. Pay interest if you will, but don’t overestimate the tax savings when making your calculations. And plan on the mortage interest deduction being whacked in the near future. After all, somehow the deficit has to be reduced, or at least held stable.

[TemekuT]

Let’s all pay $3 interest so we can save $1 in taxes. That’s after adjusting for the benefit on the first portion of taxable income of $5,800 single and $11,600 married, available to all via the standard deduction. Then, be sure to adjust for AMT as Schedule A deductions are limited and personal and dependency exemptions are phased out as AGI increases. Okay, ready now? Let’s all rush out and acquire lots of “tax deductions” so we can all save money on our taxes.

[TemekuT]

The data is for earned income, i.e, wages, tips, deferred compensation- items referred to as W-2 income. Wealthy people receive the bulk of their income as rents, royalties, dividends, and capital gains – items referred to as unearned income.

[Author]

Posts