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flu –
I thought of you this morning when I came into work. Sorry for the crappy cell phone pic… I’m oldschool with a “feature” phone that’s 3 years old.

[img_assist|nid=16374|title=wabbit|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=49|height=100]

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definitely check craigslist. The few rentals on my street all get advertised on Craigslist – even though they’re being rented by prop-mgmt companies.

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[quote=flu]Starts tomorrow![/quote]
You’ll have to let us know what swag you get. Rumored to be the new nexus tablet. Sweeeet.

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[quote=sdrealtor]FWIW focus groups have been telling builders to get rid of living rooms for at least the last decade. Then again if I didnt have a living room where would I put my ping pong table?[/quote]
In your backyard of course. (That’s where ours is… made sure we got an outdoor rated one and a cover for it.)

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‘heaven meets hell on Earth’… Great line! LOL

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I had a suggestion all ready to go until that last line.

We live on a canyon. We had critters of all sorts in our backyard until we got our dog.

It’s really fun to see him bound after errant critters that come into our yard.

Since we have fruit trees – we get rats. (Even yuckier than rabbits). He has totally eliminated that problem.

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[quote=sdrealtor]No Arcosanti this time Brian. I’ll be heading through Payson on my way to Scottsdale. Last time I took that drive (about 20 years ago) I almost ran over a mountain lion standing in the middle of the road at dusk. Another great travel memory from the past.[/quote]
What made you pick Scottsdale in June/July? Yikes!!!
http://weather.weatherbug.com/AZ/Scottsdale-weather.html?zcode=z6286&zip=85250

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[quote=sdrealtor][quote=poorgradstudent]”April home prices in San Diego are 1.8 percent lower than a year ago.”

These newest numbers aren’t seasonally adjusted. That adjustment would make them look less exciting to those hoping for prices to rise.[/quote]

PGS
I dont care what the number say as I see exactly what is happening on the street level and always have. Clearly I might add. Prices took a hard hit between Nov and Jan of this year but have come roaring back to where they were last year. Its not so much an increase as it is a definitive shift in momenetum and market psychology. I dont expect huge price gains but when we see the number next Jan compared to this past Jan dont be surprised to see 10% year over year gains. I’m expecting close to that.[/quote]
LOL – Hope you don’t care what the numbers say on the thermometer, either. I saw in another thread that you’re headed to Scottsdale. Current temp there is 109.5.

I have cousins and an Aunt in AZ. Not enough $$ in the world to make me visit them during the summer.

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I have a friend I’ve known since grade school who works in this area – specifically, how new technology can be used to teach kids. She’s a form Q-com veep and, more importantly, a mom.

She’s been writing/researching how games and technology can be used in education. Here’s a recent article she wrote.

http://gettingsmart.com/blog/2012/04/finally-math-apps-show-r-e-s-p-e-c-t/

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[quote=deadzone]If you are here legally what’s the problem? Carry your green card or visa/passport. If I visit any foreign country I’m required to carry ID too. The only people freaking out about this are the millions of illegals and their fammilies, that’s the point.

But of course the real problem is the Federal gov not enforcing employment of illegals. E-Verify should be mandatory across the board. Do you have a problem with E-verify Paramount?[/quote]
Do you carry your passport with you everywhere you go? How about a certified copy of your birth certificate? This does not just apply to immigrants – it’s anyone they suspect might be an immigrant.

I’ve been told I look Irish – maybe they’ll think I’m someone who overstayed my visa. They can ask for immigration status of EVERYONE… Not just people who weren’t born here.

But -from what I read – the supreme court did *not* endorse the papers please part of the law – they want to see how it’s going to be applied before deciding on that portion.

I suspect the racial profiling, as done by Joe Arpaio, will prove to be unconstitutional. He’s likely to overstep good judgement. I could see him asking Scalia for papers. After all – he’s got dark skin… can’t trust these Italians. (Note – I’m married to an Italian. LOL)

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[quote=Hobie]Scardy, join the club of screwed by best buy. I hope you used your credit card to buy the phone and all will be well. Seems BB loves to nit pick and gain customers by forcing their hand rather than providing a good product/service.

Screwed once, but never again. I’ll pay more before I give Best Buy any more $[/quote]

This. I will never shop at best buy again. Ever.

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[quote=svelte][quote=SkyRanchOwner]The Crescent Heights floor plans with pictures are now posted on the Lennar site:

http://www.lennar.com/New-Homes/California/San-Diego/Santee/Sky-Ranch/Crescent-Heights

2930 sq. ft. to 3648 sq. ft., view site homes.

Offering One-Story, Two-Story and Lennar’s Next Gen – The Home Within a Home
[/quote]

I can safely say this cuz no one owns – or even has a deposit – on any of these yet, but wow are those some bizarre layouts.

Let’s start with Residence 2 (which is the first one they list, followed by Residence 1 ??). I’d be miffed before I even walked in…it is a 4 car garage but it is double-tandem! I tell ya, the last thing I want to do is jockey cars around to get my favorite ride out for the day. It would make me grumpy. Then what’s with the narrow layout on a 2900 sf home? It feels like a row house! I want some shoulder room if I’m buying a house that big! Also a lil confused as to why there is an office but no LR, though I suppose you could use the office as a LR. Do people not want LRs any more?

Now for Residence 1, which is the second house shown. Single story, 3 car tandem. Still a lil grumble about the garage, but let’s go in. Open door. There’s a BR. There’s another. And yet another. !! You pass 3 bedrooms and then comes the DR. Wait, where’s the LR? That’s right, there isn’t one. And the BRs really couldn’t be used as one without knocking out a wall. Next!

Residence 3. Next Gen. They probably mean 2 generation, cuz there is no way you’d buy this house without a relative wanting to use the part of the house that is partitioned off. And the garage entrance is on the opposite side of the house as the front door. Is there an alley? If not, I’m not sure how that’s gonna work. Let’s go in. DR…nook…FR…BR…garage. No LR? Not even something you can convert into a LR? And this is the 3600 sf big bomber!

Maybe these would work for some families. Maybe times they are a’changin and I’m stuck in the 00s. Maybe I should have a glass of wine and shut up.[/quote]
I was intrigued by the floorplans for the Next-gen thing. After all, we built a casita in our backyard to house my senior in-laws. But I agree – the floorplans are weird.

Residence 2 – I figure the 4 car garage is so that people can have all the crap/junk in their garage, and still fit in 1 car… maybe 2. Lets face it – most folks don’t use their garages for autos… They use them to store junk they’re too lazy to throw out. They leave their valuable asset (car) outside, and keep boxes of “stuff” that wouldn’t bring $300 at a garage sale in their garage. I agree with you about the lack of living room. You need to have two spaces – one for the adults, one for the kids and their toys/stuff.

Residence 1 – what’s with walking past all the private spaces (bedrooms) to get to the public spaces. That is just bizarre. And the next-gen option is not a separate apartment – it’s entered through the main hall. And leaves the rest of the house just as a 2 bedroom. I also don’t like how bathroom 2 acts as the powder room for guests. I don’t know about other folks kids – but my kids are not the tidiest in their bathrooms.

Residence 3 – this one is interesting with the next-gen space at the front. It can be entered by the resident from the 3rd bay garage or from the front porch entrance. (Not from inside the house.) But the side entry (on the side opposite the garage) is weird and will confuse visitors looking for the front door. I’ve never been a fan of hidden front doors. Sure the family will enter through the garage… but unless they don’t have friends and never entertain – it’s annoying. The bonus room is nice – this way the family room can be claimed by the adults – and the kids can be relegated to the bonus room for their toys/video games/etc.

But all in all – the floorplans have a lot of wasted space with small ‘sub-halls” leading to bedroom doors or bathroom doors, or hidden storage closets… Those sub-halls are a waste.

My 1960’s 2020 sf house is more functional than these homes.

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1 ucgal
2 University City (hence the UC in ucgal)
3 2 kids, going into 4th and 6th grades
4 I like my hood for the location – semi-coastal, convenient to 5/805/52. Also decent public school cluster I love that it really is 10 minutes to La Jolla Shores beach and that I can look out my backyard and see if it’s still fogged in, or sunny already.
5. I dislike the arrogant attitude of the administrators at my local elementary. The school looks great on paper because of the kids and parents – not because of the awesomeness of the principal. Others might dislike the older (1960’s) housing stock and the jet noise from Miramar Marine airbase. Oh and a jet crashed into a house in my hood. That something I hate about my neighborhood.

If you’re going for good public schools you need to look at more than just test scores. You need to look at what programs the school offers, what other parents have to say, etc.

Commute is also key. The freeways here are crowded – and driving from north county to Coronado during rush hour in the morning might make you reconsider north county. I agree with the advice to stay south of the 56 if your office ends up being more towards downtown.

I’m not pushing University City on anyone. It works for my family – but probably wouldn’t for others.

I have friends who live in the Sunset Cliffs part of OB – Very nice homes, many with sit-down panoramic views… and up the hill from the noise/hubub. Given the need to be closer to Coronado than Oceanside – I can see the logic of that neighborhood. I would look into choicing/applying to the High tech high schools (explorer elementary, high tech middle, and high tech high.) But it’s a lottery to get in – and there are WAY more applicants that openings. (I applied for my kids and didn’t make it.)

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Since it was written it would be slander.
(Defamation is verbal.)

And whether it is slander/libel/defamation depends on whether the person stating it is stating falsehoods.

If the person making the statements is stating the truth – no defamation/libel/slander has occurred.

Otherwise Angie’s List and other rating services would cease to exist. Same with Yelp, etc.

Now if the statements are an outright lie – that’s actionable.

At least that’s how our attorney explained it to me when I posted some negative reviews and was accused of slander. I had the facts behind me so there was no case.

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[quote=SK in CV]Debt incurred within 90 days of acquisistion of a personal residence can be considered qualified home mortgage debt if it meets all the other requirements. There is no “registration”. Borrow the money, and get the security interest recorded within 90 days of the purchase and you’re good to go.[/quote]
SK – I have a question…

Is it only qualified home mortgage debt if you finance within the first 3 months? What about people who are serial refinancers (cough cough FLU cough cough xboxboy cough.)

Lets say someone starts out with a home purchased for 100k, financed for 80k. Appreciation happens and this person refinances w/ cash out – at 300k… rinse and repeat…. They can still deduct the mortgage interest…?
But another person scrapes together 100k in cash – lets say borrowing from their 401k, or family – to make their all-cash offer sweet enough to beat out other buyers. We all hear about how cash offers are king. They get the house – but don’t finance it till 120 days (more than the 90 days)… At that point they take out an 80k loan. Isn’t their mortgage just as deductable?

The first person extracted money from the house – more than the original purchase price. Yet the interest is still deductable. The second person did not extract the money – just paid back the nice folks who lent them money to make a cash offer.

Does the IRS really look at this 90 day thing?

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