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Rob,
One of the things that has always made Craigslist a little "suspect" in my mind is that it gives anyone either new to, or thinking about a move to any area a sense that they have their thumb on the pulse of what is going on there! Just click on any point on the globe and Craig will take you there, for free! Because the ads post for free everyone there has a "might as well throw your hat in the ring" mentality! If I can't sell it for X + my wildest dreams, no bigee, didn't cost me a thing. When people PAY for advertising, they need a return on that investment. They need results.
Look at so many of the RE listings there. It's LOL funny.
"We really don't need to sell this place but we got some acreage from our parents so for the right price we'll let this place go".
"Going through a divorce, my loss is your gain"
You get the idea.
FAB,
Thanks, it looked pretty unenforceable. It is a shame though, I was stationed in that area years ago and it seemed like it was a really nice town. I don't know what kind of community you can have when 1 in 4 people are there illegally?
Harm:
I'm banking on your recession theory hope that is the case. I may be coming back next year. This deep south experiment didn't work yea it's quaint and cheap but there is nothing to do and 0 culture. When I left So Cal last January was renting a 2/2 gated decent north upland above foothill for $875 and that was a bargain (I got lucky). Who knows what has happened since.
Man that's me! Tech ignorant user friendly maybe? If it weren't for the easy format templates in Blogger I'd never had gotten my webpage up. I have alot of respect for techno saavy nerds.
Our rent in Mountain View went up 7% in August, but that was the first raise in 3 and a half years. We are only on month to month, so I hope our landlord doesn't get any ideas - if he does, we'll just have to move - in which case he loses any gains he might have made with a rent increase, and he will have the hassle of finding new tenants.
We have "fruit" rats in the roof, which the landlord doesn't seem to care about. As long as they don't come in the house, I won't throw a wobbly, but if they ever do...........
OT - if you buy a piece of land - how much would a contractor charge you to build say a 3bed, 2bath house on it - i.e. tear down the existing property? Mountain View/Los Altos? I have a friend who thinks that this would be a great idea, but I'm thining it's not as cheap as she's thinking it is? Anyone got a rough idea?
OT,
HARM, the quote from previous by Amy Crews Cutts was absolutely golden! Now we're calling people stupid? These are YOUR CLIENTS deary! I guess when you work for a GSE you can get away w/insulting the general public. Well, if "buying" from August 2005-on was such a dim-wit idea why were you people still lending money like it was going out of style?
Gary, Leslie, David...... meet Amy.
Claire,
Good morning btw, I can't imagine being any further out of depth than hazarding an opinion about "tear downs" but w/ certain things in life it simply isn't necessary.
What we really have is a credit fueled "land bubble". When lots alone in OR (that's Oregon for crissakes) are going for 120-200k, we have a land bubble. Most "tear downs" are hardly priced at what the lot alone would sell for (not that it would be a bargain) then there's the cost of disconnecting service, removing said uninhabitable chicken coop, site prep, architect, designer and greasing local palms every step of the way.
FAB, have I left anything out?
So my friend has found a double lot, with two houses built, one owner occupied and the other their rental, asking $1.5m - she's thinking buy it, split the lot (21000ft into two 10,000ft) and build new houses for less than most go for in that area - which is normally $1.2 to 1.4m - it doesn't sound too bad an idea except that I think/hope house prices are falling. Luckily I am not in a position to buy yet, so I can honestly say that we can't go halves or even consider any properties until next year.
Wow, I feel really lucky to be renting a 2br/2ba condo for under $1800 in a nice part of Cupertino. We're in a lease that does not expire until next year. Our landlord never raises the rent - honestly I feel like I'm stealing from the guy. I won't be upset at all if he raises the rent. Rents still seem very "reasonable" compared to the dot com days.
One thing I notice regarding rents - it seems like the apartment complexes are asking a lot compared to private owners. My friend is renting a 1br condo in MV for $1150. I saw an ad for Park Place one bedroom for $2081. WTF? Good luck with that.
To be honest, the more I look at the figures the more I think it makes sense to keep on renting and stay put, but I don't like the feeling of wondering if the landlord is going to raise the rent or decide to sell the house from under us. Also, I want to get my daughter into a slightly better school district, but I can't find any rentals in that area at the moment and if I start paying a higher rent, then it gets closer to breaking even with paying a mortgage instead.
I definitely want to move before she reaches Middle School - which is the problem school - so that gives me about 4 years, but then my son will have started school and I will have to switch him too - neither kid likes change much. But I guess a lot can happen in 4 years so I shouldn't worry yet - but I do!
I just hope our current landlords don't get it into their heads that rents have really increased 20% and increase their rents based on that article! I think that is the main concern for us all - does anyone ever refute these articles in the press?
I dont see very many SFH rentals in Marin on Craigs.
My lease at our Apt is now over and I am on month to month but at the same rent. Posting on Craigs from our apt complex is asking for @200 more than our current rent for the same place but apparently they are not getting any people since the ad has been running for atleast 2 months now.
I am thinking the SFH and condo rentals in Marin county are run brokers and Realtors and they have the rents jacked up soo high. Its bound to come back down by next year. Till then happy renting for us in a 2/1 for $1350 in San Rafael
One thing I notice regarding rents - it seems like the apartment complexes are asking a lot compared to private owners. My friend is renting a 1br condo in MV for $1150. I saw an ad for Park Place one bedroom for $2081. WTF? Good luck with that.
Renting from a complex carries a premium for stability and maintenance expectations. You are much more likely to be displaced from an individual owner. In most Bay Area cities/counties, renters have few rights and little recourse if the place is sold out from under you and you are promptly kicked out. It has happened to more than a couple friends and colleagues, most of which tried their damnedest to fight with lawyers (one couple were actually lawyers themselves). And good luck getting some absent 100% equity SFH owner from spending more than $50 on a new dishwasher for the pathetic renters to enjoy.
i think it's still possible to find relatively cheap places to rent ( i can vouch for this in the east bay). part of the problem is everyone is getting their info off craigslist or other internet-derived sources, and i think they tend to track higher. If you do your leg work and use pre-internet sources and rent from an owner, you'll probably get a better deal.
Randy,
In most cases you are probably right. Our owner lives out of state and we have a property management company. We've had very few issues, but when we have, the management company has attended to them immediately. Like I said, I think we are pretty lucky. Our luck may run out if he decides to sell, but so be it. It's been a good situation for the last three+ years so I cannot complain. :) We want to buy in 2008-2009, here or someplace else, so if we can just squeeze through a little longer...
@DifferentSean
Thanks for your prespective on Doctors from the land of Aussie. I guess it is time for people like Skibum to pull their heads out of their ass and admit that they are in the field to make money not to serve the people, no matter what they say. And please, dont tell me their job is any important than anybody else. Nurses and Doctors are in that field to make money period.
I dont want to give you N number of examples to prove that everybody thinks that their job is the most important in the world.
HARM, yes , the BA is different :-)
DinOR, I believe the house julie was renting was sold out from under her and she was forced to find another rental ( or not ? Maybe she can clarify the situation.)
Others: Folks, the BA in not West Palm Beach. For all the people who preach fundamentals, quite a few seem to be willing to bury their heads and deny the rent vs. own metric. The only place we are overbuilt in the BA is out in the boonies where there does seem to have been some flipper activity (see CL postings). At some point, effects may trickles over the hills, but I don't think many prospective Marin buyers want to move to Antioch.
I have (or should I say had) what I thought were two overpriced rentals on either side of me. They have both have been rented. Housing prices and rents will find an "equilibrium" (hopefully with one going up and the other going down). Lets hope the "fear factor" doesn't drive everything up like in the dotcom days :-(
Also, FYI, CL is a Bay Area institution. Almost all rental business in this area is transacted via its classifieds. Yes you do get some flaky postings like "I wish my junk was worth this"... but it is a good proxy for "market rate" in the BA.
Another rent report from Mid-Peninsula (Foster City).
Rented 2/2 with a garage last year (7/05) for $1805. Large complex, pools, etc. About 20 yrs old. Renewed rent (7/06)-- mgmt wanted 10%; offered 5% ($90/month) and they jumped at it. For 10% increase, probably would have moved.
Mgmt is asking probably 15-20% more than when I rented (5/05), but there are MANY empty units. Population is also very transient -- constant moves in and out.
Big mgmt company so they probably have a good yield mgmt model (much like the airlines), but it seems that they maximize s/t yield (i.e. -- high prices, people move after a short period). FAB may be able to comment
However, every complex I pass has "Apt Available" signs out. So the big increases may just be a "wishing" price - you can ask any price that you want; the question is what can people pay.
BTW, I also look at C/L from time to time; I don't really notice that rents are up substantially. With apartments, the comparable market is condo's. Given that a comparable 2/2 condo is still north of $500k (monthly nut ex-tax effect of about $3800+), rent or rent + 10% still looks cheap.
EBGuy,
Uh, o.k so you were right. Usually anytime someone comes here to post about selling above asking IT'S A TROLL o.k? My bad (insert blushing Walmart smiley face here).
My beef with Julie then is why didn't she trash the place!
I will only rent from an apartment complex. It is not difficult to screen good landlords but it is tricky to predict if he will sell the place.
In most Bay Area cities/counties, renters have few rights and little recourse if the place is sold out from under you and you are promptly kicked out.
I do not care about renters rights, because much of them actually hurt renters in the long run.
However, the lease is a contract and it should be fulfilled. I do not understand how people can be kicked-out if a lease is in effect.
I guess it is time for people like Skibum to pull their heads out of their ass and admit that they are in the field to make money not to serve the people, no matter what they say. And please, dont tell me their job is any important than anybody else. Nurses and Doctors are in that field to make money period.
Phil, Go screw yourself, asshole.
skibum,
You were kind of "wishy washy" on that last post. Could you be a little more specific?
I guess it is time for people like Skibum to pull their heads out of their ass and admit that they are in the field to make money not to serve the people, no matter what they say.
Phil has no clue. Name me a few doctors on Forbes 400! Engineers are probably in the field for the money.
Noone really suffers if the Internet disappears. But if doctors go on strike...
Ahem,
Firstly, my apologies to Julie. My bad however; I can't blame her if she was unaware that HARM-X Industries has a subsidiary that handles these issues free of charge to Patrick regulars.
Simply provide the greedy "fat stacks of cash" boomer owner address and invite us over for a little "going away party"! If they've already cut the electricity off not to worry! We have a battery powered blender and the keg works manually!
@SFGuy,
Yeah after your open heart sugery with the best surgeon, and they put in a pace maker and someone screwed up the software in it, you will be very happy i guess. The ABS system in your car didnt work because of a faulty part and you run yourself of the cliff because the brakes didnt work, I am sure you will be more than thankful. Get the drift.
@Skibum,
Name calling is what people resort to when they are cant come up with anything better to say.
I dont want to give you N number of examples to prove that everybody thinks that their job is the most important in the world.
I do think that my job is trivial and if I disappear now no more than 3 people in this world will miss me 3 years down the road.
If you disappear now how many people will miss you 3 years down the road? Be truthful to yourself.
This is how I rank importance.
Software development is a joke compared to medicine. Just compare the moral implications of each job.
@Phil,
It's hypocritical to call me on name calling when YOU started this by telling me to get my head out of my ass.
Clearly you have had some kind of bad experience with the medical system. Don't go blaming random people for it. You have NO idea who the hell I am - you don't know why I went in to medicine, where I work, how much I make, ANYTHING.
And you are the one who started disparging specific professions. I certainly did not trash engineers or tech people. The only professions I've trashed are the REIC-related ones (sorry George).
Take your anger somewhere else if you have nothing constructive or useful to add.
I saw an ad for Park Place one bedroom for $2081. WTF? Good luck with that.
it was probably for Park Place South - the complex above Amici's. That place is super super super nice. Like... super super super nice. Concrete everywhere - super quiet, awesome AC, great w/d in unit. Super super nice.
The cheaper units are in Park Place, down the street. No AC, very thin walls, not so nice parking. Those are still pretty expensive though.
I certainly did not trash engineers or tech people.
BTW, I can trash engineers or tech people because I am one. I am entitled to self-hatred.
Peter, Do not contradict yourself. Please read what you just wrote.
Does it look like I am looking for sympathy - on an online forum?
Surgeons are born with open heart sugery skills I presume. They dont have to practice at all.
I saw an ad for Park Place one bedroom for $2081. WTF? Good luck with that.
We almost rented a $2600 one bedroom from Avalon Towers. It is very nice with excellent view. Only one bathroom though.
We soon realized the silliness of it. Well, even that would be much cheaper than buying.
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Lately there has been a rash of articles about Bay Area rents going up. This is odd, because there was a big surge in rents in May and June, but not now. Two years ago I started monitoring and making graphs of Bay Area rents on the home page at http://patrick.net/ so I have plotted a huge amount of data, and I'm sure that the rental news lately is pretty boring.
So why the sudden burst of articles? Random noise in the press, or an attempt to encourage whatever few people who may still be thinking of buying a house?
Patrick