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SP - I sure hope the Mountain View prices do slide - I just wish it would happen quickly!
Typically at work around 9.30 am, back around 6.30pm. Anytime they can, they delay their schedule just to catch a break…
Perhaps they should shift their schedule at least 1 hour. That will save them some time.
Did anyone comment on the housing report yet?
Existing home sales got pwned, although the NAR Chief Monkeynomist is spinning this out as "declining inventories going into 2008". No mention of the fact that inventory was higher than last year-end, and also higher than their earlier estimate.
And oh, by the way, NAR also thinks you will be happy to know that 2007 was the "fifth highest sales" record. So I guess the "sixth highest" is in the bag for 2008...
Maybe I sound stupid, why not commute to Santa Cruz?
Isn't Santa Cruz at least along the coast and a resort town? Why does everybody want to go east?
Claire Says:
SP - I sure hope the Mountain View prices do slide - I just wish it would happen quickly!
It may sound a little glib, but seriously, stop looking at it and enjoy everything else. I don't think this will be quick, so it is best to do whatever it takes to get time on your side.
Ok, I know my town has a bad rep. and deservedly so, but there are some really great, safe areas here. Expensive too, unfortunately. If shooting down the east shore is at all a possibility, don't discount El Cerrito, Albany, Berkeley and even some parts of Richmond. Rule of thumb, altitude = safety.
altitude = safety
Let's go to Colorado Springs! It is higher than the mile-high city. Join the mile-high club!
Scrap that, how about Dillon at 9800 ft?
how about Dillon at 9800 ft?
if your work allows it and if you don't mind being 1000+ miles away from the ocean, Dillon is fabulous. Right smack in the middle of several of the country's best ski resorts & a small lake too!
At higher altitudes...............
The criminals around here are dumb enough at sea level. I can't imagine what a lack of O2 would do.
Fortunately the wind, and I mean wind, that comes in the Gate gives the East Bay, from Oakland to the north, really good AQI. Even better since Chevron keeps in line most of the time. There are a few bad days, but that's usually because of an off shore flow.
re: Santa Cruz, the commute over 17 can be a real drag day in and day out.
Boise is at about 2700 feet elevation and has dramatically lower crime than places like Oakland or Richmond. It probably has to do with the higher lead-to-oxygen ratio around here. :)
If your commute is on 17 over the hill then you should do your family a big favor and load up on life insurance. That commute is a suicide run. When I lived in Redwood City, I commuted the other direction for a couple months for a project. And that was 10 years ago, before everyone and their brother decided they were impervious to crashes in their leased 5-series.
Boise is at about 2700 feet elevation and has dramatically lower crime than places like Oakland or Richmond. It probably has to do with the higher lead-to-oxygen ratio around here.
See! :)
Flagstaff (7000 feet) has higher crime rate than Sedona (4400 feet) though.
That commute is a suicide run
I'll second that. I don't think I've ever driven a more dangerous stretch of road (at least at rush hour). At least not in the US. I'm sure there are other dangerous roads, but they generally don't see this much traffic.
That commute is a suicide run.
Driving is very dangerous.
How about this safe SUV? :)
yeah 880/17's a suicide run no matter what part of it you're on. I used to drive the 880-17 to go to a place near Ebay on Hamilton Avenue and that road's very high risk. Random, high-speed, fast, lane-changing, basically reckless swerving over 2 or 3 lanes with no warning is the order of the day there, everyone does it, and the interweaving patterns of cars and SUVs weaving in and out of each others' paths at 70+ can be entrancing.
Santa Cruz is a nice town but I'd go there to live and work there and only travel over the hill if absolutely necessary.
Does Zillow let people change the ACTUAL reported sales price? That aint right. If you remodel or add on it kinda makes sense to change your zestimate though.
OK let me try again.
How about going to Half Moon Bay? Shouldn't that be more desirable than, Tracy?
Also, if your center working area is around MV or PA, right around the border of Peninsula / South Bay, Morgan Hill seems a more reasonable commute than crossing over to Walnut Creek. I personally find Morgan Hill more desirable than Walnut Creek because it is closer to the beach.
Does Zillow let people change the ACTUAL reported sales price? That aint right.
Just 'cuz somethin ain't right, don't mean it's not so. ;-)
@Peter P,
Why settle for that armored toy? If you want true road 'safety' go for the real deal.
oo,
Not to be your personal stalking wet blanket, but the commute over 92 also sucks. Not a death-trap like 17, but the traffic is awful during rush hour. All that to get to a place of consta-fog. I like HMB a lot, but not as a place to live.
FWIW, do you remember that money.cnn article a few months ago about the whining millionares of the Bay Area who don't feel rich in the Bay Area? The lead whiner of the story lives there, as I recall.
FWIW, do you remember that money.cnn article a few months ago about the whining millionares of the Bay Area who don’t feel rich in the Bay Area? The lead whiner of the story lives there, as I recall.
"Rich millionaire" is an oxymoron.
Last year, the "poorest" person on Forbes 400 had $1.3B.
>> Boise is at about 2700 feet elevation and has dramatically lower crime than places like Oakland or Richmond.
Statistically it can be shown that places having higher number of churches has higher crime rate. This data does not mean church and crime is related. Please refer to Simpson Paradox:
http://www.macalester.edu/qm4pp/Math%20108/presentations/Spring%202005/FerdererCausation.pdf
Completely off-topic.
Does anyone here get calls for "Expiring Factory Warranty" ? I have been getting a lot lately (over 5 in last month). In the first I politely tried telling that I already have a warranty on my car and they just slammed the phone on me. Very suspicious.
OO Says:
> OK let me try again. How about going to Half
> Moon Bay? Shouldn’t that be more desirable
> than, Tracy?
HMB is better than Tracy only if you like fog and stoners (since HMB has lots of both). The Hwy. 92 commute sucks but it is not as scary as Hwy. 17 (it really sucks when Hwy. 1 at Devils Slide closes). If you live in HMB want scary commute you can always take Tunitas Creek up to Skyline and head down Kings Mtn. to get to 280…
I'm on the federal "do not call" list and I get those all the time. Mostly for my 2001 truck. What's with those morons?
Permarenter,
I was joking - maybe - but the amount of lead in the hands of law-abiding citizens probably does contribute to a causal relationship to lower crime here.
StuckInBA - No, they're completely OK, just give them whatever info they ask for.......
I like this one from Mish.
Throwing Away Money
Remember the catchphrase "throwing away money on rent"? The bottom will come when people start bragging about the day they stopped "throwing away money on an overpriced house".
but the amount of lead in the hands of law-abiding citizens probably does contribute to a causal relationship to lower crime here.
Yes. I don't know why most democrats want to ban guns.
Also, I think colder regions have lower crime rate.
Dennis, from statistics, it seems that Coeur D'Alene has higher crime rate than Boise. Do you have an explanation? (Other than the fact that CdA is on a lower elevation?)
OO Says:
Maybe I sound stupid, why not commute to Santa Cruz? Isn’t Santa Cruz at least along the coast and a resort town?
Ex-colleagues started up a company there, it was fine when they were a six- to eight-person shop. After that, it was a pain to hire people - either they had to pick from the small local crowd (mostly Borland refugees) or the even smaller set of people insane enough to consider commuting on Hwy 17. They are now moving the operation to Campbell.
On Half Moon Bay:
I second Skibum. Sorry. A colleague of mine has a beautiful house in El Granada, up the hill. Striking views. Ocean air. Lots of fog, though.
Ask him about his commute every winter after Devil's Slide falls into the ocean yet again. And 84 ain't gonna work either. It takes forever unless you plan on riding a Ducati and wearing Teflon body armor.
From a mortgage broker:
Hello! I wanted to pass along the good news from Washington today! A
component of the government's tentative economic stimulus package announced on Thursday would give an immediate lift to buyers and sellers in higher-priced housing markets. Apparently, the bill would temporarily increase the limit on mortgages Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may securitize from $417k to up to $730k. In addition, the bill would increase the limit on loans the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) may insure from $362k to $625k. This should help to reduce spreads in the jumbo mortgage market!
One estimate mentioned that as many as $400-500 billion in loans could qualify for refinancing. As these loans refinance, it could ease pressure on capital-constrained bank balance sheets. And temporary items like this are difficult to rescind after a year, which would also be good news for originators.
Here in California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants Congress to raise the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lending limit from $417,000 to at least $625,000 as part of the economic stimulus package. State Assemblyman Ted Lieu is pushing for a bill that requires mortgage lenders to tighten up already strict guidelines to make sure homebuyers can afford their basic monthly bills before qualifying for a mortgage loan. This bill would also ban certain designer mortgage loans such as the option arm mortgage. The option arm mortgage, also known as the pay option arm, allows borrowers to pay less than the interest that is due by adding the unpaid interest to the balance of the mortgage loan.The bill would also allow some homeowners to refinance their homes without being responsible for any penalties or unnecessary fees. The package, agreed upon by Democratic and Republican members of the House, would allow government-sponsored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy mortgages at least 50 percent more expensive than the current $417,000 limit. The Senate and White House still must sign off on the proposed stimulus plan, which also includes tax rebates for Americans. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio announced the deal in a press conference Thursday.
A higher cap, to apply for one year, would breathe life into housing markets in New York, California and other expensive markets because lenders would feel more comfortable knowing Fannie and Freddie can
buy and package the loans into securities that investors consider to be
relatively safe. Hopefully we will see some progress as early as mid-
February.
Patrick,
can you please start a new thread on how bubble sitters should protect their asset as waves of bail-out hit the street? I am pretty sure that this won't be the last, if the Dems get elected, count on more ass-savingt packages.
I know that some of you may say that the effect of such package will be short-lived, nevertheless, it is still going to cost an extra, or extra couple of years of my life watching the paint dry. I'd like to explore more ways to profit from the freebie handed out to FBs (which we are not) while watching.
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How about some legislation with the express intent to LOWER house prices, unlike the crap legislation we're getting from Pelosi and Barney Frank designed to make housing less affordable?
We should completely eliminate Fannie Mae, and after that, the mortgage interest income deduction.
Here are some more ideas from Steve, a patrick.net reader:
#housing