10
0

The SFBA's Continued Decline To 3rd World Status


 invite response                
2013 Aug 21, 6:41am   36,272 views  92 comments

by bmwman91   ➕follow (5)   💰tip   ignore  

Well comrades, it looks like the landed gentry are still ramping up their rent seeking. The dated 2BR unit in a 10-plex that I am renting now for $1845 is going to be rented to the next tenant for $2295 if they want a 10 month lease, and more for shorter terms. They (management) are going to paint and clean the carpets. No in-unit laundry, no dish washer. I guess that's the price that one must pay to live in Hip and Cool Mountain View. All that money you save on gas with your shorter commute is now consumed by rent-seeking, and then some. My coworker wants the unit after I move out, so my apartment manager gave me the info to pass along to him. A 25% rent increase for NO reason, other than "market conditions" as she so eloquently put it. In the summer of 2011, this thing was going for $1475.

That's right tech-bitches, squeal. Pay because you can. Join the ranks of those living everywhere else in the world where a HUGE chunk of your disposable income gets consumed by basic living costs. Your neighbor is your enemy as much as the landlord is because your neighbor and people like him all want to live here and are willing to pay whatever is asked. Unsurprisingly, many of them are from places FAR worse than this (places that this on a direct trajectory to become). If you don't like it, you can sit in traffic for hours to save some coin, although your effectively hourly pay rate in "life" is going to remain about the same. You can't win because America is on its death bed. Go, recite the family prayer and dream of happier times. Times when the 0.1% existed but didn't have the political or social clout to skull-fuck the other 99.9%.

Mountain View has always been jealous of its neighbor to the north, Palo Alto, and it looks like MV is doing its best to mimic PA. Castro St has had a massive increase in tech hipster and FOB patronage in the last 15 months. All it needs now is an Apple store and its transformation to the dark side will be complete.

In all seriousness though, I was figuring that the landlord would up the rent a little bit, maybe to $1950 or something. But $2295....fuuuuuuuck. Capitalism at its finest, I guess.

Comments 1 - 40 of 92       Last »     Search these comments

1   Strategic Renter   2013 Aug 21, 7:32am  

Simple supply and demand. Despite the ridiculous assertions of the housing permabears, EVERYONE wants to live here.

Wrong I don't want to live there and would not live there for free. Horrible nasty place .

2   edvard2   2013 Aug 21, 7:44am  

Wait a minute.... I thought you had bought a house?

3   REpro   2013 Aug 21, 7:51am  

After years of saying put, people start to move wherever job is. House I rented for $1825 in 2011 in Northern Dallas; now is rented for $2300. But please, this is not an outdated 2 bedroom. House has over 4,000 sq.ft. on 9,000 sq.ft. lot with short walk to two shopping malls, excellent elementary school and park. My tenants love it.

4   bmwman91   2013 Aug 21, 7:56am  

edvard2 says

Wait a minute.... I thought you had bought a house?

Yeah. We were on a lease and we were going to be out of 2 months' rent (penalty) if we broke it early, so we decided to use that time to do a full interior repaint and floor refinish. MUCH easier with an empty house.

5   curious2   2013 Aug 21, 7:56am  

REpro says

short walk to two shopping malls

People walk in Texas?!? I'd never heard of a place in Texas where people can live a week without driving.

6   bmwman91   2013 Aug 21, 7:57am  

REpro says

After years of saying put, people start to move wherever job is. House I rented for $1825 in 2011 in Northern Dallas; now is rented for $2300. But please, this is not an outdated 2 bedroom. House has over 4,000 sq.ft. on 9,000 sq.ft. lot with short walk to two shopping malls, excellent elementary school and park. My tenants love it.

Yeah...this was a ~950SF 2-story 2BR with neighbors on both sides and a 100SF patio area. Maybe a 20 minute walk to downtown MV. Almost in a notorious TCE superfund site, too.

7   REpro   2013 Aug 21, 8:01am  

curious2 says

REpro says

short walk to two shopping malls

People walk in Texas?!? I'd never heard of a place in Texas where people can live a week without driving.

Yes they do. It’s a new trend not reserved for BA, like jogging and biking.

. Houses with walking distance to services are renting faster and for better money.

8   lostand confused   2013 Aug 21, 8:06am  

Well I have moved. Plenty of places out there with decent jobs, low housing prices. Yeah in CA, weather is beautiful and you have the oceans and mountains.

I do like CA-but it is what it is. To me there has to be some justification for these prices. The economy should be a repeat of dotcom prices and there should be much better employment conditions. But that is not the case and yet prices are extremely high.

One bedroom apts in Fremont and Dublin in nice complexes have asking prices of 1,900 or even 2,000+-for a one bedroom.

This economy is still shaky and lets see how it unfolds. But to each his own.

9   woggs1   2013 Aug 21, 8:35am  

lostand confused says

To me there has to be some justification for these prices. The economy should be a repeat of dotcom prices and there should be much better employment conditions. But that is not the case and yet prices are extremely high.

There is no mystery to me. California has historically under-produced housing for the population growth and supply/demand kicks in.

Read this and the mystery is solved:

http://metrostudies.berkeley.edu/pubs/reports/009_ACCESS_CAHousing.pdf
http://www.hcd.ca.gov/hpd/hrc/rtr/chp6r.htm

10   exfatguy   2013 Aug 21, 8:53am  

An area will always gravitate towards the lowest standard of living possible.

11   mdiablo   2013 Aug 21, 8:56am  

bmwman91 says

A 25% rent increase for NO reason, other than "market conditions"

That's like saying Kate Upton is popular for NO reason, other than physical appearance.

Who is forcing you to work there? Wasn't that a choice you made? I say stick it to those damn landed gentry and their rent seeking by moving to Kansas. That would show them.

12   retire59   2013 Aug 21, 9:07am  

I have lived in SFBA since 1969...always rented with 1/4 rent to income, which means small one bedroom apt, etc. but still took vacations, eat out, etc and saved 20% for retirement. We did not buy because we could not keep that ratio.

We are close to retiring and moving out of here and are buying and keeping our 1/4 mortgage including taxes and insurance of our retirement income. If we were middle aged or younger, we would work and live outside SFBA as this is no place to live anymore, IMHO....salaries do not keep up with the cost of living for most in SFBA so you become house poor with no future...there are many other places you can do much better..again IMHO...

13   EBGuy   2013 Aug 21, 9:53am  

Perhaps your coworker should buy this instead (at least lend him or her your spreadsheet).
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Mountain-View/280-Easy-St-94043/unit-511/home/625229

14   drew_eckhardt   2013 Aug 21, 10:10am  

bmwman91 says

In all seriousness though, I was figuring that the landlord would up the rent a little bit, maybe to $1950 or something. But $2295....fuuuuuuuck. Capitalism at its finest, I guess.

Historically lenders have allowed borrowers to spend 28% of their income on housing.

The big tech companies have been paying new graduates about $100K for at least a couple years which translates into a $28,000 per year housing budget using that metric or $2,333 a month which is enough to cover your landlord's $2295/month new rent.

This ignores one-bedroom apartments being closer to entry level, young people willing to share spaces, and willingness to spend more than the historic 28% on housing which would make more reasonable.

15   swebb   2013 Aug 21, 11:15am  

bmwman91 says

A 25% rent increase for NO reason, other than "market conditions" as she so eloquently put it. In the summer of 2011, this thing was going for $1475.

It's a little bit surprising to read this. You usually say smart things, but this is almost nonsensical. If you were located in Detroit instead, would it surprise you if the landlord was reducing the rent by 25% due to "market conditions"? It is true that the MV landlord could re-list at the same rate -- but why would they? Why should they? Out of the goodness of their heart? Sure, they could...but is it reasonable to expect them to? I guess I could sell my physical gold at $1000 an ounce, a 25% increase over my purchase price...but why would I when the market will pay 25% more...

16   bmwman91   2013 Aug 21, 11:20am  

There is no surprise on my part that the landlord is doing it. The thread isn't here to try to figure that one out. It's to give another example of the relentless rent-seeking that is going on all around the nation, and especially the SFBA. It's bad for the majority of people in the SFBA, minus the cohort of tech couples that make enough money to not care, and it will likely lead to a myriad of problems down the road when inequality is even worse and the bottom 75% gets restless and tired of being pushed further and further out.

17   REpro   2013 Aug 21, 11:36am  

drew_eckhardt says

The big tech companies have been paying new graduates about $100K for at least a couple years which translates into a $28,000 per year housing budget using that metric or $2,333 a month which is enough to cover your landlord's $2295/month new rent.

The population market does not represent only 100K plus households who need housing.

18   Heraclitusstudent   2013 Aug 21, 11:45am  

mdiablo says

Who is forcing you to work there? Wasn't that a choice you made? I say stick it to those damn landed gentry and their rent seeking by moving to Kansas. That would show them.

That's exactly the point. We all have a choice to pay or not.

Ask a $500 dollar/month raise to your employer and if not, then tell him you'll work remotely from Kansas. Or just quit and move there.

19   Heraclitusstudent   2013 Aug 21, 11:49am  

drew_eckhardt says

The big tech companies have been paying new graduates about $100K for at least a couple years which translates into a $28,000 per year housing budget

If you pay $28000 out of a $100K salary for housing, you are essentially working to fatten your landlord and should move out at the earliest.

20   Rew   2013 Aug 21, 11:51am  

Heraclitusstudent says

mdiablo says

Who is forcing you to work there? Wasn't that a choice you made? I say stick it to those damn landed gentry and their rent seeking by moving to Kansas. That would show them.

That's exactly the point. We all have a choice to pay or not.

Ask a $500 dollar/month raise to your employer and if not, then tell him you'll work remotely from Kansas. Or just quit and move there.

All well and good provided you can FIND the same opportunity in Kansas. Typically you cannot!

21   freak80   2013 Aug 21, 11:58am  

If you don't include airfare, it's actually cheaper to visit California than it is to live there.

22   Rew   2013 Aug 21, 12:20pm  

freak80 says

If you don't include airfare, it's actually cheaper to visit California than it is to live there.

Huh?

Living anywhere is more expensive than visiting, right? It's simply a matter of duration and time. Time = money

OR are you saying it is cheaper to stay in a hotel than to rent? That very much depends on where you are staying and renting. I would say on average it is far cheaper to rent than shelter in a hotel/motel.

23   REpro   2013 Aug 21, 12:34pm  

Rew says

That very much depends on where you are staying and renting. I would say on average it is far cheaper to rent than shelter in a hotel/motel.

Actually when I'm traveling, I frequently noticed that I pay same money for a night in Hotel as one day housing in San Jose cost me.

24   Blurtman   2013 Aug 21, 12:44pm  

Who wants to live there?

25   freak80   2013 Aug 21, 12:46pm  

Rew says

OR are you saying it is cheaper to stay in a hotel than to rent?

Yeah I should have clarified a bit.

When I visited CA in March of 2010, I spent an average of $70 per night in motels outside of the major metro areas (it was a "drive around and take pictures") vacation. How much is a monthly mortgage payment for a house in much of CA? It's probably north of $2100.

26   freak80   2013 Aug 21, 12:49pm  

REpro says

Actually when I'm traveling, I frequently noticed that I pay same money for a night in Hotel as one day housing in San Jose cost me.

Plus you get your sheets washed at no extra charge.

27   swebb   2013 Aug 21, 12:56pm  

freak80 says

Plus you get your sheets washed at no extra charge.

Plus you get to live in a motel. With cable, and probably some vending machines. Maybe even a swimming pool. There could be a Denny's attached.

Apples to apples, no way it's cheaper to stay in a motel vs rent.

28   REpro   2013 Aug 21, 1:25pm  

freak80 says

REpro says

Actually when I'm traveling, I frequently noticed that I pay same money for a night in Hotel as one day housing in San Jose cost me.

Plus you get your sheets washed at no extra charge.

Yah,… forgot about free breakfast.

29   bmwman91   2013 Aug 21, 1:28pm  

You know, one could actually make a reasonably compelling argument for living in a motel if you are single and busy. Free utilities, free internet, free cleaning, possibly free breakfast and you will routinely have nobody in the units next to you. I bet you could work out a long-term rate with an extended stay type place too.

30   REpro   2013 Aug 21, 1:50pm  

New coming to SFBA has now a variety of housing option: Expensive or Very Very Expensive. What happen to the rest?

31   bmwman91   2013 Aug 21, 2:27pm  

REpro says

New coming to SFBA has now a variety of housing option: Expensive or Very Very Expensive. What happen to the rest?

Yup. If this keeps up, it is going to get terribly interesting here. The fact is that all the highly paid tech workers and types that make sure to post pictures of their $10-fair-trade-organic-hand-crafted-local-coffee on their social media brain drain still need all of the regular hard working people that staff retail outlets, clean things, service their fancy cars and so on. Those people are being forced to pile into dangerously small spaces and move further away. Unlike the tech hipster types, they don't need to remain here for their jobs because they can pull about the same money almost anywhere in CA or the nation doing the same thing. Will they leave? Maybe, maybe not. As the disparity gets worse and worse, so too will crime.

Honestly, I think that aggression from the lower income demographic will be directed more and more towards those with the means to live comfortably here as the gap widens. The highly-paid trendy-techie contingent makes itself fairly obvious. Screened tee's with code lingo and web meme references may well become big red bullseyes to the frustrated working majority. I'm an engineer, but I don't run around "celebrating it" or striving to be "relevant" in public settings so hopefully I'll get left alone. Hell, if anyone sees me mowing my lawn or running a jackhammer on part of my driveway that I plan to remove, they'll probably figure that I'm the poor bastard that whoever owns the house hired. No "smart" person has the time to waste doing THAT stuff, right? They would be out saving the world, one frictionless web service at a time!

That isn't to say that all of the well paid young techies here are bad people or douches or anything. Plenty of them are nice, highly intelligent people that are really into what they do, to the point that they actually ARE proud to walk down the street brandishing clothes and accessories that identify them as being in the hottest professions the area has to offer. It doesn't mean that it is a good idea to make it so obvious, but that is just my opinion of it anyway.

32   REpro   2013 Aug 21, 2:51pm  

If service people be able to earn the same money as IT engineers (how many Starbucks employee have actually college degree?) so we can get closer to Singapore or Qatar level of living, or when dollar get greatly devaluated, we can get a new form of socialism. If we unable or don’t want this to happen, then local politicians should scratch heads how to solve the growing problem. New developments try to rent 2 BR 2 bath dwells for about $3,000/mo. Why don’t place incentive for developers to build affordable housing, where they can enjoy similar profit margin as the luxury ones. Over wise, service people will have to rent $3,000/mo. unit where $2,000 will come in form of Section8 subsidy founded by…US debt?

33   bmwman91   2013 Aug 21, 3:02pm  

REpro says

Why don’t place incentive for developers to build affordable housing, where they can enjoy similar profit margin as the luxury ones.

NIMBY's are very wealthy and powerful. They tend to think that blindly voting for Democrats (in the SFBA anyway) absolves them of doing everything they can to ensure that lower income workers have no hope of living anywhere near them. Most of the members of the baby boom generation have their entire retirement staked on the value of their house. There is NO way that they would willingly let higher density housing anywhere near their magic retirement investment since it could jeopardize their goal of unloading their house on whoever can afford it someday. On top of that, they don't want lower income people near them because "they are criminals". The SFBA gives a great deal of power to neighborhoods (with the money and free time) to determine what is and is not developed. A great deal of the development going on now is in former commercial areas or areas that already were lower income and the people there don't have the means to do anything about it.

Developers want very much to develop anywhere and everywhere that they can. The reason that they aren't isn't because of a lack of willingness on their part. It is because they simply can't due to 3rd parties with huge incentives to stop them.

Despite all of the great stuff here, the SFBA is one of the most poorly balanced places in the US. Manhattan probably has it beat still.

34   REpro   2013 Aug 21, 3:32pm  

bmwman91 says

Despite all of the great stuff here, the SFBA is one of the most poorly balanced places in the US.

Totally agree. It’s not an easy task, require politics and smart planning, but many cities were able to handle this.

bmwman91 says

Hell, if anyone sees me mowing my lawn or running a jackhammer on part of my driveway that I plan to remove, they'll probably figure that I'm the poor bastard that whoever owns the house hired

I like to do some home improvements, where can enjoy immediately effect of my work, maybe because I like art, but mowing or jackhammer is sold immediately.

35   bmwman91   2013 Aug 21, 3:34pm  

REpro says

I like to do some home improvements, where can enjoy immediately effect of my work, maybe because I like art, but mowing or jackhammer is sold immediately.

Haha well...that sort of thing brings me back to childhood! I think that I got my first taste of a jackhammer when I was 8 or so lol. As for mowing and such, I don't have anything so important to do on a Saturday that I feel like paying someone $100 a month to do 15 minutes worth of work. I'm one of those weirdos that finds physical exertion to be relaxing though. One of my favorite workouts right now is biking out to the end of a trail and hurling 50lb concrete blocks back and forth for 30 minutes and then riding home. There's something therapeutic about going out and acting like a neanderthal for a while. Or maybe I am just a weirdo.

36   thomaswong.1986   2013 Aug 21, 5:40pm  

bmwman91 says

Well comrades, it looks like the landed gentry are still ramping up their rent seeking. The dated 2BR unit in a 10-plex that I am renting now for $1845 is going to be rented to the next tenant for $2295 if they want a 10 month lease,

LOL! yes.. it funny when you drive down from Google Plex to El Camino via Rengstorff.

Not the crowd we would expect to pony up anywhere near 2000/month. They could call immigration to check for green cards.

37   thomaswong.1986   2013 Aug 21, 6:02pm  

drew_eckhardt says

The big tech companies have been paying new graduates about $100K for at least a couple years which translates into a $28,000 per year housing budget using that metric or $2,333 a month which is enough to cover your landlord's $2295/month new rent.

At best, talk to some real experts on current salaries.. Veteran recruiters, and insiders like HR and Accounting/Finance people ... the $100K is rather a over inflated number mainly generated by the overhyped media.. You will find many
who worked 15-20 years are cracking $100-120K salaries, and are middle managers. Its takes a long time to get there.

As for stock options awards and bonus.. that is almost impossible to get.. another
fabrication by the media... since such numbers are NEVER disclosed.

38   cloud15   2013 Aug 22, 1:07am  

Thomas doesn't know how much money does get wired from India and China.

39   mdiablo   2013 Aug 22, 2:07am  

REpro says

Why don’t place incentive for developers to build affordable housing, where they can enjoy similar profit margin as the luxury ones

Most cities do require new developments to have some "affordable" component, typically 20%. And there is no way to build affordable housing with a profit margin similar to luxury, otherwise developers would do it without being forced.

40   HydroCabron   2013 Aug 22, 2:24am  

I remember visiting the Bay Area in the early 1970s - heaven on earth!

The roads were totally not homicidal, the prices were not at all outrageous, and the city did not reek of decay and excrement, not at all, not even one bit, no Sir!

Everything is going to hell, and nothing is as good as it was when we were young!

Comments 1 - 40 of 92       Last »     Search these comments

Please register to comment:

api   best comments   contact   latest images   memes   one year ago   random   suggestions