patrick.net

Opinions,

Your posts are identical in tone and content to 'ConfusedRenter' who finally admitted to being a realtor after pretending to be an innocent renter merely wanting information. Absolutely identical in language, phrasing, content, tone and style. That is probably why he thinks you are a Realtor (TM).

KP,

I grew up in the Finger Lakes area, and my little brother moved back up there a few years ago. It is gorgeous, drop dead gorgeous, in the spring, parts of the summer and early fall. The winters, however are killer.

My brother bought a beautiful fixer upper. He calls it a colonial, I think it's actually a Greek revival. It's on an acre and a half, water views, the house is large, and it only cost a little over $250,000 a few years ago. He did some renovating and upgraded the insulation, etc.

The houses are inexpensive, but heating the house isn't. It is a minimum of $1000/month for him to heat the place. It can get a lot higher. Heating costs could be very difficult on someone on a fixed income. He and his wife love it there, but I notice they do take pretty frequent trips to NYC or Florida.

astrid: but I see very little bites in the rental market right now. The house across the street from where I rent now in Los Gatos, had the FOR RENT sign on the lawn for over a year with no takers. Finally, they decided to sell it. I guess there is lot's of inventory because of these so-called "flippers" who got trapped.

goldboy,

I'm glad to hear that and sincerely hope that is the case! I'm not in the BA right so my speculation could certainly be completely off. Anything to convince a good family friend from making the worst financial mistake of her life.

I should clarify that a bit more. I'm trying to persuade this friend to rent for a couple years in a good school district before buying. If there is an abundance of multi-year leases, that's certainly a good thing.

SFWoman: You beat me to the punch. OpinionsPlease sounds exactly like ConfusedRenter. In fact, I'm fairly certain that the two are the same person. Ever notice that ConfusedRenter doesn't post anymore, but we have a new "innocent" RE troll posting "This property sold for 150% of asking, I just can't explain!" every couple weeks? How many times can the same person have a "conversion" experience where they talk themselves out of believing in the real estate bubble with bogus "evidence" of properties selling over asking price?

astrid: yes but it seems that the asking prices are completely detached from the supply/demand curve. Haven't these sellers taken Econ-101? Maybe they are all hoping for the bigger fool, but the bigger fools keep coming and coming, and they scooping up these homes at these outragous prices. All of the people I talk to, seem to be buying into this "we've reached the bottom" talk from the RE Cartel.

SFWoman says: The houses are inexpensive, but heating the house isn’t. It is a minimum of $1000/month for him to heat the place. It can get a lot higher (in the Finger Lakes).

Come on, $1000/month? Either his house has terrible insulation, or he needs to get a wood burning fireplace or pellet stove.

Brand,

I can't comment on SFBrother's insulation or HVAC, but I know my mom's coworkers regularly have $600/month natural gas bills in the winter months for 2,000 sq ft SFH. My parents' cardigan wearing ways save them at least $400/month during the winter.

Goldboy,

Yeah, it sucks to be the raving Cassandra character.

AZ homeowner,

Agreed. Heat and lack of water are the major constraints to growth in the Southwest. I wish the local planning people were more imaginative about building to climate type (more adobe, strawbale, underground and solar power; less two story foyers).

KP,

I share some of your pessimism, though not quite the Mad Max results(at least not the first wave - I think ghettoizing the immigrants and crowding the public health/public school is the more immediate concern).

If I ever have kids, I'm likely to move out of this country. The US has a highly illogical immigration policy.

The psychology of a soon to be FB

To OpinionsPlease,

4 bedroom home in Northern NJ asking $590k in May 2005 is currently asking $435k. Owner was made an offer of $390k last week, countered with $410k and never heard from the buyer again. Will be interesting to see how much more he drops his price at the end of this month.

Meanwhile, some friends who put a lowball bid on another place in same area just found out that it was foreclosed upon and owned by the bank since Dec. Funny how not even their realtor knew about this until they put in a bid. I can understand why the bank was not forthcoming with this information. The mls however still listed the former owner. Sneaky little devils.

My advice to you is to get another job while you can. You'll have a lot more competition after the spring. Perhaps you can try astrology. You already have a talent for coming up with bullshit.

Roving bandits is a reference to a time in the future when the American dream disappears and the youth are in gangs, roving from one temperate region to another, looking for gated communities to pillage.

That's okay, at that point I will have stockpiled enough gold, food and ammunition to escape to Canada. Then I will build a giant robot with chain cannons and missiles, and re-invade Colorado. I will blast the bad guys just like a bad Sci Fi movie, eventually claiming the gorgeous heroine and kingship of the Front Range.

Or perhaps you have claimed the gorgeous heroin...

Brand,

astrid DEMANDS ray gun eyes!

"Well, what happens when enthusiastic youths discover that the dream is a myth?"

Time to invade Mexico? Or maybe Soviet Canuckistan...they don't have weapons of mass destruction yet, right?

Sorry to be so glib.

astrid, will your raygun eyes be a part of your destroyer robot, or will you be genetically mutated by the plague that sweeps America while the gangs are running free?

Frankly, I am looking forward to the anime future of America. I will have a huge anti-troll gun that can freeze white trash racist trolls. Their eyes will bulge for a long moment before they explode into a hail of ice splinters. And then I will say something witty in my cockpit, but it probably won't sound that cool in the dubbed English voice.

And in a moment of serious debate--I thought the goldbugs on this forum were paranoid. I guess a couple bad days of the stock market gets us to the ammo and ration bar crowd?

Opinions,

I didn't ask you about a ski house, ever. I simply said your posts are identical to those of ConfusedRealtor's.

CB asked you about the ski house a few times, and FAB thinks your posts smell suspiciously of booster-ism. Go back and read some ConfusedRenter posts. Identical.

Brand,

My brother did significantly increase the insulation in his place after he bought it. The house has regular fireplaces, so a pellet stove or wood burning stove wouldn't really fit in or have a space without taking out a regular fireplace (which I don't think either my brother or sister-in-law would ever do), but getting one of the EPA heater rated fireplaces would be a good idea for them. They did replace one of the wood burning fireplaces with a gas (propane??) heater rated fireplace (the kind that have a fake ceramic log with gas flames), but the rest are still regular wood fireplaces.
At one point that whole house was heated with those fireplaces, imagine how it must have been living in it back then.

KP,

Well, the important thing is that it works for you and your family. However, you think you should recognize that it wouldn't work so well for many others. I would also worry about leaving a house empty all winter.

naturopath = astrologer of the body???

Brand,

I was thinking of gigantic robots with raygun eyes, but I'll be, ergh, happy to accept the latter :) Cyclops is probably my favorite X-Men.

SFWoman says: My brother did significantly increase the insulation in his place after he bought it. ... They did replace one of the wood burning fireplaces with a gas (propane??) heater rated fireplace (the kind that have a fake ceramic log with gas flames), but the rest are still regular wood fireplaces.

I have a gas fireplace in my living room. Rest assured, it is the absolute worst efficiency imaginable for consuming natural gas. If he's burning that to heat the house, that's almost certainly where his gas bill is coming from.

At one point that whole house was heated with those fireplaces, imagine how it must have been living in it back then.

I bet it wasn't so bad. Wood is free, if you're willing to handle an axe or chainsaw. In the winter when it was cold, back then most people slept in front of the fireplace or under down blankets. In the winter I let my bedroom get down around 50 degrees, and I'm still too warm under a down comforter.

Has he considered proper fireplace control? When there's not a fire going, the heat lost through an old chimney can be pretty considerable.

GC,

Not particularly. Though some of your more provocative probings were probably not fit for this forum. If you feel like exploring this stuff more, I'm reading Memoir of Hadrian right now and be happy to form an impromptu book club with you.

goldboy,

in any old neighborhood of West Valley with housing developments spanning across multiple decades, there are lots of things to consider apart from price and sq. footage when evaluating the trend of the market.

The #1 thing to consider is whether the home is updated. An updated home of about 1800-2200 sqft, if done in 2004-2006, with granite counter top and stainless steel fridges....etc cost around $150K to $250K. A house on a flat piece of land commands much higher price than one located on steep slopes (think earthquake and land slide!). A house with a view costs far more than one without. But zillow never took these conditions into consideration, and frankly it can't. Today, a house in LG may sell a slightly higher price than a house of the same sqft in the similar neighborhood, but it is entirely updated ($200K expenditure) as compared to a house sold 2 years ago at the peak, which was not updated nor well-kept.

If you want to compare, just use the Creekside Village as a yardstick. It is a new development (2005), all the houses look the same, so you can go back in transaction record to see if things are moving up or down.

OpinionsPlease Says:

> I’m looking at The Resort At Squaw Creek b/c it’s a fantastic
> place to vacation due to the ski-in/out facilities, pools, hottubs,
> spa, gym, golf, etc. I figure if I can’t afford to buy in SF, then
> the next best thing is my next favorite place: Squaw, Lake
> Tahoe. For $750-800/sqft, one can buy a nice 1bedroom
> suite, or 2 bedroom suite. Whereas for $750-800/sqft in SF,
> it’s hard to get an equally as nice place.

I’ve worked in the real estate industry for my entire life and I’ve never heard anyone (say a “Confused Renter” or someone asking my “Opinion” on the market) who did not also work in the Real Estate Industry talk in terms of “price per foot”…

SFWoman Says:

> Opinions, FAB thinks your posts smell suspiciously of booster-ism.
> Go back and read some ConfusedRenter posts. Identical.

There is a big difference between asking about a sale that seems high and writing “I’m Confused and want a second Opinion, but it looks like things have turned around because a home just sold for millions over asking with MULTIPLE OFFERS!!!

> My brother did significantly increase the insulation in his place
> after he bought it.

I have no problem believing a heating bill of $1,000 a month in upstate NY since in the past month I have had two friends (one in the S. Bay and one in Marin both with ~2,500 sf homes and stay at home wives and kids) complain about PG&E bills over $500 (about 10x what I pay since I’m not home much and don’t use the heat)…

Back on Feb. 19th a Confused person called “RentingForever” asked for SFWoman’s Opinion and wrote:

> SFWoman - Speaking of Squaw and Real Estate, did you
> get any color from the market up there? My favorite area
> of Lake Tahoe is The Resort At Squaw Creek
> (www.squawcreek.com). It’s the most secluded, and self-
> contained place ski-in/ski-out.

While the Resort at Squaw Creek does have it’s own chairlift I’ve never heard anyone but a Realtor tm use the term “self-contained ski-in/ski-out”. I just did a search and it looks like there are a lot of units for sale (with most asking over $1,000/sf) in the failed hotel turned condo complex (that looks like a Redwood Shores office building). While I would love to spend a lot more time up in Tahoe I can’t figure out how it would make more sense to “buy” a million dollar condo and pay almost $10K (mortgage, taxes and HOA/Use Fees that can exceeded $2K month) every month when it would be cheaper to spend the entire month at the Plump Jack Hotel next to the Tram…

EGAD...when people in SALT LAKE CITY are complaining about the price of real estate, we are in trouble ;-)

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660200244,00.html

Come to think of it, I might have come across as gayish. Could others chime in?

Huh?

Time for a new thread.

I think this:

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/16832199.htm

has a lot to do with why Santa Clara County prices have remained relatively stubborn. The multitude of immigrants here in particular will do whatever it takes to "own" a home. They care much more about school district, and unless they've done their research, they by their very nature of being recent immigrants have not seen a RE market in decline in the Bay Area (many were not in the US, much less the BA, in the early 90's.) As a result, there's been less of a pullback on buying here, IMO.

Let’s assume that Different Sean’s rent is actually going up 35% in a year. Since Australia has not had 35% inflation or an overall increase in rents of 35% it means that Different Sean has been getting a great deal.

Yes it is. It hasn't been a great deal hitherto. It's an even worse deal now. Rents are going up everywhere like this right now -- up to 50% increases. It's the follow-on to the housing boom -- new landlords have to punish tenants when they sign new leases cos they are otherwise underwater. Older, unscrupulous LLs can then cite 'market rates' and push theirs up too... Clearly, wages haven't gone up 50% in a year, and there have been small increments normally with each lease over time. This is a dramatic, sudden price rise for many people at once. However, I will pass the cost on to my employer if I decide to stay -- I'm not going to absorb it... then you have wage inflation, and the whole currency devalues when you do this enough times...

Jon said:
This is exactly why I favor rent control.

The landlord’s right to make a profit is superceded by the tenant’s right to have a stable, predictable, safe and affordable living situation. I would flip your landlord the bird.

I agree. Unfortunately, it's the 'system', and this particular LL is too scheming and too big a player to negotiate too much. He already owns a 'discount' property by building it himself. We should all become property developers, obviously, and secure our futures. But I'm either 1) leaving, or 2) negotiating or 3) passing it on to my employer as a wage rise...

SINGLE FAMILYHOUSE PRICES IN THE SOUTH BAY NEIGHBOURHOODS OF SUNNYVALE AND CUPERTINO WILL NEVER EVER DROP BELOW 800K AND WILL CONTINUE TO GO UP!

So unless you earn 150K a year, forget about owning a property with a decent backyard in Sunnyvale and Cupertino.

Well from the previous thread, it turns out a lot of readers here have a combined household income of $150k+.

It's not surprising in retrospect. The median income in the area is $97k - which is pretty high. But it also includes all those PreProp13ers who live in their paid off $50k homes, haven't worked since the defense lay offs, and pay $800 a year in property tax. And all the illegal/undocumented immigrants probably lower it as well.

The pool of people shopping for SFH, I suspect, has a median income of probably $150k.

As someone who makes less than one HaHa, this is pretty depressing - and my urge to leave the Bay Area rises every day. Especially since I don't care for outdoor activities like skiing and hiking.

Looks like the housing-crash snowball has really started to roll down hill and gather momentum.

Let's see how fast it can gather more snow by accretion, and precipitate
an avalanche, a veritable blizzard of foreclosures as it begins its violent return to market equilibrium, in its quest for the fabled golden mean.

Bubble bloggers: raise your downtrodden heads proudly, for your redemption from the insanity of unaffordability draweth nigh.

SP,

The last two weeks makes me wish I chose a short term money market position on my 401K contributions.

All i haveto say is thank god last week’s stock market pummelling is over! That was ugly. - OpinionsPlease

Monday's lead news story on CNN:

"Stocks start with a skid"

Ha Ha,

I don't like recessions. They don't just take down specuvestors. When people have less disposable income restaurants go out of business (unfortunately not McDonalds, but the locally owned places), charities and the arts receive less in donations, independent shops go away, and many people are in a glum mood. I don't want to see actual hardworking people put out of work because of greed and poor judgement in this get-rich-quick real estate based cult-like worship of the mortgage (aka The American Dream (TM)) .

They're already starting to eat Top Ramen :lol:

allah,

How depressing. I would have just gotten yet another job to make money had I been reduced to a Top Ramen diet in college.

From the WSJ Today (page C1):

“Observers of the housing market believe it is following the same path as the stock market, whose bubble burst seven years ago, and the pattern set forth in the 1978 book by Charles Kindleberger, "Manias, Panics and Crashes." Kindleberger says bubbles start with "displacement" that makes a sector look favorable, with historically low interest rates serving this purpose in the housing market. This is followed by a boom characterized by easy access to cash, which leads to what Kindleberger calls "pure speculation;" and is followed by "revulsion," in which cash is shut off and panic ensues. The housing market appears to be in the "revulsion" phase”