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Old 09-10-2015, 12:27 PM
 
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They are leased because the cars are tax write-offs. Lease payments can be classified as business expenses.

Also, many people in such position prefer not to drive around in an older model vehicle, so being able swap for the newest model every few years through leasing makes sense to them.
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Old 09-10-2015, 12:45 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles (Native)
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Yeah it makes sense why some people would lease .
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Old 11-09-2015, 01:54 AM
 
102 posts, read 105,605 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by radiolibre99 View Post
I do wonder what people do for a living to afford those homes above 500k.
Well, one thing is - they don't draw a steady paycheck. They are investing their money or other people's money. These big multi-billion dollar investment funds are buying up American real estate as fast as they can get it. The whole housing bubble was designed to pull the rug out from under the millions of americans who lost their jobs that went overseas.

Where do you think that $800 BILLION dollar bail-out money went? What do you think China is doing with its trillion-dollar balance of payments credits with the US?

For a few centuries, after the rulers of Asia and Europe developed the technology to transport their peasants to the New World and vanquish the existing tribes, those peasants were able to "own" land. But not really. They had to pay a "tax" that meant that at any time, the overlords could up the tax to where it becomes unaffordable for the peasants, and eventually, the New World will look like the Old World - a handful of rich f**kers will own everything, and everyone else is a tenant.
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Old 11-10-2015, 12:18 AM
 
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Originally Posted by radiolibre99 View Post
How on earth do people afford anything here is what I want to know? The home prices frustrate me but so does rent, the taxes, various fees etc just to live a normal life. I know there's a premium to live in LA but sometimes it gets ridiculous.

I do wonder what people do for a living to afford those homes above 500k.
By starting a business and not just being an employee
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Old 11-10-2015, 12:35 AM
 
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Originally Posted by jm1982 View Post
I bought my home in 2010 , it wasn't that close to work but the price was in the low 200s .

This was for a 3bedroom house. It did need work and still needs some.

Home prices have gone up quite a bit since then , but you can still get a place around $400k or so and probably less if you look at smaller homes .

It's not the Westside, but it's also not $1million either.

It would be easier to find a job closer to the cheaper housing versus trying to find a cheaper house in an area where they start at 900k for a "dump" .

I used to work in Brentwood and hardly anyone seemed to live around there because it was so expensive, especially if they owned a home. Many lived in the valley and there were some that lived in Lancaster,Palmdale area and even Fontana .

In L.A and similar priced cities sadly for many people it's a luxury to live close to work.

I wouldn't hold your breath on housing prices to come down drastically to where you might need/want them to be. It did happen during the 'crash' of 2009-2013 (or so) but the likely hood of it happening again soon is not too likely. The reason being that credit is harder to get and you can't buy with 0% down like before.
Wow so many of the folks in the housing market earlier did enjoy the fruits of living in US with zero percent down and no wonder when the McDonald Employee's apparently bought 300-400k homes (even in compton or whatever), the housing market crashed too...phew..i was too young to think of any housing back then and now being grilled left and right about every other cent that reflects on my paycheck by my mortgage guys, they don't leave a stone unturned even if you are putting 25% down with a 780 credit score.
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Old 11-10-2015, 01:11 AM
 
202 posts, read 197,301 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by coolbeans2000 View Post
No idea why you included Fire Fighters. Here in California, their pay and benefits are incredible to the point that it is an outrage to expect tax payers to even pay for them.

When including incentive pay, pay outs, and overtime pay the AVERAGE California Fire Fighter brings home 125,100 dollars annually plus enjoys arguably the most lavish city/state employee retirement system in the world. Keep in mind, these are folks who work 3 days a week, rarely put out city structure fires anymore, and have skills sets that do not justify their salary when thousands of other well qualified applicants apply for these positions.

I maybe going wwaaaaaaayyyyy too far, but I can't help but compare their compensation to a Marine Sergeant Infantrymen at Twenty Nine Palms with over 8 years of active duty time, 3 tours in Afghanistan, plus all the hardships that come with the military service like repeated PCS moves gets less than 46,000 a year (that's even INCLUDING a housing allowance that they would have to forfeit to live on base). After moving their family all over the world throughout an entire career that service member's pension will be LESS than a quarter of that of a LA City Fire Fighter.

I can understand many radically differing points of view, but describing CA Fire Fighters as poor or under compensated is ludicrous.

See what California cities pay police, firefighters | The Sacramento Bee
WOW....that's some seriously eye opening statements, thanks for sharing, i am going to tell my future born kids to pursue fire-fighting
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Old 11-10-2015, 01:17 AM
 
202 posts, read 197,301 times
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Originally Posted by botticelli View Post
Well said.

It is stupid to say "if you are not rich or make $150k, don't move to/live in LA".

Let's be honest, Los Angeles is NOT a particularly expensive city, if you really compare it with peers of similar size and wealth. Food is affordable and housing is not cheap but not prohibitively expensive either.

Then why do you people complain it is so unaffordable? it is because they EXPECT all the nice things people have in small towns and cities, such a huge 3000sf house with two garages. You know what? People in other large cities don't have that either - ask residents of Paris, or Tokyo or Singapore or Sydney, no, they can't afford such luxury either.

here are lists of global cities comparable to LA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city

Do I even need to compare car and gas price with that in Japan, France or Australia? Do you own math.

Anyone who complains that LA is expensive is delusional. I have more than a couple of friends who live there with combined household income less than $100,000 and they are living just fine. I never heard them complain about the cost of living once. Instead, they are able to travel internationally every year. Why? because they live in modest apartments, drive 10 year corollas, and don't splurge on fancy dinners and night life on a regular basis. They never buy $150 clothes or get the newest Iphone every time there is a new model. They wisely accumulate airlines mileage to travel in the future. They don't subscribe to $120 a month premium cable TV packages, and they don't have a $4 latte every single morning.

The problem with many people is that they are so f8cking spoiled and constantly have the need to pamper themselves with nice things. How the hell does a $100,000 BMW really provide a better QoL than a $18000 corolla? No, it doesn't. It is nothing but vanity. And why the hell does everyone think they absolutely NEED a single family detached house with 4 bedroom (2 of which are vacant for 300 days of year)? People elsewhere don't have them too, and why do you think you are entitled to it?

Give me US$60,000 a year, and I will be able to live comfortably in Los Angeles. If you can't, there is something wrong with the way you spend money, not with the city.
Well i wasn't really going to respond to this post until i read "BMW"....there's a thing called "passion" in life and those who have it, work for it - earn it & are entitled to live it....riding in a BMW750I or ///M6 is as easily comparable to living in Malibu than driving a Corolla of any year (heck 2020 in future) or living in Compton...sure there are ways to control/cut down on clubbing/eating outside but no-way in hell on cars..lol !

And if you are one of the folks that thinks like my uncle who owns a $3 million 5000 square feet house in Culver City (bought in 90's)....that a car is just a means to get from point A to point B....i rest my case...lol !
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Old 11-10-2015, 01:27 AM
 
202 posts, read 197,301 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nograviti View Post
That's it, LA, London and NYC are not domestic markets anymore. The guy moving in next to you, is as likely to be from a industrialist family based in South America as be an LA native.

This is sadly the beginning as LA is relatively cheap by global standards. Londoners pay way more for real estate, so don't expect a price fall any time soon.

Currently in the UK there is a reality TV show about rich English kids called 'Made in Chelsea', I view LA as my bolt hole to get away from the WASPY kids who didn't always accept me growing up in London. Now they have launched a 'Made in Chelsea LA', so LA is on the map for rich kids from London now!!

Shining a spotlight on LA, will mean only more Brits will come, they have already driven up prices in New York and it seems like LA is next.

I already noticed loads of French people in Santa Monica. So I think high house prices are sadly here to stay...
Thanks for the insights, i have seen an upsurge since 2012 in the Middle-Eastern/Arabian folks (kids barely grown their first moustache follicle at 18 and rocking a ///M3 or Porsche 911 Turbo S - thanks to the inherited oil money) & french head-turning crowd (gals !!!)..it's not uncommon to hardly hear any english on the promenade street & the hustle-bustle swanky new stores although i do shop in them too...
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Old 11-10-2015, 01:30 AM
 
202 posts, read 197,301 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iama30something View Post
Yes, I bought a 2 bed / 1 ba, 900 sq ft. condo in Santa Monica for $445k in April.
You are a lucky lad who sneaked in a deal, there's nothing available even for 550k in SM at the moment with the exception of a pathetic 700 square feet ****-hole where you literally take dump in the living room in the corner
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Old 11-10-2015, 01:33 AM
 
202 posts, read 197,301 times
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Originally Posted by jm1982 View Post
I think this is a good idea too . Fixers that are actually priced as fixers are hard to come by especially in really desirable areas like the westside .. But they are out there I am sure.
It would even be worth doing some marketing like an investor would do to find a good deal .

If you start out with strong equity " built in " then it's less scary if the market does drop a bit . If it goes up of course you'll do better than the other neighbors that bought recently .

Another advantage of the " live in flip " that a lot of people might not realize is that if you live in it for at least two years then the 250k of the profit is exempt for single people and 500k for couples .
So let's say if you bought a house for $1million in west la and are married and when you come to well you have a profit of 500k that whole 500k profit will be tax free . Pretty amazing if you think about it.
As a 20+ current generation guy, i can vouch on the fact that 90% of us are not interested in hiring a fix-up guy, negotiating his rates, fixing every crack in the ceiling every now and then and make our lives a practical hell to save on some thousand bucks here and there (until you are an asian landlord born in the 50's) and rather loose out on the other money making business opportunities at the same time, thats why OP in this case also ended up buying a condo for 445k rather than any of the fix-ups suggested here (which in my own honest opinion isn't a bad advice)
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