Good time to buy house in SD? (San Diego, Sacramento: short sales, rental market)

[NYSD1995]

Mortgage interest deduction is the only substantive tax break for wage-earning homeowners. There is nothing else!

This country is being paid for by this magical top 5% who is barely squeaking out a middle class lifestyle in any expensive US metro. Sorry but even 350k/yr is not "rich" to me. That's just comfortable upper-middle class. 150k/yr is not rich by any stretch of the imagination.

[NoSoupforU]

You can also bet that the NAR will fight the elimination of MID tooth and nail. I read somewhere that there are also talks of bringing the old jumbo conforming limit of 729k back. I know the NAR was fighting for that as well. Even though for the most part, I hate the NAR.

I'll try to avoid the topic of moral hazard re: taxation but as far as home prices are concerned...I don't think any homeowner wants MID to be gone. Prices would get crushed at least an additional 10% from wherever the bottom is ultimately going to end up.

[oddstray]

If you buy a newer single-family house, chances are you'll have an HOA anyway. Then you have both HOA and maintaining a home.

How many people? We live in a 2-bedroom condo, well under $400k. There is just us, and occasionally our adult daughter who visits for a couple of weeks at a time. I can't imagine having a child older than toddler and living in a 2-bedroom condo. We don't have any maintenance, but what we miss is having somewhere to plant a garden and somewhere to do workshop-py type stuff (woodworking, minor car repair, etc.)

[MovingAloha]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Mortgage interest deduction is the only substantive tax break for wage-earning homeowners. There is nothing else!

This country is being paid for by this magical top 5% who is barely squeaking out a middle class lifestyle in any expensive US metro. Sorry but even 350k/yr is not "rich" to me. That's just comfortable upper-middle class. 150k/yr is not rich by any stretch of the imagination.

Agree, especially in California and New York.

[AADAD]

Originally Posted by oddstray

If you buy a newer single-family house, chances are you'll have an HOA anyway. Then you have both HOA and maintaining a home.

How many people? We live in a 2-bedroom condo, well under $400k. There is just us, and occasionally our adult daughter who visits for a couple of weeks at a time. I can't imagine having a child older than toddler and living in a 2-bedroom condo. We don't have any maintenance, but what we miss is having somewhere to plant a garden and somewhere to do workshop-py type stuff (woodworking, minor car repair, etc.)

Thanks. it would be a single family without an HOA. and I too miss the "space". The quality we most want is peaceful environment and with the history of parking issues in a condo we would rather avoid that again. We are starting our search in the next few weeks and hope to make a decision in January February. I've been here since January last. Daughter is better and expecting their first, job is going well so far and my house is rented in Alaska....Hope to find that special place here too.

[earlyretirement]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

This country is being paid for by this magical top 5% who is barely squeaking out a middle class lifestyle in any expensive US metro. Sorry but even 350k/yr is not "rich" to me. That's just comfortable upper-middle class. 150k/yr is not rich by any stretch of the imagination.

I agree and why I pointed out the specific numbers. Many people have NO clue when they talk about supposedly these 1%'s or 5%'s are all these mega wealthy people when they aren't.

Many of the people in the Occupy Movement don't have any idea about what these 1% or 5% numbers are. They are angry which I don't blame them for. They want change (yet some don't know what they want exactly). But I've seen quite a bit of ignorance as well from that camp. Many say they are in the 99% but they assume everyone in the 1% is in hedge fund crowd or banker types which is far from the truth.

I talked to an old classmate recently that is out of a job and is protesting and was trying to tell me how all these 1%s and even 5%'s are all mega wealthy and I had to point out just how wrong he was. He didn't have any clue what the numbers were. He was just angry as he is out of a job.

Like you Sassberto, I don't think what some of these 1%s are making each year is "wealthy" and certainly NOT these upper 5%. That was my point for bringing this up. Maybe this thread has gone slightly off topic and if so I apologize but I totally agree the 5% is supporting a heavy load in this country. I get it the lower classes are struggling as well but we need some kind of change where everyone is collectively paying a share of the burden. If not, there can be no turn around and systemic change. JMHO.

I read that about 10% of all taxpayers receive more cash from the IRS than they pay in payroll taxes and federal income taxes via tax credits that put their tax liability into negative territory. I'm not sure how accurate this 10% figure is but these kinds of figures don't exactly make me giddy. When I read things like 51% of Americans pay no federal income tax and I'm paying a fortune in federal income taxes it can feel just as frustrating as many of these protesters. I realize federal income taxes aren't the only taxes out there but I still think there has to be fair compromises to tax the uber wealthy that make millions each year more and close some loopholes and also get some of these people paying no federal income tax to pay a bit.

Also, I think the most important thing is for the US government to totally get their spending under control. It's not just a matter of increasing tax revenues but just controlling spending.



http://www.theatlantic.com/business/...-taxes/238329/

[MovingAloha]

OIY!!

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Mortgage interest deduction is the only substantive tax break for wage-earning homeowners. There is nothing else!

This country is being paid for by this magical top 5% who is barely squeaking out a middle class lifestyle in any expensive US metro. Sorry but even 350k/yr is not "rich" to me. That's just comfortable upper-middle class. 150k/yr is not rich by any stretch of the imagination.

Yup ^^ This.

At some point the tax code will need to be revised, revamped and updated. No doubt.

I agree with you and earlyretirement about stats vs reality. 350k/yr is definitely 'comfortable' but not 'rich'... far from it in todays society. I dont get all the hooplah about this 1% of the tax paying population and tying them to Wall St bankers or taxing them more. In all fairness that 1% starts at 350k and goes up. I guess they are going to make up fractions of that 1%!
Make the upper 2/10ths of the 1% PAY! Off with their heads!

This is a long drawn out storm in regards financial 'definition'. It has been developing for the past 20+ years and has come out much more dynamic and layered than the old days. Its not like the beginning of 20th century where being a captain of industry alone was more definitive and substantial when it came a direct path to wealth. The lines were more clear cut.
Now we have net worth in numbers, tied to bits and pieces of assets that are being managed layer over layer via stocks and the like. Those layers are being traded and spit out over other layers. Its like Jenga.
Just about the only direct path to owning a true asset these days is to buy it outright in cash (real estate, hard assets) or owning luxury goods which have historical significance (limited edition classic cars, art work etc).
However many of those prices of assets have also ballooned so its tough to find places to hide or invest money unless you plan on holding on to it for quite some time.

As earlyretirement has said in other posts, I echo. If you plan on buying a house to live in for at least 10-15 years, its a good time to buy IF you can afford it. To add, struggling to pay for something doesnt mean you can afford it. Right now takes some thoughtful navigation and projection with TONS of caution. Hedging thoughts bordering on entitlement such as "when my salary goes up" or the like is a complete waste in projecting for the near to mid future IMHO.

[oddstray]

Thanks. it would be a single family without an HOA. and I too miss the "space". The quality we most want is peaceful environment and with the history of parking issues in a condo we would rather avoid that again. We are starting our search in the next few weeks and hope to make a decision in January February. I've been here since January last. Daughter is better and expecting their first, job is going well so far and my house is rented in Alaska....Hope to find that special place here too.

You almost certainly don't want a condo. Even if it doesn't have parking issues this year, it very well may have the next year. Or painting issues, or use-of-common-space issues, or ... It requires an extra amount of *shrug - whateVVer* to be happy in a condo.

[MovingAloha]

Originally Posted by shmoov_groovzsd

Yup ^^ This.

At some point the tax code will need to be revised, revamped and updated. No doubt.

I agree with you and earlyretirement about stats vs reality. 350k/yr is definitely 'comfortable' but not 'rich'... far from it in todays society. I dont get all the hooplah about this 1% of the tax paying population and tying them to Wall St bankers or taxing them more. In all fairness that 1% starts at 350k and goes up. I guess they are going to make up fractions of that 1%!
Make the upper 2/10ths of the 1% PAY! Off with their heads!

This is a long drawn out storm in regards financial 'definition'. It has been developing for the past 20+ years and has come out much more dynamic and layered than the old days. Its not like the beginning of 20th century where being a captain of industry alone was more definitive and substantial when it came a direct path to wealth. The lines were more clear cut.
Now we have net worth in numbers, tied to bits and pieces of assets that are being managed layer over layer via stocks and the like. Those layers are being traded and spit out over other layers. Its like Jenga.
Just about the only direct path to owning a true asset these days is to buy it outright in cash (real estate, hard assets) or owning luxury goods which have historical significance (limited edition classic cars, art work etc).
However many of those prices of assets have also ballooned so its tough to find places to hide or invest money unless you plan on holding on to it for quite some time.

As earlyretirement has said in other posts, I echo. If you plan on buying a house to live in for at least 10-15 years, its a good time to buy IF you can afford it. To add, struggling to pay for something doesnt mean you can afford it. Right now takes some thoughtful navigation and projection with TONS of caution. Hedging thoughts bordering on entitlement such as "when my salary goes up" or the like is a complete waste in projecting for the near to mid future IMHO.

I agree that in California and New York, $350K is not wealthy, especially due to the COL in those areas; nor do I believe everyone in the "1%" are not pulling their or more than their weight. But there is no question that the gap between the haves and the middle class (let alone the lower incomes) has increased and its those of us in the middle that are pretty fed up with the lack of integrity and far-sightedness by those in power to even look like they want to get us back on track. All you hear is "Take my Country Back." My question is back to or from what?
Anyways, I unfortunately, even in my most optimistic state, don't believe we are looking at anything much different from what is going on now (economically) for the next 15+ years. We will probably see unemployment high (above 8%) for a while. My Grandchildren may be able to find it easier, but my Sons are pretty much "hosed." They'll be okay, but getting there is going to be a helluva lot shakier than what I and other Baby Boomers had to go through.
Maybe its all about timing (when and where you were born) - don't know, but it's something I plan to go down fighting on when it comes to helping my country, the country I served in the military, the country that overall has been very good to and for me; I plan on fighting to help get us out of this mess; and I may not go about it the same way as many of you, but I know I want to see this country grow and lean forward and not insulate itself with the "I got mine, the hell with you" attitude.