Hello fellow investors! (buyer, wages, cost of)

[beb0p]

Originally Posted by phantompilot

Sure. It is really about the taxation authority being abused under the Democrat supermajority - a condition which wasn't around back then.

They won't be able to exercise any restraint. And they will react to a predictable tax exodus caused by any downturn in the broader economy, by imposing high exit penalties and raising rates which will spiral into a cascade of equity losses. The only thing propping up these taxes in the first place is the high wages, which companies can export without any penalty or other barrier. Unlike real property, employees are totally fungible. Just an accounting entry. So it follows that companies will refuse to play this game and will simply move jobs out of CA (and the employees that want to keep their jobs, with them). Why would they want to jeopardize their company just to bail out California government?

There are a lot of assumptions there.

I just want to add that many Democrats in the supposedly ultra liberal city in San Francisco have been very pro-business. Many of them have gone on to state offices.

.

[Big-Bucks]

Originally Posted by misterwhat01

I have just joined the BP family

British Petroleum?

[sonarrat]

Please buy more starter properties and more importantly keep them rented, not vacant. Even if we can never own, it would at least be nice for rents to come down a bit.


Signed,


Priced-out lifetime resident

[aslowdodge]

Originally Posted by misterwhat01

I have just joined the BP family and have researched and educated on REI a few months now. The biggest question I have now is - should I invest somewhere local (2 ~ 3h drive) or out-of-state?

The market in the Bay Area is difficult, and I do not seem to find offers locally that give me the right number. Of course, I would prefer local for a sense of security and I can deal with problems if something goes south. However, I should mostly have PM manage the property for me as I work full time and travel abroad often. So maybe it does not make a local difference or out-of-state.

Where would you guys recommend to invest in Northern CA and where for out-of-state?

If you truly researched for a few months you would know the answers to these questions. Your questions are too broad to be answered. No one knows how much you have to invest, how much you can afford to lose, etc. What is the right number???
Honestly if you don't know the answers to your questions you should really spend more time doing research.

Are you sure you are even on the right site?

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

Please buy more starter properties and more importantly keep them rented, not vacant. Even if we can never own, it would at least be nice for rents to come down a bit.


Signed,


Priced-out lifetime resident

I remember... it was just timing as you had scouted some real values in the Oakland a few years back when prices were way down... hard to imagine that prices in some neighborhood were half or what they are today and that was as recent as 2012.

Wanted you to make the leap in Laurel and was really rooting for you.

My sister in law's best friend had been renting forever... in 2012 she bought a home in Oakland... found out that she was not cut out to be a homeowner... yard work, clearing the gutters... coming home to no heat... etcs...

Last year she had had enough and a friend was going to England for two years and offered her the job of house sitting paying only the utilities...

Anyway... her almost 3 year stint of home ownership realized a profit to retire all her student loans, pay off her car and put 80k in the bank... it was the first time and at age 32 she was debt free and had money in the bank.

The real question is how will people react when the market reverses next time?

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

I remember... it was just timing as you had scouted some real values in the Oakland a few years back when prices were way down... hard to imagine that prices in some neighborhood were half or what they are today and that was as recent as 2012.

Wanted you to make the leap in Laurel and was really rooting for you.

My sister in law's best friend had been renting forever... in 2012 she bought a home in Oakland... found out that she was not cut out to be a homeowner... yard work, clearing the gutters... coming home to no heat... etcs...

Last year she had had enough and a friend was going to England for two years and offered her the job of house sitting paying only the utilities...

Anyway... her almost 3 year stint of home ownership realized a profit to retire all her student loans, pay off her car and put 80k in the bank... it was the first time and at age 32 she was debt free and had money in the bank.

The real question is how will people react when the market reverses next time?

I made almost $300,000 in profit from my $250,000 purchase in one of the condos in Candlestick (2011). That is why, while recessions suck, they are needed. A lot of people cannot afford housing now, but if these people continue saving money, there will be another crash that will give them the opportunity to buy.

[Ultrarunner]

Memories are short...

It was only 4 years ago for the buy opportunity of my lifetime....

There have been others but 2012 was spectacular because interest rates were also very low and inventory was everywhere...

In my short investing experience there have been several reversals and I weathered each fine as my occupancy never dropped...

At least the low rates gave me opportunity for cheap money... 2.75 mortgage... still don't know how that ever came to be with the run around I was getting when the answer was with my credit union all along.

[Netflix]

Originally Posted by aslowdodge

If you truly researched for a few months you would know the answers to these questions. Your questions are too broad to be answered. No one knows how much you have to invest, how much you can afford to lose, etc. What is the right number???
Honestly if you don't know the answers to your questions you should really spend more time doing research.

Are you sure you are even on the right site?

OP sounds like someone who knows absolutely nothing about real estate, is not from the US, and has a day job. OP should not invest in real estate in CA, or anywhere else in the USA. OP should spend time researching potential investments that do not involve real estate and should only invest in things the OP firmly understands. If you have money you can afford to lose then buying real estate is fine, but thats no longer an investment, its part of a life style choice. Reasons not to buy:
1) Interest rates are rising.
2) Mortgage interest deduction is on the chopping block.
3) Political instability on horizon/here now with potential to create risk/chaos in real estate markets nationally.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

I remember... it was just timing as you had scouted some real values in the Oakland a few years back when prices were way down... hard to imagine that prices in some neighborhood were half or what they are today and that was as recent as 2012.

Wanted you to make the leap in Laurel and was really rooting for you.

My sister in law's best friend had been renting forever... in 2012 she bought a home in Oakland... found out that she was not cut out to be a homeowner... yard work, clearing the gutters... coming home to no heat... etcs...

Last year she had had enough and a friend was going to England for two years and offered her the job of house sitting paying only the utilities...

Anyway... her almost 3 year stint of home ownership realized a profit to retire all her student loans, pay off her car and put 80k in the bank... it was the first time and at age 32 she was debt free and had money in the bank.

The real question is how will people react when the market reverses next time?

It was 2008 when I was going to move to the Laurel. It was a bank owned property on 38th Avenue just above 580. The home inspection went very well, and the bank had accepted my offer out of the two that they had on hand. We were mentally ready to go. Then the home didn't pass appraisal. The reason? They had reduced the price on the house, even though it was already under contract for a higher price, and then they used the same listing as a comparable and declined to finance based on that.

There was nothing I could do. I didn't have extra cash to bring to closing so I had to let it fall out.

Values were dropping in the Bay Area week by week at that time, as more and more REO's hit the market. But if I had gotten that house, it would be worth a good chunk more than I paid for it, for sure.

[Ultrarunner]

I had the same issue when I went to refi...

The same lender that had years of my payment history said prices were falling and referred me to TARP... heck with that and another said similar.

My Credit Union of all places came through and by that time I was jaded and skeptical...

Wells had a foreclosure in another neighborhood... only all cash as is offers considered... this 80 year old couple makes an all cash offer and Wells accepts and says it would like to make a full conforming loan at 3% for 30 years...

I have little respect and almost no expectations when it comes to lenders... except I do love my Credit Union.

Do you remember how much you would have had to come up with?

Laurel is selling briskly now days.