Recent content by LAtoOC

Decent article on Bond Yields - http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424052748704329604578637791455942204.html Key line - "It is widely believed that tapering of asset purchases will occur this coming September, but Bernanke reiterated the analogy that the Fed will merely be letting up on...

Hey guys - we have a contractor that put in our media center built-in for us give us a quote on canned lighting for our living room/kids playroom for $125/light. We are looking to put in 4 lights + dimmer switch. He uses a sub for the electricity and that sub is on "vacation" (the guy went back...

We used LA Carpet for our tile floor project in the bathrooms and they did a nice job. We had to haggle a bunch on the price but eventually they agreed and all was well. Scheduling was also a bit of a headache but the work was good.

401k payback is a post-tax payback. We thought about it for awhile but decided against it for the reasons mentioned (lose out on performance, you are effectively not contributing to your 401k and the company does not match a loan payback)

Hello All - Quick question, we have a self-contained (chimney just goes to side wall, not all the way up to top of house) gas fireplace in our living room. If effectively cuts the family room in half so there is a media niche on one side and the fireplace on the other. When we had a contractor...

Thanks - just sent them a note. Hopefully they come back with something a little more reasonable.

Hello - We are looking for some referrals to put a built-in media niche/center in our home. We have one recommendation but they came in at a pretty high price so I was hoping to find a few other quotes. The other threads on here are 2+ years old so I am starting a new one. Thanks!

I like the floor layouts. I think it is a bit far from work. ALSO, they have no planned local schools so that was a dealbreaker. HOA (215 for homes and 324 for condos) and tax rate including MR (1.6%) There's also a 1/8 of 1% fee you pay on your first purchase that goes into a "fund" for events

I thought if you hit AMT property tax deductions vanished.

We sent the kids next door to Mariner's Preschool. We are not in love with some aspects of the school (their snacks are not nutritious, it is VERY religious, still $$$) but the teachers there are very warm with the kids and the school has a nice community around it (parents talk to each other...

We toured JCC and liked the facilities a lot. Some factors that led us elsewhere: 1) They have TVs in the rooms. They claim it is only for morning announcements, but ehhh 2) $$$ 3) Less of a community feel to the place With that said, the facilities are top notch and the location is easy if...

Savers are punished as long as inflation >> rates on FDIC accounts. Fed wants people to invest in risky assets and reflate the bubble. It looks like they are finally winning.

Our Pottery Barn furniture has not aged well (coffee table + media table) and we would not be buying from them again. We got our sofa from Al's in Los Angeles (Pottery Barn knock-off place) and the cushions need to be refilled. My sister has had a Jennifer Convertible sectional for 8 years now...

South OC has a few 1M+ now I believe.

We got the odyssey touring 2013 for a purchase price of 37823 from Costa Mesa. They played a TON of games though during financing/closing and the experience was horrible, but hell, best price. For what its worth, Huntington Beach Honda offered us a best price of 37880 and seemed to play less...