Recent content by MalibuRenter_IHB

Cool stuff. I'll use it in my new environmentally sensitive disco. Now servicing chai!

They couldn't find it physically to take a look at it? Or they couldn't find it on a map? In either case, if this is recent, it represents a real problem for them.

I haven't noticed any problem, but it might be easier on condos.

Oh, and forgot to mention. It took 10 days from accepted offer to close. If it hadn't been for Thanksgiving, it would have been 5-6 days.

We finished our condo purchase in Dallas today. The close took about 12-13 minutes, including smalltalk about Thanksgiving. There are some differences with CA. One of them is that you don't have to pick any of the intricate choices about how to hold title, like tenants in common, joint...

That would be a relief, especially if the people off the road were slow drivers, or those without auto insurance.

"Agreed - during our time in Dallas, we met many CA transplants. Funny thing tho....I've met many people in SoCal that used to live in TX. ;)" I knew several of those when I lived in LA. To the best of my knowledge, all of them either left CA, or are in the process of leaving now. Without a...

It appears that immigrants of all kinds are leaving. People returning to other US states, H1 and student visa expiring, illegals leaving. I haven't driven through the areas lately where there are huge numbers of recent low income immigrants. About six months ago I saw an awful lot of for rent...

The latest thing I've noticed is how many people I run into who used to live in LA. Lots of them in Dallas. Migration of some form must explain most of the drop in LAUSD's enrollment. District enrollment is down about 9% in 7 years, and the drop is getting faster. This matches with my...

I find it amazing how few truly sympathetic cases the media can find. There simply must be someone with a story where you say "Wow, they didn't really do anything wrong. They tried to be responsible and lost their home anyhow"

Posted this on the main blog, but thought it might be interesting here. I'm buying a condo in Dallas next week (for investment). 20% off of original list, 5% off of most recent list price, 1/3 off of peak. Distressed seller, mildly below recent sale comps. Aftertax cap rate around 5%. No...

If you live in Dallas, you will note a large number of police officers. They are out patrolling our neighborhood in the evening. Actual police officers in uniform are in many stores. These aren't minimum wage "security" that you often see in other cities. I haven't been able to figure out...

I ran across an interesting report yesterday. http://www.rockinst.org/pdf/government_finance/state_revenue_report/2009-10-15-SRR_77.pdf The Rockefeller Institute has a regular series on state tax collections. It may come as shock to many Californians that there are many other states whose...

The quake hazard near St Louis is horrible. Seldom, but the worst in recorded history in the US. The quakes in the early 1800s rang church bells in Boston.

I noticed another difference while putting up some pictures today. In Texas, people use simple screws and nails to hang things. No complex mountings or quake gum. They assume pictures will stay put.