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Avenue One has some cheaper units than that. I think some are selling around 300K, but I can't find the flyer they sent me. Still too high but not WTF anymore.

The 30 year bond is at 4.57% There is almost no way mortgage rates in two years will be above 7%. You could effectively guarantee a low mortgage then by hedging against the 30 year now.

It's very expensive to buy for the short-term! Broker's fees are in the neighborhood of 6%. If you're living there just two years, that's 3% extra per year, or almost 50% premium on your payments. Is the house worth it with a 50% increase in the payments?

You sure about the sound? I live a couple blocks from the freeway in a relatively new house and I can hear the freeway from the inside. I have to think about it to hear it if there's any other noise but if it's quiet there it is. Doesn't bother me (I sleep with a fan anyway because of tinnitus)...

The current low LIBOR rate will take most of the sting out of ARM resets. If the loan is a fair adjustable, and not a toxic deathtrap, current resets will tend to help borrowers. The bad part is that it puts us into a debt trap. If the economy recovers, interest rates go up, resetting ARMs...

I'm mad at myself for not selling in 2006. Boy did I miss an opportunity.

Re option #2: Refi-ing to an interest-only loan only makes sense if you're planning to default on your loan. If you're going to do that, do it now and save yourself the money. I doubt you can swing a refi with no equity anyway, so that option is probably moot. Re #1 vs. #3: $450/month is...

Brings a new meaning to "real estate porn". Well, if NetNanny and the like start blocking the MLS, it will all be for the best.

I voted for "one year" but I think there will probably be some further declines later. I think the wild crash we're seeing now will be done in a year and sale prices will reflect rentsaver levels. That's a "bottom" in a sense. Later, though, I expect interest rates to climb somewhat and that...

"Live-work" is failing around here because it's not live-work. It's "live-park-and-pee". The units I've seen use 2/3 of the ground floor for a garage and 1/3 of what's left for an oversized handicapped bathroom. The space left is far too small for a commercial use and is suitable only for a home...

I think how children grow up has more to do with the children. My brother and I were raised on the same level of financial strictness - we got an allowance and one present per family member for birthdays and Christmas (Santa brought 2 for Christmas). I never got anything because I asked for it...

Those ultra-low auction prices are deceptive - like a bait-and-switch, only with the same product both the bait and the switch. There was one property from Ladera that was put up for auction at something like $130/month. But the auction failed, and they put it on the market at nearly...

Not to worry about subsidizing homeowners. The current Senate proposal has nothing for homeowners but counseling. Most of the expense - about 15 billion - is a tax giveback to unprofitable *homebuilders*. The rest is effectively a subsidy to banks for foreclosures. (Via tax breaks and grants for...

Love that coffee machine, Nude! Reminds me of <a href="http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070618">this cute comic</a>.

You can sell your property now if you price it low enough. The price might seem low, but the price you'll get in 2009 or 2010 will be even lower. At the time, 2004 prices were at all-time highs by most historical standards. As of last month, the state as a whole is already back to 2004 and...

Well, she hasn't yet, Trooper. I think factual corrections from people involved in these projects should be welcomed.

LL, those prices look crazy even to people with California eyes. The Tustin cottage might make sense as a land purchase (in the context of bubble prices). Looks like you could have subdivided the property and built two homes. But then the inside has obviously been remodeled recently, so go...