Why Do the Chinese Love Irvine?

[socal78]

Did you know I saw Jack In the Box selling rice bowls in Monterey Park 20 years ago.  I guess they had to figure out some way to survive when most of their community is !white.  Not that Jack in the Box is for Caucasians...but burger places in general.

The chicken teriyaki rice bowls are part of their regular menu nation-wide. Same with egg rolls.

 

[Liar Loan]

I for one welcome our Chinese overlords, and their money.  Places like Jack in the box can't make enough revenue to support a corner strip mall spot, but a place like 85 deg bakery has a 30 min line everyday out the door.  Did you know I saw Jack In the Box selling rice bowls in Monterey Park 20 years ago.  I guess they had to figure out some way to survive when most of their community is !white.  Not that Jack in the Box is for Caucasians...but burger places in general.

Well technically Jack is caucasian isn't he?  In the 80's the Japanese were buying up all of Downtown LA and everybody was afraid because America was losing its dominance, then Japan's economy went KABOOM.  I don't know what will happen to China but my gut instinct is that they will have a major economic event sooner or later.  Nobody can defy the laws of gravity forever.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

its also kind of sad cause we have to print more money to sustain our debt... so irvines just gonna become more and more expensive for us americans, and cheaper and cheaper for foreigners... if ur tight on ur wallet already right now, its only a matter of time ur gonna be priced out... might as well move now...

see this is one of those major problems i have with our gov using its citizens as collateral for the USD... i mean ok its been this way since we introduced fiat currency, but theres gotta be a better way to sustain our debt man... oh well bleh...

I wish our federal or state government would institute some guidelines to protect taxpayers from situations like this. In the 90's Japanese investors flooded Australia's real estate market. The Australian government imposed restrictions on foreign investors and levied heavy tax on when such investors made profit. In the late 90's investors from Hong Kong did the same thing to western Canadian cities. I'm not sure if the Canadians did anything. It feels like foreign buyers are getting a free run here and we are selling every inch of available land to foreigners for a shortsighted quick buck. We should ask the county to double the property tax and MR for foreign buyers and give local residents a leg up? What's wrong with that? We are the ones contributed to this beloved city and it's only fair for ask for a small fee from late comers.

I'm just wondering, is it legally possible for a large foreign investment group (perhaps backed by, for instance, the Chinese government) to buy out all homes on the market in Irvine?  You and I will become the proud residents/citizens of the Red Irvine or People's Republic of Chirvine.

On a second thought, I'm not particular worried. The Chinese government imposes restrictions on the outflow of US currency - each person is allowed to wire 50k per year out of China. Yes there are lots of people and lots of loopholes. But the Chinese government will start plugging the holes as soon as their official's mistresses have settled down in Irvine and their kids enrolled in IUSD and IVC. Yep, coming to a neighborhood near you, the rich, the classy, the lonely, the misunderstood and the forever horny... mistresses of the Chinese ruling class.

I don't really know what to say.  This post seems awfully ignorant.  But I guess the Japanese overlords we had from the 1980s really left an impact...or not.

What grounds would the US Government take to block the buying of real estate?

 

[irvinehomeshopper]

You must be new to the game. They are satisfied. 5 years from today you will see many Mexican dragons attend kindergarten.

Yep, coming to a neighborhood near you, the rich, the classy, the lonely, the misunderstood and the forever horny... mistresses of the Chinese ruling class. 

 

[changm55]

at least theyre better then black dragons... oh shit did i just say that out loud?

 

[irvinehomeshopper]

Irvine High Schools' basketball teams suck as much CalTech's team. The black dragons could change that.

 

[irvinehomeshopper]

at least theyre better then black dragons... oh shit did i just say that out loud?

The Chinese mistresses swore the black dragon is better than the Mexican dragon.

 

[changm55]

yeah but theyre very hard to find in irvine man...

at least theyre better then black dragons... oh shit did i just say that out loud?

The Chinese mistresses swore the black dragon is better than the Mexican dragon.

 

[changm55]

wow how did i miss this post?

Oh please... UCI is for the peasantry man... the up n coming sends their kids to USC (U of spoiled chinese)... true royalty send their kids to cornell, just donate a new wing to their library there and ur kids will get in

UCI.. University of Chinese Immi...errr

 

[usctrojancpa]

at least theyre better then black dragons... oh shit did i just say that out loud?

The Chinese mistresses swore the black dragon is better than the Mexican dragon.

What about the white dragon?

 

[qwerty]

at least theyre better then black dragons... oh shit did i just say that out loud?

The Chinese mistresses swore the black dragon is better than the Mexican dragon.

This is a flat out lie IHS!!!

 

[changm55]

OH OH SHIT!!! RED TOWEL THROW DOWN!! ITS A THROW DOWN!!

LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE~~~ LOL

at least theyre better then black dragons... oh shit did i just say that out loud?

The Chinese mistresses swore the black dragon is better than the Mexican dragon.

This is a flat out lie IHS!!!

 

[ttl]

its also kind of sad cause we have to print more money to sustain our debt... so irvines just gonna become more and more expensive for us americans, and cheaper and cheaper for foreigners... if ur tight on ur wallet already right now, its only a matter of time ur gonna be priced out... might as well move now...

see this is one of those major problems i have with our gov using its citizens as collateral for the USD... i mean ok its been this way since we introduced fiat currency, but theres gotta be a better way to sustain our debt man... oh well bleh...

I wish our federal or state government would institute some guidelines to protect taxpayers from situations like this. In the 90's Japanese investors flooded Australia's real estate market. The Australian government imposed restrictions on foreign investors and levied heavy tax on when such investors made profit. In the late 90's investors from Hong Kong did the same thing to western Canadian cities. I'm not sure if the Canadians did anything. It feels like foreign buyers are getting a free run here and we are selling every inch of available land to foreigners for a shortsighted quick buck. We should ask the county to double the property tax and MR for foreign buyers and give local residents a leg up? What's wrong with that? We are the ones contributed to this beloved city and it's only fair for ask for a small fee from late comers.

I'm just wondering, is it legally possible for a large foreign investment group (perhaps backed by, for instance, the Chinese government) to buy out all homes on the market in Irvine?  You and I will become the proud residents/citizens of the Red Irvine or People's Republic of Chirvine.

On a second thought, I'm not particular worried. The Chinese government imposes restrictions on the outflow of US currency - each person is allowed to wire 50k per year out of China. Yes there are lots of people and lots of loopholes. But the Chinese government will start plugging the holes as soon as their official's mistresses have settled down in Irvine and their kids enrolled in IUSD and IVC. Yep, coming to a neighborhood near you, the rich, the classy, the lonely, the misunderstood and the forever horny... mistresses of the Chinese ruling class.

I don't really know what to say.  This post seems awfully ignorant.  But I guess the Japanese overlords we had from the 1980s really left an impact...or not.

What grounds would the US Government take to block the buying of real estate?

It was an thoughtless rant on my part. I didn't mean to have the government block sales to foreign people. I think it is fair to ask for a higher property tax and MR. Maybe we have a case. How about on the same ground we the taxpayers were forced to bail out the '2 big 2 fail' and the same ground the government is pushing for loan modification for underwater mortgages? I agree that the government doesn't owe us a living, but my elected officials have an obligation to look after the local economy and its direct beneficiaries, namely, you and me. Like someone said above, we are selling the path to citizenship at 500k for a family of 2 to however many. Then they bring all their relatives over to enjoy retirement and medical benefits for the rest of their lives. We might as well sell our soul and kiss my social security goodbye before it goes bankrupt.

And on a more serious note, how much tax are the new comers paying? Out of the few FCB's in my social circle, who have been here for more than a year, NADA! They report just enough foreign income to break even and they intend to keep it that way for as long as they can get away with. What's wrong with asking them to contributing a bit more than we do so that we could enjoy this place on equal footing? I hear the saying 'being priced out forever' a lot at TI. It is a sad truth because there are lots of buyers came here with with an unfair advantage - whatever that may be.

Good to know that they like a piece of our world so here is a price tag. Supply vs demand, take it or leave it. Just don't forget to check out when you leave us for a new utopia somewhere down the horizon - that's what the Australian government did, rightly.

 

[changm55]

actually, the ppl in irvine that i personally know that show the most animosity towards the influx of mainland chinese are actually some of my uber green coalition taiwanese friends... but then that hate stems from politics back home... i always poke at them cause im uber blue... oh it kills me each time i shop at ranch 99 knowing that green corrupt president owns a big chunk of ranch 99 shares bought with stolen monies... oh the irony...

at least theyre better then black dragons... oh shit did i just say that out loud?

The Chinese mistresses swore the black dragon is better than the Mexican dragon.

What about the white dragon?

 

[changm55]

serious? how do they avoid property tax then... (teach me i wanna know kekeke)...

its also kind of sad cause we have to print more money to sustain our debt... so irvines just gonna become more and more expensive for us americans, and cheaper and cheaper for foreigners... if ur tight on ur wallet already right now, its only a matter of time ur gonna be priced out... might as well move now...

see this is one of those major problems i have with our gov using its citizens as collateral for the USD... i mean ok its been this way since we introduced fiat currency, but theres gotta be a better way to sustain our debt man... oh well bleh...

I wish our federal or state government would institute some guidelines to protect taxpayers from situations like this. In the 90's Japanese investors flooded Australia's real estate market. The Australian government imposed restrictions on foreign investors and levied heavy tax on when such investors made profit. In the late 90's investors from Hong Kong did the same thing to western Canadian cities. I'm not sure if the Canadians did anything. It feels like foreign buyers are getting a free run here and we are selling every inch of available land to foreigners for a shortsighted quick buck. We should ask the county to double the property tax and MR for foreign buyers and give local residents a leg up? What's wrong with that? We are the ones contributed to this beloved city and it's only fair for ask for a small fee from late comers.

I'm just wondering, is it legally possible for a large foreign investment group (perhaps backed by, for instance, the Chinese government) to buy out all homes on the market in Irvine?  You and I will become the proud residents/citizens of the Red Irvine or People's Republic of Chirvine.

On a second thought, I'm not particular worried. The Chinese government imposes restrictions on the outflow of US currency - each person is allowed to wire 50k per year out of China. Yes there are lots of people and lots of loopholes. But the Chinese government will start plugging the holes as soon as their official's mistresses have settled down in Irvine and their kids enrolled in IUSD and IVC. Yep, coming to a neighborhood near you, the rich, the classy, the lonely, the misunderstood and the forever horny... mistresses of the Chinese ruling class.

I don't really know what to say.  This post seems awfully ignorant.  But I guess the Japanese overlords we had from the 1980s really left an impact...or not.

What grounds would the US Government take to block the buying of real estate?

It was an thoughtless rant on my part. I didn't mean to have the government block sales to foreign people. I think it is fair to ask for a higher property tax and MR. Maybe we have a case. How about on the same ground we the taxpayers were forced to bail out the '2 big 2 fail' and the same ground the government is pushing for loan modification for underwater mortgages? I agree that the government doesn't owe us a living, but my elected officials have an obligation to look after the local economy and its direct beneficiaries, namely, you and me. Like someone said above, we are selling the path to citizenship at 500k for a family of 2 to however many. Then they bring all their relatives over to enjoy retirement and medical benefits for the rest of their lives. We might as well sell our soul and kiss my social security goodbye before it goes bankrupt.

And on a more serious note, how much tax are the new comers paying? Out of the few FCB's in my social circle, who have been here for more than a year, NADA! They report just enough foreign income to break even and they intend to keep it that way for as long as they can get away with. What's wrong with asking them to contributing a bit more than we do so that we could enjoy this place on equal footing? I hear the saying 'being priced out forever' a lot at TI. It is a sad truth because there are lots of buyers came here with with an unfair advantage - whatever that may be.

Good to know that they like a piece of our world so here is a price tag. Supply vs demand, take it or leave it. Just don't forget to check out when you leave us for a new utopia somewhere down the horizon - that's what the Australian government did, rightly.

 

[ttl]

Property tax, yes. Income tax, SS and Medicare, no.

 

[changm55]

actually i remember in 2008 when obama won i said "LIBERAL PIECE OF SHIT" and i swore i wasnt gonna pay any tax that year... but it was extremely hard... and in the end obama won and i lost... i couldnt live one year without paying some sort of tax...

like even if i balanced my books and made 0 USD that year, so no los angeles business tax, no board of equalization sales/use tax, no state 540 and no federal 1040... im still left holding the bag to pay my payroll taxes and llc annual tax/fee... and then each time i shopped or consumed anything id pay sales tax... if i drove id have to pay for registration, n then property tax too... n this is just the ones off the top of my head... i remember there was more... as citizens we seriously are so heavily DOUBLE taxed most ppl dont even realize this... but thats another topic right?

so i honestly dont believe u that they pay nothing...

besides if ur so pissed off at them not paying taxes, then go and set up ur own foreign holdings company or what nots, if u have stocks put it in a trust... there are ways... i mean during 2012 they went through in detail how romney did it using trusts... i mean honestly, was everybody asleep then? yes we can? forward?

 

[changm55]

dont u need an ss to claim ss/medicare?... how can a foreigner who doesnt even have a green card claim ss/medicare benefits that u suggested earlier? isnt that ss/medicare fraud? i thought only texans do ss/medicare fraud...

im actually not that pissed off they dont pay federal taxes... i hate the fed... 40-45 cents of every tax dollar goes straight to defense spending... really?... 10-15 cents goes straight to paying interest on our debt... the rest? lol pork barreled to fund projects in other states... we'd be lucky we even see a few cents back... state tax? under jerry brown?... haha its faster and more efficient if we just skip paying the state and pay it straight into unions... less chance of corruption of someone stealing from the jar too... maybe theyll be happy and stop picketing and striking at LAX...

 

[hamilton]

I was reading this IHB post by Cubic Zirconia:

http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/blog/comments/premium-not-yet#86593

And this sentence caught my eye: 

I get at least two calls a week from Realtors representing foreign buyers who are willing to pay more than the market price for my detached condominium.

This type of activity seems to be taken for granted by the readers here at Talk Irvine, yet I don't know if anybody has ever fully explained it.  (Maybe they have and I just missed it.) 

There are a lot of desirable features to Irvine, but that could be said for many OC cities.  What is it about Irvine that gets people that have never been here to plunk down $700k+ for a house?  Is there some cultural appeal to Irvine that I'm not aware of?  Is it all just marketing?  What makes Chinese people want buy houses here out of all the places in SoCal?  I've read that it's perceived to be a good investment, but why not buy houses in Laguna Beach, La Jolla, or any other coastal city then?

Sincerely,
Confused White Guy

I think it is for the same reason people love to stay at high-end hotels where everything is neat, clean and maintained automagically. Chinese are shrewd (in a complimentary sense) and don't mind taking shortcuts when they can afford it. There is nothing wrong with that. But why are they attracted to Irvine only?  They are not. Property prices are being pushed up in other cities too by FCB's but we are just too self-obsessed (again, in a complimentary sense) here at TI to notice.

There is always this herd mentality in consumer sentiment and this is especially true among the Chinese immigrant population. Majority of the new immigrant population are facing language and cultural barriers themselves and do not want to venture into the unknown territories. Hence the congregation in east LA county cities. Once they have discovered a nice, open and welcoming city like Irvine (thanks to TIC and IP of course), the gold-rush follows.

This same mentality also defines the pattern of their investment activities - it is no surprising to hear so-and-so bought a number of homes for investment in Irvine. while ignoring other cities where investment returns could in fact be much higher.  This predictability comes with an inherent risk but who am I to say. I wish all new-comers well and and enjoy their sweet American dreams.

My work requires me to constantly stay in contact with well-to-do businessmen in China and what you're saying is entirely true.  There are certain cities like Irvine that have a reputation among the wealthy in China.  It's not uncommon for me to meet people that want to invest in Irvine but have never even been there; theyre willing to invest solely based on what they hear.

 

[hamilton]

its also kind of sad cause we have to print more money to sustain our debt... so irvines just gonna become more and more expensive for us americans, and cheaper and cheaper for foreigners... if ur tight on ur wallet already right now, its only a matter of time ur gonna be priced out... might as well move now...

see this is one of those major problems i have with our gov using its citizens as collateral for the USD... i mean ok its been this way since we introduced fiat currency, but theres gotta be a better way to sustain our debt man... oh well bleh...

I wish our federal or state government would institute some guidelines to protect taxpayers from situations like this. In the 90's Japanese investors flooded Australia's real estate market. The Australian government imposed restrictions on foreign investors and levied heavy tax on when such investors made profit. In the late 90's investors from Hong Kong did the same thing to western Canadian cities. I'm not sure if the Canadians did anything. It feels like foreign buyers are getting a free run here and we are selling every inch of available land to foreigners for a shortsighted quick buck. We should ask the county to double the property tax and MR for foreign buyers and give local residents a leg up? What's wrong with that? We are the ones contributed to this beloved city and it's only fair for ask for a small fee from late comers.

I'm just wondering, is it legally possible for a large foreign investment group (perhaps backed by, for instance, the Chinese government) to buy out all homes on the market in Irvine?  You and I will become the proud residents/citizens of the Red Irvine or People's Republic of Chirvine.

On a second thought, I'm not particular worried. The Chinese government imposes restrictions on the outflow of US currency - each person is allowed to wire 50k per year out of China. Yes there are lots of people and lots of loopholes. But the Chinese government will start plugging the holes as soon as their official's mistresses have settled down in Irvine and their kids enrolled in IUSD and IVC. Yep, coming to a neighborhood near you, the rich, the classy, the lonely, the misunderstood and the forever horny... mistresses of the Chinese ruling class.

I don't really know what to say.  This post seems awfully ignorant.  But I guess the Japanese overlords we had from the 1980s really left an impact...or not.

What grounds would the US Government take to block the buying of real estate?

It was an thoughtless rant on my part. I didn't mean to have the government block sales to foreign people. I think it is fair to ask for a higher property tax and MR. Maybe we have a case. How about on the same ground we the taxpayers were forced to bail out the '2 big 2 fail' and the same ground the government is pushing for loan modification for underwater mortgages? I agree that the government doesn't owe us a living, but my elected officials have an obligation to look after the local economy and its direct beneficiaries, namely, you and me. Like someone said above, we are selling the path to citizenship at 500k for a family of 2 to however many. Then they bring all their relatives over to enjoy retirement and medical benefits for the rest of their lives. We might as well sell our soul and kiss my social security goodbye before it goes bankrupt.

And on a more serious note, how much tax are the new comers paying? Out of the few FCB's in my social circle, who have been here for more than a year, NADA! They report just enough foreign income to break even and they intend to keep it that way for as long as they can get away with. What's wrong with asking them to contributing a bit more than we do so that we could enjoy this place on equal footing? I hear the saying 'being priced out forever' a lot at TI. It is a sad truth because there are lots of buyers came here with with an unfair advantage - whatever that may be.

Good to know that they like a piece of our world so here is a price tag. Supply vs demand, take it or leave it. Just don't forget to check out when you leave us for a new utopia somewhere down the horizon - that's what the Australian government did, rightly.

As a US Citizen I welcome with open arms all of the Chinese Nationals that make their way to our side of the pond.  First of all most of them are only visiting (not buying houses) and the ones that can get Visa's tend to be the wealthier Chinese.  These are the kind of Chinese that come and spend shitloads of money on clothes, goods, vegas, etc.  They may talk in a funny language but as long as they keep bringing their hard earned Yen to spend over here you won't hear me complaining.

As far as the housing boom goes I would normally agree that Govt. intervention is generally not helpful in these kinds of circumstances.  For example HK introduced a 15% tax specifically targeted at foreign (read: mainland) buyers last year but prices are still appreciating.  Not sure what the best solution is and I want to say the bubble will eventually burst but then again look at China's real estate market.... But with the Chinese Govt. cracking down on the wealthy and empowered's assets you can be sure that in the short term they will be looking to get their money out ASAP and what better place than Irvine...