Friday, February 24, 2017

Pineapple Distress

Great video of the recent series of storms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZeAu8M8y8k

The NorCal kids will get wet.  none are in any danger of flooding.  SoCal Dawghaus might get damp. 

Great news.  Mrs Dawg got me a present.  A chipper shredder.  I've since been style trimming the lot.  What would have taken at least two trash bins of branches now occupies a tenth of our weekly allotted single organics bin. 

99 comments:

Lawyerliz said...

Quelle romantic!

Lawyerliz said...

More storms?

Lawyerliz said...

Oi just used a gender neutral toilet#

Rob Dawg said...

Left the seat up?

Lawyerliz said...

No, but somebody else did.

LBD said...

Ladies should learn to put the seat back up when done. New world thinking!

Lawyerliz said...

Good morning. It is sunny and cool here.

Lawyerliz said...

So lonely. . .

Lawyerliz said...

Nobody has discussed flation for a while. As an anecdote the son's monthly payment for his mtg will be about $400 less than his rental. Payment.

Unknown said...

G' Morning Liz..

west coast waking up!!

Unknown said...

$400 per month savings is nice..

Out here..it's interesting to see how the big corp that owns my complex sets rents. When a unit is available for rent..they'll set the rent for the first two weeks of the calendar month at the top end of the market (they usually advertise on Craigslist). If the unit hasn't rented by about the 15th..they'll lower the advertised rent about $25 per month..and then another $25 when they get to the last week of the month.

If the unit stays unrented into the next month..they reset the asking price to the higher number again..

Unknown said...

They obviously have data that shows most people do their apt searches for the following month in the first two weeks of the previous month (kind of makes sense).

Lawyerliz said...

Just downloaded Zillow. My poor neighbor who sorta bragged he always did the wrong thing financially, sold his house for a mere 212k in 2012. It's not for sale, but Zillow has it for twice that. They did do some stuff to it but not 200k+ worth. If he could have hung on. . . I thought it was worth 300k at the time. I think he was desperate. Mine is a little low, but it needs a new roof, which we plan in the next year. He pulled the equity out but his wife was desperately I'll with cancer, so he really needed it.

Lawyerliz said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

no medical insurance??

Lawyerliz said...

I looked at Zillow again, and the price went up by 2k. So we made 2k by just sitting here! Do I believe that? Nah.

Rob Dawg said...

The difference between owning and renting in some areas is worrisome. So many accidental landlords in the bubble had rents negative cash flowing just to keep the house. It probably led to a lot more supply as desperate housing arrangements were formed. Converted garages etc. now people are rejecting substandard housing which raises rates and lowers supply. Too bad the houses renters would want to live in are already owned. Interesting dynamic when the young transfer their wealth to the older while the very oldest plan to leave their wealth to them.

Lawyerliz said...

Good medical insurance, I think he paid for extras, like someone to help. Didn't want to ask.. he was the hub's boss at one time.

Rob Dawg said...

The thing about Zillow is the same as stock quotes. Is it worth that? Doesn't matter as long as someone thinks it is worth that.

Zillow says the dawghaus is worth +$12 this month but in general hasn't been pacing recent sales.

Lawyerliz said...

The son presently lives in a nice rental community, in a nice area. It is across from some ofc towers with good paying jobs, so the landlord has no problem filling them. Son thinks Tampa, St pete is in something of a bubble.

Lawyerliz said...

Yeah, but an hour or 2? Must have checked at just the time they did updates.

Lawyerliz said...

They left off a bathrom too.

Unknown said...

that's funny you guys look at your Zillow estimates so regularly..

(not saying I wouldn't if I owned)...

Rob Dawg said...

One interesting demographic. A real demographic not the fake ones CR touts, is people living longer and living independently for longer. It really messes up some housing metrics.

And pay attention. People are not listening to me on this. Autonomous vehicles are coming much faster than anyone expects. This is not buggy to flivver. Not manual transmission to automatic. Not even b/w to color TV. This is probably closest resembling slide rule to calculator. Fast.

Unknown said...

can't come fast enough for me (autonomous vehicles). Saw on the news last night that distracted driving (texting/looking at smartphone, etc) is the #1 cause of accidents these days..

Rob Dawg said...

Mike. I get it. I do it only for conversational value here. It's fun to be able to say the house did nothing for the entirety of the Obama era and has rocketed since Trump. Neither is a realistic view but it is fun. It does have uses. When I just looked I noticed the neighbor on market for a year has dropped the price finally. 5%. Wow that will bring in the buyers... not.

Unknown said...

Yeah, but an hour or 2? Must have checked at just the time they did updates.

thy figured out the higher they value your house..the more you check their website..and the higher they can charge for advertising rates.. ;<)

Unknown said...

hey someone is putting a dollar value to your largest asset..I'd pay attention too (especially when it's going up!!)..

Rob Dawg said...

Lol. I mentioned the other day that Z is introducing features and data access for which registration is required and soon fees.

Rob Dawg said...

I'm going to set up a "Senior Circuit" of active retirees who have automous RVs or even just cars. Hook them up with other empty nesters who don't mind renting their vacant houses in kind exchanges with me charging a modest broker fee for getting them together. Who wouldn't mind a couple grand for somebody to park and hook up in your driveway while you were gone anyway? I've got 200amp 220v service. I should put in a Teslas class receptacle out at the mailbox now that I think of it.

Unknown said...

I used to ride a commuter bus with a guy who was working for Zillow when they just were getting started. Hope he stuck around long enough to reap the IPO..

Unknown said...

Munching on breakfast breads from 85C bakery (Taiwan-based bakery that just opened a store in South Seattle)..my god they're good..

Lawyerliz said...

I don't; this was the first time.

Lawyerliz said...

I just don't see it, you could be right.

Lawyerliz said...

I think the amount is pretty accurate, because the houses on either side of me have new roofs and a new roof on my house would make price pretty equal.

Unknown said...

the first person who invents a 50 year roof will become an instant billionaire..

Unknown said...

It will be interesting to see what the immigration crack-down does to the cost of installing new roofs. My understanding is that those work crews are often..ahem.."documentation challenged"

Lawyerliz said...

Listened to A CLEcourse. Boy, am I glad I'm not practicing law any more. So much more you have to do to protect yourself. So m u check h A cling and wire fraud!

Lawyerliz said...

So much hacking and wire fraud.

Lawyerliz said...

Better oder my roof while illegals are available.

/snark

Rob Dawg said...

the first person who invents a 50 year roof will become an instant billionaire..


The 50 year, the 75 year, the 100 year roof exist. Ceramic fired stamped steel, Copper, Slate. Price them and see why they are uncommon.

Unknown said...

I imagine a steel roof is pretty heavy also..do you need to get a structural engineer to sign off before you put one on your house??

Lawyerliz said...

The roof we put on after Andrew was supposed to be a 30 year. I didnt believe it. It's been 25 years. Wonder if it's still there.

Rob Dawg said...

Interesting. We might be seeing more 50 year roofs if the low value labor component of plain roofs made real roofs more cost effective.

BTW, my roof is a reinforced regular roof. I hate it.

Rob Dawg said...

I imagine a steel roof is pretty heavy also..do you need to get a structural engineer to sign off before you put one on your house??

No. It is much lighter than normal roofing. Noisy in rainstorms and doesn't like hail.

Lawyerliz said...

Somebody said steel ois lighter than tile.

Unknown said...

..and when lightning hits.. 4th of July!! :)

Rob Dawg said...

Here's an industry leader:

http://www.decra.com/homeowner-solutions

Unknown said...

actually..I wonder if they are more apt to attract lightning..

Unknown said...

so if a regular roof is say $10K...would steel/ceramic be 3x that??

Lawyerliz said...

Why?

Lawyerliz said...

10k $????hahaha

Unknown said...

just Googled it...according to the National Metal Roof Association..steel roofs attracting lightning is a myth...so there!! haha

Unknown said...

$20K??

Lawyerliz said...

The hub agrees

Unknown said...

I imagine you get great radio & tv reception though.. hahahaha

Rob Dawg said...

I wonder if you can thwart certain surveilence methods with a metal roof?

Lawyerliz said...

Nah, the opposite. You'd be effectively In a FAraday Cage.

Lawyerliz said...

Hub says might shield from rf frequency surveillance from satellite or overflights.
Might shield you from an electromagnetic pulse too.

Lawyerliz said...

Ventura Water teport?

Lawyerliz said...

See all my glorious posts cr is missing?

Unknown said...

Watch the next CR post be:

"Steel Roofs: Pros and Cons" lol

Rob Dawg said...

Fast weather changes. I doubt we get anything measurable.

Tomorrow we watch the Oscars for God knows how many hours. Then we rest for a bit and drive to the Hollywood Bowl to pick up the bus taking us to the Dolby Theater. At 6AM it is Live with Kelly & Jerry. i want to sit where Matt Damon sat. Back to the bus, drive home, go to work/school.

Rob Dawg said...

Sadly Bill McBride is perfectly set up for the events of a dozen years ago. He proved it from 2005 to 2012. This is not unlike building codes that are designed for the last earthquake or last flood or last firestorm.

We build houses the way we built autos back in the late 19th Century. Discrete components drawn together.

Houses should cost 1/10th. That doesn't negate the issue of location.

Lawyerliz said...

Watching This old House make you admire the craftsmanship that is still around. But. . . Holey moly that way of doing it's Gotta be incredibly expensive. Course you are building around stuff that is already there. . .

Lawyerliz said...

I suppose most of us doing home improvements would pick out one or 2 things to do up fine,or that really really needed replacement, not the whole damned house

Lawyerliz said...

Do any lof you guys care what Yellen says? Should I?

Unknown said...

I guess if she says something (publicly) you need to listen (as an investor)..but it's not like I mark my calendar in anticipation of her speeches..

Lawyerliz said...

Everybody obsessed over alan Greenspan s every word and he was wrong!

Unknown said...

Low single digit inflation & GDP growth makes for a boring Fed....

Lawyerliz said...

I guess boring is good.

Lawyerliz said...

Wakeies, wakeys!

Lawyerliz said...

East coast? Flyover?

Lawyerliz said...

I have been checking nearby zestimates, just for fun. And they all seem reasonable and in line with each other, as do the tax assessments. The are are all undervalused by about a third to 40%.

Unknown said...

Greetings from America's "2nd most depressing city in winter"...

Unknown said...

the zestimates all look reasonable until the sinkhole opens up in the middle of the neighborhood...lol

Rob Dawg said...

We need to rename the city Camelot. Now that's how you get rain. 4-5am 1/3rd inch and now fluffy white clouds in a blue sky.

Los Angeles wants to help the homeless. First step? Yet another sales tax increase. The rest of the nation may have paused in our headlong rush to redistributive socialism but California proceeds.

Unknown said...

I spend most of my Zillow time (this time of year) looking at Tucson condos for sale.. :)

Rob Dawg said...

Don't tell the assessor that an entire neighborhood is ripe for more property tax reaping.

Rob Dawg said...

Tucson? I thought you said Tuscan!
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3323-Calle-De-Debesa-Camarillo-CA-93010/16360992_zpid/

Price reduction. Save $151,000.

Unknown said...

"It's for the kids!!"

typical justification for any prop tax increase...

meanwhile the teachers parking lot is full of Beemers...

Unknown said...

the problem with Tucson..is most of the condos I can afford (I'll have to pay cash) have bars on the windows... lol

Rob Dawg said...

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6116-N-Via-Tres-Patos-Tucson-AZ-85750/61728273_zpid/?fromHomePage=true

Taxes are eyepopping. Price asking history is humorous.

Rob Dawg said...

Ooooooh. A little snow on the mountains.

Unknown said...

holy crap..that's fabulous..although the "digital enhancements are so overdone in those photos it's hard to tell what's real and what's fake..

this is more in my budget..

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/fsba,fsbo_lt/condo,townhouse_type/8483202_zpid/10-125010_price/0-469_mp/32.613351,-110.466157,31.988859,-111.404114_rect/9_zm/0_mmm/

Unknown said...

not sure if I grabbed all of that link..2601 W Broadway Blvd if I didn't

Rob Dawg said...

Link worked.

I could enjoy the one I linked. The garage is good size, room for toys but the door needs to be wider to accommodate the wingspan contemplated. Thing is I would not enjoy the property because every time I woke up I would resent the $30/day property tax.

Unknown said...

I think you have been spoiled by Prop 13... lol

AZ prop taxes are very reasonable..1% I believe..and even lower with a homestead exemption..

The taxes for the one I linked is $230..per year lol

Unknown said...

Running out to grab some breakfast...

Rob I think you need to buy that house...I'll buy my condo..and I'll come over and hang out a lot at you place!! lol


later all..

Rob Dawg said...

How are you at laying carbon fiber composites? It's a bit dangerous but as a safety measure against the fume I make sure every keeps their throats moist with never ending fermented grain beverages.

Lawyerliz said...

Can't go up more than 3% per year on homesteads. In Floridah.

Lawyerliz said...

Oh, please, that's nonsense. Sometimes true of cops who have learned to manipulate overtime.

Lawyerliz said...

What are you making?

Unknown said...

Oh, please, that's nonsense.

husband/wife team can easily pull down $150K out here (after about ten years on the job)..not bad for nine months work..

Rob Dawg said...

Pedal powered canoe.

Okay, okay. Your hubby will want details. Bidirectional 4k carbon cloth over low density foam with high density inserts for hard points. Approx 13 feet long with a dropping prow and [this is where your hubbs goes "that's brilliant"] dual rear stern. The propeller is between them. Ultra low draft even with a passenger. The airframe... ummm... hull is a whopping 14 lbs. Even with the pump pedals, motor and battery it will be sub 40lbs. The bicycle pedals are not opposing cyclical but push/pump to the -very- small storage battery. Anyone who wants to cheat can put a small solar panel on the drooping prow. Why push/pump? The weight is so low and contact patch so small alternating pedaling would rock and be uncontrollable.

I'd be interested in his reaction.

Unknown said...

also....employers who hire H1B's (who bring along their kids) should have to pay the school district ($13K per kid??) for the education...it's not our obligation to provide education to the world.

Rob Dawg said...

Anyone brought in under the original spirit and intent of the H1B program is welcome even if they bring a minivan full of rugrats. Fast track them to citizenship if they so choose.

Rob Dawg said...

Addendum. Small requirement. A promise to not hold dual citizenship.

Unknown said...

yes..original intent..."best of the best" from the rest of world only..

another problem with the current system is they bring along their elderly parents..who end up in the Medicaid system (states don't check real close..because Fedgov is picking up the bill)...

so you have kids getting dumped into the public school system..elderly parents in medicaid...modern day version of the "indentured servant" working for the tech companies..

great system..