Comments on: A Load of Bull

By: AKR

AKR — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 07:49:03 +0000

JPL is about 10-15 mile northwest of Arcadia. I used to work there and the commute was pretty good. 15 mins on a good day, and 45 min on a rainy Friday afternoon. The 210East/134 intersection is where the taffic starts. You can avoid it by going on the sidestreet, mountain or orange grove.
Good luck landing a job at JPL! It’s a nice place to work.

By: Beaches

Beaches — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 23:38:13 +0000

This blog entry is right on, SBG!

The funniest thing about all of these myths is when you present them to someone who hasn’t yet felt the “pinch” of the current market, their eyes typically glaze over and you lose them around myth #2.

My personal faves are #1 (to which I always reply, “and trees grow to the sky”) and #5 (to which I reply, “why should I pay 6 percent interest on something that is depreciating?”).

One more thing about the sideline buyers - we are looking for killer deals. Some of us have 800+ FICOs, and are sitting on large sums of cash, have at least 2 years documented income and zero debt. We don’t take today’s prices seriously, so the idea that we’re going to bail people out of their self-induced financial mess is ridiculous.

Then again, I’m a “smug” renter who cashed out.

By: Tim K.

Tim K. — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:22:23 +0000

Actually, the shooting this week occurred on Almond, which is *just* east of Myrtle, where the wonderful Friday night street festival is held every week.

It’s much closer to the “nice” neighborhood than is comfortable.

By: SavedByGrace

SavedByGrace — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:14:42 +0000

Yes I’ve heard about the shootings and it’s tragic. A couple of the shootings happened in the unincorporated area of Monrovia with industrial settings and factories so it’s not a good area to be in at night. I read that they have arrested one or two people connected to the crimes this week.

Monrovia is located to the east of Arcadia and the reason why I believe homes that border the Monrovia-Arcadia city line are/should be priced lower. Imho, any property east of 2nd Street is less desirable than the rest of Arcadia.

Per the US Census, Monrovia is about 35% Hispanic and 9% African-American, versus 10% and 1% in Arcadia, respectively.

By: SavedByGrace

SavedByGrace — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:02:45 +0000

JPL is about 10-12miles from Arcadia and you’d be taking the 210 fwy. If you live in Arcadia, you’d be going with traffic so I’d estimate maybe 20-25 minutes one-way.

If you want something closer, I’d recommend La Canada, La Crescenta or South Pasadena. They have beautiful neighborhoods and good schools, but are more expensive than Arcadia.

By: Carl

Carl — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:31:17 +0000

You have no idea how lucky I feel about selling in late 2006. I made a once in a lifetime killing (and yes, it was still a killing after dropping my price 10%). My wife thought I was panicking with the price drop, but a famous saying is “If you’re going to panic, be the first to panic”.

In the long term, I am considering an opportunity at JPL, which is how I found your blog. How long is the commute to JPL from the Arcadia area?

By: Tim K.

Tim K. — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:14:43 +0000

Have you guys been following the gang shootings in nearby Monrovia? It appears there is a turf war breaking out between latinos and blacks and there was a press conference held this morning to discuss what would be done. (Apparently, not a lot.)

By: SavedByGrace

SavedByGrace — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 18:59:40 +0000

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. This shows that even Asians who have money aren’t always willing to pay full price for anything.

You sold in 2006 before the credit crunch and subprime issues were covered by the MSM so perhaps these folks bought on ignorance or greed. As of Jan 2008, the problems with the housing market are evident and potential buyers are keeping their hands out of this mess. On-the-fence buyers are in a wait ‘n see mode, but they won’t see much of anything that will push them to buy anytime soon.

By: admin

admin — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 18:30:10 +0000

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By: Carl

Carl — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:11:44 +0000

Another great post, SavedbyGrace. I am happy to have found your blog. I would like to comment on the Asian rescue scenario. We had the same theory in Irvine. I can give you a data point regarding that. I sold my Irvine home in Nov. 2006, it had been on the market since May. We tried to Fung Shui the house up, and even priced it with numbers that are auspicious to Asians. Well, we did finally sell to an Asian family. And they put down a huge down payment. But guess what? They were hard negotiators. We had dropped the price by $75k in six months, and they got us down another $30k. They were also sticklers for repairs. The bottom line is while there are a lot of Asian families with money in Southern California, they are smart, determined negotiators.

As for myth #7, I have heard that again and again during the bubble. My response is this: “Is California twice as desirable than it was 10 years ago?”. Of course the answer is no.