Joe Biden

[AngelsLakersFan]

6 hours ago, Tank said:

you need to keep your city efficient, liveable, likeable, and functional, especially for the people that already live there. glendale was a all of those until a massive earthquake in armenia in 1987 brought tons and tons of armenians to town. we had limits on the height of buildings and the number of apartment buildings once upon a time. traffic flowed smoothly and people here were glad we weren't los angeles with their problems of congestion and crime. thanks to a city council that saw your idea as an either-or, those days are gone. our city council makes a lot of decisions based on tax dollars, ignoring request upon request from it's citizens, and it's been a ruinous approach. 

This speaks to the hoarding and entitled nature of the older residents of southern California. Everything was cheap in the 70's before everyone else came here, now a single story 2 bed room with bars on the windows in Inglewood will cost you half a million dollars, the average rent is around $2.5k. There are simply more people here than our infrastructure was designed to handle and this needs to be addressed. Their idea of a solution is to simply let their own property values appreciate five, six or seven fold but don't you dare even try and tax them on it.

[Tank]

2 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

This speaks to the hoarding and entitled nature of the older residents of southern California. Everything was cheap in the 70's before everyone else came here, now a single story 2 bed room with bars on the windows in Inglewood will cost you half a million dollars, the average rent is around $2.5k. There are simply more people here than our infrastructure was designed to handle and this needs to be addressed. Their idea of a solution is to simply let their own property values appreciate five, six or seven fold but don't you dare even try and tax them on it.

i disagree. i think it speaks more to city gov't leaders and how poorly they manage things. 

in glendale there's been a lot of backroom deals between developers and the city council. there's nowhere we won't build now. and added to that, we've taller and taller apartments and condos. the number of housing units in this city has exploded, and it had caused so much more congestion. i see it more as an issue of greed because it generates more tax revenue for the city with little regard to quality of life.

[Tank]

8 hours ago, arch stanton said:

Overpopulation is a thing. You either gotta clip their nuts or give them a place to raise their offspring. I'm cool either way

there isn't anything that says you have to keep building more and more and more where you are. 

[Lhalo]

3 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

This speaks to the hoarding and entitled nature of the older residents of southern California. Everything was cheap in the 70's before everyone else came here, now a single story 2 bed room with bars on the windows in Inglewood will cost you half a million dollars, the average rent is around $2.5k. There are simply more people here than our infrastructure was designed to handle and this needs to be addressed. Their idea of a solution is to simply let their own property values appreciate five, six or seven fold but don't you dare even try and tax them on it.

You have zero clue why housing prices are where they are at. It's kinda sad really.

[AngelsLakersFan]

11 minutes ago, Tank said:

i disagree. i think it speaks more to city gov't leaders and how poorly they manage things. 

in glendale there's been a lot of backroom deals between developers and the city council. there's nowhere we won't build now. and added to that, we've taller and taller apartments and condos. the number of housing units in this city has exploded, and it had caused so much more congestion. i see it more as an issue of greed because it generates more tax revenue for the city with little regard to quality of life.

I understand the perspective. You want to keep living in the city you bought into. Glendale has bought into the 'greed' as you put it and allowed for more development where as other cities have put their current residents first and made development difficult.

Glendale is growing rapidly because it's one of the few places that are building. Unfortunately the people that agree with you are living in placed like Calabasas, Westlake and Thousand Oaks where you can buy a house and not have a neighbor for a mile.

Meanwhile in Anaheim I can't even find parking outside my parents house anymore because all of their neighbors are packing 15 people into a house now. I think you may want to take a moment to reflect on what greed really is.

[AngelsLakersFan]

6 minutes ago, Lhalo said:

You have zero clue why housing prices are where they are at. It's kinda sad really.

And I'm sure you are about to explain to me why it isn't a supply and demand issue?

[Lhalo]

Just now, AngelsLakersFan said:

And I'm sure you are about to explain to me why it isn't a supply and demand issue?

 

[AngelsLakersFan]

1 minute ago, Lhalo said:

 

That's a simple explanation to a complex issue. Next you'll be blaming low interest rates or illegal immigration. There are a ton of factors that go into it, but these are all marginal. The problem is simply a lack of availability. No one would choose extremely high density living conditions if other options were available to them.

[Lhalo]

33 minutes ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

That's a simple explanation to a complex issue. Next you'll be blaming low interest rates or illegal immigration. There are a ton of factors that go into it, but these are all marginal. The problem is simply a lack of availability. No one would choose extremely high density living conditions if other options were available to them.

The absurdly low interest ratings are driving investors (both foreign and domestic) into the real estate market which in turn drives prices through the roof. It's an artificial bubble in which the Fed is completely responsible.

[Tank]

43 minutes ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

I think you may want to take a moment to reflect on what greed really is.

several years ago the city went through a big redevelopment plan. they brought in "experts" to show them where the council could change the zoning laws to allow for far more high density living. i was living in an apartment complex at the time - it was 37 units, older, but spacious (around 1700 sq. ft.). the city cited our apartment complex specifically as a place that could be redeveloped. the owner wanted to do it and the  council gave him the green light to tear down these 37 apts. and replace them on the same footprint with 96. we went to countless city council meetings to plead our case but in the end, the council voted to approve the redevelopment plans. 

we pleaded with the council about the problems that were going to be caused by almost tripling the number of residents - traffic and parking problems, plus increased water and power usage at a time they were demanding all residents start to reduce how much they were using (they would end up requiring a mandatory drop in water usage but then raised rates when they realized how much money they lost by everyone meeting the 10% drop in water usage). the council had five members, three of whom had close ties to developers and real estate firms (one turned out to be a developer himself).  they often talked about increased tax revenue for the city and the benefits it would bring (benefits that haven't been realized yet, and this was over ten years ago). they turned a blind eye and deaf ear to our points, all of which were laid out before them carefully, reasonably, intelligently, and passionately. in the end, it didn't matter because of their greed for more.

define greed however you want. what i experienced from that situation showed me a version of greed i won't soon forget.

oh, and as a lovely side note, we found out that the guy who owned our apt. building, a smarmy little napoleon guy who owned 22 other buildings in the area, raised the rent of everyone who spoke at council meetings in a different way than those who stayed home. i spoke often at the meetings, when comparing notes with other residents, we discovered the yearly rent increase of speakers went up 10%, while those who stayed home only had their rent raised by $100. we took the evidence to the city attorney, and they declined to prosecute under some nebulous BS about proof.

[AngelsLakersFan]

7 minutes ago, Lhalo said:

The absurdly low interest ratings are driving investors (both foreign and domestic) into the real estate market which in turn drives prices through the roof. It's an artificial bubble in which the Fed is completely responsible.

That's a real issue, and I would be in favor of something like a vacancy tax to partially address it. That said I think your dislike of the fed is clouding your judgement a bit here. If it were strictly a bubble we wouldn't be seeing a very real supply shortage. Landlords have no issue finding renters outside the top of the market, but new housing is inherently priced for the top of the market.

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

As of the end of March year over year the median home price in the US is up almost 16% and the supply of homes on the market is down over 50%.  You've got people buying sight unseen and waiving contingencies because they're desperate and that will backfire on some buyers who end up in over their heads.  COVID has made a lot of people stay put which has reduced supply, low rates definitely push people to buy or refi and the foreclosure moratorium has to have some kind of impact.  Where I live the median household home now costs 10x the median household income and it doesn't seem sustainable but neither the fed nor state want the ride to end because home owners getting wealthier on paper is better than going the other direction.  We wanted to make the move from our townhouse to a single family home and there's no way we'd do that with where prices are now.  I plan to sit it out for at least a year because I expect a correction but given where we live and what the housing market has done the last few decades nothing is a given.  The billions each year that foreign companies and individuals pour into the US real estate market doesn't help average US buyers but again money is being made so neither side will do anything about it.

[AngelsLakersFan]

14 minutes ago, Tank said:

several years ago the city went through a big redevelopment plan. they brought in "experts" to show them where the council could change the zoning laws to allow for far more high density living. i was living in an apartment complex at the time - it was 37 units, older, but spacious (around 1700 sq. ft.). the city cited our apartment complex specifically as a place that could be redeveloped. the owner wanted to do it and the  council gave him the green light to tear down these 37 apts. and replace them on the same footprint with 96. we went to countless city council meetings to plead our case but in the end, the council voted to approve the redevelopment plans. 

we pleaded with the council about the problems that were going to be caused by almost tripling the number of residents - traffic and parking problems, plus increased water and power usage at a time they were demanding all residents start to reduce how much they were using (they would end up requiring a mandatory drop in water usage but then raised rates when they realized how much money they lost by everyone meeting the 10% drop in water usage). the council had five members, three of whom had close ties to developers and real estate firms (one turned out to be a developer himself).  they often talked about increased tax revenue for the city and the benefits it would bring (benefits that haven't been realized yet, and this was over ten years ago). they turned a blind eye and deaf ear to our points, all of which were laid out before them carefully, reasonably, intelligently, and passionately. in the end, it didn't matter because of their greed for more.

define greed however you want. what i experienced from that situation showed me a version of greed i won't soon forget.

oh, and as a lovely side note, we found out that the guy who owned our apt. building, a smarmy little napoleon guy who owned 22 other buildings in the area, raised the rent of everyone who spoke at council meetings in a different way than those who stayed home. i spoke often at the meetings, when comparing notes with other residents, we discovered the yearly rent increase of speakers went up 10%, while those who stayed home only had their rent raised by $100. we took the evidence to the city attorney, and they declined to prosecute under some nebulous BS about proof.

That really sucks, that said I think this experience is coloring your view on the big picture issue. Gentrification is a common complaint but ultimately we have to consider the alternatives. If we aren't building new housing for people where are they going to live? If you let a building dilapidate another 30 years how does that affect the neighborhood, and is the eventual solution not the same one anyway?

[Jay]

1 hour ago, Catwhoshatinthehat said:

We wanted to make the move from our townhouse to a single family home and there's no way we'd do that with where prices are now.

I think if there is a correction it will likely affect the value of your townhouse as much or more than single family homes.

[NrM]

6 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

This speaks to the hoarding and entitled nature of the older residents of southern California. Everything was cheap in the 70's before everyone else came here, now a single story 2 bed room with bars on the windows in Inglewood will cost you half a million dollars, the average rent is around $2.5k. There are simply more people here than our infrastructure was designed to handle and this needs to be addressed. Their idea of a solution is to simply let their own property values appreciate five, six or seven fold but don't you dare even try and tax them on it.

I'm 33 years old living with my parents making 80k a year. Was getting ready to buy pre pandemic and now I've been priced out of the market.

I really think my only option is leaving the state. Or finding someone to marry just for the dual income. Can I order an asian online and force them to work?

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

14 minutes ago, Jay said:

I think if there is a correction it will likely affect the value of your townhouse as much or more than single family homes.

Of course it will but for us that’s no reason to make the move now and pay 2X+ what houses cost when we bought our place in 2012.  We could sell now and have our down payment but we wouldn’t be able to pull off a contingent sale going against cash or non-contingent buyers. We refinanced and lowered our payment and will continue to save and wait for the right opportunity to make a move. By the time we are ready we may not even want to stay in the same area.  

[tdawg87]

14 minutes ago, NrM said:

I'm 33 years old living with my parents making 80k a year.

That's sad but I don't know what your parents' income has to do with anything.

[St1ck]

23 minutes ago, NrM said:

I'm 33 years old living with my parents making 80k a year. Was getting ready to buy pre pandemic and now I've been priced out of the market.

I really think my only option is leaving the state. Or finding someone to marry just for the dual income. Can I order an asian online and force them to work?

@Tank's shed is currently unoccupied. 

[tdawg87]

1 minute ago, st1ckboy said:

@Tank's shed is currently unoccupied. 

Wrong.

[Tank]

20 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

That really sucks, that said I think this experience is coloring your view on the big picture issue. Gentrification is a common complaint but ultimately we have to consider the alternatives. If we aren't building new housing for people where are they going to live? If you let a building dilapidate another 30 years how does that affect the neighborhood, and is the eventual solution not the same one anyway?

What about overcrowding? How do you deal with density so thick it takes you 20 minutes to find a parking spot in front of your own apartment building? Why not build out instead of up? I’m not against new construction or affordable housing, but I’m absolutely against cramming 90 people into a footprint designed for 30. Its a practice that is destructive. 

[AngelsLakersFan]

40 minutes ago, Tank said:

What about overcrowding? How do you deal with density so thick it takes you 20 minutes to find a parking spot in front of your own apartment building? Why not build out instead of up? I’m not against new construction or affordable housing, but I’m absolutely against cramming 90 people into a footprint designed for 30. Its a practice that is destructive. 

Southern California already has the biggest sprawl in the United States. We can and are building out which is why everyone I know keeps buying homes further and further out in the middle of nowhere. I can agree that Glendale is dense enough but it isn't anywhere near as dense as some of the neighborhoods around it. Your argument comes down to "build somewhere else" and unfortunately that is the argument being made by the constituents in most municipalities.

[Kotchman]

I can see Biden and the Dems point. We can all see that government housing has been the Fertile Crescent of America for the last 60 years. Also, densely populated areas did extremely well in avoiding covid deaths. We can no longer ignore these achievements which have primarily benefited minorities. It is time white people learned to enjoy the cultural diversity, safety, and prosperity minorities have know for so many years.

[AngelsLakersFan]

54 minutes ago, cals said:

I did not know you are Latino.  God dammit 

I may as well be. On my street growing up there were 3 other white families, one black/white family, and 8 hispanic families. There are only 2 white families there today and all the kids are long gone.

[tdawg87]

3 minutes ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

I may as well be. On my street growing up there were 3 other white families, one black/white family, and 8 hispanic families. There are only 2 white families there today and all the kids are long gone.

Is there a police recording?

[Tank]

1 hour ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

Your argument comes down to "build somewhere else" and unfortunately that is the argument being made by the constituents in most municipalities.

Exactly!