GeekMBA360: Beat Recession. Grow Career. Build Wealth. - Latest Comments in Number of kids and Bay Area

Re: Number of kids and Bay Area

GeekMBA360 — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:38:39 -0000

Yeah, the whole property tax law in California doesn't make sense to me. I wonder if they will change it any time soon now the state of California is basically bankrupted! :-)

Re: Number of kids and Bay Area

TedHoward — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:15:54 -0000

Buying SF real estate at good times is another oddity.
Property taxes only adjust on a sale or 'complete rebuild'. This means that the multimillion dollar house up the block from me is probably paying property taxes on a house valued before 1950. The family (families?) living there are popular with the police and ... do not fit in with their neighbors. The 'reubild' clause means you see homes 'partially rebuilt' by tearing them down to literally a dozen 2x4's, repouring the foundation, and rebuilding the entire house. The owners will still be paying low property taxes on their brand new home.

Re: Number of kids and Bay Area

GeekMBA360 — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:11:55 -0000

Wow. I guess doctors will get their "brand name" experience at UCSF, and then move to other parts of the country for better pay.

I think in addition to the number of rich people in San Francisco, some people made the "wise choice" to purchase house early on. For example, when I graduated from Cal in 1997, I knew people who used a credit card to make an $10K or $20K down payment to purchase a condo in Emeryvile, CA. The house was sold around $170K at the time. The problem is that the housing price has increased much faster than wage/salary.

Re: Number of kids and Bay Area

TedHoward — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 01:55:59 -0000

On top of that, some professions are paid less in the Bay Area because it is seen as a desirable place to live. UCSF attending physicians are paid very low salaries; some make half what they could make in Seattle. Since moving to SF, I have asked many people who grew up here how people afford to live here. The consistent answer is simply "There are a lot of rich people in San Francisco."