Gadget I Want To Go Home Hunting With

After seeing so many apartments and visiting so many different neighbourhoods, it's hard to really remember every place I had seen and therefore I can't really compare which place is better. I would like to buy this pretty and sleeky camcorder to document my future home hunting ordeal.

510 Susana Ave

Feeling determined to leave our miserable apartments that we are keeping separately in both Redondo Beach and Sherman Oaks, we have been diligently searching the rental market. During my search, I have seen too many beat up apartment buildings just like the ones we are currently occupying, only to have no elevator and to be in worse neighbourhoods...

Finally I found this house for rent on 510 Susana Ave in Redondo Beach. The house is in a very nice middle class neighbourhood inhabited mostly with white collar professionals like ourselves. There is great curb appeal. The neighbours seem to take very good care of their houses. Soon as I stepped out of the car, I feel in love with the good old American vibe of the street and the exterior of the house (looks a lot nicer in person than in picture).

When we stepped in, I was even more impressed. How much nicer this is than all the apartments we visited. There is all nice hardwood floor in the sizable living room, dining room and open kitchen area. The kitchen is spacious and is equipped with newer appliances and granite counter tops. The dining room opens to a nice covered patio and a very nice and well maintained backyard with fruit trees! There is 1 bedroom downstairs and 1 very nice 3/4 bathroom next to this bedroom. Upstairs there is one big bedroom that has a huge deck with nice roof top and city view. Standing there, I was already visioning myself lounging there on weekend mornings with my breakfast and favorite magazines, enjoying the refreshing ocean breeze and smell of the morning. Then there are 3 other nice size bedrooms and another nice bathroom with granite counter top, double sinks, a bath tub, and a separate shower. The only flaw this place has is that there is no master bedroom with its own bathroom. But I can live with that because the house looks like it was remodeled not long ago, with new bathrooms, new carpet in all the bedrooms... The house just looks so new to me even though it was built in 1965. May be I have been living in old junky apartment for too long. Just the possibility of us living in a house in this new condition makes me so excited and so happy. So all together, there are 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms in this house, that provides an office for each one of us for our work, and also may be some extra storage room or guest bedroom for my mother-in-law if she comes to visit with us. There is a huge attached 2-car garage, in-house washer, and dryer, front lawn and driveway. I can't wait to finally not share washers and dryers with filthy neighbours. I would like to live in this house. I can see myself being so happy living in this house. After all these months' apartment hunting, I told my husband, "no more, this is it, this is our new home. I'm going to sign the lease." The rent for this house is $3,000 a month, which is still a little cheaper than the combined rents of our two separate lousy apartments. Can you believe it???? We are living separately like bums and yet with a little less money, we can actually live like middle class Americans!! Unbelievable!!

I went home so excited and I couldn't wait to sign the lease on Monday. Then the leasing agent called in 2 hours just to tell me the house was already rented out. Someone else just signed the lease in the broker's office when I was stepping out of the house! I feel so crushed cause that put us back to this "indefinite stay" in our separate miserable clumpy apartments!! I'm in such lousy mood now I can't even explain it. Meanwhile, some tenant underneath us is grilling in his balcony. I'm coughing and choking with the smoke as I blog... I am crying now. I'm sad because I just don't know how much longer I need to live with this bullshit before I can find a place to move to!!

Home Tax Credit Extension

According to the Associated Press, homebuyers may get an extra three months to finish qualifying for federal tax incentives that boosted home sales this spring.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is proposing today that he wants to give buyers until Sept. 30 to complete their purchases and qualify for tax credits of up to $8,000. Under the current terms, buyers had until April 30 to get a signed sales contract and until June 30 to complete the sale.

The proposal would only allow people who already have signed contracts to finish at the later date. This is an amendment to a bill that would extend jobless benefits through the end of November.

The National Association of Realtors is said to have been pushing hard in Congress for the extension. Mortgage lenders are reported to have been swamped with borrowers trying to get approved by the end of the month. Many potential borrowers are unlikely to make the deadline.

For those folks who can make the deadline, they are eligible for a tax credit of up to $8,000 if they are buying their first home for the first time. Current owners who bought and moved into another home could qualify for a credit of up to $6,500.

I just don't get it, what difference is $8,000 going to make when an average decent house in a good neighbourhood with good schools are $600K - 800K plus in Los Angeles.

For people who are relying on a zero percent down FHA loan to buy into a crappy house somewhere in Carson, or a bad street in Van Nuys for $300-400K, $8000 tax credit isn't going to make their monthly payment any more affordable to them in 30 years....

All this nonsense tax credit does is just to drive ignorant people (particularly the ones who are really bad in math, and one who doesn't have solid job skills to secured their paychecks...) to frock out to bid up real estates again...

There have been too many idiots out there bidding on homes they can't actually afford because of their misconception about this tax credit, then there are people who actually have the bucks and the loans to buy a home but have to bid a higher price to outbid all these tax credit stimulated idiots out there to actually buy their first homes. I hope all these losers fall out of escrow when reality reckons and banks deny financing due to their low monthly income versus monthly housing expenses.... Or the banks will not care as long as FHA gives an OK to guarantee the use of taxpayers money to repay to the banks when these losers default? This is just a whole new bubble and bidding war created by our tax dollars. Thank you, Uncle Sam!!

319 Palos Verdes Blvd

Pros:
1. In a nice area in South Redondo Beach rivieira.
2. Walking distance to the beach, shopping and restaurants.
3. Rent is reasonably cheap. ($1,725 for 2Beds/2Baths).
4. Pet-free building and therefore also flea-free.
5. Very nice weather most of the year.

Cons:
1. The building is run down and flimsy.
2. Lots of noise from busy traffic at Pacific Coast Highway.
3. Not enough parking.
4. Very weak water pressure with dripping and only luke warm shower.
5. Unsecured front door and garage.
6. BBQ smoke from gas grills from fellow tenants' balconies.
7. Cigarette smell from fellow tenants' windows and balconies.
8. Cheap and old carpeting.
9. Small, and gross looking swimming pool.
10. No A/C and top floor can get really hot for several days during heatwaves.

For renting information, contact the resident manager (310) 378-2161 or (310) 722-1489.