Real estate in the bay area is a bit surreal. Words and phrases often have subtle subtext that isn’t obvious if you haven’t been steeped in it. One thing that you quickly learn is that the price often isn’t what they want the house to sell at. Clues to this are prices that are too precise. For example, knowing that you can afford $700K, you can be looking at some great...
There is no doubt that the Internet has greatly enhanced the experience of hunting for a house. Trulia, Homes.com, and Zillow all put hundreds or thousands of listings at your fingertips. However, after sorting through the mountains of listings, I have some observations: Some (far too many) agents phone it in. Looking at the photographs is the first symptom. Out of focus, poorly framed photos. I...
Moving to the next phase of our San Jose adventure, it is time to begin the hunt for a house to buy. All the insanity of the Bay Area market is in our face. Starting over the holidays was a bad idea. Inventory is dismal. Almost nothing in our price range or in neighborhoods we like, picking are slim. But we got our loan preapproval, so we are locked and loaded. Scary thought: Borrowing the...
Today marks an ominous anniversary. Five years ago today, I had a heart attack and almost died. There had been numerous times in my life where I started to glimpse my own mortality. Being a motorcycle rider and racer, close calls are par for the course, but hardly unique. Hiking near thousand foot drop offs, and similar events that could horribly go awry with the ultimate consequence. But January...
We missed the Fourth of July (we were picking up our dogs), but we read about how some poor sod not far from our new apartment had lost his hand when an illegal firework accident (a co-worker tells me about a park a mile or so from where we live that is chaotic with professional grade fireworks, so I am not surprised). But last night on New Year’s Eve, it was pretty insane. Starting about...
In case you have been living under a rock and not read my award winning blog posts (ha ha ha), we relocated to San Jose from Phoenix, and slipped into an apartment as a temporary landing spot. We have tried to make the best of it, and my prior posts have highlighted some of the challenges we have experienced. It isn’t all bad, but… Last night, around 8:15 PM, we suited up the boys in...
2014 was a chaotic year for many reasons, not the least of which was career related. With the move, it turned out that a promotion was in the works as well. The move itself was traumatic. Sadly, the timing couldn’t have been worse. The market in Phoenix was hitting the brakes, while the market in Santa Clara County was putting the pedal to the metal. Of course, a pay adjustment was part of...
A lot has happened in 2014. Much chaos and drama, both work and personal related. Actually, before the beginning of 2014, we were informed of the decision to close the plant where we worked in Chandler Arizona, and the offer to relocate from the Phoenix area to the San Jose area was offered. Gulp. Not really a great choice to have to make. Sell our house in Chandler that we owned for less than 2...
Among all the joys of apartment living, not much ranks up there with the friendly competition for the laundry units. At 9:00AM you can practically see the residents lining up to steal the machines as soon as the time locks on the doors open. Hoo BOY! Today though, we will talk about the machines themselves. The washers are all HE (high efficiency) units. That means that you really don’t...
My iPad that I bought in 2011, is nearing the end. Not that it isn’t still functional, but at near 4 years old, it is finally showing its age. I shouldn’t complain, nearly 4 years out of any tech gadget is a remarkable feat, and a testament to Apple’s quality and standards. My iPad, a generation 2 unit, is showing its age. When iOS 7 came out I dithered about upgrading, knowing...