Manch,
Between the Denny’s kidding aside, it is my intention ALWAYS to provide constructive advice on areas that I have actual experience in. For example, when you cats go into esoteric financial mumbo jumbo you will notice I stay away. And for good reason. I don’t want to add noise to a conversation that others may find helpful. Let’s keep it at that.
No doubt we all want to be helpful. Just keep in mind that posting online is a terribly lossy format. Jargon aside, that just means we don’t get to hear the persons’ tone of voice, their demeanor, their gestures etc. Things may come off totally differently from what the person intends.
Anyone in the mood for more teletubbies? 
Must I update the Manch Credibility Scale Score???
+1 for carrying out on his threats?
Teletubbies are the cutest things in the world!!
I will give you a pass on that one since you are a father…I am shocked your wife would allow you to feed your children with Denny’s food…
Uhmmmmmmm… ok. sfdragonboy, go ahead with the -1
Well, every city says they want to be like that. But they seem to do everything they can to muk it up.
There were dreamers in Antioch when I lived there who looked to downtown Petaluma along the water and wondered why Antioch couldn’t be the same.
What such dreamers forget is, 1) demographics matter and 2) government needs to stay out of the way.
Now, I live in Vallejo, once a thriving military port, the oldest in the west with people grumbling about the fall “because the navy pulled out”. Only, many of these same people are opposed to the first large commercial project proposed in a long, long time.
The thing is, cities don’t need any more dreamers. They need doers. What you essentially have to do is attract businesses at ANY cost. Tax credits. Free Denny’s food. Whatever. A city has to understand that all of the goodies that people want have to funded somehow. It is not simple, but it is not rocket science either.
Antioch unfortunately sat on its ass and essentially became a ghetto when a lot of the people priced out of Oakland, Richmond, etc ended moving out towards that way and Pittsburg. I am sure Antioch once was a decent suburb town. Not anymore.
It sounds like Vallejo is no different . A city can not rest on its laurels and think better times are coming without any work. The best analogy is the Golden State Warriors. They were one game away from repeating as champions. The organization’s net worth has skyrocketed up the list of ALL sports teams. I believe they are worth in the neighborhood of $2B. Not bad. So, an organization like this could take a breather, perhaps right? You know, coast on the coattails of two incredible seasons. Why not? Because you can’t. Instead, they go out and get probably the best free agent available to come to its team to get even better. Cities are no different. Even SF has to continuous reinvent itself or other cities will pass it by.
The problem here is that the topic in question requires knowledge of areas outside of the bay area. You’ve clearly never lived outside of the bay area, therefore your advice lacks credibility, and is in fact unsound. There are many tech centers throughout the US (and the world), each with their own advantages/disadvantages. If I were a RE investor looking to cash in on techies that can’t afford the peninsula/SF (I’m not), I would be looking at Salt Lake or Denver, not Newark. I’m sure many techies will move to Newark if they are priced out of the peninsula or SF, but I’m also sure that many would look at other tech hubs throughout the US, where they may be able to achieve a much higher quality of life (for their personal definition of quality).
Wrong, Einstein, I lived in Los Angeles and it sucked. All of my relatives are in New York and a great number of them moved to the Bay Area. One of them moved here to marry my big bro’s good friend. Not one of them regrets moving here or has moved back. My big bro works in SV for a well established company and he constantly tells me that too. That so and so moved here from NY and definitely agrees with you that the food is better, the fruits/vegs are fresher, etc, etc etc…
Sure, some people will go to these other areas but guess what some people don’t want to leave the area. Is that acceptable and plausible to you, Einstein? Why is it so hard to understand? Many people like the mild climate this area offers. The diversity of cultures and people are also a plus. Did it ever occur to you, Einstein, that people do want to enjoy things outside work too? So, if you are not willing to leave the area, what is the next move Einstein? I guess you’ll find cheaper housing, right, Einstein?
The problem is reactionary old hippy liberals who want more poor people so that will voted in…The dem establishment is like a colonial ruler…They need a constituency of poor disadvantaged people to keep themselves in power…They are threatened by young successful techies that dont follow their sixties horespuckey. …new market rate housing will bring in more young upper middle class that will reject the leftist establishment
Like they always say, change is never good for everyone but it is inevitable. Nothing stays the same. You just hope change is change for the better…
Wrong, Einstein, I lived in Los Angeles and it sucked. All of my relatives are in New York and a great number of them moved to the Bay Area. One of them moved here to marry my big bro’s good friend. Not one of them regrets moving here or has moved back. My big bro works in SV for a well established company and he constantly tells me that too. That so and so moved here from NY and definitely agrees with you that the food is better, the fruits/vegs are fresher, etc, etc etc…
Sure, some people will go to these other areas but guess what some people don’t want to leave the area. Is that acceptable and plausible to you, Einstein? Why is it so hard to understand? Many people like the mild climate this area offers. The diversity of cultures and people are also a plus. Did it ever occur to you, Einstein, that people do want to enjoy things outside work too? So, if you are not willing to leave the area, what is the next move Einstein? I guess you’ll find cheaper housing, right, Einstein?
[/quote]
If I were a realtor investor,Your suggestion is valid, looking for cash flow outside of bay area is fine. You may be right on cash flow, but RE has appreciation factor.
My rule No 1: is Seek only near by - driving distance - rentals alone.
For outside areas, it is better to seek REITs which is easily 16% to 25% growth in a year. Investors are better to look REIT as they need to pass 90% of profit to share holders.
REITs like NLY, STWD, and O and few others are really doing well last three years.
Reits or private placments are the best places to invest in RE more than an hour from home…
Here @telemarker,
Since you think I have no credibility whatsoever. why don’t you put some money on it that I can’t prove to you that I have essentially made 200K on my investment from my Fremont home (not Newark, but it was the same strategy as if) in less than 2 years and I am getting rent/tax benefits on top of it? Here are the details:
*Purchased home for well under $500k in 12/14
*I just got my appraisal for my refinance - close to $700k. And no, the house was not upgraded by me when I bought it. And let’s be honest, you know appraisals tend to be conservative so I probably will make more than that if I go to market because demand is strong and my house has great curb appeal.
You and I let Manch hold $50K cash from each of us and if I can’t produce the details of that transaction (notorized purchase agreement, all the legal mumbo jumbo papers you want and my just arrived appraisal of said property) to Manch’s satisfaction, the $50k is yours all tax free. Wanna try me???
why the aggression?
Because I don’t like posters who come on here and immediately insinuate that someone doesn’t know anything or has no credibility whatsoever when they don’t know you at all. Everyone has something to offer, I am sure. It goes back to my notion that do not ever assume something about someone because they may just check you on it and you will look like a fool.
Like Hanera said we agree to disagree and listen others. Debate is good. We struggle hard to bring all the people here. I did not read the full thread, but better to avoid driving away people.
My intent was not to offend! My apologies if that was the case. My comment was not that you don’t have “any credibility whatsoever”. Rather, I commented that regarding the topic of tech workers chosing to live in places like Newark over other tech centers, your argument lacked credibility, which it does. You don’t work in the tech industry, nor have you shown any knowledge of tech centres outside of the bay area. This is not an insult, just an observation.
I’m sure some folks would gladly live in Newark. I’m sure many folks would pass.
As a techie home owner on the peninsula, I can give you my opinion on this topic. The peninsula is a perfect storm of nimbyism, regulation, high demand, high dual-income families, type A personalities and limited supply. The entire peninsula is filled with type A folks that are hyper competitive, and compete literally with everything they do (job, school, car, kids, address, 100k bike time, where you take your vacation, etc). Hyper competitive people do not settle. They either win the game they are playing, or switch and play a different game they can win (i.e., move to a different tech centre).
I don’t think areas like Newark suffer from the same “perfect storm” as the peninsula. This is just my opinion! I could be wrong. My observation has been that when folks “give up” on the peninsula, they tend to give up on the bay area entirely, and move to a myriad of other locales (austin, denver, raleigh, etc).
This is just my opinion. Please don’t take it personally.