mcQuaidLA's Profile

Gnomes and flamingoes are one thing. Where I grew up, more than one house re-purposed old toilet bowls into planters - finally a place for those geraniums!

The only thing worse? I'd say those ridiculous life-size bronze renderings of Mom, Dad and the kids that adorn so many of the larger yards starting in Beverly Hills and heading west.

The folks who underwrote prop 98 could give a rat's ass about eminent domain protection. In fact, you can bet several of them are the kind of developers who would think nothing of using local government to grab land from homeowners to develop "luxury" condos and such.

Additionally, the fact that the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer's Association endorses 98 is galling since one of the provisions of Prop 13 was that property taxes could only be 1 percent of a property's assessed value - but here's the clinker - the assessed value can only be raised by 2 percent a year - regardless of the actual market value of a property!

That's LESS than the average rent increase in rent controlled properties, folks. And when was the last time CA real estate only appreciated by 2 percent? Excepting this brief crash, which comes after 10 years of skyrocketing appreciation?

So much for the sanctity of "market forces" all you "hardworking, property-owning" snotrags. Yes, the assessed value of a private property doesn't hit market value until oh, guess! It's sold and someone new moves in! Which is when property is re-assessed to reflect the current market rate and then, increases are again held to 2 percent per year, until the property changes hands and the cycle starts over again.

Sound like rent control? It is, only better, since when you sell, you reap the benefits of the market without being subject to any of the disadvantages. Nice way to game the system...

So, the Howard Jarvis members are happy to have their property taxes protected (or subsidized) from market forces (which they can then exploit at time of sale) but renters who seek the same protection are welfare scum. Puhleeze...

Proposition 98 is nothing more than a scam to screw hardworking people out of any home security they now enjoy. Further, it's the height of hypocrisy for the Howard Jarvis' Tax Avoiders Association to endorse it.

pretty damn stunning...

When I first moved to LA from NYC 14 years ago, my LA friends insisted on accompanying me every time I went on an apartment search. The reason? They knew, coming from Manhattan, that I'd be dazzled by the first thing I saw, throw money at the landlord, and sign on the dotted line without a second thought...They were right, I would have.

I have a feeling some (not all) of these downtown landlords are banking on new arrivals from places like NYC and SF with no locals to guide them thinking they're getting a great deal on a tiny space downtown with a one-year lease that could go through the roof when it's time to re-up.

Maybe it's because I'm old, but no amount of jazzy audio, groovy graphics and pics of toned hipsters half my age on a complex' website makes up for tumescent rents and a tenancy that is sure to change annually.

Good! Then you've found a suitable level on which to interact with people just like yourself! One heavy rain and you and your friends will be on your way to the beach and out to sea...Unless, of course, you get caught in some metal grate...

...then I guess you agree, special tax breaks for homeowners are like "roaches and welfare," huh? I mean, "Sheesh, stand on your own feet" and stop expecting special govt. handouts because you are fortunate enough to be able to afford your own home.

I'm not bitter about renting, but I find it perplexing how many people jump on this board the minute rent control is discussed to shout down anyone who favors it or who thinks that renters (aka "consumers") have a reasonable expectation that their interests will be equally represented in a transaction.

And now, you say you're not a landlord? What, exactly is your dog in this fight, then? And why the vitriol about "welfare" and "cockroaches" when all we're talking about is some basic tenant protection in buildings that were constructed over 25 years ago?

Your postings are indicative of an attitude that had it's genesis in the 80s and is now rampant, which is that anyone who doesn't have as much as you is not only to be reviled, but also relieved of anything they do have and tough luck.

I bet you're one of those people who can't understand why human interaction has become so feral. There's a clue in the mirror.

You "free market" fans kill me...especially the fantasy that you "did it all by yourselves..."

Miguel: Let's review your claim of doing your home purchase "all by yourself." And no one will step in if you can't make the payments, and you'll just be SOL "laws of economics, people!"

Right at this very moment, Congress and a whole bunch of other people are trying to figure out how to keep millions of Americans who bought more house than they should have, or got really bad mortgages, from being evicted. Yes, the big, bad government is stepping in and trying to get a 30 day moratorium on evictions so owners can re-negotiate their loans (with the benefit of implied government pressure.)

That aside, you are taking the interest deduction on your income tax return, no? How much did you get back on your taxes? And did you take advantage of the first-time homebuyer deals the government offers? How about the homestead exemption?

You didn't do it alone, bud. You did it with lots and lots of help - from all of us. Now, given your attitude, why should we renters, most of whom get nothing back on our taxes for what we pay to house ourselves, subsidize YOUR little piece of Paradise?

And as for you, LBhihead, there are a plethora of tax breaks and credits for upgrades available to savvy landlords. I guess our rent payments aren't enough, we're also expected to subsidize our landlords with our tax money? Is that how that "free market" works here in America?

But my question for LB is "Who's twisting your arm?" If being a landlord is such an odious job, liquidate. Take the cash and invest it in something that isn't so horribly unfair to you. Or a good therapist.

And take heed of one indisputable fact of this roller coaster to Hell known as the American Economy: Everything that goes up can also come crashing down. Another six months to a year and you'll be able to prove how deep your love is for that "free market," and I'm sure you'll refuse any "government bailouts" that come your way.

I can see that the Reagan Revolution has finally borne fruit in the minds of the folks who grew up with him as President.

Rent Control in California is not the same thing as Rent Control in NYC (which has been virtually phased out anyway). All Rent Control in CA means is that when you move into an older apt. building, you and your landlord have agreed that: the rent will increase every year, that how much it will increase will be determined by the Consumer Price Index in the area and set by a goverment board, that you will help finance any and all changes he or she makes that fall under the designation Capital Improvements, that if he or she cannot make a reasonable profit on the place, then he or she is entitled to an increase in rent.

If the rent becomes unaffordable for you, and you move, your landlord can raise the rent on your unit to as much as he or she can get for it and then, a new "floor" is established and rent can increase from there.

What is so onerous about this, people? Most industrialized nations have far more stringent rules about rent rates (of course, they have universal health insurance, too, but that would be un-Murikan) and if you are fortunate enough to own rental property, the regulations that go with that are part of the deal.

In the U.S., rent regulations in large cities originated in response to price-gouging by landlords during WW2, when city populations would swell and families whose household heads were serving in the Armed Forces were particularly vulnerable to being turned out on the street by greedy landlords who would double, triple and quadruple rents.

There are some great landlords - but the rules weren't instituted in response to them, they were instituted in response to some real sh.ts and they were instituted for a reason.

The notion that if we eliminate rent regulations that the free market will take over and drive rents down would be reasonable if markets in this country were responsive to the needs of consumers. But they're not, folks. They're manipulated by the owners.

I'm trying to think of another business where you are guaranteed a reasonable return on your investment in return for abiding by the rules. I can't think of any.

Maybe you "adults" out there could suggest a few....

Interesting re-purposing of the Giant Brandy Snifter! In it's original entry, it was usually positioned on a home cocktail bar and filled with matchbooks from various hotels and cocktail lounges around the world.

At five years of age, I thought that was extremely glamorous. To give you an idea of how long ago that was - Lyndon Johnson was President.

The color scheme is very New Wave...