Entries Tagged 'San Mateo' ↓

Today I read an article in BusinessWeek titled Taxing the “Not So Rich” Rich. Basically, it talked about how Senator Obama is proposing raising taxes for “rich” families with incomes of $250,000 or more, and how some families feel that they are just middle class with that kind of income.

As the article pointed out, it really depends on where you live since the cost of living varies wildly around the world. My husband and I don’t make anywhere near $250k a year, but we would be considered extremely well off if we lived in China. We may be upper middle class in a lower cost state like Texas since we could afford a house there and send our future kids to private school. However, in the Silicon Valley, there is no way anyone would considered us to be rich. Personally I feel that “rich” in the Valley is probably someone with assets in the hundred-million to billion range, and I am realistic enough to say that I probably will never be rich here.

I think a lot of the angst in the article comes from people who have good incomes that live in expensive areas of the country. The fact is, the tax system doesn’t adjust for cost of living. So even though people in high cost areas like the Bay Area are compensated well, our real capability in saving money is vastly diminished. It is tough to equalize this situation, and adding more taxes to high income families will probably just make it tougher for families with children who need that income.

Personally, one thing that really annoys me about all of this isn’t even about taxes.  I feel that with every speech about raising taxes on the rich, the politicians are implying that there is something wrong with having good incomes.  It is as if it is a sin for a family to make over $250,000 so that they need to be punished.   Most people I know here in California who have good incomes are hard working and honest people who did nothing to deserve the ire of people who have less than them.  They are professionals who contribute quite a bit to the society just through their work.  Why is there a need to take away more from them?

One thing is for sure, taxes will go up after the Bush tax cuts expire in two years. I highly doubt that the tax cuts will stay with a Democratic majority in the government. The sting will be especially painful for dual income couples like us because the marriage penalty will probably go back in full force again and our tax rate will rise dramatically. It will probably cut into our savings rate, but we are socking away as much as we could now before that happens. Ultimately, I think the government should find more ways to cut spending rather than squeezing more out of married couples and the “rich”.   I also don’t believe for a second that they will draw the line at $250k.  So brace yourself for more taxes everyone!

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The more I drive on these crazy Northern California highways the more thankful I am to God that I am alive. Everything related to our cars was going quite well this month.  For example, the hubby and I have both been driving slower on the highways and we saved quite a bit of gas.  I haven’t had to refuel for a month now.  The hubby’s point for an accident three years ago also came off his record a few weeks ago so we got his car insurance lowered.  Just when I thought that we were on a roll…

Today I got on the 101 north  as usual and started driving fairly normally between 55 to 65 miles per hour on the right lane.  As I neared the Holly exit in San Carlos I saw a paint can  and some other metal strut fly off the rear of a car in the lane left of me.  It was about 4 or 5 cars away and so I slowed down a bit, however, the can and some other debris kept on tumbling in my lane and I swerved a bit to the right.  I guess I didn’t swerve enough because I heard a loud bang, and I felt my car sink to the ground on the left.

I felt that my wheels were on the asphalt so I slowed down more and pulled over to the shoulder.  It turns out that the debris slashed both of my tires on the driver’s side.  Then I saw at least 20 cars behind me swerving into the shoulder to avoid the debris.  I guess my car was really the only one that got damaged because the debris stopped moving after I hit it. At first I thought that I didn’t have my cellphone, but I found it in my purse and called my hubby first to tell him what happened and asked him to send an email to my manager.  Then I called my insurance company to report the incident.  They sent a towtruck for me, and luckily the carshop I usually go to was only 2 miles away.  So I called my carshop (A+ Japanese Auto in San Carlos)  to say that I was sending over my car.

Anyway, I felt better once I got into the towtruck since the driver was kind of funny.  He said he went to an accident scene on highway 280 last week where a portapotty fell off a truck and splattered 3 to 4 cars.  The car in the front of the pile had crap all over it and he said to the driver, “well this is a crappy situation”.  That made the driver and her dad laugh quite a bit.  At least my car only had its tires slashed and the rest of it looked fine.

The whole impact of how lucky I was started hitting me as I sat in the office of A+ Japanese Auto.  I don’t know why it is but I tend to be extremely calm when crazy things are happening but think about it and panic over it later.  My car could have flipped over from the tire popping (in fact that has happened to one of my dad’s friends), or if the debris landed straight in the lane left to me maybe a car in that lane might have swerved and smashed into my car.  The possibilities of a giant highway  disaster were countless.   The carshop took in my car and they will inspect the undercarriage and fix my tires. So now my car is safely parked in their garage.  They also gave me a ride to work since I was only a few miles away from my office.

At the office my boss said to me, “I am glad you are alive!”  Well, I am, too.  I told my mother in law about it and she said she prays for traveling mercies for me and the hubby and his sister everyday.  I am really thankful that someone was watching over me.

This incident will probably set me back a few hundred dollars since my insurance has a $500 deductible, but that’s really the last thing on my mind now.  I am a little sad that all four tires have to replaced because they are fairly new, but I am sure my carshop will do a good job with my car since I have had my car serviced by them for a while now and their service has been consistently good.

Anyway, that’s the story of my crazy morning, and I am extremely grateful that I am alive to tell it to you.  I hope you were entertained!

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Today a couple of our friends shared their testimonies for Easter, and it was quite moving. They are a very young couple that moved here to San Mateo from Alberquerque because they felt called to be here. They said that they did not really think much about the cost of living here, even though the husband read an article about the Silicon Valley that described a couple making over $100,000 a year living in a homeless shelter. Even so, they said that God provided for them every step of the way, and I have really seen how their living situation has improved in the past few years. Their testimony really made me think about what the phrase “God provides” really means, and here are my thoughts.

If you have seen the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, the little boy in there tells a pretty funny joke about a man and God’s grace. It went something like this:

A man was drowning in the middle of the river and a boat passes by and asked him if he needed help. The man said, “No thank you. God will save me.” So the boat passes him by. Then a larger boat comes by and asks him if he needed help. The man once again said, “No thank you. God will save me”. Once again another boat comes by and asked him if he needed help, and once again the man said that God will save him. Finally the man drowns and goes to heaven. In heaven he asks God, “God, why didn’t you save me?” God then replies, “you idiot! I sent you three big boats! “

I think the joke aptly illustrates that in many instances we don’t recognize what God is providing us and we don’t take the opportunity. God brings relationships and events into our lives that could change our lives completely, but it is up to us to be obedient and work on what God initiates. My friends that shared their life stories today didn’t just sit on their butts once they moved here and waited for God to drop a sack of money in their laps. They worked on what they were given and continued to improve their situation and they are leaps and bounds from where they were before.

I think another reason why we do not recognize God’s work is that we tend to think that a miracle should be a grand gesture as big as winning the lottery. In fact God provides us opportunities everyday that seem completely normal and even insignificant. It is up to us to be discerning enough to develop the leads that are meant for us, and be appreciative of the results.

Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend!

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Wow, spring is almost upon us, and there are more San Mateo Home Sellers in Trouble, too. This is the most distressed properties I have ever seen in a 4 week period. 135 properties is almost 30% of all the listings in our small county.

Total Count of San Mateo Home Sellers in Trouble for 2/11/2008 to 3/09/2008: 135

Average Time from Last Sale Date: 1.65 Years

Average Annualized Loss: 19.1%

Average Absolute Percentage Loss: 15.76%

Average Size of Home: 1228

Average Price Per Square Foot: $467.47

Biggest Losers : 330 Wisteria Dr in East Palo Alto with an annualized loss of 99% and 2568 Illinois Ave in East Palo Alto with an absolute loss of 48.35%

I have decided that I may start a different blog and update it more frequently to record these properties. The blog would be a good service to my community and it would be easier to navigate than these spreadsheets. Each home will have its own post and I can categorize the homes much better via blog categories!

Anyway, today I read a really good article by a teenage girl about the foreclosure situation: Teen columnist: For adults, foreclosure is payback time. I am glad to see there is still hope for the younger generation!

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I have decided to do the update of San Mateo homes every 4 weeks, and the last update is pretty interesting. In 4 weeks there were 126 unique properties totaling 142 listings that are listing less than their last sale price. This is an increase of 50% from the last report in January. Here are some highlights.

Total Count of San Mateo Home Sellers in Trouble for 1/14/2008 to 2/10/2008: 126

Average Time from Last Sale Date: 1.87 Years

Average Annualized Loss: 14.1%

Average Absolute Percentage Loss: 24.8%

Average Size of Home: 1224

Average Price Per Square Foot: $444.42

Biggest Loser: 649 Hurlingame Ave in Redwood City with an annualized loss of 77%

A notable home is this mansion in Hillsbourough, which sold for 7.9 million dollars in 2001, but is now listing for 6.95 million. I guess we are rolling back to 2001? It is a beautiful property from the looks of the pictures. This is the most expensive listing I have found to date.

In the spreadsheet you will see that over 1/4 of the properties have listing prices that are over 25% less than their last sale price. The worst example is a home that is listing for 47.5% less than its last price. It seems that the Goldman Sach’s prediction of Californian homes losing 40% of their value is coming true one house at a time.

I expect that the next report will be even worse as more people try to list their homes for the spring selling season. They will be competing with so many banks and other desperate home sellers who already have their homes on the market. There is quite a bit of news that many homedebtors are just mailing their keys back to their lenders, and that may be a prudent thing to do if it costs even more to carry the home and try to sell it.

Until next time, enjoy!

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