California becoming socialist (1 Viewer)

[Isaac]

California is killing another industry that families need

State Farm will no longer sell home-insurance policies in California. The decision follows a similar call by GEICO, which closed all sales centers in the state last year.

www.foxbusiness.com

And the Democrats always claim they're not the party of socialism don't worry but here is California driving the two one of the two biggest insurers in the United States completely out of the state because California's government attempts to force them to set prices.

One tiny example in a massive ocean of socialist regulations becoming bigger and bigger.
Which of course many companies respond to by just leaving the area. Leaving work and families high and dry

 

[moke123]

Ever try finding a cheap policy in Florida?

 

[Isaac]

I certainly wouldn't expect to!

 

[The_Doc_Man]

The whole problem with insurance is that it is a betting game, gambling that you won't need it and hoping it is enough when you do. But like all types of gambling (in this case, the game of "business risk") you should know that the odds ALWAYS favor the house, or in this case, the insurance carrier. My next-door neighbor for about 40 years was an insurance broker. We talked a few times on this subject. Most of the time you are better off by having savings (if you can manage that) plus a policy with a slightly (stress SLIGHTLY) larger deductible.

The problem in California - as relates to this thread - is the risk of forest fires because people build homes in places subject to higher than normal risk. State Farm called out problems with forest fires. No surprise because of the way that forested areas were mismanaged. Nature's way of clearing out underbrush IS a small forest fire, usually triggered during a lightning storm.

We know a variant of that too well. For us it is flood insurance. The part that frosts our cookies locally is that FEMA's flood maps seem to not take into account the mitigation efforts such as levees and clearing drainage canals and several other actions. Which is why Louisiana joined in a suit against FEMA for building a murky flood map that makes it difficult or impossible to determine why a particular area gets a particular rating that is different from another area's rating even though both areas have the same elevation above sea level.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I certainly wouldn't expect to!

I wouldn't look for cheap insurance in south Louisiana either, Isaac.

By the way, I see you changed your avatar emblem. Nice!

 

[Isaac]

Makes me think of our electric bill in the summer's here in AZ ... my wife always goes through the same "processing this" phase - she opens an envelope, I hear a loud gasp, and then comes a breathless announcement of the exhorbitant monthly bill! I tell her "Honey, it's July. You're going to see those until we reach October. It's going to be OK".

 

[moke123]

Makes me think of our electric bill in the summer's here in AZ ... my wife always goes through the same "processing this" phase - she opens an envelope, I hear a loud gasp, and then comes a breathless announcement of the exhorbitant monthly bill! I tell her "Honey, it's July. You're going to see those until we reach October. It's going to be OK".

In New England it's the opposite for us. Heating bill's can be outrageous. For the last 19 years or so I have used a wood pellet stove almost exclusively to heat my house. This past winter was somewhat mild and I think I spent less than $500 for the whole winter. Usually it's somewhere between $650 - $800. When I first moved in and used only the electric heat my bills were about $700 a month.

My insurance on my Florida house cost me more than the property taxes by 3 or 4 times.

 

[jdraw]

Moke,
Nice to have multiple houses

 

[Isaac]

wow, the wood pellet stove must be a a pretty nifty device. my parents in wisconsin use simple super old fashioned space heaters, gas powered. they have 2 and when i visit in winter the house is like 90 degrees! (my mom is getting old).

that reminds me of living in texas. i was so excited to find out there was no income tax. my excitement faded when i got my property tax bill, i was like...............WTF

they say something about trying to drastically reduce that nowadays, in TX, but who knows if that will happen.

 

[AccessBlaster]

Remember this thread is about bashing California, we need more people to leave and relocate to other states so, please continue.

 

[Isaac]

Sorry, AB. Seriously.
Ok I admit it. I'm torn between the joys of California-bashing for political discussions' sake, versus the (multiple including you) I know who live in CA and are surely wishing for improvement, not abandonment.

I do hope it gets better. I know many wonderful people in San Diego, some from law school and some from San Diego Christian Worship Center - a really fun, cool inspiring church I attended for a year or so. Art Evans, best pastor ever. Really gave me some solid advice in needful times.

Okay, I want California to undergo just enough publicly visible consequential things for the public to be able to visibly connect it to bad liberal policies, but little enough so that its government changes course and revives it to thrive and remain / return to the gorgeous, treasured asset of the USA that was, is and shall be!

 

[moke123]

Moke,
Nice to have multiple houses

Sold to my sister so I still have use of it without the expenses, which is even nicer.
Not far from you in Jupiter, next to Carlin Park.
Next winter beers at https://www.guanabanas.com/

 

[Isaac]

Moke,
Nice to have multiple houses

I am so excited. For the first time, I may actually become a 2nd-house owner later this year. I share this with innocent joy, not bragging - if anything, it's the opposite; if I had not made even half of my major life mistakes, I would have reached this point a looooooong time ago, but better late than never!

It was only last year I learned something probably 'basic knowledge' to many of you: The whole you-need-20%-down-for-a-second-home thing only applies if you're NOT going to live in the home you want to acquire...........Instead, we are moving OUT of the existing home (and renting it), and moving IN to the new home (bigger). Thus, we are totally allowed to put as little as 5% down on the 2nd home. (And yes we have to prove we have a lease / tenant in the first home, but that will be as easy as putting it on the market for 5 minutes in Phoenix!)

I'm so glad. For all the many investment strategies out there, I've decided that for my worrisome, insecure personality, acquiring a couple properties between now and old age is my best bet. Cash accounts are dangerous for me, as I do indeed get tempted to cash stuff out for dumb temporary purposes.

Having a tenant slowly pay off a property mortgage for the next 20 years is my absolute best chance of having plenty of $ when I retire - and leaving something major to my kids. (Well, 'major' for us, anyway!).

I have stopped complaining about the ridiculously crazy Phoenix housing market. Because, although it IS making the price of my new home be about 80% more than it ought to be, it's also giving me the chance to rent my other house out for about twice as much as it ought, so I suppose in a way it's all working out.

With seemingly every tech company in the world coming here, it also seems like a safe bet for the future. Incoming employees are so desperate for housing, I've seen Craigslist ads where people are offering nothing but their COUCH for $450/mo. Not kidding...and they found someone too.

 

[moke123]

Be careful, being a landlord has many a pitfall. I used to know a lot of landlords in NYC. The first thing a lawyer tells their client when they are getting evicted for non-payment is to allege a code violation. Then the eviction gets stayed and they don't have to pay rent while the matter winds its way through the courts at a snails pace.

 

[Pat Hartman]

The biggest driver of insurance rates is local conditions. California has earthquakes and forest fires. Florida has hurricanes and tropical storms as does most of the Gulf coast. Then there is the tornado belt. California just makes everything worse by over regulating. Instead of hiring bean counters to harass businesses, they should hire forestry people to manage controlled burns of the underbrush in areas subject to wildfires. The electric company used to try to use controlled burns to keep the long lines clear and reduce the damage caused by big fires but the tree huggers complained and made them stop. The tree huggers don't understand the natural course of nature and how important fires are to the HEALTH of a forest.

 

[Pat Hartman]

Electric heat in Connecticut is TERRIFYING. My granddaughter bought a condo in Litchfield county. There is no natural gas in the area and condos, unless they are high rises with a shared boiler, never use oil heat. So, she has electric. She froze all winter and still the bill for her thousand square foot condo was $600 in January and February which is more than twice what I pay to heat 3000 square feet using natural gas.

 

[Isaac]

Be careful, being a landlord has many a pitfall. I used to know a lot of landlords in NYC. The first thing a lawyer tells their client when they are getting evicted for non-payment is to allege a code violation. Then the eviction gets stayed and they don't have to pay rent while the matter winds its way through the courts at a snails pace.

I DEFINITELY have thought a lot about that - and it seems in the past few years, covid after-effects + politics, seems to have made it worse and worse for landlords of private renters.

My hope is that the state I live in is not one of the worse ones, I mean, policy-wise let's be honest, the more progressive, the more they favor renters I believe...but i will be careful.

This is the one thing I feel might be worth a property mgmt company, they promise to help with at least the earlier stages of evictions.
I dunno. I hope it works out!

 

[moke123]

I feel might be worth a property mgmt company

I deal quite often with 2 partners who manage @ 300 properties, all hell holes. Had to laugh a few years ago when they bought a garbage truck to clean out apts when tenants got evicted or went to jail.

 

[Isaac]

I deal quite often with 2 partners who manage @ 300 properties, all hell holes. Had to laugh a few years ago when they bought a garbage truck to clean out apts when tenants got evicted or went to jail.

That sounds like a house I started renting back in like 2008. When we moved in there were a bunch of huge garbage bins in the garage. My landlord told me just clean them out and use those bins. The bins and the area on the floor in the garage around it were filled with disgusting trash. Some of the things that fell out included syringes and needles.

Once we spent multiple days cleaning, it was a pretty good time there