L.A. Land reader profile: “Laker” looks to buy
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Now for something completely different: A reader profile. Today I hung out with ‘Laker’ -- a frequent commenter, cautious house-hunter, and, naturally, Laker fan.
Where: The Coffee Bean on Ventura Blvd. at Gateway Plaza in Woodland Hills.
About Laker: 32 years old, an electrical engineer with a master’s degree from UCLA, married to a teacher, one child. Has lived about 15 years in this area. Family has owned a house in the area and sold due to relocation.
Housing: Currently renting a house in Woodland Hills, looking to buy a 4-bedroom in the $600,000 to $700,000 range in Woodland Hills or Tarzana.
Drives: A 2003 Nissan Pathfinder (paid off).
Reading habits: Looks at listings on redfin.com, researches properties on Property Shark and the L.A. County Assessor’s website; reads Calculated Risk (is a big Tanta fan), Mish (Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis, Paul Krugman’s blog, The Conscience of a Liberal, and the Wall Street Journal website. Reads L.A. Land and comments frequently. Understatement: ‘My wife hates your blog.’ No offense taken.
His house-hunting experience: Was working with a Realtor a year ago, who was pushing him to buy because prices had dropped roughly 10%. ‘I didn’t buy for two reasons: I couldn’t afford what I liked and I didn’t like what I could afford.’
Current view of the housing market: ‘I’m kind of scared -- I don’t think the market will recover soon. The affordability just isn’t there. It’s insane. ... I think 2001 prices were justified by the fundamentals. But incomes haven’t gone up that much since then. And unemployment is rising.’
What really upsets him: Mortgage fraud. ‘I see people that bought and refinanced and pulled out more cash than I’ll ever see in my lifetime. And then they turn around and short-sell back to themselves through a cousin or a friend. ... From what I see we have at least the same amount of fraud now as there was during the bubble. It frustrates me.’
Thanks, Laker.
Your thoughts? Comments? I’d like to meet more readers, if you’re interested, e-mail me.
--Peter Viles