Hand it here

So I'm in the middle of the third real estate transaction of my life. The first in California. It's a dinky little condo in Silicon Valley that is a rental investment for me. What is sort of tiresome about transacting real estate in general, and I suspect especially in California, is the amount of red tape, disclosures, contracts, legalese, etc. supposedly there to protect me, the home buyer. Lots of disclosures related to things like radon, lead, underground tanks, fire safety, bla bla bla bla bla. Ultimately, no one really reads this stuff. It's a huge pile of papers you have to initial or sign during the sales contract process or at close of escrow. Mainly it's just a hassle for both the buyer and the seller. Yes - we know how much Miles loves lame government regulations. Rant rant rant.

The thing that struck me today, was that every now and then, when earthquakes are in the news, we hear the "experts" say "catastrophic earthquake almost certain within 30 years". Now.... for all the hoopla about radon and lead... I don't think I've ever initialed anything that said "Your house will likely fall down on top of you some time in the next 3 decades." Interesting.

Ok - enough about that. Also related to this purchase, I've had a small dilemma. Living in the city for five years, I've noticed that most new residential buildings are dense - real dense. I feel lucky to live in an old 1886 Victorian two-unit building. It's on a large lot with a back yard and plenty of space. It feels very homey. But if someone were to build a new residential building on my lot, I think it would have at least 8 units, packed much tighter. It seems like nowadays there is less emphasis put on livability, and more put on profitability - big surprise. So now that I'm the investor, I've had to decide how "livable" to make my rental. I could go cheap, that would save me money - after all it's only a rental - those people... you know they'll trash the place anyway. But alas, I've chosen to go classy and spend the extra money to make the place someplace I'd like to live. I hope "those people" appreciate it.

Onward.