Palo Alto Homes No Foreclosures Here

Silicon Valley companies are doing very well as is evident in premier communities like Palo Alto. Here's an interesting scenario for both the home buyer and the investor. A coworker just bought a home in midtown for $1,425,000 - not huge at all - 3 bedrooms, 1 bath and maybe 1,300 square feet on a normal lot. One day's rental listing on Craigslist.com generated 4 applicants all willing to pay her $4,800 asking rent! Does this make "investment sense"? Not if you consider cash flow as the only aspect of return on investment. Investment return also involves appreciation, debt reduction, tax benefits, depreciation deductions and holding period. Will my coworker make money on this deal - in my opinion - absolutely yes - does it take guts and risk - yes also - but markets like Palo Alto will forever be in demand - so the risk is quite mitigated.

The 88sj.com or just THE 88

Kudos to the marketing team behind The 88 condo building in San Jose. The ad in the San Jose Business Journal is brilliant.
"A 22 story Declaration of Independence. I want my city without the white picket fence. Without three-car garages, trips to the hardware store, to big-box chains, and every trip to anywhere that looks exactly like where I just came from. You can take your rakes, mowers, blowers and your leaf-packed gutters and keep them far away from me. And while you're at it, keep the minivan, the outskirts, and your keeping up with the Joneses, and keep it all to yourself. Just leave me to my own devices, leave me the skyline, spontaneity, and a lust for life, and all its experiences. Leave me a home above, the city below. And leave me THE 88."
Very cool way to market a building.