Flip That House - How Can Anyone Afford to live in SoCal? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Flip That House - How Can Anyone Afford to live in SoCal?
$730,000 for a 1300 square foot dump in Westchester! OMGoodness, next to LAX. What is going on?
I don't normally watch Flip This House, but it was on after Little People, Big World; I was just curious to see the house they were going to do since it was in Southern California, where I was born and raised. This house was 3 bed, 2 bath, nothing lot, "better" neighborhood in Westchester, where I wouldn't stop in if I was by myself. We used to joke about dropping our car down there so it would get stolen and trashed.
The woman bought it for $730K, going to put appx $40K into it to sell for a profit. I just don't get it. Our old house, which we sold for $210k in 1997 is now running over $600k in Simi Valley. I almost plotzed!
I couldn't bring myself to watch this. How can anyone starting out possibly afford to live there? That's just insane!
I have never seen that show, but I honestly can't figure it out either! :
We're hoping to get out to Point Mugu for our next set of orders (in 3 1/2 years) and we are sort of comforted by the fact that the military housing pay is mostly dependent on the average going rental rates. So, they wouldn't leave us competely high and dry and we would be able to make a rent payment. But if we were buying . . . I don't know how we'd do it!
It isn't TOO bad in the neighborhood I grew up in in San Diego . . . the average 3 bedroom 2 bath house is going for $350,000 . . . but the highest priced house in the same neighborhood is going for $775,000.
In the area we'd be living if we were stationed at Point Mugu, the average house price is $555,000 - $675,000. The military would be giving us $2000 per month in addition to "normal" monthly pay just for housing out there!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
I love Flip this House! But, I'm in real estate, so I am interested in that kind of stuff. However, I think the market for house-flipping has dropped tremendously since this show started a few years ago.
And I agree, I am shocked at the Cal. housing market. Maybe the salaries are also much higher there.
Well, I can see that coming to the Washington, DC market as well. We bought our house in 1992. It has more than tripled in value since we moved in. We could not afford to buy in here today at the prices. New young families are buying in here, and these are their starter homes! I don't know how they do it. Our houses are 30 years old, no city water, no city sewer, and no natural gas for heat or cooking. And our section of the neighborhood is mid priced. Most of the new homes going up around here are 1 million plus. The smaller houses at the other end of town, 2 - 3 bedroom 1 or 2 bath are going for 450K
Wow! I was born in Westchester and lived there until I was 9. I know that my parents paid about $25k for their small 2 bedroom/ 1 bathroom house in 1960. Everytime we drive by my old house, I think it seems so small. The houses in the area we lived were built in the late 1920's. I have friends that live there and I don't know how they survive. I'm guessing they bought before the big jump in prices.
They are going to be on a new show, The Real Deal (I think that's the name). Yeah, I liked them better than the other big mouthed arrogant guy.
DH and I love the Trademark gang! I love that Richard has a real sense of community and gives back as much as he does. He's out to make money, but he's still got a heart and shows it in some great ways and he's all about giving people a chance in life.
We can't stand the arrogant family from Texas either. The one guy never listens to anyone and everything has to be his way or the highway. He's suck a jerk. I hated the episode where he had an intern who he made to go chase a peacock or something. He belittles everyone he comes into contact with.
__________________
My Happy Place
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable." ~ Walt Disney
My DH and I are always amazed by the prices on a number of the home shows. Our house if located elsewhere would be very pricey. Glad I live in a midsize town in midAmerica where I can actually afford my home!
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
A former friend of mine's hubby is i the Navy. He was stationed in San Diego, and they bought a 4 BR/2BA house in Spring Valley in '98 for around $185,000 (don't remember the exact figure; house was abt 20 years or so old at that time). They did a few improvements (new windows, new garage door, new stove & fridge, sodded the back yard, put in a metal swingset for the kids). They sold in 2004 when he got transferred to Maryland, and she told me they made $182,000 on the sale! That's almost double in 6 years!
A friend of DH's works in CA and he's been trying to lure us out there for years to work with him. He claims the salaries out there more than make up for the cost of housing. He oftens says he could live like a king if he could find a way to live here and commute to work there.
(Walt's buddy works in film editing. If you disliked the editing of Ocean's 12 as much as we did, you have Mark to blame. He and my DH had a college radio show at the community college here called Wild Walt and Mark in the Dark. Minor celebrities going nowhere fast. )
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
:
Michelle - with my step sisters!
Minor celebrities going nowhere fast. 
Linear Mode
