Million Dollar Listing LA - General Discussion

[Stan39]

18 minutes ago, TheLastKidPicked said:

It seemed like they were trying to set up a future storyline here.

Notice how this is the first house that Tracy fell in love with and actually talked about buying for herself.  

I could see her wanting to step back from the rat race and be tempted to move out to Arizona.

I get how competitive these agents get, but if I was ever in their position, making that kind of money that fast I’d buy something somewhere outside of LA/NY and tuck away a bunch of savings so that if things ever went south or I just got tired of that lifestyle I could step away. It always amazes me that so many high earners live paycheck to paycheck their whole lives, renting/leasing their lifestyle rather than buying a little security. 

[TV Diva Queen]

I did not like the downstairs dressing room in the AZ house.  I don't care if it is part of the master suite, its still down stairs and the novelty would wear off real quick. Since the owner really didn't care about making the master male friendly, she should have put his bathroom and dressing room down there and the lady of the house can get dressed all on one level.  

I don't see Tracy moving to AZ not for one second.  She's all about the LA life and plus, I doubt her girls would want to move either.

 

[Lady Lucy]

Really hated the Paradise Valley (Arizona) house.  The views of Camelback Mountain were beautiful (the house is on Mummy Mountain, which, in my opinion, is quite ugly but the advantage of being on Mummy is that you don't look at it, you look at Camelback which is gorgeous.)  A downstairs dressing room/closet is a terrible idea, especially with the bathroom being upstairs. 

 

 

[Grrarrggh]

I'm surprised Margarita wasn't more easily sold. Though it is a bit weird to hear someone complaining about $15m not being enough to fund a retirement... 

[dleighg]

4 minutes ago, Grrarrggh said:

Though it is a bit weird to hear someone complaining about $15m not being enough to fund a retirement... 

Have to agree! I mean the usual conservative wisdom is that a 4% drawdown is sustainable. That's $600k per year! Ok you've got to pay taxes on that, but man.... I guess if you want a 15M home to replace it that changes the calculus LOL.

Edited August 5, 2020 by dleighg

[Cheyanne11]

4 hours ago, dleighg said:

4 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

Though it is a bit weird to hear someone complaining about $15m not being enough to fund a retirement... 

Have to agree! I mean the usual conservative wisdom is that a 4% drawdown is sustainable. That's $600k per year! Ok you've got to pay taxes on that, but man.... I guess if you want a 15M home to replace it that changes the calculus LOL.

Yeah, I figured the house they were interested in buying was probably a big chunk of change, so she was worried the rest wouldn't be enough to sustain their lifestyle which, oh, to have that problem.

I found Altman his usual, super-obnoxious self in this episode.  Bitching and moaning about losing a commission when, to that point, he hadn't even put any time into trying to sell the place. 

[Stan39]

Just now, Cheyanne11 said:

Yeah, I figured the house they were interested in buying was probably a big chunk of change, so she was worried the rest wouldn't be enough to sustain their lifestyle which, oh, to have that problem.

I found Altman his usual, super-obnoxious self in this episode.  Bitching and moaning about losing a commission when, to that point, he hadn't even put any time into trying to sell the place. 

You could start to see the old Altman sleaze ooze out a little when he rushed to sell the house. Bro-ing out with the guys, over-laughing at clients poor jokes. I think he thinks it’s charm, but it just comes across as fake. 
 

And some famous architect must have put in a glass floor somewhere because now I see one on every real estate show I watch. It’s the new infinity pool. Personally, I have no interest in seeing my living room from my office, but whatever. That Char seemed a bit “off” to me, too. When we first meet her she had the assistant and a random display of water and champagne waiting for Tracy?

Last random comment, does anybody else assume when they hear a rich person talk about their charity work that they use it as some scam? When she said they let charities use their ballroom my instinct was that they probably do that for some tax dodge. I have a friend who has some pet chickens. He sells a handful of eggs at farmers markets so he can classify his primary residence as a working farm. I’m too lazy to ever look into that stuff. 

[UsernameFatigue]

2 hours ago, Stan39 said:

You could start to see the old Altman sleaze ooze out a little when he rushed to sell the house. Bro-ing out with the guys, over-laughing at clients poor jokes. I think he thinks it’s charm, but it just comes across as fake. 
 

And some famous architect must have put in a glass floor somewhere because now I see one on every real estate show I watch. It’s the new infinity pool. Personally, I have no interest in seeing my living room from my office, but whatever. That Char seemed a bit “off” to me, too. When we first meet her she had the assistant and a random display of water and champagne waiting for Tracy?

Last random comment, does anybody else assume when they hear a rich person talk about their charity work that they use it as some scam? When she said they let charities use their ballroom my instinct was that they probably do that for some tax dodge. I have a friend who has some pet chickens. He sells a handful of eggs at farmers markets so he can classify his primary residence as a working farm. I’m too lazy to ever look into that stuff. 

Both the glass floor and the charity angle reminded me of the most expensive house in my city. The owner hosted an event for the animal welfare charity that I volunteer with. It is a modern style house which I hate, but a beautiful setting on a lake with mountain views. The glass floor looks down to the wine cellar. You press a button, and the floor opens up and the enormous wine rack rises to the main floor. We were supposed to be impressed, but I wasn't as I am not a big wine drinker. We did, and do wonder though how the owner can afford such a property with her little interior design business. We think her hubby is a drug dealer - lol. 

I love how buzz words for these properties change over the years. Kitchens used to be described as a "chef's kitchen"; now they are "entertainer's kitchen". I also thought it was odd when the sitting area for the hubby to wait for his wife to get dressed was described as a private sitting area. As opposed to a public sitting area? My whole house is private, don't know about anyone else's. 

[TheLastKidPicked]

22 hours ago, TV Diva Queen said:

I did not like the downstairs dressing room in the AZ house.  I don't care if it is part of the master suite, its still down stairs and the novelty would wear off real quick.

 

10 hours ago, UsernameFatigue said:

I also thought it was odd when the sitting area for the hubby to wait for his wife to get dressed was described as a private sitting area. As opposed to a public sitting area? My whole house is private, don't know about anyone else's.

I understand the theory behind this trend-- lots of privacy and separate space for each person.  Almost like "I don't want him to see me at my worst first thing in the morning.  I want my own space to get ready for the day."

Well, when you look at your relationships, isn't a lot of the bonding done during those little moments each day?  Getting ready together.  Jockeying for your place in front of the mirror.  Waiting for your partner to be done in the shower.  

It seems like you would be missing out on those little moments that might be mundane, but are part of a relationship.

 

 

[Stan39]

36 minutes ago, TheLastKidPicked said:

 

I understand the theory behind this trend-- lots of privacy and separate space for each person.  Almost like "I don't want him to see me at my worst first thing in the morning.  I want my own space to get ready for the day."

Well, when you look at your relationships, isn't a lot of the bonding done during those little moments each day?  Getting ready together.  Jockeying for your place in front of the mirror.  Waiting for your partner to be done in the shower.  

It seems like you would be missing out on those little moments that might be mundane, but are part of a relationship.

 

 

I thought the privacy referred to people outside not being able to see you. The scene went pretty quickly but that sitting room seemed to have some great views. 

[TheLastKidPicked]

1 hour ago, Stan39 said:

I thought the privacy referred to people outside not being able to see you. The scene went pretty quickly but that sitting room seemed to have some great views. 

You might be right, Stan.  I'm just thinking of the overall feel of that house where there seems to be a very separate "her space" and "his space".

 

Edited August 6, 2020 by TheLastKidPicked

[retired watcher]

21 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

I'm surprised Margarita wasn't more easily sold. Though it is a bit weird to hear someone complaining about $15m not being enough to fund a retirement... 

Just because you sell a house for $15 dollars don't mean that is your profit.

[dleighg]

12 minutes ago, retired watcher said:

Just because you sell a house for $15 dollars don't mean that is your profit

But if I recall correctly the house had been in the family for decades; I don't imagine there was a mortgage.

[Stan39]

I realize part of selling a house is calling out details, but if you have to explain to people why they should be impressed by something then it’s probably a waste of money. I want to live in a house that makes me feel at home and comfortable. I don’t want to pay for amenities that I have to tell people how much they cost, how far they travelled to get here, or name drop the person who made something. People should inherently like the house. 

[oakville]

On 7/29/2020 at 6:05 PM, Cheyanne11 said:

Right?  There wasn't anything about that house I didn't love.  Talk about ticking all the boxes.

ETA: The Marguerita house is still on the market with a reduced price of $16,995,000.00.  David and James still have the listing.

I am shocked that the home is still on the market. It's a beautiful house.

One of the agents that visited the property said it is worth less than $15M but David & James were recommending a listing price of almost $18M.

Are those variances in L.A. real estate valuations normally that high ?

 

[Pine]

who owns Marguerita?  Is it a musician?

[NYGirl]

5 minutes ago, Pine said:

who owns Marguerita?  Is it a musician?

No..it's a family that lived there about 20 something years.  The wife's name is Serene.

[Stan39]

“They bought in this area never dreaming that Santa Monica property will QUADRUPLE in price in 20 years! So great investment for them!” 
 

Actually, four times your money after 20 years is a 7% annual return. Not bad, but not exactly great returns. And it sounds like the house is overpriced by millions of dollars, so it sounds like this couple put their entire retirement into a single asset that will yield something in the mid 6% return, annualized. And when you factor in interest on a mortgage plus any money put into the house over the years... they could have easily bought a smaller house, diversified their investments and achieved a higher rate of return with less risk. But nobody ever points that out. Lol 🤷‍♂️

[lynxfx]

9 hours ago, Stan39 said:

I realize part of selling a house is calling out details, but if you have to explain to people why they should be impressed by something then it’s probably a waste of money. I want to live in a house that makes me feel at home and comfortable. I don’t want to pay for amenities that I have to tell people how much they cost, how far they travelled to get here, or name drop the person who made something. People should inherently like the house. 

Char reminded me of Owen Wilson giving a tour of his house in Meet the Parents. It was the same deal; "I salvaged the wood from an old church in Spain and used the beams in the living room." Or whatever he said. 

That house was just confusing. The downstairs closet with carpet stairs. So much open space with no real purpose. The ballroom for example. It was just a vacant open area with some pillars in the middle. Guarantee she uses the charity events as a huge tax write off. "Free" to the charity but marked as a donation from her at top dollar. 

[dleighg]

I was kind of flummoxed at Tracy's statement that "the weather in Scottsdale is incredible-- you can hike 6 months out of the year." Was she being sarcastic? It didn't look it. I mean, I live in the northeast, and can hike maybe 8 months of the year if I'm wimpy, and avoid the two hottest months and the two coldest months. And don't get me started on hiking in LA, SF, the Pacific NW, etc. where it's a 12 month opportunity. 

[TV Diva Queen]

2 hours ago, dleighg said:

I was kind of flummoxed at Tracy's statement that "the weather in Scottsdale is incredible-- you can hike 6 months out of the year." Was she being sarcastic? It didn't look it. I mean, I live in the northeast, and can hike maybe 8 months of the year if I'm wimpy, and avoid the two hottest months and the two coldest months. And don't get me started on hiking in LA, SF, the Pacific NW, etc. where it's a 12 month opportunity. 

I think she was referring to the heat and being sarcastic all at the same time.  

[jrzy]

God how I despise those ugly modern houses,  what a waste of good land,  what a degradation of the environment.

Its the height of hypocrisy to host animal welfare charitable events after you have destroyed habitat for your rich b$@#^#%$&^ ego trip home.  

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

1 hour ago, jrzy said:

God how I despise those ugly modern houses,  what a waste of good land,  what a degradation of the environment.

Its the height of hypocrisy to host animal welfare charitable events after you have destroyed habitat for your rich b$@#^#%$&^ ego trip home.  

 

Yes, and get bored after building one, and selling and going to build another one in the same area, because you want a new challenge. 

My guess on the reason they overprice the mansions at the listing appointment is to get the listing, and the agents are gambling that the homeowner will allow them to lower the price substantially in a month or two.   

Edited August 7, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[TheLastKidPicked]

45 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

My guess on the reason they overprice the mansions at the listing appointment is to get the listing, and the agents are gambling that the homeowner will allow them to lower the  price substantially in a month or two

I actually learned something from the episode last night! 

When Josh explained that in the old days, they would price the property high in order to leave a little "wiggle room" so that a buyer could negotiate them down and the ended up right where they wanted to be.

And he said they don't do that anymore.  They price to sell, and if anything, get multiple offers to drive the price up.

I like that he took the time to explain that.

 

[Grrarrggh]

1 hour ago, TheLastKidPicked said:

I actually learned something from the episode last night! 

When Josh explained that in the old days, they would price the property high in order to leave a little "wiggle room" so that a buyer could negotiate them down and the ended up right where they wanted to be.

And he said they don't do that anymore.  They price to sell, and if anything, get multiple offers to drive the price up.

I like that he took the time to explain that.

 

That's interesting because I could have sworn I heard it used to (and still is?) the thing to underprice a house to get a bidding war. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Bidding wars don't always work out.   

A friend put in an offer on a house that was really underpriced, becaused (it was an estate sale, with the adult siblings getting the proceeds) they wanted a bidding war.   (I believe the list price should have been around $175k, and it was on the market for $135k or so).   Unfortunately for the sellers, there was only the one offer, and he did it right at the price that it was listed for. and he demanded that they pay all of the closing costs.     The sellers accepted, because it was their one chance over a few months to get the place sold.     

Then at the closing, one of the siblings leaned across the table, and said, "I hope you get to the utility company today, because they're turning the utilities off"  at whatever the time was the place closed.    The buyer barely made it to avoid the reconnect fee, and still had to get to a couple of other utility places to keep those accounts open too.   

However, I have known people who went the auction route in a hot market, with a reserve price, or did start a bidding war and made a lot of additional profit.    

For the million dollar properties on the show, they haven't really had too many bidding wars this season so far, have they?     

I really disliked the Arizona house.   It was so over the top, and in my opinion, was just a way for the builder, and buyer to show how much money they have, but not much taste to go with it.    

I love the historic home Josh Flagg listed.  

[NYGirl]

Who needs a ballroom in their house?  I kept laughing trying to figure who I'd invite to a party if I had one...  I got nothing....

[Stan39]

5 minutes ago, NYGirl said:

Who needs a ballroom in their house?  I kept laughing trying to figure who I'd invite to a party if I had one...  I got nothing....

But what if you had a hole in the floor of your living room that let you look down into your empty ballroom? 🤔🤔🤔

[dleighg]

7 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I really disliked the Arizona house.   It was so over the top, and in my opinion, was just a way for the builder, and buyer to show how much money they have, but not much taste to go with it. 

I couldn't agree more. I mean-- that dressing room? I'm sure every single guest EVER has to be given a tour of that thing, just so they can ooh and aah (and roll their eyes when the have a chance). Two islands in the kitchen!!! Her next house will need three islands just so she can have the most-est. 

[Stan39]

3 hours ago, dleighg said:

I couldn't agree more. I mean-- that dressing room? I'm sure every single guest EVER has to be given a tour of that thing, just so they can ooh and aah (and roll their eyes when the have a chance). Two islands in the kitchen!!! Her next house will need three islands just so she can have the most-est. 

I thought the same thing about the two islands. I’m waiting for some architectural genius to come along and show how you can maximise space and actually use the “less is more” approach. Land is cheap some places. Just because you have the space to put two massive islands in a kitchen doesn’t mean you should. Just because you can make a living room the size of a football field doesn’t mean you should. I wish people understood that 

[CrazyInAlabama]

As another poster said, I bet her donating the use of the ballroom to charities was not only a way to get publicity for her houses she builds, but a tax write off.   

[amarante]

On 8/8/2020 at 5:16 AM, Stan39 said:

I thought the same thing about the two islands. I’m waiting for some architectural genius to come along and show how you can maximise space and actually use the “less is more” approach. Land is cheap some places. Just because you have the space to put two massive islands in a kitchen doesn’t mean you should. Just because you can make a living room the size of a football field doesn’t mean you should. I wish people understood that 

Actually at a certain point an extremely large kitchen is less functional than a "large" kitchen. Of course, it is really nice to have an ample size kitchen with plenty of storage and counter to work on but if the "triangle" is large, it means that one is walking vast distances.

Of course, no one is really cooking in the trophy kitchens except the staff or caterers and who cares about them. :-).

I didn't find the step down to the closet to be that odd because it would serve as a complete dressing area. It's not like a middle class bedroom/master closet where you would want the closet to be closer to the bedroom where one might actually put on and take off clothing. At any rate, if she leaves her clothing in the bedroom when she gets undressed, the maid is going to sort it out anyway :-).

[SunnyBeBe]

On 8/7/2020 at 10:27 PM, NYGirl said:

Who needs a ballroom in their house?  I kept laughing trying to figure who I'd invite to a party if I had one...  I got nothing....

Well, not a ballroom, but I did just decide to leave an open empty space  off of my kitchen are as a “private” dance floor. Lol With covid, enjoying open spaces for dancing and exercise is a plus.  It looks a little bare, but, it’s functional. 
 

Why do people go crazy with punching throw pillows before showing a house? Why do they chop the pillow that way? I realize it’s supposed to give that certain look, but does it really?  It annoys me for some reason. 

[Stan39]

8 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Well, not a ballroom, but I did just decide to leave an open empty space  off of my kitchen are as a “private” dance floor. Lol With covid, enjoying open spaces for dancing and exercise is a plus.  It looks a little bare, but, it’s functional. 
 

Why do people go crazy with punching throw pillows before showing a house? Why do they chop the pillow that way? I realize it’s supposed to give that certain look, but does it really?  It annoys me for some reason. 

Don’t go back to the first seasons. Chad was obsessive about that. 

[lynxfx]

42 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Why do people go crazy with punching throw pillows before showing a house? Why do they chop the pillow that way? I realize it’s supposed to give that certain look, but does it really?  It annoys me for some reason. 

It goes back to interior design magazines in the 80s at least. Not sure if earlier as well. Just Googling karate chop pillows will give you hundreds of articles and blog posts for and against chopping. Pretty funny how passionate some people are over the subject. HGTV is probably the biggest reason the trend came back and mainstreamed. 

Found one article that actually goes into ok reasoning and why might want to or not, chop your pillows. https://www.pillowcubes.com/blog/why-do-people-karate-chop-pillows/

[hula-la]

I want that cheeseboard. That is all. 

[QQQQ]

"Actually at a certain point an extremely large kitchen is less functional than a "large" kitchen. Of course, it is really nice to have an ample size kitchen with plenty of storage and counter to work on but if the "triangle" is large, it means that one is walking vast distances."

 

This is how I feel about huge bathrooms, with a big tub sitting in the middle of the room by itself.  It's a long, cold walk when you're wet and undressed. And just that much more to clean (referring to the bathroom, not myself).

[TV Diva Queen]

8 hours ago, QQQQ said:

"Actually at a certain point an extremely large kitchen is less functional than a "large" kitchen. Of course, it is really nice to have an ample size kitchen with plenty of storage and counter to work on but if the "triangle" is large, it means that one is walking vast distances."

 

This is how I feel about huge bathrooms, with a big tub sitting in the middle of the room by itself.  It's a long, cold walk when you're wet and undressed. And just that much more to clean (referring to the bathroom, not myself).

its a long, cold, SLIPPERY walk.  LOL  

[Cheyanne11]

9 hours ago, QQQQ said:

This is how I feel about huge bathrooms, with a big tub sitting in the middle of the room by itself.  It's a long, cold walk when you're wet and undressed. And just that much more to clean (referring to the bathroom, not myself).

Yeah, not my jam, either.  I also don't like those giant shower 'rooms' where the free-standing tub and shower are all together.  Seems like it would be a steamy, wet mess waiting for me to take a header on.

Not impressed with any of the houses in the latest episode and Altman's client was a total ass.  "Oh, I need parking for eleventy-seven cars--make it happen!" 

I did, however, want that cheeseboard.  Nice work, Flagg--and by work I mean good job ordering it.

Edited August 12, 2020 by Cheyanne11

[dleighg]

25 minutes ago, Cheyanne11 said:

Not impressed with any of the houses in the latest episode and Altman's client was a total ass.  "Oh, I need parking for eleventy-seven cars--make it happen!" 

yeah, that's a pretty ridiculous ask in a dense city. 

[dleighg]

In Zak's house-- the bathtub was right next to a huge window looking out to about a zillion neighbors. Is someone seriously going to climb naked into a tub with all your neighbors getting a free view? 

[Stan39]

This show started as Million Dollar Listing, then was franchised to Million Dollar Listing: LA.  Next season there will be another split off, Million Dollar Listing: LA: BirdBox

On this edition of MDLLA Birdbox, Josh shows his dream, douchey client the perfect giant white box house on the Birds street that will be exactly what his client needs to show how special he is by doing what everybody else is doing.

James and David take on an extra-special listing designed by a famous architect. The developers are long time clients and think their extra-special giant white box house shouldn’t suffer being compared to “generic” giant white box houses. To be fair, this house has some brown. 
 

Flagg gets a listing in the Birds Streets and astutely notes that all the construction is going to tank the market there soon. Ultimately, all these douchey nouveau riche with no style are joining the party too late. Their location isn’t desirable anymore and people will soon hate that architecture. 
 

Tune in next week for more exciting white box architecture on the same three streets. 

[TheLastKidPicked]

We watched Josh Altman hanging out with RD and it raised a question at our house:

Did you notice the huge piles of money these people make who don't really DO anything?

RD is a high dollar car and jet "broker" and he has $15 million in CASH to buy a house.  He was clear that he could close in two weeks and was paying cash.  So he is a middleman, connecting celebrities to fast cars and cool jets and he has $15 million in cash from this?

And when they show the agent's commissions, I think the numbers are so big that we forget to be surprised by them. 

Another thing that jumped out at us was the agents driving up to the Bird Streets and you can see all the construction workers running around.  How fair is it to see all those workers, probably making $ 20/ hour in the hot sun and then see the scroll at the bottom of your TV "Josh's commission, $ 98,000".

So he makes more money in those couple of hours than the guys who built the house make in a year?

And I'm sure that RD is a good guy and a dope bro, but is it fair that the mechanics who service and repair those cars probably earn $ 30/ an hour, and he makes $ 3 million a year?

To put a finer point on it-- this episode showed the growing gap between the rich and the working folks.

 

Edited August 12, 2020 by TheLastKidPicked

[Marley]

7 hours ago, TheLastKidPicked said:

We watched Josh Altman hanging out with RD and it raised a question at our house:

Did you notice the huge piles of money these people make who don't really DO anything?

RD is a high dollar car and jet "broker" and he has $15 million in CASH to buy a house.  He was clear that he could close in two weeks and was paying cash.  So he is a middleman, connecting celebrities to fast cars and cool jets and he has $15 million in cash from this?

And when they show the agent's commissions, I think the numbers are so big that we forget to be surprised by them. 

Another thing that jumped out at us was the agents driving up to the Bird Streets and you can see all the construction workers running around.  How fair is it to see all those workers, probably making $ 20/ hour in the hot sun and then see the scroll at the bottom of your TV "Josh's commission, $ 98,000".

So he makes more money in those couple of hours than the guys who built the house make in a year?

And I'm sure that RD is a good guy and a dope bro, but is it fair that the mechanics who service and repair those cars probably earn $ 30/ an hour, and he makes $ 3 million a year?

To put a finer point on it-- this episode showed the growing gap between the rich and the working folks.

 

Lol it’s so weird because this is what I thought about during this episode. Just a bunch of douchebags getting overpaid.

I kept thinking too how ridiculous these ppl are. Oh my house is worth 15 million it’s so great blah blah. It’s like shut up everything is so overinflated and I feel like I am starting to hate all these ppl.

Altmans client was a douche.

Also Flagg and the house he was selling looked good to me but apparently it needed like $700K in work it’s like wtf.

Josh and his grandmother flashbacks are cute.

[QQQQ]

7 hours ago, TheLastKidPicked said:

We watched Josh Altman hanging out with RD and it raised a question at our house:

Did you notice the huge piles of money these people make who don't really DO anything?

RD is a high dollar car and jet "broker" and he has $15 million in CASH to buy a house.  He was clear that he could close in two weeks and was paying cash.  So he is a middleman, connecting celebrities to fast cars and cool jets and he has $15 million in cash from this?

And when they show the agent's commissions, I think the numbers are so big that we forget to be surprised by them. 

Another thing that jumped out at us was the agents driving up to the Bird Streets and you can see all the construction workers running around.  How fair is it to see all those workers, probably making $ 20/ hour in the hot sun and then see the scroll at the bottom of your TV "Josh's commission, $ 98,000".

So he makes more money in those couple of hours than the guys who built the house make in a year?

And I'm sure that RD is a good guy and a dope bro, but is it fair that the mechanics who service and repair those cars probably earn $ 30/ an hour, and he makes $ 3 million a year?

To put a finer point on it-- this episode showed the growing gap between the rich and the working folks.

 

When thinking about the labor it must take to keep these homes clean (and you know the owners ain't schlepping a mop), I always recall Barbara Ehrenreich's book Nickel and Dimed (2001):

When someone works for less pay than she can live on … she has made a great sacrifice for you … The "working poor" … are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone.

— Nickel and Dimed, p. 221

The author concludes that someday, low-wage workers will rise up and demand to be treated fairly, and when that day comes everyone will be better off.

 

[Marley]

I don’t mind Fredrik on mdlny but he so far has come off bad on this show. Annoying too.

[lynxfx]

2 hours ago, Marley said:

I don’t mind Fredrik on mdlny but he so far has come off bad on this show. Annoying too.

It is like watching two different shows when he comes on. I know MDLLA has had plenty of agent fights and drama but everything Fredrik has been doing comes off so fake. He is a horrible actor and it just makes the show cringy. 

The RD deal once again showed how over priced LA has become. $8m off before it even comes onto market. Selling Sunset (for what little real estate they showed) had similar large reductions. A $44m house sold for $33m. Still obscene but shows the record breaking comps are over. 

Flagg has been quite entertaining this season. 

Edited August 13, 2020 by lynxfx

[Stan39]

16 hours ago, TheLastKidPicked said:

We watched Josh Altman hanging out with RD and it raised a question at our house:

Did you notice the huge piles of money these people make who don't really DO anything?

RD is a high dollar car and jet "broker" and he has $15 million in CASH to buy a house.  He was clear that he could close in two weeks and was paying cash.  So he is a middleman, connecting celebrities to fast cars and cool jets and he has $15 million in cash from this?

And when they show the agent's commissions, I think the numbers are so big that we forget to be surprised by them. 

Another thing that jumped out at us was the agents driving up to the Bird Streets and you can see all the construction workers running around.  How fair is it to see all those workers, probably making $ 20/ hour in the hot sun and then see the scroll at the bottom of your TV "Josh's commission, $ 98,000".

So he makes more money in those couple of hours than the guys who built the house make in a year?

And I'm sure that RD is a good guy and a dope bro, but is it fair that the mechanics who service and repair those cars probably earn $ 30/ an hour, and he makes $ 3 million a year?

To put a finer point on it-- this episode showed the growing gap between the rich and the working folks.

 

I realize I’m a broken record, but I think we’re about to see a major reshuffling of how real estate is bought/sold. Technology is making a lot of what agents do unnecessary. In particular, a lot of sellers think they can sell their house just as effectively as agent, without paying 3% commission. And with all the apps, anyone even thinking about buying a house can look online at inventory and comps in just about any neighborhood. Not saying agents don’t work hard, but the commission checks are obscene for the work and skill they provide. I also think there is a glut of agents, as the barrier for entry is relatively low. I run into so many people who forego college because it’s too hard and want to get into real estate for easy money. Something has to give. 
 

As for RD, the margins on catering to rich people is just massively better than normal people. Watch Secret Lives of the Super Rich to see all the dumb crap people buy, and it’s very hard to figure out how much is going to these middlemen. Even if a rich person is savvy with their money, they probably have family and friends living off their wealth who don’t care about price. When I bought my house I wanted to fix things up and hire and interior designer. I do ok for myself and thought I could afford the help. It was so frustrating dealing with designers. They’d show up late, or not at all, to appointments. And when we talked about the project they’d blather on about their hobbies and vacations (how they’d spend my money essentially). Every time I asked if they can work around my schedule or help find deals on furniture they said No (one even said she charged a fee on top of furniture, so she basically makes money from the purchase of other people’s stuff). They charged by the hour and couldn’t give an estimate of how long the project would take, and said it was up to me on how quickly I could follow up with them.  They basically had no incentive to work hard or do a good job because the longer the project lasted the more they got paid, meanwhile I’d be frustrated things weren’t progressing. Keep in my, all of this was explained BEFORE I hired them. This is how they applied for the job. I realized, “Oh, you’re used to working for bored, rich people sitting at home with too much money and nothing to do. You’re trying to become my friend so that you can just bleed me dry.” It was very off putting. 

[TheLastKidPicked]

12 hours ago, Marley said:

I kept thinking too how ridiculous these ppl are. Oh my house is worth 15 million it’s so great blah blah. It’s like shut up everything is so overinflated and I feel like I am starting to hate all these ppl.

Altmans client was a douche.

We just figured out why this last episode was kind of "meh" for us at our house.

I started out really liking the agents more this season.  But look at who we watched last episode:

Fredric

Josh Altman

Josh's millionaire client RD

It was like watching a bunch of frat boys who never grew up.

 

 

 

 

[Stan39]

14 minutes ago, TheLastKidPicked said:

We just figured out why this last episode was kind of "meh" for us at our house.

I started out really liking the agents more this season.  But look at who we watched last episode:

Fredric

Josh Altman

Josh's millionaire client RD

It was like watching a bunch of frat boys who never grew up.

 

 

 

 

Not to mention, the houses weren’t that great. Though, I liked Flagg’s client. She seemed like a nice woman who was realistic about the real estate market.