That is banana-crackers. I lived in San Rafael till my spouse got laid off in 2020 and we decided to move back east to a sane cost of living, less drought/ wildfire/earthquake area. I can only handle so many potential catastrophes. I see that the condo building you mentioned has FIVE units for sale under $100k. WHAT. Oh - the gotcha - "HOA fee: $4,272 monthly - HOA fee includes one 3-course meal per day, discounted continuing-care healthcare plan and weekly housekeeping/linen service."
Some of those units are 'Trustee Successor Sales' so yes, the resident has died, not run out of money to bankroll their elder care condo.
This timeline is just so freaking hard. Thank you for your writing.
Check out the 1 Baldwin Ave senior highrise in San Mateo on Zillow for more price cuts. Similarly, very niche market -- upscale assisted living. Between the two of these buildings there are dozens of units for sale.
Whaaat. That is even worse, oh my god. I can't tell if I think all apartment buildings are equally terrifying to me, or if it something about the assisted living with staff showing up to provide housekeeping / linen service/ meals etc that bring the covid... if you demanded masks, and had a lot of HEPA, I wonder if it would be tolerably less dangerous.
I think there would definitely be ways to make it less dangerous, but first they would have to believe it could be dangerous.
If you put germicidal uv light in all the ductwork, that would go a long way, and then add HEPA, test all the staff and make them wear N95's. I mean for 5k a month they can afford all that.
The issue in Amoy Gardens was that they didn't have proper water-filled traps in the plumbing. (This can happen in improperly-plumbed US buildings). The quarantine hotel issues in Australia were due to airflow between rooms over a false ceiling, and due to airflow through hallways. It really comes down to "is the airflow isolated".
Thank you so much for writing this right now when you did, the apartment I live in was built in the 80s and it’s kind of falling apart and my landlords are terrible. There is a new property closer to the city so I applied to be on the waitlist. But it’s an apartment building and I have a townhouse style apartment right now, and the new place has Central air so I know that is dangerous.
It would be great if I could have faith that a building built in 2023 would take Covid into consideration when setting up the central air, but it’s an affordable housing apartment building so it’s for poor people. So I don’t think they’ll be any kind of sweet trick cleaner air situation.
Yeah, I think I’m going to stay right where I am with my front and back door that lead directly to the outside and elderly people on either side of me. Thank you so much I’ve been really on the fence about this whole thing, and you’re right.
If you rent and you don’t have high income, apply for section 8 right now. Everyone sick or not look up the section 8 income limits and if you are below it at all just apply right now even if you don’t need it the waitlist is 5 to 10 years long as it is. It’s such a blessing though, especially if you have medical expenses they deduct that amount from your income when determining your rent. It’s the only reason I am surviving right now.
You're welcome. I hope it's the right choice for you. There are a lot of factors and even I am confused these days because I also have an opportunity to move to subsidized housing in a highrise. It's a tradeoff.
Also FWIW the Amoy Gardens issue happened due to a peculiarity of plumbing unique to Asian buildings. BUT there were definitely stories of people getting Covid when they were staying in the quarantine hotels, because they'd get it from somebody across the hall.
Yes I remember reading about the plumbing, and even without the central air they are installing I think I would still be uncomfortable with the shared hallway situation. Plus I have a cat that likes to walk on a leash so it’s nice to have a door directly to the outside.
I am so very grateful for subsidized housing I became disabled by MECFS a little more than a decade ago and it took forever to get to the top of the waitlist while I was waiting they actually shut down the waitlist because it got too long. I have no idea if they are even accepting new people here these days.
That is banana-crackers. I lived in San Rafael till my spouse got laid off in 2020 and we decided to move back east to a sane cost of living, less drought/ wildfire/earthquake area. I can only handle so many potential catastrophes. I see that the condo building you mentioned has FIVE units for sale under $100k. WHAT. Oh - the gotcha - "HOA fee: $4,272 monthly - HOA fee includes one 3-course meal per day, discounted continuing-care healthcare plan and weekly housekeeping/linen service."
Some of those units are 'Trustee Successor Sales' so yes, the resident has died, not run out of money to bankroll their elder care condo.
This timeline is just so freaking hard. Thank you for your writing.
Check out the 1 Baldwin Ave senior highrise in San Mateo on Zillow for more price cuts. Similarly, very niche market -- upscale assisted living. Between the two of these buildings there are dozens of units for sale.
Whaaat. That is even worse, oh my god. I can't tell if I think all apartment buildings are equally terrifying to me, or if it something about the assisted living with staff showing up to provide housekeeping / linen service/ meals etc that bring the covid... if you demanded masks, and had a lot of HEPA, I wonder if it would be tolerably less dangerous.
I think there would definitely be ways to make it less dangerous, but first they would have to believe it could be dangerous.
If you put germicidal uv light in all the ductwork, that would go a long way, and then add HEPA, test all the staff and make them wear N95's. I mean for 5k a month they can afford all that.
Definitely. My eye doctor got the uv light in their ductwork and I'm super impressed about that. It can be done.
Wow, that's fabulous! I wish all doctors were so forward-thinking!
Right? They don't require patients to mask, but they encourage it, and staff are in N95s. I wish more places were like that.
The issue in Amoy Gardens was that they didn't have proper water-filled traps in the plumbing. (This can happen in improperly-plumbed US buildings). The quarantine hotel issues in Australia were due to airflow between rooms over a false ceiling, and due to airflow through hallways. It really comes down to "is the airflow isolated".
Thank you so much for writing this right now when you did, the apartment I live in was built in the 80s and it’s kind of falling apart and my landlords are terrible. There is a new property closer to the city so I applied to be on the waitlist. But it’s an apartment building and I have a townhouse style apartment right now, and the new place has Central air so I know that is dangerous.
It would be great if I could have faith that a building built in 2023 would take Covid into consideration when setting up the central air, but it’s an affordable housing apartment building so it’s for poor people. So I don’t think they’ll be any kind of sweet trick cleaner air situation.
Yeah, I think I’m going to stay right where I am with my front and back door that lead directly to the outside and elderly people on either side of me. Thank you so much I’ve been really on the fence about this whole thing, and you’re right.
If you rent and you don’t have high income, apply for section 8 right now. Everyone sick or not look up the section 8 income limits and if you are below it at all just apply right now even if you don’t need it the waitlist is 5 to 10 years long as it is. It’s such a blessing though, especially if you have medical expenses they deduct that amount from your income when determining your rent. It’s the only reason I am surviving right now.
You're welcome. I hope it's the right choice for you. There are a lot of factors and even I am confused these days because I also have an opportunity to move to subsidized housing in a highrise. It's a tradeoff.
Also FWIW the Amoy Gardens issue happened due to a peculiarity of plumbing unique to Asian buildings. BUT there were definitely stories of people getting Covid when they were staying in the quarantine hotels, because they'd get it from somebody across the hall.
Yes I remember reading about the plumbing, and even without the central air they are installing I think I would still be uncomfortable with the shared hallway situation. Plus I have a cat that likes to walk on a leash so it’s nice to have a door directly to the outside.
I am so very grateful for subsidized housing I became disabled by MECFS a little more than a decade ago and it took forever to get to the top of the waitlist while I was waiting they actually shut down the waitlist because it got too long. I have no idea if they are even accepting new people here these days.
I'm glad you have some support that you need. That warms my heart.