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Comment by yock | Hacker News Reader

> I grew up in Cupertino, and when I visit my parents there, I'm rather shocked at how downhill the neighborhood has gone in parts. It's crazy that these old 70's tract homes go for 1.5 million. Even more insane is that they're bought and then left empty to go downhill. Literally broken windows and paint falling off. I never used to see that.

Do you have any idea what's behind this?

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I'm inclined to believe many are empty investment properties. A documentary about the housing costs showed a Chinese investment tour of Cupertino for such purpose:

https://youtu.be/SBjXUBMkkE8?t=2m35s

The other issue is that the high school I went to there, Monta Vista High School, is extremely well-ranked. As such some investors buy houses, then rent them to a single custodian who boards as many students as possible so they can attend the schools. These custodians don't seem to have a high priority on keeping the house in great shape.

> As such some investors buy houses, then rent them to a single custodian who boards as many students as possible so they can attend the schools. These custodians don't seem to have a high priority on keeping the house in great shape.

This sounds like student housing in any major city.

This is also why cities have occupancy rules, codes for maintenance, etc.

Actually, I stumbled upon a Deleon (a major realtor in the South Bay) brochure yesterday, and due to the prices, they're willing to pay for a lot of complementary services to get your house sold (not surprising, since a $2 million sale will give the selling agent $60k, by the customary 3% fee, and they can make even more money if the buying agent is also employed by them). One of the services they advertise is ads on Chinese radio and newspapers.

Chinese capital chasing the California real estate dream?

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