Housing in the bay area is f#$%ing terrible

[FastEddy]

Purchasing here has its advantages.
First off if you invest in real estate it wont go down the drain. We have our ups and downs but nothing like other parts of the country. There are exceptions like LV NV where real estate has gone up faster then in Nor Cal but they are far and few between.

In the last 10 years the market here has out preformed the S&P 500 may times over. An investment in real estate here is solid.

If you are a property owner here and are selling, your house wont sit on the market for more then 30 days. In most cases it a guaranteed sale.

Nor Cal has been voted in the top 10 best places to live for as long as I can remember. Moderate weather, Ocean, Lakes, Skiing, Parks, and me as a neighbor.

The suck part is that its a guatinteed win high stake poker game. If you can't pay the anti, you can't win. In my neighborhood, (A little above average Tract house) 1800-2500 sf will cost you 600k - 800k. It may sound like a lot but its proven that in 2-3 years you will be rewarded with 40k-80k of equity and no problum selling. The question is, whare are you going to move when you sell? In CA if you sell your primary resadence, its not likely you will be able to afford to re-purchace unless you win the lotto or move to a less desirable location.

 

[Plaidfish]

Eddy in Broward County right now the rule of thumb is if it sits on the market for more than 2 weeks (no matter what you ask) somethings wrong w/ it.......that's insane.....you have houses that are in crack towns selling for 250k and up...and I mean houses w/ no windows and dirt yards w/ trash filling yours and the neighbors lots up.....

 

[FastEddy]

I'm sure there are other places other then CA that are doing well. Its a matter of where you want to live or invest.

The Cal coast has no snow, the temps go over 100 or under 32 only a handful of times a year, We have no tornadoes or huracains, and the best part is the humidity is stable. We never get mildew on anything. One may make the argument that we have earthquakes but they are far and few between. People lose more life and property in a year around your parts then we have in the last 100 years. (I'm making this up on the fly but its a good guess.)

California moves fast. The income level is high and the opertunitys are plentafull for those that want to work. Again its expensive but rewarding.

 

[sweetdiesel]

There is a reason why there are so many two income households in CA. It's fairly normal to send your kids to daycare at just a few months old. When we first bought here we had two incomes and my wife made more than I did. A couple years ago she decided to quit her job in PR and pursue her passion of photography. At first we were able to get many clients and her business was plentiful, but because we were just starting out we didn't make any money from it. Equiptment, supplies, time, ate up all our profits. Then she became pregnant and photo shoots are now far and few between. Lately all her camera does is shoot pics of my truck for RCNT.

We decided that we wanted someone home to raise our daughter and so we've come to live on a single income. I have been training in the evening to get into machining, but it is going to take a few years of experience to get a job that will match what I am making now. It would be easy to get into a nicer home but I guess we should just be blessed to have what we have right now. I can only immagine how hard it is for someone younger to get into even a modest townhouse like ours.

I love California, I know because of the housing prices I want to move but like Eddy said there is no other place that has so much diversity, mild weather, and opportunity. It's just the sticker shock of buying a home that really pisses me off!!

 

[Hypedonrc]

Here is the oe I've been looking at.
http://www.herrealtors.com/Property/PropertyDetails.aspx?propid=2059751

 

[sweetdiesel]

Thats house is huge for the money. Here is the one that had bids for over 600K

http://www.mlslistings.com/common/p...&page=1&mls_number=518544&type=property&name=

 

[rocknbil]

1.9 ac, 3 bdrm 1400 sf, 900 sf guest house, 9' in-ground pool, lucked out at 134K, now worth 220. Get Oregon property while you can, people from your area have been scrambling to Oregon for years.

 

[Plaidfish]

how's th ework up there?
I'd love to move to the west coast....I need to be able to go snowboarding every weekend again.....don't get much of that done here......
Edd:
You guys are SOOO lucky in Cali...Florida has a lot of the same beach type areas but ther's no diversity in terrain...we claimed it all from the gators......I went to CA in 91 and fell in love....first place I went was San Diego......in july and the temps were perfect.....I've been to LA, SF and sacramento since then...I'd love to live in N. CA...that to me is the most beautiful place in the country.....I had a job offer in malibu afew years ago and was all gungho on it until I saw the cost of living....I wouldn't have been making much more than I make now in reality......and wouldn't be able to afford a house......I was pretty bummed...maybe when I win the lottery I never play I'll have enough money to move there........LOL

 

[FastEddy]

My neighbor just put his house up.
Mine is the exact same except he has a 3 car garage and mine is 2.
My location is better, Directly across from a park. He is directly across from a grade school

http://www.greathomes.org/property.asp?PropID=20510078&cat=1

 

[retarded pilot]

and they say you will pay 3 times the purchase price after the 30 year morgage

so ..2.4 million to live next to eddy LOL

 

[sweetdiesel]

If I hit the lottery I'm moving next to Ed!

 

[.21Rc10GT]

Ed is kinda close to me.. maybe a half hour or less... its nice out here. My parents moved the family out here in 1991, and bought a 5 acre parcel on top of a hill for like 190,000... then we built or house on it (its about 3,300sq ft)... now it is over a mil... we just need a swimming pool, concrete driveway, and finishing of the landscaping, and it should go over the 1.5 mark. We are concentrating on building a shop now... i need a place to work on my car! Garage isnt big enough, even though it is a 3 car garage!

 

[Hypedonrc]

Both of those Cali homes look nice, but the price is unimaginable to a working class fellow like myself. Infact, the house I showed you is at the top of my budget, and wouldn't be so high around here if it wasn't for the two boat docks. It is on a canal, which I figure addes about 75K to a house from looking at comparable houses in the sam area. If you want acual lakefront it bumps the price about 200K unless it is a condo.

 

[sweetdiesel]

I'm looking at this house today.

http://www.mlslistings.com/common/p...&page=3&mls_number=522242&type=property&name=
My realtor says it is a fixer upper, with guest quarters in the back. It also has a good lot size, at least for the bay area. It's even in our price range. So what's the catch?


It's just down the street from the insane aylum or mental institution as they call it nowadays. My wife did some grad work there and said sometimes the residents "get out".

 

[Candyman]

Just for reference, here's what a half mill will get you in the Syracuse area.

http://realestate.syracuse.com/Real...0&classification=REAL+ESTATE&fromSearchPage=1

Notice, however, the estimated $13,000/yr in taxes....rediculous.

 

[sweetdiesel]

Just for reference, here's what a half mill will get you in the Syracuse area.

http://realestate.syracuse.com/Real...0&classification=REAL+ESTATE&fromSearchPage=1

Notice, however, the estimated $13,000/yr in taxes....rediculous.

OMG that house is huge! Your tax rates are more than double what we have in CA, but for what you get I wouldn't mind.

 

[Candyman]

Yeah, that house is huge. Wayy out of my price range. I'm looking in the $125K range which will get you a comfy house that doesn't require a bunch of work. Here's one that is near the top of my shopping list...

http://realestate.syracuse.com/Real...2&classification=REAL+ESTATE&fromSearchPage=1

 

[FastEddy]

I was amazed when I was in Buffalo of the housing prices.
HUGE estates with maids or in law housing with achers of land for 400- 500k

If you can find work there and like the snow, its a great value.

 

[Candyman]

That's the catch around here. It's not as glamorous as the Cali coast. But that's why real estate is so expensive out there. Here you can get a nice house at a low price with plenty of privacy. You just have to deal with the weather.

 

[Revo Rancher]

One property listed for 850k we bid 1.1 million and it went for 1.6.

Yep, sounds like it is around here. And those kind of bids are all before noon on the first day. I have people knocking on my door at least every weekend offering me over 1 mil on the spot, sight unseen.

My house is 1800 s/f, on a 45 x 77' lot, two car garage (detached home), 7 years old. Taxes are reasonable, but in the new areas like mine we have to pay an additional tax, which fluctuates yearly, called "Mello-Roos" taxes. This is about 100-125/month. This is on top of county taxes.

Anyhow, we do pretty well and have some money stashed away for buying land for retirement. When take the DP out for trips, we always scout for lots, or at least desireable areas, where we might want to buy land. Once we find a place and buy it, we can sell our house when we get closer to retirement, build a custom home and still have money left over. Like Diesel says, though, you got to find a way to get into the market first, once you are there, you can play games with RE and make money or at least manipulate what you have. BTW, median price for a house in my area is 925K, and for a condo, not on the golf course, is 450K. That's median price. I love OC!