Thinking of moving to bay area...
06-27-2005, 02:59 PM
#41
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wtf...if your in the business why are you asking us if there are homes available in this area for 250-350k you knuckle head.
yes, california has a lot of restrictions when it comes to mods. I think it's the most restrictive out of all the states?
yes, california has a lot of restrictions when it comes to mods. I think it's the most restrictive out of all the states?
06-27-2005, 03:01 PM
#42
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Originally Posted by BigMeanBull,Jun 27 2005, 03:59 PM
yes, california has a lot of restrictions when it comes to mods. I think it's the most restrictive out of all the states?
06-27-2005, 03:04 PM
#43
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Originally Posted by jasonw,Jun 27 2005, 03:01 PM
I believe NY requires you to hook you ECU directly into the DMV computer to pass SMOG. Makes it kinda hard to pay people off...
07-25-2005, 07:37 PM
#44
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I think that renting in San Francisco is a great option for you right now, and that's what I would do if young, single, and hippie.
Rental inventory availability in the city is tight, but it is MUCH better than it was a few years ago and you will easily be able to find a nice (small) place with parking if you look around a little. Of course this is relative - it was nearly impossible to find a rental five years ago at the peak of the dot.com era.
NOW - as for buying think about it this way... The NY Times recently published a study of the countries most inflated real estate markets and by this very important measure the Bay Area is almost the worst (I don't remember if we were #1).
The comparison was a ratio of AVERAGE RENT vs. AVERAGE SELLING PRICE. If you think about this it makes sense - rent is usually considered rational if it is 25-40% MAX of your earnings, where SELLING PRICE can be anything that investment speculation dollars will support. The Bay Area SELLING PRICE was something like 37 times ANNUAL RENTAL RATES for similar properties which was many times the national average. Most of the country is in single digits. Housing prices are not supportable by Bay Area income levels in other words. Another way to look at it is that you can rent a $1 MILLION home here for $2250 a month.
The acceleration in home speculation may continue but these numbers suggests that it would be WISE to consider rental as a good option. You could get burned to buy in now and you would be poor. Just don't buy into too much of a place for long term renting so you can save up for a down payment for your FUTURE HOUSE. Meanwhile enjoy life here, it's a wonderful place to hang...
Rental inventory availability in the city is tight, but it is MUCH better than it was a few years ago and you will easily be able to find a nice (small) place with parking if you look around a little. Of course this is relative - it was nearly impossible to find a rental five years ago at the peak of the dot.com era.
NOW - as for buying think about it this way... The NY Times recently published a study of the countries most inflated real estate markets and by this very important measure the Bay Area is almost the worst (I don't remember if we were #1).
The comparison was a ratio of AVERAGE RENT vs. AVERAGE SELLING PRICE. If you think about this it makes sense - rent is usually considered rational if it is 25-40% MAX of your earnings, where SELLING PRICE can be anything that investment speculation dollars will support. The Bay Area SELLING PRICE was something like 37 times ANNUAL RENTAL RATES for similar properties which was many times the national average. Most of the country is in single digits. Housing prices are not supportable by Bay Area income levels in other words. Another way to look at it is that you can rent a $1 MILLION home here for $2250 a month.
The acceleration in home speculation may continue but these numbers suggests that it would be WISE to consider rental as a good option. You could get burned to buy in now and you would be poor. Just don't buy into too much of a place for long term renting so you can save up for a down payment for your FUTURE HOUSE. Meanwhile enjoy life here, it's a wonderful place to hang...
07-25-2005, 11:58 PM
#45
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I'm in the RE/mortgage field. Like everyone else has said, you will not find a SFR in the greater Bay Area in that price range. Let's look @ the math. You have mentioned you're willing/able to distribute $2,500 every month towards PITI (PrincipleInterestTaxInsurance). A 5-6 y/o 3Bed/2Ba/1700 SFR in a decent neighborhood i.e. Concord, Fairfield, etc. sells for $500k-$550k.
Let's use $525k to make things simple.
Budget = $2,500 * 12 = $30,000/year
Tax [1.25%] = $6,563
Insurance [.35%] = $1,838
Total thus far; $8,400. $30,000 - $8,400 = $21,600 = $1,800/month.
Let's assume you go with an interest only program in order to keep your payment as low as possible & if you wish to pay a couple bucks more to pay down the principle during a specific month; you can. Now, there are many many factors involved in determining an interest rate/APR, etc., but we're just havin' fun right?
. I'm going to make the assumption that you have excellent credit [history], full doc, etc. which means you will be able to get a 2/1 I/O in the low-mid 5%'s. You'll need to put 10% down + closing costs which is ~ $70,000 to be safe.
1st - 5.375% * $420,000 = $1,882.
2nd - Another $400-$420 (I don't have my rate sheets in front of me at the moment).
That's ~ $2,300 + TI = ~$3,000. Of course, I'm making a lot of other assumptions. This figure can be +/- another $200-$250. Now, if you were to put 20% down, you would come very close to that $2,500 PITI payment.
Consider the misc. costs involved in owning a home, the tax benefits, appreciation (which is still very good and will be for AT LEAST another two years).
PM me if you have any more ?'s
Homes appreciate. It's a fact of life. The sooner you buy; the better. I don't buy into this 'bubble' that the media is exploiting, but I do think (as do many in the RE field) that the market will cool off in 2-3 years and reach the national average (5%-6%). In two years, that same $525k house will be around $700k appreciating only $30,000-$35,000 per year.
Let's use $525k to make things simple.
Budget = $2,500 * 12 = $30,000/year
Tax [1.25%] = $6,563
Insurance [.35%] = $1,838
Total thus far; $8,400. $30,000 - $8,400 = $21,600 = $1,800/month.
Let's assume you go with an interest only program in order to keep your payment as low as possible & if you wish to pay a couple bucks more to pay down the principle during a specific month; you can. Now, there are many many factors involved in determining an interest rate/APR, etc., but we're just havin' fun right?
. I'm going to make the assumption that you have excellent credit [history], full doc, etc. which means you will be able to get a 2/1 I/O in the low-mid 5%'s. You'll need to put 10% down + closing costs which is ~ $70,000 to be safe. 1st - 5.375% * $420,000 = $1,882.
2nd - Another $400-$420 (I don't have my rate sheets in front of me at the moment).
That's ~ $2,300 + TI = ~$3,000. Of course, I'm making a lot of other assumptions. This figure can be +/- another $200-$250. Now, if you were to put 20% down, you would come very close to that $2,500 PITI payment.
Consider the misc. costs involved in owning a home, the tax benefits, appreciation (which is still very good and will be for AT LEAST another two years).
PM me if you have any more ?'s
Homes appreciate. It's a fact of life. The sooner you buy; the better. I don't buy into this 'bubble' that the media is exploiting, but I do think (as do many in the RE field) that the market will cool off in 2-3 years and reach the national average (5%-6%). In two years, that same $525k house will be around $700k appreciating only $30,000-$35,000 per year.
07-26-2005, 09:43 AM
#47
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i get scared when people start looking at homes as short term investments......"oh i'm going to get an ADJUSTABLE rate and get a fat home...don't worry my home will be worth X% more in 5 years"........scary thinking...i wonder what will happen to these people if home prices go down (or even stay stagnant) and the interest rates double in 5 years 
07-26-2005, 10:49 AM
#48
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You may want to rent and shop for your home. There are many nice and sunny areas in SF: Richmond, nob hill, marina, etc.
House prices are very high in SF. 1300 sqft may go for about 1m. You may want to look to the East Bay: Emeryville, Albany, Berkeley, Oakland (Hill), Alameda, Walnut Creek and surrounding cities. You may have to spend more than 1/2 of house prices in SF.
There are also nice condos in and around SF.
With your degree and your fiance, you should not have any problems afford a new home in the Bay Area. Good luck to you on your search and welcome to the Bay Area.
Cheers,
House prices are very high in SF. 1300 sqft may go for about 1m. You may want to look to the East Bay: Emeryville, Albany, Berkeley, Oakland (Hill), Alameda, Walnut Creek and surrounding cities. You may have to spend more than 1/2 of house prices in SF.
There are also nice condos in and around SF.
With your degree and your fiance, you should not have any problems afford a new home in the Bay Area. Good luck to you on your search and welcome to the Bay Area.
Cheers,
07-26-2005, 02:03 PM
#49
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Crazy, I wonder how much my old house on Lombrad Street is now worth? My Dad brought it in the 1970's for super cheap.
So you guys aren't buying into the housing bubbling over predictions? In Miami, home of the condo explosion, I really do think we are on the verge of a 25% pricing correction in the next year or two at the very least.
So you guys aren't buying into the housing bubbling over predictions? In Miami, home of the condo explosion, I really do think we are on the verge of a 25% pricing correction in the next year or two at the very least.
