Retiring to Sacramento area -any suggestions? (San Francisco, Oakland: sale, houses, buying)

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

Thanks, I will check out Orangevale. I know it's tough for anyone to speculate about what we would be interested in, but we can't make it down very often to house hunt because of my husband's job (he's on call quite often) so we try to narrow down the places that we think we would be interested in before we drive down. Just to give you some idea of what we both like, if our house was sold we would be driving down to look at this one & make an offer on it if the area is ok 5331 San Francisco Boulevard, Sacramento CA For Sale - Trulia

I like that too. However, I don't like that neighborhood. But my situation is different than yours. It might be fine for you.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by caligirlz

I like that too. However, I don't like that neighborhood. But my situation is different than yours. It might be fine for you.

Please tell me why you don't like the neighborhood. Last time we went house hunting in Tahoe Park the realtor showed us some houses in Colonial Park and said it was a good area. I looked at the crime maps and it didn't look bad. Of course realtors seem to tell you that every area where they have a house for sale is a "good area" lol

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

Please tell me why you don't like the neighborhood. Last time we went house hunting in Tahoe Park the realtor showed us some houses in Colonial Park and said it was a good area. I looked at the crime maps and it didn't look bad. Of course realtors seem to tell you that every area where they have a house for sale is a "good area" lol

I don't want to go into the details, but what I will say, is. I used to do home visits and I've traveled all over Sacramento, and other cities. Based on what I saw....now, if you have dogs, a secure house, and exercise your 2nd amendment rights, then it may be ok. But that's just me. And I also think about the surrounding neighborhoods that might not be as nice. I've lived in that situation before. I could not even go for a walk in the hood after dark. It's not for me. BUT, don't make a decision on my opinion. You really need to do some drive-bys on various days of the week & times of day. I know we all want to buy right away, but it is so much wiser to rent, then scope things out from a local position. If I would have bought based on internet searches when I first moved to town...I'd be screwed.

[HDL]

WOW!!! That house and yard is really nice looking! Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) the home shows "PENDING" right now. Stuff falls through, but I've been noticing that homes where I live are going pending within a week or two tops, so right now the market seems to be in favor of the sellers in your price range. I too would consider renting first.

Good luck !

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

Thanks, I will check out Orangevale. I know it's tough for anyone to speculate about what we would be interested in, but we can't make it down very often to house hunt because of my husband's job (he's on call quite often) so we try to narrow down the places that we think we would be interested in before we drive down. Just to give you some idea of what we both like, if our house was sold we would be driving down to look at this one & make an offer on it if the area is ok 5331 San Francisco Boulevard, Sacramento CA For Sale - Trulia

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by caligirlz

I don't want to go into the details, but what I will say, is. I used to do home visits and I've traveled all over Sacramento, and other cities. Based on what I saw....now, if you have dogs, a secure house, and exercise your 2nd amendment rights, then it may be ok. But that's just me. And I also think about the surrounding neighborhoods that might not be as nice. I've lived in that situation before. I could not even go for a walk in the hood after dark. It's not for me. BUT, don't make a decision on my opinion. You really need to do some drive-bys on various days of the week & times of day. I know we all want to buy right away, but it is so much wiser to rent, then scope things out from a local position. If I would have bought based on internet searches when I first moved to town...I'd be screwed.

Thanks, I appreciate that. It looks right now like we will be renting after we sell our home, that only makes sense- it's stupid hard to coordinate selling one house and moving right in to another, hopefully we can find some kind of corporate / extended stay thing so that we don't get locked into a lease. The option, if we identified one particular property, would be to have one of our adult kids all of whom live within about 50 miles of Sacramento) do the research on the neighborhood for us.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by HDL

WOW!!! That house and yard is really nice looking! Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) the home shows "PENDING" right now. Stuff falls through, but I've been noticing that homes where I live are going pending within a week or two tops, so right now the market seems to be in favor of the sellers in your price range. I too would consider renting first.

Good luck !

dang..I didn't see pending, but I am not surprised. The market everywhere seems to have heated up. My neighbor sold her house at full asking price the day it was listed, and I have a realtor friend in Vallejo who said everything worth living in is going within a few days to a week.

[semispherical]

If you are willing to look outside Sacramento, Woodland still has good RE deals for less than $300K:

1025 Ashley Avenue, Woodland CA For Sale - Trulia

including quite a few short sales and foreclosures.

The nicer, non-cookie cutter areas are south of Main and west of College or in Beamer Park. There are newer, more uniform subdivisions along Road 102 near the Costco shopping center.

You might also look at some areas in Lincoln, but be aware of Mello Roos fees and HOA dues.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by semispherical

If you are willing to look outside Sacramento, Woodland still has good RE deals for less than $300K:

1025 Ashley Avenue, Woodland CA For Sale - Trulia

including quite a few short sales and foreclosures.

The nicer, non-cookie cutter areas are south of Main and west of College or in Beamer Park. There are newer, more uniform subdivisions along Road 102 near the Costco shopping center.

You might also look at some areas in Lincoln, but be aware of Mello Roos fees and HOA dues.

I lived in Vacaville for years and never developed any fondness for Woodland. We looked in Lincoln and you are right about Mello Roos and HOA fees. Penn Valley is pretty cheap but it seems that most property for sale is within the HOA there. We currently live in an HOA and have vowed to never make that mistake again, I have had my fill of HOA nazis driving around checking for brown spots in your lawn If we can't find a house that we like in our budget, we will just rent and see what happens in the winter, I am not convinced that the recent run up in home prices is sustainable since no one I know has gotten a pay raise in quite a long time.

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

since no one I know has gotten a pay raise in quite a long time.

I have. Been getting annual raises & bonuses all through the economic crash. And got a fantastic raise/bonus last year. Not sure who your friends are....or line of business. Even my family who work for the state are doing quite well.

[ryuns]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

Please tell me why you don't like the neighborhood. Last time we went house hunting in Tahoe Park the realtor showed us some houses in Colonial Park and said it was a good area. I looked at the crime maps and it didn't look bad. Of course realtors seem to tell you that every area where they have a house for sale is a "good area" lol

(I know the house probably won't work out, but FWIW regarding the neighborhood: I've always liked that area. Though I've never lived in it, I have a friend who just bought nearby (even farther south, in fact) and really enjoys it. She fessed up that some of the neighbors looked a little dicey but actually getting to know them found them to be quite lovely with a lot of pride in their neighborhood. Good mix of new homebuyers and older folks. Far point by caligirlz about being "near" not-so-nice neighborhoods. Stockton Blvd is a pretty bold line heading west to east in some areas. You'd obviously want to spend some time in the area before committing.