What does it take to live at least slightly comfortably in the Bay Area and how do you get that? (Oakland: to rent, HOA)

[jade408]

Originally Posted by Daveydoe

My girlfriend is an RN with 10 years experience and specialties in emerg, critical care and flight...after researching jobs in the Bay Area I'm pretty certain that your income expectations are a bit off.

My sister works at a hospital, her nurses average $120K (including OT). I think the expectations are reasonable.

[beb0p]

It's all about smart budgeting and making the numbers work for you.

I know a couple who are both janitors, they moved to SF in 70s, bought a modest house in the Outer Sunset; rented out the one bedroom inlaw unit in the basement to supplement their income. Paid off the house in twenty years and bought another house in the Outer Sunset and rented it out for income. They're retired now, both houses paid off, which means they're millionaires (each of their house is worth about $500k).

Another friend of mine is a construction worker (not a contractor) who makes about $15 an hour; his wife works part-time in various jobs. They first bought a house in the cheaper part of Daly City, sold after a few years and used the profit as down payment on a house in Oceanview. Repeat the cycle every few years to move up to better neighborhood, eventually they settled on a duplex in Central Richmond, rent out one unit to help with the mortgage. They're only a few years from paying it off and the duplex is worth roughly one million bucks today.

I know some may say, "They got in before the housing took off." Maybe. But it can work now too. Here's just a few examples of how the numbers would work for you, but there are obviously many ways to get to the finish line:

Buy a condo/house for around $350k. Wait a few years, when the economy recovers, sell and use the appreciation to buy a house. repeat cycle when necessary.

Or buy a $400k-ish house and rent out the basement inlaw unit. That extra $1,000 or so monthly rent from renting out your inlaw unit really helps out.

Or buy a fixer-upper.

Or buy in Oakland, there are safe neighborhoods (Diamond, Laurel, etc) where you can buy a house for around $350k.

The lesson here is that you don't have to make six-figure to be a home owner.

[Daveydoe]

Originally Posted by jade408

My sister works at a hospital, her nurses average $120K (including OT). I think the expectations are reasonable.

Hmmm, thanks for the info...we are considering a move to the area and assumed she would be taking a pay-cut if we moved there. From what we could find online it seemed that nurses were only making around 70k in the area. Do you know of any sites listing available nursing positions in the area?

[Daveydoe]

Originally Posted by beb0p

It's all about smart budgeting and making the numbers work for you.

I know a couple who are both janitors, they moved to SF in 70s, bought a modest house in the Outer Sunset; rented out the one bedroom inlaw unit in the basement to supplement their income. Paid off the house in twenty years and bought another house in the Outer Sunset and rented it out for income. They're retired now, both houses paid off, which means they're millionaires (each of their house is worth about $500k).

Another friend of mine is a construction worker (not a contractor) who makes about $15 an hour; his wife works part-time in various jobs. They first bought a house in the cheaper part of Daly City, sold after a few years and used the profit as down payment on a house in Oceanview. Repeat the cycle every few years to move up to better neighborhood, eventually they settled on a duplex in Central Richmond, rent out one unit to help with the mortgage. They're only a few years from paying it off and the duplex is worth roughly one million bucks today.

I know some may say, "They got in before the housing took off." Maybe. But it can work now too. Here's just a few examples of how the numbers would work for you, but there are obviously many ways to get to the finish line:

Buy a condo/house for around $350k. Wait a few years, when the economy recovers, sell and use the appreciation to buy a house. repeat cycle when necessary.

Or buy a $400k-ish house and rent out the basement inlaw unit. That extra $1,000 or so monthly rent from renting out your inlaw unit really helps out.

Or buy a fixer-upper.

Or buy in Oakland, there are safe neighborhoods (Diamond, Laurel, etc) where you can buy a house for around $350k.

The lesson here is that you don't have to make six-figure to be a home owner.

Good ideas; however, I don't think that purchasing real estate as an investment vehicle is as good an idea today as it was in the past.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by beb0p

It's all about smart budgeting and making the numbers work for you.

I know a couple who are both janitors, they moved to SF in 70s, bought a modest house in the Outer Sunset; rented out the one bedroom inlaw unit in the basement to supplement their income. Paid off the house in twenty years and bought another house in the Outer Sunset and rented it out for income. They're retired now, both houses paid off, which means they're millionaires (each of their house is worth about $500k).

Another friend of mine is a construction worker (not a contractor) who makes about $15 an hour; his wife works part-time in various jobs. They first bought a house in the cheaper part of Daly City, sold after a few years and used the profit as down payment on a house in Oceanview. Repeat the cycle every few years to move up to better neighborhood, eventually they settled on a duplex in Central Richmond, rent out one unit to help with the mortgage. They're only a few years from paying it off and the duplex is worth roughly one million bucks today.

I know some may say, "They got in before the housing took off." Maybe. But it can work now too. Here's just a few examples of how the numbers would work for you, but there are obviously many ways to get to the finish line:

Buy a condo/house for around $350k. Wait a few years, when the economy recovers, sell and use the appreciation to buy a house. repeat cycle when necessary.

Or buy a $400k-ish house and rent out the basement inlaw unit. That extra $1,000 or so monthly rent from renting out your inlaw unit really helps out.

Or buy a fixer-upper.

Or buy in Oakland, there are safe neighborhoods (Diamond, Laurel, etc) where you can buy a house for around $350k.

The lesson here is that you don't have to make six-figure to be a home owner.

Why haven't the OWS people figured this out? Give up their iDevices, expensive coffee, and quit whining.

[jaypee]

Originally Posted by Daveydoe

My girlfriend is an RN with 10 years experience and specialties in emerg, critical care and flight...after researching jobs in the Bay Area I'm pretty certain that your income expectations are a bit off.

I've a RN nephew with less than 10 years experience in the same exact specialty and he's past $100k already so I don't think the expectation is out of whack with reality. Nursing is still very much in demand.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by beb0p

It's all about smart budgeting and making the numbers work for you.

I know a couple who are both janitors, they moved to SF in 70s, bought a modest house in the Outer Sunset; rented out the one bedroom inlaw unit in the basement to supplement their income. Paid off the house in twenty years and bought another house in the Outer Sunset and rented it out for income. They're retired now, both houses paid off, which means they're millionaires (each of their house is worth about $500k).

Another friend of mine is a construction worker (not a contractor) who makes about $15 an hour; his wife works part-time in various jobs. They first bought a house in the cheaper part of Daly City, sold after a few years and used the profit as down payment on a house in Oceanview. Repeat the cycle every few years to move up to better neighborhood, eventually they settled on a duplex in Central Richmond, rent out one unit to help with the mortgage. They're only a few years from paying it off and the duplex is worth roughly one million bucks today.

I know some may say, "They got in before the housing took off." Maybe. But it can work now too. Here's just a few examples of how the numbers would work for you, but there are obviously many ways to get to the finish line:

Buy a condo/house for around $350k. Wait a few years, when the economy recovers, sell and use the appreciation to buy a house. repeat cycle when necessary.

Or buy a fixer-upper.

Or buy in Oakland, there are safe neighborhoods (Diamond, Laurel, etc) where you can buy a house for around $350k.

The lesson here is that you don't have to make six-figure to be a home owner.

This is the crap that brought down the economy in the first place (flipping houses, housing crisis). Once you start looking at houses as investments instead of a place to live/make your own, you're just asking for instability/an eventual crash (things can only go up so much); and obviously this will make the area even more expensive to live. Anyway, you can do it...just don't know if I would ever do that (particularly in today's world).

[Sdma]

Maybe I am not getting it but I REALLY don't see why it is so important to buy a house. I agree with everyone who knows it doesn't pay (in the way you would hope) to buy a place to live. You can rent for a reasonable price and use extra funds for saving, investing etc. We need to get over this idea that you are not normal (or to be pitied) if you rent. I think that a house is a money and time sucker from your life. I would rather enjoy a hike or have a meal with friends and family than repair,paint or clean up the yard.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by Sdma

Maybe I am not getting it but I REALLY don't see why it is so important to buy a house. I agree with everyone who knows it doesn't pay (in the way you would hope) to buy a place to live. You can rent for a reasonable price and use extra funds for saving, investing etc. We need to get over this idea that you are not normal (or to be pitied) if you rent. I think that a house is a money and time sucker from your life. I would rather enjoy a hike or have a meal with friends and family than repair,paint or clean up the yard.

I agree that home ownership may be over-valued for many. But for many people, especially those with families, the control, stability, space, and privacy of your own home is very important.

I like control of my living space. No landlords telling me what I can and can't do. I also like to work on my car. Listen to loud music occasionally. I have a table saw and lots of tools. I have a dog and two cats. And a modest amount of maintenance related activity is satisfying.

Renting is not per se a no go for me. But shared walls, floors, or ceilings are highly undesirable to me.

Tax incentives for home ownership need to go away. People should buy houses because the want one and can afford one. Tax policy should not distort the cost of home ownership.

[gone down south]

Originally Posted by Sdma

Maybe I am not getting it but I REALLY don't see why it is so important to buy a house. I agree with everyone who knows it doesn't pay (in the way you would hope) to buy a place to live. You can rent for a reasonable price and use extra funds for saving, investing etc. We need to get over this idea that you are not normal (or to be pitied) if you rent. I think that a house is a money and time sucker from your life. I would rather enjoy a hike or have a meal with friends and family than repair,paint or clean up the yard.

Buying a house is good idea for some, a bad idea for others. It depends on your wants and needs, financial situation and goals, etc. The problem is when everyone assumes they need to be home-owners without doing the math first.