Moving to SF bay area. Help! (Sacramento, Oakland: real estate market, rent, how much)

[reeve99]

I've spent days looking at forums and sites like realtor.com/ zillow.com and feel discouraged even before coming to the bay area. We currently own a $375K home in Fort Lauderdale. Beautiful 2700sqft 4bd pool home with alot of upgrades. Our home would be +1M. We've accepted we'll need to downsize based upon our income and amount we have for a downpayment; but am not seeing any hope so far as market is pretty dry and it seems until you hit $800K the choices are not good; so hoping someone could either validate this is the case or I might need to take more time or look in a different area.

My wife is expecting our 2nd child and we have a 3 year old so we would need a 3 bedroom minimally. Everyone has suggested to look in east bay and most have said to start in the Walnut Creek area and then expand out to Dublin, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Clayton, etc.... I see a few nice townhomes in Dublin for just under 700K and hardly any homes. It seems that once you go to Antioch and Pittsburg or further the prices drop 100-200K and there are choices. The problem is I'll be working in SF a few days a week and travel for work so would need to consider airport commute as well.

I'm not sure how we'll jump from a 400K home to a 700/800K home. Have about $120K to put down so worried that I can't go much higher and would feel more comfortable in the 5s or 6s but it doesn't look like its an option. If we rent, everything is 3-4K per month so prefer to buy.

Are we looking in the wrong neighborhoods for this price range for a townhome or house? Trying to reference bart stations as we are looking. we are flying to SF this week for the 1st time to explore. Is Antioch worth the miserable commute. It looks flat and ugly compared to other areas of SF. I would think the 45 bart ride and then maybe a 20 minute drive would be my limit for commuting but need some guidance from someone that knows SF bay area

Someone else suggested South of Morgan Hill, but I think I would be depressed having to commute this long.

Please if you have any insight or guidance that would be helpful, we would appreciate your input.

[SportyandMisty]

Don't move here. Seriously. Your family will be miserable & resentful that you had a beautiful home & lifestyle in Fort Lauderdale, and here you will be working poor. You just do not have the income & assets to afford a bay area lifestyle for your family.

Don't do it.

[bmw335xi]

I used to live in Boca Raton, so I'm quite familiar with Fort Lauderdale and South Florida in general.

How much will you be making if you decide to move to the Bay Area?

You really don't want to live in Antioch. A lot of the poor are moving out there and it's becoming a worse place as times goes by, not that it was nice before, but still it is a dump and the commute might make you want to shoot yourself.

I also would not recommend living in Morgan Hill because the commute would be a killer and your family wouldn't be happy going from Fort Lauderdale to a cookie cutter small community in what feels like the middle of nowhere.

Ideally, the best quality of life in your situation would be the SF Peninsula such as Burlingame, Foster City, San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos, even throw in Millbrae. Not knowing your income, I don't know if you could afford it, but if you could find something here, it would make up for taking a hit on going from a beautiful pool house to a small older home. These cities are in one of the most beautiful parts of the country in my opinion and your commute would be very short.

In East Bay, I think you would enjoy Walnut Creek.

[reeve99]

Thanks. Total family income will be just above 200k so with 2 kids it looks very challenging to find something we can afford. Do you still suggest sf? Or east bay? Thinking about schools as well.

Staying isn't an option as my job ended here. Hard to hear well be miserable.

Thanks for the help

[bmw335xi]

You should be able to find a place in SF Peninsula with that income. The towns I mentioned are safe, have good schools, and thriving downtowns. They are not in SF, but they are nearby, so it's like you live in a nice wholesome little city with easy access to SF. There are plenty of hiking trails and nice scenery. It's really one of my favorite parts of the country.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by reeve99

The problem is I'll be working in SF a few days a week and travel for work so would need to consider airport commute as well.

I suggest looking at Pacifica. Pacifica is an easy commute both to SF and the airport and is great for kids. If you visit check out Frontierland Park in Pacifica.

Originally Posted by reeve99

I'm not sure how we'll jump from a 400K home to a 700/800K home. Have about $120K to put down so worried that I can't go much higher and would feel more comfortable in the 5s or 6s but it doesn't look like its an option. If we rent, everything is 3-4K per month so prefer to buy.

Either hop to a much smaller 600k home or rent until you get to know the area.

[llowllevellowll]

Last I checked, $500k got you an awful lot right now in a lot of cities on the outer parts of the Bay. I'd much rather live in Fairfield or Vacaville than Antioch or Pittsburg. Schools are better, and you've now opened up the Sacramento market as well. Worst case scenario, flying out of SMF would be possible. Fairfield to the Bay Bridge is 30 minutes without traffic. With traffic, you begin hitting traffic around Hercules. Avoid that if possible. Hercules and Pinole are fine examples of places you can get a lot of square footage in a SFH for that amount of money. I'd much prefer both of those over Antioch or Pittsburg. Route-4 is just a mess. And even though I'm contradicting myself by mentioning Brentwood, it's worlds better than the aforementioned two as well. If you're going south, check Castro Valley, Fremont, and Hayward. There's a lot of newer housing stock in Frement and Hayward where you can get way more square footage - plus they're both on BART and you can utilize SJC to fly out of also.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I have friends who live in Fairfield and commute to Martinez. So, that's a viable option.

Really, I think since you don't have a job in FL anymore, and you are committed to coming to CA, then you and your wife just need to change up how you think as far as housing goes. Your 3 year old won't remember the pool you had in FL. So, you have to get a smaller place to get the shorter commute. Or buy a townhouse, etc. Just remember there's a reason the prices are so high here. It's a great place to live :-)

The shorter the commute, the better, though, IMO.

I am going to DM you the name of a really wonderful real estate agent in the east bay. She helped my daughter find her home in the Oakland hills. Originally my daughter was looking in Concord, as she had just gotten a job in Walnut Creek, but she kept getting outbid. She finally bought in Oakland, and it ended up being great, because she ended up changing jobs to a job in Berkeley.

This agent lives in Lamorinda area, grew up in Oakland, and knows the entire east bay. Not only is she a go-getter, but she's a really nice, likable person, too. You can trust her on her knowledge of neighborhoods, schools, commutes, etc. I should get a finders fee lol! Anyway, I'll DM her info now.

[04kL4nD]

I would move to Walnut Creek and rent for a year or two. Now is really not the greatest time to be buying.

[clongirl]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

I would move to Walnut Creek and rent for a year or two. Now is really not the greatest time to be buying.

Exactly. This is what I was thinking too.

I can't imagine trying to purchase a house in a town/region you're not very familiar with. When you're intending to spend 800k+ for a house you'd want to make darned sure you, your wife, your kids are all good are all happy with the situation. You want to make sure you have job security and with the Bay Area real estate market and economic market always going into bubbles (we have another right now in parts). It's just a big gamble. Also, interest rates are going up now- prices will inevitably fall-

Rent first...Get to know the Bay Area and then consider buying when all is well and settled.