Nyc to San fran (Sunnyvale, Daly City: fit in, renters, house)

[Onthemove17]

Thank you for the feedback so far.

So let's say I expand the commute time to an hour and 15 min or an hour and a half... now what towns would you suggest I look at?

In terms of Pacifica and San Bruno ... how are the schools?

also if we bought nowish or within the next 6 months are we buying at the height of the market? What are your thoughts?

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by Onthemove17

Thank you for the feedback so far.

So let's say I expand the commute time to an hour and 15 min or an hour and a half... now what towns would you suggest I look at?

In terms of Pacifica and San Bruno ... how are the schools?

also if we bought nowish or within the next 6 months are we buying at the height of the market? What are your thoughts?

Don't try to "time" the market. If you buy something in a location and find that you don't like it, you're stuck. Instead - rent first and get your bearings. Try out a neighborhood first and test your commute time to see if you can stomach it.

[Oakformonday]

Originally Posted by Onthemove17

Thank you for the feedback so far.

So let's say I expand the commute time to an hour and 15 min or an hour and a half... now what towns would you suggest I look at?

In terms of Pacifica and San Bruno ... how are the schools?

also if we bought nowish or within the next 6 months are we buying at the height of the market? What are your thoughts?

It sounds like you want suburban? You are going to have to compromise on something. Ask why you need 4bedrooms. If you have 3 children, can they share a room. If the quality of the school district is important than you should concentrate on that and then find a house that will work in that community.

Keep in mind the culture here is slower and people are less genuine. It will be hard to make friend out here. Everyone will be your friend at first but they are not serious. It is hard to describe but that is one thing that I dislike about the Bay Area. I generally blow off anyone that is from here. Since there are people from all over the world it is not hard to ignore the locals.

[joejerryronnie]

Originally Posted by Onthemove17

Thank you for the feedback so far.

So let's say I expand the commute time to an hour and 15 min or an hour and a half... now what towns would you suggest I look at?

In terms of Pacifica and San Bruno ... how are the schools?

also if we bought nowish or within the next 6 months are we buying at the height of the market? What are your thoughts?

I have mostly south bay experience but it seems like Brisbane is kind of locked into expensive areas. You can't travel south as 2 hours in traffic may get you to San Jose. I'm not sure how long it would take to travel east, over a bridge, and through the east bay but I think you will hit the 90 minute mark before you get to much more affordable housing. I also don't think you'll see a huge price break going north because people that work in SF will probably commute further than Brisbane commuters, driving prices up all along that corridor. Maybe others with more east & north bay experience can weigh in on my assumptions.

It's one of the really surprising things about the bay area housing market. Prices are not just astronomically expensive in the major city centers, you don't see much of a price break within 2 hours in any direction. We also have abysmal public transportation as an added bonus.

Who knows, you might find something that works for you within your commute tolerance and budget but if you go into things with the above expectations you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Onthemove17

Thank you for the feedback so far.

So let's say I expand the commute time to an hour and 15 min or an hour and a half... now what towns would you suggest I look at?

In terms of Pacifica and San Bruno ... how are the schools?

also if we bought nowish or within the next 6 months are we buying at the height of the market? What are your thoughts?

OP, there's no place more affordable than San Bruno, Daly City, and Pacifica. And possibly South San Francisco (a separate municipality from SF). Extending your commute won't get you anything cheaper; it will get you a more miserable commute. Unless you're thinking: East Bay, but it's not worth the commute. Stick with the immediate area around Brisbane, and you'll be fine.

The crucial question is: how are the schools in those close-in areas. Hopefully, someone here will have the answer to that.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by evening sun

That is not true. I have seen houses listed in San Bruno, South city, Pacifica & Daly City for under 1 mill & they would all be a reasonable commute to Brisbane. I would also recommend checking out homes in Brisbane itself.

Brisbane is not Burlingame.

Listing price =/= selling price. So much is going for well over asking these days. Also, good california schools are pretty mediocre compared with they are leaving. They need to up their budge for their wishlist.

*Burlingame was a typo on my part.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by Onthemove17

Thank you for the feedback so far.

So let's say I expand the commute time to an hour and 15 min or an hour and a half... now what towns would you suggest I look at?

In terms of Pacifica and San Bruno ... how are the schools?

San Bruno has two really good elementary schools in the western corner of the city by Skyline Blvd.

Portola Elementary in San Bruno , CA - ranking, school information, ratings, test scores, test results

John Muir Elementary in San Bruno , CA - ranking, school information, ratings, test scores, test results

The rest of the San Bruno schools are average. Pacifica elementary schools range from 7 to 9. I suggest arranging school visits if possible so you know what you are getting into.

Here are the school ratings for San Mateo County.

California School Ratings, school profiles, test scores - San Mateo County

Some of the nicest looking homes in that area are some newer homes by Skyline College like this one.

https://www.trulia.com/property/3167...ifica-CA-94044

Park Pacifica is one of the nicest areas of Pacifica but even a million buys very little there.

https://www.trulia.com/property/6856...ifica-CA-94044

As you can see these prices are around double the suburban NYC area. Compare to a place with extremely excellent schools in a NJ suburb close to NYC.

https://www.trulia.com/property/3276...gston-NJ-07039

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by jade408

Listing price =/= selling price. So much is going for well over asking these days. Also, good california schools are pretty mediocre compared with they are leaving. They need to up their budge for their wishlist.

*Burlingame was a typo on my part.

This is true. OP, it's good to be aware of this. Hopefully, you'll find a good agent who can advise you on how to make a successful offer in this highly competitive market we have.

[eastwestcoast]

My wife and I recently relocated back to the area from the East Coast and just went through the same house-buying process you are considering at about that $1m price point. Although we came in expecting it to be brutal and already knew the region (we are originally from Northern California and have family here), the whole process has been even more trying than we had anticipated.

On the Peninsula, anything below $1.5m gets multiple offers unless it has serious issues or is far overpriced. You have to go in with an offer anywhere between 10% and 50% over asking to have a shot. If you have all cash, that's better but it's not a requirement as some people seem to think (waiving contingencies is very important to getting your offer accepted though). Out here the practice is sellers more often than not do an inspection ahead of time and if you want to do your own, do it before making the offer so you can waive the inspection contingency. Then consider waiving the loan and appraisal contingency if you can (it's up to you to determine if you are confident you'll get the loan, should you need one, can make up the difference if the home doesn't appraise, or are okay losing your deposit if financing falls through).

We lost a few houses to higher offers before getting an offer accepted. Each one we waived all contingencies, guaranteed 30 days close, and offered about 15% over asking. Now as awful as all this sounds, you have an advantage of a much higher combined income than we, or most buyers of $1m houses have. Is there a reason you are limiting yourself to this amount? Unless you have a lot of debt or expenses, I would strongly urge you to raise your budget. Over $1.5 is still a competitive market with a dearth of inventory, but it is not the all-out battlefront of the low million dollar range. Plus you could then consider homes in more desirable areas close to Brisbane (Burlingame would be at the top of my list for great schools and nice homes in a suburban environment not too far away, followed by Millbrae and the parts of San Bruno with good schools).

Needless to say, be sure you are really committed to doing this before buying a house. You'll want to be able to stay long enough to ride out any downturns in the market (and if anyone claims to know when the next will be, don't listen to them). Renting first is a very good idea so you can decide if it's really worthwhile while getting to know the area. Good luck on the move and welcome, apart from housing insanity, there really is a lot to like here!

[joejerryronnie]

Originally Posted by eastwestcoast

My wife and I recently relocated back to the area from the East Coast and just went through the same house-buying process you are considering at about that $1m price point. Although we came in expecting it to be brutal and already knew the region (we are originally from Northern California and have family here), the whole process has been even more trying than we had anticipated.

On the Peninsula, anything below $1.5m gets multiple offers unless it has serious issues or is far overpriced. You have to go in with an offer anywhere between 10% and 50% over asking to have a shot. If you have all cash, that's better but it's not a requirement as some people seem to think (waiving contingencies is very important to getting your offer accepted though). Out here the practice is sellers more often than not do an inspection ahead of time and if you want to do your own, do it before making the offer so you can waive the inspection contingency. Then consider waiving the loan and appraisal contingency if you can (it's up to you to determine if you are confident you'll get the loan, should you need one, can make up the difference if the home doesn't appraise, or are okay losing your deposit if financing falls through).

We lost a few houses to higher offers before getting an offer accepted. Each one we waived all contingencies, guaranteed 30 days close, and offered about 15% over asking. Now as awful as all this sounds, you have an advantage of a much higher combined income than we, or most buyers of $1m houses have. Is there a reason you are limiting yourself to this amount? Unless you have a lot of debt or expenses, I would strongly urge you to raise your budget. Over $1.5 is still a competitive market with a dearth of inventory, but it is not the all-out battlefront of the low million dollar range. Plus you could then consider homes in more desirable areas close to Brisbane (Burlingame would be at the top of my list for great schools and nice homes in a suburban environment not too far away, followed by Millbrae and the parts of San Bruno with good schools).

Needless to say, be sure you are really committed to doing this before buying a house. You'll want to be able to stay long enough to ride out any downturns in the market (and if anyone claims to know when the next will be, don't listen to them). Renting first is a very good idea so you can decide if it's really worthwhile while getting to know the area. Good luck on the move and welcome, apart from housing insanity, there really is a lot to like here!

Thanks for posting your recent experience! Most homeowners commenting here have probably bought years ago. While we may closely follow the housing markets, there's nothing like real world, battle hardened experience to provide the real flavor of what house hunting looks like here.