Is this a good situation (and time) to buy a house in Walnut Creek?

[likealady]

If it fits your needs I would say go for it. 1100 sq ft isn't much though, so if you're interested in growing your family you might want more space. You can still have a good time while living frugally. We're about 1.5 yrs in from rebuilding our nest egg and it hasn't been much different lifestyle-wise (probably because we were already doing so to save for a home).

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by irishman_irl

We have been saving hard for years & live very frugally (don't go out to bars / restaurants much, share one 18 year old car & our furniture is basically scrap-grade etc..), boring life but we prefer to have the security of savings.

I am a renter, but I am similar as far as frugality goes. I'm living it up a little this year, but that's after over a decade of saving somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 of my (modest, non-tech) gross salary. I really don't think being frugal for a year or two is a big deal and should be expected.

Originally Posted by irishman_irl

I work in tech so figure that the bay area will be one of the best places to be even if a recession hits & a good place to own a house long term, but really hoping that the economy can hang in there for a few more years, allowing us to build up a little more financial padding if we do purchase.

I have a love/hate relationship with the Bay Area economy. There's never enough housing, even in bad times, and then the economy grows, and the housing situation gets worse. The economy contracts and that's it's own obvious set of problems. It's a catch-22 here no matter what because of the high COL. You can't just pick up any old job when the economy is down. The low paying jobs often aren't worth taking because they don't come close to meeting the rent/mortgage payment, let alone other living expenses.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

I would not buy the house. The problem is the HOA. That is a cost that is forever unknown. And it shouldn't cost you $1,000 more per month to buy than to rent.

Have you looked at buying in Concord? I had family who lived there, and there are a lot of decent neighborhoods in Concord. And without HOA fees.

You really have to think about what if one of you loses your job. $3600/month in house costs, not including any maintenance problems that will be yours going forward, is too much. You already know that you can't rent it for your monthly costs, so you wouldn't have the option of renting it out and covering your costs, while you move somewhere cheaper, if one of you loses your job.

And with a HOA in your life, you will have control freaks in your life telling you what you can plant in your front yard, etc. You also need to find out if renting out your home is even an option. And the rules can change. And what if the HOA board members mismanage the funds and now can't afford to replace roofs when they need it? Or they can't agree on who to hire to replace roofs? Believe me, HOA board meetings are a joke. The only requirement to be on one is to be an owner. They don't need to know anything about finance or property management or how to hire contractors, etc. They usually get on the board because of some personal agenda like dog poop on lawns or people planting tomatoes on their porch, etc. Or they're control freaks and want to become the plant nazi who knocks on your door telling you what you can and can't plant in your yard, etc.

If you had better numbers, you could maybe justify dealing with a HOA, but I don't see it in this case.

That's a good point about the HOA. I really think it depends. Not all HOAs are evil. But, as you said, my biggest concern would actually be how well managed their finances are. A lot of HOAs don't manage the finances well.