Union City and Hayward (San Leandro, Redwood City: for sale, apartment, foreclosure)

[cardinal2007]

I'm not really that familiar with the East Bay cities of Union City and Hayward, but given the condo prices there I've been thinking about maybe moving there. Does anyone know what areas have high crime? Are there any areas that should be avoided?

Particularly how is the area around CSU - East Bay?

What about the area just south of Alvarado Niles and Decoto?

I work on the peninsula in Redwood Shores, currently live in Belmont, so my commute is short. Does anyone know how long the commute to Redwood Shores is from these places?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

[sonarrat]

I've thought about the same thing. Yes, you can buy an entry-level condo in San Leandro or Hayward and pay the same as you spend renting in Belmont. No, it is not worth it. It's an industrial wasteland out there, and you'll find yourself stuck upside-down in an unenjoyable property. If you're going to go cheap, get a cheap house in a "bad" part of San Bruno or Redwood City. It'll still be better.

[cardinal2007]

One thing that it has going for it is a non-insane rent to buy ratio. For example compare:
4936 Lowry Rd, Union City, CA 94587 - Property Details.
To:
Beautiful 2 bd, 1.5 ba, Townhouse for Rent Quiet Area of Union City (broken link)

The good townhouse costs 177 times the monthly rent of the crappy townhouse. My calculations suggest 180 is a good number in these calculations (for similar properties, the crappy townhouse would need a lot of work here).

That is a lot better than here in Belmont were people think they can put 1bd condos up for sale at 246/250 times monthly rent which to me sounds insane, anyone with half a brain would say no and rent, save the difference and put it to purchase a nicer property in the future, skip the owning a 1bd condo which is just a glorified apartment anyway. In my opinion these people are dilusional btw, thinking they can get tax free $55k for owning a property 3.5 years, on a property they bought for ~315k.

San Bruno has decent condos for sale but still a little (5-10%) overpriced for me, but nowhere are there SFHs for sale for a decent price on the peninsula side, I only have a 5 figure income, so more than 340k is asking for me to be foreclosed on in the future.

I'm in no rush btw, while I do see the cap increase on Fannie Mae pushing rates up while the masses refinance, it is only for 1 year, I do see more foreclosure this year, and a few next year. I have no clue what is going to happen with these Option ARMs though. Either way I don't plan on having a family, and a 2 bd seems fine to me, 3 would be better though.

[Don Vito]

Union City is really nice,its a buffer zone city. Union city is the transition from post industrial hayward to suburban fremont.