Opinion on Fairgrounds Neighborhood in San Jose - Please Help!!! (Orange: apartment complex, foreclosed)

[SickOfCalifornia]

My opinion is that you had better suck it up and come out here and see for yourself. Livermore is not for everyone. It isn't the scum-village of the fairgrounds, but I still wouldn't want to live there for other aesthetic reasons. You really need to book a weekend trip, a rental car with unlimited mileage, and start driving all around one weekend when the traffic is light. You can definitely see a lot in just a few days. Driving down a street is worth 1,000 posts in this forum.

[sb1981]

We Mr. SickOfCalifornia we are already in Bay Area since the past couple of weeks looking at homes and driving around. My idea that the purpose of this forum is that the senior members could give advice on the locations based on their experience.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by SickOfCalifornia

No, not a good area for kids, and definitely not a good part of town. You want to be West of Hwy 87, the farther the better. I would personally avoid anything between 87 and 101. Type "95125, San Jose" into Google Maps. Start there and head west or south. 87 is like a border to the "other side of town."

^^^^I second this and also what sonarrat have said. Now, I'll stick up for San Jose's bad areas by saying they are safer and more livable than bad areas in most large cities, but you still won't want to live there.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by sb1981

Thanks a lot for the prompt response everyone. Our price range is arnd 450-500k. We know its lower than the average price of homes in Bay Area. Can anyone please help us in determining which locations in bay area are good for this budget? Since both of us travel a lot for work, we are open to any places in bay area right from San Francisco to San Jose.

You're not going to do so hot in that price range unless you live on the outskirts of the Bay Area in places like Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Livermore, Antioch, etc.

Of the geographic area you mentioned, San Jose is actually the cheapest part. Prices go higher as you get closer to Palo Alto & San Francisco. If you want to be in a decent part of San Jose in that price range, you're probably looking at a townhouse/condo, or a major fixer upper.

[chrisnyce]

check zip code 95117 - you can also find affordable housing in the easy bay in cities such as fremont, union city and newark. I wouldn't go north of that unless you go east. And up the peninsula is more expensive.

I'm no senior member, but my wife and I just recently bought a condo - 2bd 900sq ft for $240k in a family oriented area of san jose zip 95117. Very convenient and safe. This would be considered West San Jose, but definately not the ritzy parts. There are some lower income, high density housing around but it's not dangerous at all.

[chrisnyce]

forgot to add - check this site. was real helpful when I was looking. MLSListings.com if you have a realtor on the job for you tell him or her to give you access to what the realtors can see on this site. you can search by zip code

[Ohs]

Don't buy a house until you have lived here at least a year. It would be a terrible mistake to buy somewhere that you ended up hating. Just rent until you have figured it out. There are tons of houses to rent. I live off of Tully 95122 and the area is not great, there are worse areas in San Jose and this one is just a few steps above. Also since the economy has gone down my apartment complex has become more "shady" and the new tenants moving in are not at the level of caring concerned tenants as before. The new tenants have a lot more kids, and are moving into two bedroom apartments with at least 4 kids and more. They are “lower class” when it comes to manners and respect for their neighbors. Walking around the area I have noticed more people hanging out on the corners and staring down people. I think that maybe with more unemployment and people losing houses there are a lot more “bored” & mischievous people hanging around. Also a lot of section 8 apartments and trailer parks going further down Tully closer to the fairgrounds with scary looking characters hanging around the stores asking for money.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by Ohs

Also since the economy has gone down my apartment complex has become more "shady" and the new tenants moving in are not at the level of caring concerned tenants as before. The new tenants have a lot more kids, and are moving into two bedroom apartments with at least 4 kids and more. They are “lower class” when it comes to manners and respect for their neighbors. Walking around the area I have noticed more people hanging out on the corners and staring down people. I think that maybe with more unemployment and people losing houses there are a lot more “bored” & mischievous people hanging around. Also a lot of section 8 apartments and trailer parks going further down Tully closer to the fairgrounds with scary looking characters hanging around the stores asking for money.

Or you could say: "We're going ghetto."

[iandw]

sb1981 - I've rented in Santa Clara for a year, having moved from the Washington, DC area in July 2009. I will echo Ohs' comment and highly recommend renting. Also, even though home prices have come down by a lot, renting is still cheaper. You can rent a 3 bedroom TH or SFH for under $2000/mo. in decent neighborhoods. I would recommend Santa Clara due to the very low electric utilities, excellent public library system, etc.

Have you used this Buy vs. Rent calculator (it's better than the simple ones offered on some sites)? Is It Better to Buy or Rent? - Interactive Graphic - NYTimes.com

I started using it when our 1-year lease was coming up, but the only way the numbers work out for buying is if you can get a place for around $400K or less! I've found that to be impossible here unless you start looking in East Bay like Newark, Fremont, Union City, and parts of Milpitas. There ARE 2-bedroom condos you can get in the $200s-300s in decent South Bay neighborhoods (again Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, west San Jose like 95128 or near Hwy 85 in Cambrian Park or Almaden Valley).

[moving2tracy]

Originally Posted by sb1981

Thanks a lot for the prompt response everyone. Our price range is arnd 450-500k. We know its lower than the average price of homes in Bay Area. Can anyone please help us in determining which locations in bay area are good for this budget? Since both of us travel a lot for work, we are open to any places in bay area right from San Francisco to San Jose.

We just moved to Tracy, about 60 miles north east of San Jose, bought a home there we love - here is a home for just $250,000 - newer construction. We love it there! We both still work in the South Bay and carpool together back and forth, so far it has been great. 2173 Cain Court, Tracy CA - Trulia