Owning a home in California (San Francisco, Oakland: rent, homes, neighborhood)

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by yeahthatguy

...
Yeah, so basically, i am one of a few younger generational middle class workers who isn't dumb enough to buy a house.. I've decided to move next year as i want to buy one then (my view of the market bottom and lowest rates) .. but Cali... IMO, come.. live.. enjoy it .. ride all the rides.. and gtfo before dark =P

Originally Posted by Bulldogdad

See the short sided stupidity here is that California and loan rates will never be cheaper. Buying a house now will net you a small fortune in 15 to 25 years. Sell then get out of the state if you want.

My current home is worth 2 1/2 times what I paid for it in 1998. That's even after the bubble burst. Plus after the refinancing I shaved about 100,000 off the original loan cost.

Buy low sell high its not that hard.

Think about the messages of the two posts ... if buying or not is about smart money ... uh ... if it's about other qualities of life, well, then obviously you follow your heart ...

[Bulldogdad]

To each his own. I have done very well in both real estate and other financial investments in California. I am cautious and not greedy. I zig when others zag and that strategy has paid well over the last 26 years.

The nice thing about my own house is that I am living in it while it appreciates. Fortunately for me being in the construction industry I am able to defray many of the costs associated with home ownership.However in my experience most costly repairs that negate the investment angle are do to poor maintenance procedures.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by Ceece

I'm confused. If she bought the house back in the 60's it's probably paid off now so why short-sell? The upkeep on any large home that old is going to be the same...

I'm confused, too. My parents bought one of their first homes in southern CA in 1960 for $20,000. I just looked it up on Zillow and its value is around $1.2 now. Of course by around 1969, those same houses were selling for about $60,000.

[Pennychaser11]

People always have been complaining about CA RE prices for decades. Just saying...

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by Bulldogdad

To each his own. I have done very well in both real estate and other financial investments in California. I am cautious and not greedy. I zig when others zag and that strategy has paid well over the last 26 years.

The nice thing about my own house is that I am living in it while it appreciates. Fortunately for me being in the construction industry I am able to defray many of the costs associated with home ownership.However in my experience most costly repairs that negate the investment angle are do to poor maintenance procedures.

Certainly ... and another reason for considering alternative living. What anybody needs thousands of sq. ft. of interior space for is beyond comprehension. A person can only occupy one space at a time -- yet tradition has it that we need dedicated study, rumpus room, dining room, guest room, sewing room ---------. Nobility of old lived that way because they had servants to do the work (and all the money to pay for them).

I can clean my box van in two shakes of a lamb's tail .... ("mmmmm, lamb" -- Homer Simpson) ... go to Les Schwab for my foundation maintenance work every few years , although lately I been buying used tires.

[Bulldogdad]

Originally Posted by nullgeo

Certainly ... and another reason for considering alternative living. What anybody needs thousands of sq. ft. of interior space for is beyond comprehension. A person can only occupy one space at a time -- yet tradition has it that we need dedicated study, rumpus room, dining room, guest room, sewing room ---------. Nobility of old lived that way because they had servants to do the work (and all the money to pay for them).

I can clean my box van in two shakes of a lamb's tail .... ("mmmmm, lamb" -- Homer Simpson) ... go to Les Schwab for my foundation maintenance work every few years , although lately I been buying used tires.

I like Les Schwab, I even have an account there but I can usually find tires cheaper when I need them elsewhere. You can't beat that service though. With five people living in one house we need a few thousand feet just to keep the peace. Well living in California our back and front yards add about 10,000 extra feet to the living area most of the year.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Sealtite

As for California, as lovely as this state is....it isn't lovely enough to cough up close to $1,000/square foot for a house.

As for Pennsylvania, as cheap as that state is....it isn't cheap enough to put up with snow and humidity and filthy cities and 17th century infrastructure.

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by Bulldogdad

I like Les Schwab, I even have an account there but I can usually find tires cheaper when I need them elsewhere. You can't beat that service though. With five people living in one house we need a few thousand feet just to keep the peace. Well living in California our back and front yards add about 10,000 extra feet to the living area most of the year.

Yeah, plug for Les alright ... great service commitment ... but I also have been buying tires elsewhere lately ... used ... guy up the mainland highway from my island property has a used battery and tire business that is out of control ... got a handful of Mexicans working for him too ... I suspect -- uh, well, nevermind all that ...

I had six to seven in my house for years ... there were us six chickens, plus on and off a foster ... most of those years we were at 1200 sq. ft. plus a double attic room for another useable (sorta) maybe 400 ft. Then I got all froggy and tore the roof off and built a real second story, so we had about 2400 ft. We were so used to living like gerbils it turned out to be mostly wasted space ... But now I reconverted the place to legal duplex plus two extra rooms rented ... three master suites ... all told I get four rents out of the old homestead after converting the partial basement as well. Like a tri-plex now, but not zoned so I have to handle as room rental without the extra kitchen installation.

When all four kids were wild indians my wife used to suggest we just pave the yard with slope to a center drain ... fence it in and throw the animals (I mean kids) outside all day ... toss them raw meat and hose it down evenings and lock them in the basement. The three boys were all hockey players so it seemed reasonable ... but the daughter is of course my darling and I couldn't do it to her.

[Vascodagama]

Originally Posted by Bulldogdad

See the short sided stupidity here is that California and loan rates will never be cheaper. Buying a house now will net you a small fortune in 15 to 25 years. Sell then get out of the state if you want.

My current home is worth 2 1/2 times what I paid for it in 1998. That's even after the bubble burst. Plus after the refinancing I shaved about 100,000 off the original loan cost.

Buy low sell high its not that hard.

I don't think buying a house right now in California will net you a small fortune in 15-25 years. Prices are still heading down and we won't see another artificial bubble anytime soon after millions of people just lost much wealth in real estate and millions in deep debt. I think prices will head near the prices 15 years ago due to the economy, foreclosures, people in debt and unoccupied homes.

[alexxiz]

Originally Posted by nullgeo

While much of what you write is true, there are wrinkles, exceptions and loopholes to exploit. I will not give away my trade secrets too much, forgive me ... ... I do very often sleep illegally ... but have never once been identified or asked to "move along" let alone arrested ... and I have been doing this for quite a lot of years ... including right in downtown San Francisco and other California cities. It is legal to live in mobile structures under various scenarios that include time you spend in a given location and where in various counties. You have to learn the game ... when to vacate a property and for how long ... whether to move the structure or not (often only you have to vacate) ... and what kind of facilities your abode contains and how you treat waste.

I will give you all one hint: you can spend as much time aboard your boat / vehicle as you want, including cooking and lounging as long as you don't continuously inhabit including sleeping the night through. And even at that, there are exceptions. Oh, and obviously, you can't endanger anyone's health and other nasties.

Aside from mobile structures, note I pasted a couple photos of little homes that were permanent. With some exceptions in some counties, and subject to CC& R's in developments, you are allowed to build/occupy a very very small home ... Say you went luxury at $200 a foot for a 400 sq.ft. home -- a size I would consider the Taj Mahal ... do the math (here, I'll do it for you $80,000 ... it can be done easily and very nicely for 1/2 that.)

About five years ago I built a very snappy, attractive, 500 sq. ft. cabin with all amenities for under $25,000 ... it is rented out now.

Well I saw log cabin kits being sold for about 35K total to build a 600 foot cabin (not including poured foundation) and yurts as well (more expensive)... my understanding was that they'd be required to have a permanent and poured foundation, not sure how the counties would react on those... because I don't see them being build in CA, though I guess if manufacturer arranges CA engineer stamp, it'd be fine.

Yes with trailer/van living, stealth is the most important I guess, either a trailer that's sitting inside acreage where they can't see it and a dirt road or stealthy van. If it's legally parked in some area where there're apartments and no signs of a person hanging around (cause they're sleeping inside), I guess no one would bother. Another issue is safety... I just saw a van in Santa Cruz with signs: BEWARE OF DOG