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Old 12-01-2015, 11:31 AM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
18,982 posts, read 32,644,089 times
Reputation: 13630

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck5000 View Post
sav858 - really? That is great for the poster. I'd bet you'd see them more in some towns than others. Which ones would those be? Lower middle class areas of San Ramon, Concord, etc? If there are enough of them they might be rentable, if they are legal.

Also, there are the illegal conversions, maybe they could find one of those to purchase. I'm guessing it would be harder to rent one of these, but I could be wrong. A local real estate agent might be of help finding these, as they can't be advertised, right?
I usually browse real estate in the Concord, Mtz, PH, WC, and Lamorinda areas so I remember coming across some here and there. Not sure on San Ramon.

I did a quick search and this is what came up as be sold in the last 3 months:
Concord:
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Concord/13...21/home/696768

https://www.redfin.com/CA/Concord/37...9/home/1509465

Walnut Creek, sold for $1.15:
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Walnut-Cre...6/home/1069298
Inkswitch Photo Tour

Currently For Sale:
PH:
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Pleasant-H...3/home/1047492


I was trying to find this really nice, older looking one with a separate cottage I saw for sale in Concord a few months back but I can't. Concord is no Walnut Creek but its definitely affordable though. As you can see you can find options for under $1.3million and even under $1 million in the area.
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Old 12-01-2015, 11:47 AM
 
8 posts, read 6,340 times
Reputation: 10
Thank you all for the feedback! Just to flesh out a couple things: So my mom is actually on the "younger g-ma" side ;-) Mid-50s & is def nowhere near ready for a retirement community. She's active, likes yoga, biking, hiking & has an older dog. So the retirement route is out (for now, haha.)

Last x-Mas we drove around WC & we all really liked it (as many people do apparently.) My husband is on a great trajectory w/work, but currently not near that $200k mark. He's also in grad school @ Golden Gate University, but just online for now (long term goal his work is covering.) He works in accounting for a private family office in the Presidio (private wealth) & has a great gig, as they're the ones that brought us out her from Chicago almost 2 yrs ago.

We currently live in The Mission, but now that our rent is getting jacked up to $5k in the spring, we really need to consider the big picture. We also have a dog & 1 car & my dying wish is for our dog to have a yard someday (even if just a sliver) & that ain't gonna happen in SF. Also, we like hot/sunny weather. Besides the obvious allure of the schools & amenities of East Bay, the WEATHER is what really does it.

Yes, my husbands commute will take getting use to, but in time he'd like to negotiate a WFH day once a week & he's a morning person & will head out at the crack of dawn. Also, to touch on 1 poster who mentioned how realistic is it we'd see my mom more than a few times a month... It's quite the opposite; def looking at just about everyday, or at least 4 days a week kinda thing. I wouldn't move my single momma out here & tell her I'd see her seasonally ;-) So she's a big factor in all this!

Unfortunately we're maybe a couple years out before we can buy & we'd for sure need 4BR/2.5BA kinda thing. (Or smaller w/MIL suite is just fine too, which sounds like you need to hunt for that.) There's potential to borrow an interest free loan from the family my husband works for, as he could work out loan reimbursement terms w/them. Not a guarantee, but it wouldn't be the 1st time they've done it for a loyal employee actually (but it's still a ways out.)

So b/c my mom is just SO over Michigan, she's ready to make the effort to figure out options out here. Ultimately, us BUYING & her living with or building some sort of MIL suite is a definite long term goal, but is a couple years away. I'm wondering about short term living arrangements I suppose. I believe my husband & I could swing WC, but thinking maybe the southeast portion of Martinez or something like that would be the best short term option for my mom til we meet our greater goal. I just want her to be safe & happy & close-ish to us! Perhaps Concord is another viable option like some of you mentioned.... Thanks so much for feedback!
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Old 12-01-2015, 11:53 AM
 
8 posts, read 6,340 times
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Thank you for these...checking out. Good to have sample ideas of what to consider, sav858.
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Old 12-01-2015, 12:32 PM
 
Location: New York City
675 posts, read 1,190,116 times
Reputation: 544
Quote:
Originally Posted by LeavinOnAJetPlane View Post
Usually need $500,000 AT LEAST for the decent retirement places.. THe low income ones have years of waiting list.
Not true at all ($500k), I've seen reasonable prices all over WC, even in Rossmoor. HOAs are very high in Rossmoor, but I get listings everyday merritt.buyselleastbay.com, and the condos are usually 250k to 300k. Depending where they are, the HOA fees are ridiculously high ($600-$850 a month). Usually the ones in 94595 (Rossmoor) zip code are lower priced, but higher HOAs.
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Old 12-01-2015, 11:45 PM
 
Location: Living rent free in your head
42,847 posts, read 26,259,081 times
Reputation: 34056
If MIL is 55, here's an apartment in Martinez for $1350, MARTINEZ - SENIORS 55+

Pleasant Hill $1399 1X1 Great Location!

Triplex for sale in Martinez but God only knows what the "duplex" looks like: https://www.redfin.com/city/11767/CA...t=sanfrancisco

Duplex in Benicia https://www.redfin.com/CA/Benicia/54...0/home/2378434

Vallejo with separate apt. https://www.redfin.com/CA/Vallejo/Un...0/home/2232236

Crockett tri-plex https://www.redfin.com/CA/Crockett/1...5/home/1039560
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Old 12-02-2015, 09:11 AM
 
520 posts, read 611,293 times
Reputation: 753
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2sleepy View Post
If MIL is 55, here's an apartment in Martinez for $1350, MARTINEZ - SENIORS 55+

Pleasant Hill $1399 1X1 Great Location!

Triplex for sale in Martinez but God only knows what the "duplex" looks like: https://www.redfin.com/city/11767/CA...t=sanfrancisco

Duplex in Benicia https://www.redfin.com/CA/Benicia/54...0/home/2378434

Vallejo with separate apt. https://www.redfin.com/CA/Vallejo/Un...0/home/2232236

Crockett tri-plex https://www.redfin.com/CA/Crockett/1...5/home/1039560
Wow, Vallejo is a bargain. I understand why and the city's problems, but that's a cool house. I also like the Crockett house and the Martinez house's location near downtown. Not sure any of these are good fits for OP, but good finds.
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Old 12-02-2015, 09:23 AM
 
Location: Living rent free in your head
42,847 posts, read 26,259,081 times
Reputation: 34056
Quote:
Originally Posted by smashystyle View Post
Wow, Vallejo is a bargain. I understand why and the city's problems, but that's a cool house. I also like the Crockett house and the Martinez house's location near downtown. Not sure any of these are good fits for OP, but good finds.
No address for the Vallejo house but my guess is that it's either in the heritage district or St. Vincent's Hill- both are good areas. If you ever decide to look in Vallejo message me and I will give you contact info for a really good realtor. Vallejo's still a bargain but prices have gone up a lot in the past two years. Martinez is a good option for a SF commuter because it's only a few miles from BART and is a very safe family friendly little town. It's cheaper than most of the bay area, but has a relatively small housing inventory- if you are interested in Martinez you might want to contact a local realtor and have them watch for new listings, most of the better homes in Martinez sell before they ever hit the MLS. I love Crockett, the weather is perfect and housing is relatively cheap. Benicia is another option, very safe friendly town but houses sell fast there and are going up quicker than the other areas I mentioned.
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Old 12-02-2015, 11:54 AM
 
520 posts, read 611,293 times
Reputation: 753
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2sleepy View Post
No address for the Vallejo house but my guess is that it's either in the heritage district or St. Vincent's Hill- both are good areas. If you ever decide to look in Vallejo message me and I will give you contact info for a really good realtor. Vallejo's still a bargain but prices have gone up a lot in the past two years. Martinez is a good option for a SF commuter because it's only a few miles from BART and is a very safe family friendly little town. It's cheaper than most of the bay area, but has a relatively small housing inventory- if you are interested in Martinez you might want to contact a local realtor and have them watch for new listings, most of the better homes in Martinez sell before they ever hit the MLS. I love Crockett, the weather is perfect and housing is relatively cheap. Benicia is another option, very safe friendly town but houses sell fast there and are going up quicker than the other areas I mentioned.
Thanks for the offer. I'm not looking for a place, but I appreciate and agree with a lot of your recommendations on the forum. It shows that it's not impossible for people to find an MIL unit for less than $1.3 million, if anyone believed that in the first place! Crockett's one of my favorite towns too and I like Martinez a lot as well. I don't know Solano County as well, but know people who have lived in both Benicia and Vallejo and liked them.
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Old 12-02-2015, 03:28 PM
 
Location: Palo Alto, CA
901 posts, read 1,167,720 times
Reputation: 1169
Why I said 1.3m - I just don't consider that commute (martinez, benicia, etc) to be adequate (far too long) for a parent with a family, that was part of my reasoning. It's well over 60 minutes door to door. Secondary reasons are that it's not commutable to San Mateo or Santa Clara counties.
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Old 12-02-2015, 04:03 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
18,982 posts, read 32,644,089 times
Reputation: 13630
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck5000 View Post
Why I said 1.3m - I just don't consider that commute (martinez, benicia, etc) to be adequate (far too long) for a parent with a family, that was part of my reasoning. It's well over 60 minutes door to door. Secondary reasons are that it's not commutable to San Mateo or Santa Clara counties.
Concord, PH, and Walnut Creek are 60 min door to door or less. Mtz is still pretty close and not really "well over". LOTS of people from Central Contra Costa County commute and take BART, it's pretty common for parents and has been since BART first opened so it's not really considered some extreme commute . You constantly bring up the commute to Silicon Valley, I think some of you don't realize how many people don't work in tech or want to and don't need to be within commutable distance to that region. SF and the rest of the East Bay provide a big enough job market as it is.
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