Buying a house in East Oakland

[Shelacious]

Originally Posted by seekinghappiness2018

I'm going to take the great advice of the folks here and actually visit the area next week. I've got an AirBnb near the Fruitvale area and will take a drive down international all the way to San Leandro (along the proposed BRT line) to get a feel for the neighborhoods along the main trunk. I'll report back on what I decide to do.

Ummmmmm....

I would suggest that you ALSO drive along the MacArthur corridor if you want to get a gauge on East Oakland neighborhoods. The International corridor is...still developing. The upside is that generally the neighborhoods around the International corridor will gentrify more slowly than those within range of the MacArthur corridor.

[Tallysmom]

By the way, I got three of those “I want to buy your house for cash!” calls yesterday alone. Three different voices, companies and scripts.

“You’re the top! You’re the Coliseum!...” or you’re Oakland real estate.

Saying that... we also bought at the near top of the market, with 5% down and 15% owner carry back. Still the best financial decision we could have made.

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by Tallysmom

By the way, I got three of those “I want to buy your house for cash!” calls yesterday alone. Three different voices, companies and scripts.

“You’re the top! You’re the Coliseum!...” or you’re Oakland real estate.

Saying that... we also bought at the near top of the market, with 5% down and 15% owner carry back. Still the best financial decision we could have made.

[Ultrarunner]

Yep... you know when the calls accelerate the market has peaked... at least in my neighborhood.

[CityGuy88]

Originally Posted by Tallysmom

By the way, I got three of those “I want to buy your house for cash!” calls yesterday alone. Three different voices, companies and scripts.

“You’re the top! You’re the Coliseum!...” or you’re Oakland real estate.

Saying that... we also bought at the near top of the market, with 5% down and 15% owner carry back. Still the best financial decision we could have made.

Yeah, I suspect many East Oakland residents are getting calls like that, especially with the new AC Transit BRT line under construction on International, and the A's recent announcement that they are trying to purchase the entire Coliseum and the land under it to, no doubt, build an urban village around a new ballpark. The good news though is there has been more and more education for the community on not taking the bait, so to speak, which will hopefully encourage homeowners to make informed decisions before selling at the first offer (or before selling at all).

[Ultrarunner]

Not a day goes by without an unsolicited call or letter seeking to buy...

I have the perfect solution and that is to refer them to my Real Estate Broker brother... that generally ends the call fast.

What has happened is homes that were 60-100k in 2012 are now pushing 400k... simple as that.

[nowhereman427]

The BARF transit system is a proven system that has failed with justification of the firing of all current
personnel and taken over pending an audit on all the money that has been laundered through their system.
This agency needs to be broken up as it is a main contributor to crime and blight.

[Larry Siegel]

Oakland has a lot of gentrifying areas that are, while not exactly affordable, attractive to young buyers with a little money. Rockridge is not one of them - it's as established as an urban neighborhood gets, and was established 39 years ago when I last lived near there.

Take the locals' advice on Seminary. Millsmont is pretty. You will more or less have to be south of 580 unless you're planning to spend more than a million dollars.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by seekinghappiness2018

Fair point, on one side of the coin, gentrification creates wealth, better & safer neighborhoods which attracts more residents and commercial activity that benefits everybody. It also increase housing prices so that existing residents who choose to sell can cash in on their rapidly appreciating equity.

However, on the other side of the coins, displacement and housing affordability are both real issues that impacts middle and lower income residents deeply. However I think the rent control laws in areas like Oakland will ensure housing affordability for existing residents for many years to come.

The real solution lies in building more housing, which the Bay area is unable or unwilling to do (see the most recent defeat of SB827) so the wave of gentrification continues.

I'm going to take the great advice of the folks here and actually visit the area next week. I've got an AirBnb near the Fruitvale area and will take a drive down international all the way to San Leandro (along the proposed BRT line) to get a feel for the neighborhoods along the main trunk. I'll report back on what I decide to do.

Love all the discussion, sharing of experiences and thoughts by everyone here. I really appreciate all of the insights.

Well, Seeking, any updates? Would love to hear your opinion.

[sserna1982]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

I believe in living close to work...

Living in East Oakland has my "Commute" under 10 minutes... where as many of my co-workers spend hours in their cars to and from work.

The odd thing is they all at one time lived very close to work and it was their choice to move to Tracy, Mountain House, Livermore, Brentwood, Fairfield, etc...

The desire to own a never before lived in brand new home superseded having a short commute... within 2 to 3 years max they could no longer do it...

The wild card is should there be any trouble on the freeway... they end up late or very late and stressed arriving.

Geographically... Oakland really has a lot to offer for many that commute

So true! I live so close to Coliseum Amtrak and BART that I just Lyft to and from rather than drive and park.