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Old 03-22-2009, 07:15 PM
 
Location: San Jose, CA
7,688 posts, read 29,052,085 times
Reputation: 3629

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord Lionheart View Post
LOL thanks to both of you for your helpful input. Essentially one of you recommended the towns I questioned in my OP without supplying any helpful details on those cities. The other clown suggested Richmond which is neither a good town or contains good schools, with the added bonus of a few snotty remarks thrown in for good measure.
I really appreciate the helpful advice and friendly comments
What do you expect when you're asking for something that doesn't exist? If there was a safe family area within an hour of SF where houses were $150,000, flippers would turn it into a $600,000 neighborhood within weeks (and they did). It would certainly be nice if such an area were attainable to a first-time buyer. It may be again in a few years, though for that to happen, it would come at a severe and crippling cost to every current homeowner.

Last edited by sonarrat; 03-22-2009 at 07:24 PM..
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Old 03-22-2009, 08:41 PM
 
58 posts, read 228,596 times
Reputation: 37
Quote:
Originally Posted by sonarrat View Post
What do you expect when you're asking for something that doesn't exist? If there was a safe family area within an hour of SF where houses were $150,000, flippers would turn it into a $600,000 neighborhood within weeks (and they did). It would certainly be nice if such an area were attainable to a first-time buyer. It may be again in a few years, though for that to happen, it would come at a severe and crippling cost to every current homeowner.
I hope for alternative recommendations rather than snotty, smart arse and condescending comments. The "bay area" was used as a reference point for a large geographical area, I also prefaced my questions with doubt that such a neighborhood or one close might exist within that range more in hope than expectation. You offered some sarcastic responses rather than offer real alternatives or choose to not bother to post at all. Hopefully you'll seek advice on another internet forum in the future and will receive a similar response. Have a nice day
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Old 03-22-2009, 09:47 PM
 
Location: San Jose, CA
7,688 posts, read 29,052,085 times
Reputation: 3629
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord Lionheart View Post
I hope for alternative recommendations rather than snotty, smart arse and condescending comments. The "bay area" was used as a reference point for a large geographical area, I also prefaced my questions with doubt that such a neighborhood or one close might exist within that range more in hope than expectation. You offered some sarcastic responses rather than offer real alternatives or choose to not bother to post at all. Hopefully you'll seek advice on another internet forum in the future and will receive a similar response. Have a nice day
I don't know, maybe I need a break from this forum. Your budget is about the same as mine would be.. I'd love to own a home too. I'd be happy just to be able to afford a home anywhere here. $150K won't even get me a fixer in the worst blocks of East San Jose. So you can imagine that having to compete with outsiders willing to pay $150K to commute 2 hours.. I can't blame you, but it's frustrating as a long-time Californian.

Anyway, enough of my carping. My honest opinion is that I don't really like any of the alternatives in that price range, either. Brentwood is easily the best of the bunch, but the only houses you're going to find in that price range will have HOA dues and probably crippling assessments as well. If you can afford Livermore, certainly go for it, it's a nice town. But looking at the MLS, I don't see any single-family homes there under $170K, not even the shacks out in Deliverance (Mines Rd).
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Old 03-22-2009, 11:47 PM
 
Location: Bay Area
3,981 posts, read 8,950,394 times
Reputation: 4723
Yeah, I seriously doubt you can find everything you're looking for with a 150k budget..unless it's perhaps in a city with a bad reputation (like people suggested)..or perhaps the Central Valley might be another option (past Gilroy). I don't think people are trying to give you a hard time, but you're not anywhere being realistic with your price range here. People here drive cars that cost 150k..(maybe this is an option and you can just live in whatever nice community you decide to park in..just kidding, trying to be funny, not condescending)
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Old 03-23-2009, 12:09 AM
 
Location: ABQ
3,771 posts, read 7,057,847 times
Reputation: 4893
I'm feeling bored and helpful. I'm prefacing my comments by saying that everyone that's given you advice isn't wrong. You seem to want to attack them but everything they're saying is absolutely true and I don't think they've been snappy at all. I would say that probably you're disappointed and I can understand that. It's frustrating out here sometimes, but here's some of my ideas:

Have you tried cities like Vacaville, or Fairfield? You're about an hour outside of SF/Oakland and while you won't find houses in awesome neighborhoods for 150k, you might not have to go too far outside that range to find something decent.

Myself, I'm looking to purchase a lower-end condo in a nice neighborhood. I know that's not your thing, but I can tell you the prices on that. In Vacaville, I found a lower-end condo in a really nice neighborhood for 100,000 and Fairfield, a really nice condo in a really nice area for the same price. In Alameda, the price becomes 250,000 and in Davis - 200,000.

Other areas I've seen with cheaper real estate were Fremont, Hayward, Antioch, and Oakley. With Fremont and Hayward though, it was with condos and with the latter two -- they are really far out to the East and with Antioch, I've read that it's started to go downhill.

You're going to have to make a choice though -- do you want to spend 150k and live in a ghetto, do you want to spend 150k and buy a condo and live in a nice area, or are you going to increase the amount you're willing to pay?

For me, the condo made sense because I don't have kids and I wanted to get something for my money. I also like the option of more easily being able to rent it out. Anyway, hope I provided an ounce of insight that was new or different for you.

Good luck.
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Old 03-23-2009, 12:16 AM
 
58 posts, read 228,596 times
Reputation: 37
Quote:
Originally Posted by sonarrat View Post
I don't know, maybe I need a break from this forum. Your budget is about the same as mine would be.. I'd love to own a home too. I'd be happy just to be able to afford a home anywhere here. $150K won't even get me a fixer in the worst blocks of East San Jose. So you can imagine that having to compete with outsiders willing to pay $150K to commute 2 hours.. I can't blame you, but it's frustrating as a long-time Californian.

Anyway, enough of my carping. My honest opinion is that I don't really like any of the alternatives in that price range, either. Brentwood is easily the best of the bunch, but the only houses you're going to find in that price range will have HOA dues and probably crippling assessments as well. If you can afford Livermore, certainly go for it, it's a nice town. But looking at the MLS, I don't see any single-family homes there under $170K, not even the shacks out in Deliverance (Mines Rd).
Appreciate your final comments. $150K would be a cash price to simplify my life without taking on a mortgage. I'm not familiar with the area and am testing the water compared to where I live now (L.A).

Quote:
Originally Posted by clongirl View Post
Yeah, I seriously doubt you can find everything you're looking for with a 150k budget..unless it's perhaps in a city with a bad reputation (like people suggested)..or perhaps the Central Valley might be another option (past Gilroy). I don't think people are trying to give you a hard time, but you're not anywhere being realistic with your price range here. People here drive cars that cost 150k..(maybe this is an option and you can just live in whatever nice community you decide to park in..just kidding, trying to be funny, not condescending)
I seriously doubted it too but I am not familiar with the area or commute time from the areas outlined in my original post. I wonder which city drives the most expensive cars per capita , L.A or S.F. There's plenty of Bentleys, Ferraris and BMWs driven where I live ( Santa Monica) but owning a property is equally unrealistic around here
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Old 03-23-2009, 12:46 AM
 
Location: San Jose, CA
7,688 posts, read 29,052,085 times
Reputation: 3629
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord Lionheart View Post
Appreciate your final comments. $150K would be a cash price to simplify my life without taking on a mortgage. I'm not familiar with the area and am testing the water compared to where I live now (L.A).
Pretty similar story. Think of the Antioch/Brentwood/Pittsburg area as equivalent to the Inland Empire (though with a delta), Tracy/Stockton as roughly equivalent to Bakersfield. That's basically what you're looking at. Livermore would be equivalent to Valencia in topography, climate, school quality, and in seeming really far away without actually being that far away.

Quote:
I seriously doubted it too but I am not familiar with the area or commute time from the areas outlined in my original post. I wonder which city drives the most expensive cars per capita , L.A or S.F. There's plenty of Bentleys, Ferraris and BMWs driven where I live ( Santa Monica) but owning a property is equally unrealistic around here
For sure, Santa Monica has more fancy cars than anywhere here. Our millionaires tend to be more understated and are as likely to drive a Prius as a Benz.
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Old 03-23-2009, 12:55 AM
 
655 posts, read 1,975,422 times
Reputation: 375
This changes the game, actually. If you have cash on hand, you can go to foreclosure auctions and try to buy a home that way. You'll want to do very, VERY good research beforehand to be sure you know your neighborhoods, but there are certainly deals to be had---and not too many buyers given the cash requirements. I have friends who bought a home that way for about half what it would have gone for on the open market, and recently I heard of a single-family home near Oakland's Piedmont Avenue a block from the Piedmont border (considered a trendy, desirable neighborhood) that sold for only $40K because it was at auction. (It needed some work, yes, but nothing near what they're now flipping it for, in the $600K+ range.) Right time, right place, so to speak. It's a lot more footwork, but it might be worthwhile to get the price you want. (Be prepared for fixers, but at least then you can do work over time as money is available.) Good luck.
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Old 03-23-2009, 08:48 AM
 
58 posts, read 228,596 times
Reputation: 37
Quote:
Originally Posted by sonarrat View Post
Pretty similar story. Think of the Antioch/Brentwood/Pittsburg area as equivalent to the Inland Empire (though with a delta), Tracy/Stockton as roughly equivalent to Bakersfield. That's basically what you're looking at. Livermore would be equivalent to Valencia in topography, climate, school quality, and in seeming really far away without actually being that far away.

.
Thanks for the help. That puts it it terms I can relate to comparing these areas to L.A towns I am familiar with.

Quote:
Originally Posted by artemis78 View Post
This changes the game, actually. If you have cash on hand, you can go to foreclosure auctions and try to buy a home that way. You'll want to do very, VERY good research beforehand to be sure you know your neighborhoods, but there are certainly deals to be had---and not too many buyers given the cash requirements. I have friends who bought a home that way for about half what it would have gone for on the open market, and recently I heard of a single-family home near Oakland's Piedmont Avenue a block from the Piedmont border (considered a trendy, desirable neighborhood) that sold for only $40K because it was at auction. (It needed some work, yes, but nothing near what they're now flipping it for, in the $600K+ range.) Right time, right place, so to speak. It's a lot more footwork, but it might be worthwhile to get the price you want. (Be prepared for fixers, but at least then you can do work over time as money is available.) Good luck.
I've tried some preliminary auction research. You are mostly confronted with a barrage of websites wanting you to sign up for their 'service' and access to information on all the deals and addresses, I was sceptical about which service to look at and if they actually provide any info worth looking at or are just after easy fee money. I guess I need to dig a little deeper, any suggestions?
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Old 03-23-2009, 12:29 PM
 
Location: Northern California
3,719 posts, read 14,671,024 times
Reputation: 1962
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord Lionheart View Post
LOL thanks to both of you for your helpful input. Essentially one of you recommended the towns I questioned in my OP without supplying any helpful details on those cities. The other clown suggested Richmond which is neither a good town or contains good schools, with the added bonus of a few snotty remarks thrown in for good measure.
I really appreciate the helpful advice and friendly comments
Tracy, Brentwood and Livermore are all nice towns with no big crime issues that I have heard of. I know nothing about the schools. Out of the three, I would go with Livermore. The problem is that they're far out from San Francisco and the commute into the Bay Area can be awful most of the time.

I don't care much for Antioch and Pittsburg - too many sketchy neighborhoods. As for Discovery Bay, it's a developement built out in the middle of no where. There is a small strip mall with a supermarket nearby and that's it. I don't know where the nearest school would be, but schools and shopping and anything else would be several miles away.

As someone else posted, Vacaville and Fairfield are also possible choices.
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