how do thugs afford to live in San Jose? (foreclosure, homes)

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

My uncle and his wife had this bright idea that they would rent a place and work till retirement and then move to some cheaper area to live. His job was in San Jose and they watched as prices increased to the point that a home they could have purchased in the early 1970's was way out of reach for them in the late 90's. In late 1990's they ended up buying a home that was more than an hour away. Not that they were thugs or anything. LOL Just always thought it was interesting. If they would have bought in the early 70's they would have paid off that home and could have sold it, retired early and move to that cheaper state some where else. LOL

It really depends, though, If they had rented a modest apartment and put the difference toward savings/investments in stocks & bonds, they could also have made out ok. The problem renters have is they don't take the difference between rent/mortgage and put it toward investments. They just spend whatever difference they have on other stuff.

[Zeya]

I've always heard people say that it's the "prop 13" thing and also that there are multi-generational families living together in one home. I can't really speak to what "thugs" do. But as for affording real estate, this is how. If you're wondering, prop 13 (now a law of course) is about how much your property tax can go up per year, kind of like rent control for property tax. So if a house has been in a multi-generational family since 1980, they're paying way less in property taxes than a new home buyer next door today. Also, the house might be paid off or they have a low balance on their mortgage because they bought years ago.

But on an emotional note, I think of this all the time too. It was all I could do to pull together 8% down for my house on an FHA loan, in just an "okay" area. And then to see people in the neighborhood trashing up their property like they do? That's frustrating to see when some of us work so hard to live here.

[coldPlay]

Originally Posted by Zeya

I've always heard people say that it's the "prop 13" thing and also that there are multi-generational families living together in one home. I can't really speak to what "thugs" do. But as for affording real estate, this is how. If you're wondering, prop 13 (now a law of course) is about how much your property tax can go up per year, kind of like rent control for property tax. So if a house has been in a multi-generational family since 1980, they're paying way less in property taxes than a new home buyer next door today. Also, the house might be paid off or they have a low balance on their mortgage because they bought years ago.

But on an emotional note, I think of this all the time too. It was all I could do to pull together 8% down for my house on an FHA loan, in just an "okay" area. And then to see people in the neighborhood trashing up their property like they do? That's frustrating to see when some of us work so hard to live here.

yeah, I hear you. I owed only 60 Gs on my 1950's 1200 SqrFt home, put it up on the market and wow, one morning, a drive-by and gang graffiti on the garage of my neighbor, and my property value plummeted. Okay, it was a pretty significant event that was in the news, so that didn't help, but nevertheless, my profit took a huge hit on selling the place. When do the honest law abiding citizens say NO MORE?

At any rate, I think Prop 13 is really the only tax break Californians get anymore. They seem to tax the H out of the citizens of CA. So glad it is still worth buying property in CA, in spite of the thugs that rule our urban areas. that still sucks though.

IMO, it's really not worth buying a home anymore when one something so trivial can ruin one's investment. I guess the key is to not look at buying a home as an investment.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by coldPlay

IMO, it's really not worth buying a home anymore when one something so trivial can ruin one's investment. I guess the key is to not look at buying a home as an investment.

Or invest in a safer neighborhood.

[EvilCookie]

We just moved to the Bay area, Sunnyvale, from Canada for husband's new job and I've spent the last month thinking the exact same thing. We're from Vancouver, which is an extremely expensive city, but the populace definitely reflects it - the better suburbs are mostly middle and upper class families, educated, professional, extremely safe and very little crime. We've decided to rent for now, and in spite of the real estate prices being very high (similar to silicon valley but with much lower average salaries in IT at least), we were shocked to see that the rent here is over twice of what we would pay for similar property in Vancouver. Based on that however, we assumed prior to coming here that that level of cost of living would mean a solidly middle-upper class population, we were expecting it to be mainly all young professional families working in the area. Well after moving I was shocked to see how many more thugs and trashy types I see around every day than I ever did in Vancouver - and this is in what is supposed to be an expensive, safe, fairly affluent area! I'd be scared to think of what a 'bad' neighbourhood would be like! The rent we're paying is expensive for us, with DH working at an intermediate level for one of the world's most prominent companies! Without sounding like a snob, I'm looking at some of the families around and wondering how in the world can they afford to live here??

[coldPlay]

I wonder what riding the public rail from the SFO to downtown SJ is like. I bet that's a load of fun.

I've not taken public transportation there in the Bay area or SF (aside from a taxi and once a trolley). NY is actually not as bad as Dallas - shocking. But apparently Dallas has become so bad they now have security on every line and cameras in the rail cars and cameras are present at most every station. Regardless, Dallas is the worse I've seen as for public transportation patrons. There's at least one confrontational person on every car. They stare at you and use profanity, or claim a space like it's their own to discuss the day's plans on their cell phones. I hate that because it usually consists of BS and all for the show. Although the system is outstanding, it's the riders that make it most memorable. How is it in SJ?

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by coldPlay

I wonder what riding the public rail from the SFO to downtown SJ is like. I bet that's a load of fun.

Actually, CalTrain is quite cool. Quite safe. Giants fans pack that thing at least 81 games per season.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by coldPlay

I wonder what riding the public rail from the SFO to downtown SJ is like. I bet that's a load of fun.

It's the light rail that's a load of fun, really. It goes through East Side San Jose and downtown and stops at the courthouse, bail bonds places, two jails, the Milpitas Great Mall, and juvenile hall. Commute hours were fine; afterhours I felt pretty sure everyone on the train was familiar with all of those places.

[coldPlay]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

It's the light rail that's a load of fun, really. It goes through East Side San Jose and downtown and stops at the courthouse, bail bonds places, two jails, the Milpitas Great Mall, and juvenile hall. Commute hours were fine; afterhours I felt pretty sure everyone on the train was familiar with all of those places.

oh joy. At least it is affordable and from what I read, reliable. We'll see how it works out.

[calif408]

If you wanted to live with 14 cousins, along with their multiple illegitimate kids, 6 uncles and aunts rotating through the prison system in a small 2 bedroom apartment you could actually live here too! Most of them can live in the Bay Area due to county benefits. Personally, I think if someone is going to live in an apartment with section 8 assistance, they should also be required to do community service to earn their keep