Relocating and looking at a 400k home in evergreen=bad neighbourhood? (San Jose: real estate market, to rent)

[jb1974]

My husband just got a job offer from a company in Santa Clara. The money is good (about 230k).

He keeps saying that we will have it so good in SV....I have been reading this forum for hours and am starting to feel like he needs to take his blinders off.

He seems to think we can find a home in Evergreen District for about 400k and it will be a nice clean safe neighbourhood to raise our kids in (we have 2 and one on the way).

We live in a 3400 sq foot house now (550k here) on 17000sq ft of land
The house we are looking at is 1300 sq feet on a 8000sq ft lot. I can handle the decrease in size and the fact that we need to fix it up a bit (we renovated our last 2 homes ourselves).

My concerns are: At this price range in this area is in a bad neighbourhood? It is near Holy Oaks Elementary school.

I would so appreciate help....I know we should ret and get a feel for areas being out of towners but I dont want to be pulling my older son out of school again in a year or so if we move as it isn't fair to him.

Thanks for any input anyone can give

[rimmerama]

Originally Posted by jb1974

My husband just got a job offer from a company in Santa Clara. The money is good (about 230k).

He keeps saying that we will have it so good in SV....I have been reading this forum for hours and am starting to feel like he needs to take his blinders off.

He seems to think we can find a home in Evergreen District for about 400k and it will be a nice clean safe neighbourhood to raise our kids in (we have 2 and one on the way).

We live in a 3400 sq foot house now (550k here) on 17000sq ft of land
The house we are looking at is 1300 sq feet on a 8000sq ft lot. I can handle the decrease in size and the fact that we need to fix it up a bit (we renovated our last 2 homes ourselves).

My concerns are: At this price range in this area is in a bad neighbourhood? It is near Holy Oaks Elementary school.

I would so appreciate help....I know we should ret and get a feel for areas being out of towners but I dont want to be pulling my older son out of school again in a year or so if we move as it isn't fair to him.

Thanks for any input anyone can give

If I may ask, with an income like that, why are you purchasing such a cheap house?

[jb1974]

Thanks for the answer....can you let me know of a few zip codes that are good areas? He did sugges renting...I just hope we can keep my sons school the same somehow?

[rimmerama]

Originally Posted by jb1974

Thanks for the answer....can you let me know of a few zip codes that are good areas? He did sugges renting...I just hope we can keep my sons school the same somehow?

I think renting is a great idea - yes there is a risk you'll move elsewhere, but purchasing a house and hating the neighborhood seems pretty risky.

Zip codes in San Jose that are pretty good?

95120, 95124, 95118 - West San Jose (and southish), otherwise lots of zip codes have pockets that are good or bad. To be honest, I don't really pay attention to neighborhoods by zip codes - the area around the rose garden is nice, so is Willow Glen. Also, lots of cities in Santa Clara county - as you head up the peninsula, that's generally where the nicer neighbor hoods are.

You'll be hard pressed to find a house for 400,000 in a "good" part of the silicon valley. Real estate here is ridiculous.

[gnomatic]

Originally Posted by jb1974

He keeps saying that we will have it so good in SV....I have been reading this forum for hours and am starting to feel like he needs to take his blinders off.

He seems to think we can find a home in Evergreen District for about 400k and it will be a nice clean safe neighbourhood to raise our kids in (we have 2 and one on the way).

400K will not get you a single family home in a good public school district within decent commuting distance.
Also you will find the lot sizes small compare to what you will find up in Canada. (I grew up in downtown Toronto, was surprise by the tiny yards for ranch style houses when I first moved down here).

I often have friends here who ask me about Canada, and why I moved down. And as I explained it to them, if you are young/single and want career opportunities, it's better down here. But if you have a family, you are probably better off up in Canada, even if it means less career opportunities and lower salary.

If you move here, rent first. Figure out which neighborhood is a good fit for your family before purchasing. Each school district have different rules about which schools your kids will go to. And unless you or your husband previously resided in the US, you won't have a credit history. You need establish one to get a decent mortgage rate (unless you buy in cash, or finance through a bank up in Canada).

Don't forget to factor in insurance cost for your family (it depends on your husband's employer's plan). Also, make sure your husband's employer will start the process to sponsor him for a permanent residency ASAP.

[StandingRoomOnly]

I echo another poster by asking, why a budget of 400k with an income of 230k? If you want to buy "cheap" and live in a good neighborhood with good schools, the south bay isn't the place to do it. If you do want to keep your house budget to around 500-600k you will find homes in ok neighborhoods and ok/some decent schools. You may very well be looking at private school for your kids if you buy into a cheaper neighborhood... Just a forewarning.

With your husband's income you should be able to comfortably budget 800-1 million for a house...as long you have a good 20%+ downpayment, I suppose that is the catch here. If you do have the downpayment, look at almaden in San Jose (great schools) and mountain view (also great schools).

[TheGreatCurve]

Originally Posted by StandingRoomOnly

With your husband's income you should be able to comfortably budget 800-1 million for a house...as long you have a good 20%+ downpayment, I suppose that is the catch here. If you do have the downpayment, look at almaden in San Jose (great schools) and mountain view (also great schools).

I wouldn't recommend that at all, that's way too expensive of a house on that salary. The old rule of how much house you can afford applies, which is 2.5 times your income. So at an income of $230K, the most you should pay for a house is $575K ($230K x 2.5). People stretching and paying well above 2.5 times their income is how we ended up with a housing bubble and subsequent crash, i.e., people buying more house than they could afford. Don't forget how much property tax one would have to pay on a $1 million dollar house and how much federal and state income taxes one has to pay on a $230K salary. And that's in addition to the high cost of living for everything else in the Bay Area.

[jb1974]

We do have a bit of a downpayment...not much as we are losing on the real estate market here. The main reason we are looking at a lower price point is because we have been living "house poor" for so long that we would like to get a more modest house and save for retirement etc. I am starting to see that perhaps a house in the 55--650k range would be a better bet. I seem to be reading that in that range the Willow Glen and Cambrian area might have something if we look hard enough (in the cheaper area of these places).
Thanks for all your responses so far...they have helped hubby and I very much

[sonarrat]

I lived in Evergreen for a couple years, on the other side of Aborn from where you're looking. It was not a particularly nice area and it was a continuous source of amazement to us how the people we saw walking on the street could afford such pricey homes.

[TheGreatCurve]

Originally Posted by jb1974

We do have a bit of a downpayment...not much as we are losing on the real estate market here. The main reason we are looking at a lower price point is because we have been living "house poor" for so long that we would like to get a more modest house and save for retirement etc. I am starting to see that perhaps a house in the 55--650k range would be a better bet. I seem to be reading that in that range the Willow Glen and Cambrian area might have something if we look hard enough (in the cheaper area of these places).
Thanks for all your responses so far...they have helped hubby and I very much

Unfortunately, most people who buy a home in the Bay Area end up living "house poor" due to the ridiculously high cost of houses around here. That's just the way it is. That's why many people prefer to rent as it's cheaper than to buy.

But if you still prefer to buy, you can find some houses in your $550-$650K price range in the Willow Glen and Cambrian neighborhoods. But please be aware that they will be small and old. Most homes in Willow Glen were built in the 1900's-1940's, and most homes in Cambrian were built in the 1950's-1960's. Most are only 1,000-1,300 sq. ft. and many only have 1 bathroom. The nicer ones that have been recently renovated or are larger than average may sell for more than that price, depending on the exact school district and neighborhood.