What would be a comfortable salary in bay area? (San Jose: real estate, rentals)

[move]

I have been looking at house prices in the bay area. Is a salary of $200K what it takes to be comfortable in this area? Even if both husband and wife work full time, it looks to me that one salary will be spent towards mortgage alone...How do you bay areaites do it?

[sonarrat]

If we bought, we did it before the bubble. If we got into the fray too late, like I did, then we rent. The only reason to buy in this climate would be if you think we're going to get Zimbabwe-like inflation with minimum wage going up to $200,000 a year.

[LexusNexus]

Originally Posted by move

I have been looking at house prices in the bay area. Is a salary of $200K what it takes to be comfortable in this area? Even if both husband and wife work full time, it looks to me that one salary will be spent towards mortgage alone...How do you bay areaites do it?

We also bought before prices took off. Plenty of people switching homes, by utilizing their equity to buy in a different location. Across the street are two homes with foreigners. They own businesses and appear to generate enough income and have enough money by combining their resources and being frugal. Two-three families to a house, with 7-8 wage earners.

[skatealoneskatetogether]

Originally Posted by RomanInSF

We also bought before prices took off. Plenty of people switching homes, by utilizing their equity to buy in a different location. Across the street are two homes with foreigners. They own businesses and appear to generate enough income and have enough money by combining their resources and being frugal. Two-three families to a house, with 7-8 wage earners.

I'm so tired of these foriegners living dozens to a house. It really turns neighborhoods into trash.

[jcp123]

My parents made, as best as I can tell, $198k gross combined the last full year they both worked. We were by no means rich (didn't live in a mansion, didn't have a boat, and didn't drive Mercedes...well, not new ones, anyway), but we were very, very comfortable, i.e. we were never, ever hurting for money and had a quality life that was pretty enviable. We had enough disposable to restore three classic Mustangs, go shopping at Whole Foods, and indulge in buying on a whim.

Although...they bought the house in 1984 for 1/6th of what it sold for in '05, so that probably had a lot to do with it. But $200k will still make a nice life for you in CA. Remember, real estate is what's really expensive there, and gas if you commute a long distance. Most other things aren't all that expensive (in fact, our car insurance is more expensive here in TX than it ever was in CA.).

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by skatealoneskatetogether

I'm so tired of these foriegners living dozens to a house. It really turns neighborhoods into trash.

Occupancy rules generally only apply to rentals. The old rule of thumb used by HUD is 2 people per bedroom plus 1 more.

A three bedroom house with 7 adults is within the standard.

[adagio926]

Originally Posted by skatealoneskatetogether

I'm so tired of these foriegners living dozens to a house. It really turns neighborhoods into trash.

I wouldn't say that, though my neighbors might be the exception. The food they cook is delicious, and they love letting our family hang out.

[moovin]

Do some math. Your question is too vague. How much money do you want to spend on a house? A 770k median priced home is gonna run you roughly 4800/mo with taxes (on a 700k loan). That should work at 200k/yr. Home prices are pretty much priced at the incomes of 2 Silicon Valley engineers per household. Nothing new there.

[Jakeduvall]

If you want to buy a 3 bed 2 bath house in the Bay Area 200K is fine. There are lots of areas in San Jose/Cambrian for that.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by skatealoneskatetogether

I'm so tired of these foriegners living dozens to a house. It really turns neighborhoods into trash.

Yeah, me too. They turn it into the 3rd world country that they came from.