patrick.net

DukeLaw says

That's odd, I'm a working professional two months into a move and I'm still not fully unpacked. Glad you took that into account...../golfclap

So am I. Takes me all of two days to pack, all of two days to unpack.

Its really not difficult.

I don't think it's the actual moving that's the hassle. It's doing it on somebody else's terms.

It's not fun to wake up one day with everything planned out and have your life turned upside down because you need to move out in 30 days. If all you have is a duffel bag and a suitcase, it's no big deal, but you have roots or family or plans it can be worse.

There's a reason some rent-controlled cities have a huge relocation fee if you get removed without cause.

Rent4Ever says

What color are the new walls???

Depends on who is looking. As a renter I look at the nicely painted walls as a blessing. The perfectly textured and trimmed earth color paints are very pleasant to my eyes. It took no work from me, no trips and return trips to the Home Depot. I just paid the rent and deposit and there is was, all shinny and glowing. I see them in their full brilliance of browns, greens, and blues. Nature at its best.

To the owners, I'm sure it has a different look. The earth colors might symbolize their wealth exploding during the boom, to the point where early retirement seemed possible. After extracting gobs of money out of the house every refi and driving around in E-class vehicles, taking luxury vacations, eating out at every restaurant with no care, the recent reality really stings. The colors are a hint of coming back to earth. Falling from the virtual high with no hope of resurgence. Now working until you are 70 or more seems like the new norm. What you thought you had is gone. The colors appear more red than anything to them.

As I said, it depends on who is looking. ;)

owning really doesnt jive with tech workers or anyone who changes jobs alla time.

i would like to do a study about how many trillion of gallons of gas, and how much traffic congestion is created by people OWNING HOMES and then they change jobs and thier 10 min commute is now 1 hour.... Maybe property tax should be based on # of miles your job is to your commute! Longer commute=higher tax. Although an extra $5 per gallon tax on gas would do the same....

CA pretends to be liberal (only for pot and gay rights really) but at the same time we have prop 13 which cements you into a long commute at some point for most people who own a house long term.

Oh and all the federal loan mods, underwater REFI programs,and foreclosure slowdowns simply make this worse cementing people in place when THEY SHOULD BE RENTERS.

PockyClipsNow says

owning really doesnt jive with tech workers or anyone who changes jobs alla time.

There are job centers you can live in with plenty of employment for tech workers who like working for startups where very little time can pass until running out of money, an acquisition, and/or pivot suggests working elsewhere.The same places also have big companies where many people tend towards longer tenures.

Sunnyvale, CA is centrally located enough that anything between Menlo Park and San Jose is a comfortable bicycle commute and there are enough tech jobs that you can pretty much ignore everywhere else. Extra time commuting can count towards the six hours a week it takes to stay in decent shape so it's almost free (you don't have as many opportunities to change the scenery when traveling between home and work as if you just headed out in an arbitrary direction with no destination in mind).

Boulder, CO has enough going on within city limits that you can ignore the surrounding area. If you really want commuting by bicycle to Longmont and Louisville is also viable which covers the bulk of Boulder County. In the fifteen years I lived there none of my eight jobs required commuting by car.

Etc.

Property values in such locations might mean you get a double wide mobile home, town house, or condominium instead of a site built 2000 square foot single family house; although 1-2 people with one or more pets and flower/herb/vegetable gardens can be comfortable in a third of that space.

it still sounds like a nightmare to me but good to hear that you landed on your feet.

i remember when i was renting it was a bit like musical chairs. Onr time I found myself with no chair and ended up signing a 1 year lease at this horrible apartment with a half deaf russian guy living below me who i could hear talking through the walls all night long...ah those were the days.

We already have 20% equity after buying end of January in Danville.. Put a small amount of money into the house and I already can refinance and get rid of PMI! Plus I'm living in s 2600 sq. foot house much nicer than the rental cheaper than rent!! Prices/pendings/sales going high right now... Glad we bought...

NO I am not a realtor!! This is the TRUTH! I was even extremely active in Ben's housing bubble blog in LA for years!

guruoracle says

We already have 20% equity after buying end of January in Danville.. Put a small amount of money into the house and I already can refinance and get rid of PMI! Plus I'm living in s 2600 sq. foot house much nicer than the rental cheaper than rent!! Prices/pendings/sales going high right now... Glad we bought...

NO I am not a realtor!! This is the TRUTH! I was even extremely active in Ben's housing bubble blog in LA for years!

More like you think you have 20%. The data is not showing a 20% gain in Danville. You might have got lucky and bought below market value, but that is not the norm. Most sellers are hard pushed to get down to market value.

We did buy below market due to many years of research and watching the market plus some luck!

You never mentioned why you moved ley me guess. They raised the rent?

toothfairy says

You never mentioned why you moved ley me guess. They raised the rent?

Landlord moving back in. No rent raise. We actually found a nicer place for less rent. There are screaming renter deals out there! I have never seen it so good before. $2500 gets you close to a 1mil house if you look hard enough and are lucky enough to have great credit and no pets/smokers.

oh really? give an example of a 1m house that rents for $2500

Nothing in Danville has gone up 20% since Jan anyway, so it's total hogwash as usual.

So many tools.

CrazyMan says

Nothing in Danville has gone up 20% since Jan anyway, so it's total hogwash as usual.

So many tools.

We bought a fixer below market and remodeled cheaply.. OURS has went up!

Call it Crazy says

guruoracle says

We already have 20% equity after buying end of January in Danville..

The 20% is your original downpayment, it's YOUR money, not equity....

NOPE... FHA 3.5% down... Now I can refinance to a LOWER interest rate and remove PMI...

So you spent ~20% to have the value of the home increase by ~20%.

That's ingenious!

I'm going to borrow a million from the bank tomorrow and then I'M GOING TO BE A MILLIONAIRE!!!

Also, FYI, there is no such thing as "below market".

RentingForHalfTheCost says

$2500 gets you close to a 1mil house if you look hard enough and are lucky enough to have great credit and no pets/smokers.

Oh shut up... show me a link to a million dollar home that rents for $2500.

BoomAndBustCycle says

RentingForHalfTheCost says

$2500 gets you close to a 1mil house if you look hard enough and are lucky enough to have great credit and no pets/smokers.

Oh shut up... show me a link to a million dollar home that rents for $2500.

Doesnt exist. he needs to change his name to Rentingforthreequartersthecost.

toothfairy says

oh really? give an example of a 1m house that rents for $2500

Mine for the last 5 years of renting. Recent sells in my new area has me thinking that I am in a 1.2m now. And guess what? No property tax, no insurance, no PMI, no worry about the market continuing to go south. I just hang by the pool and smile. ;)

RentingForHalfTheCost says

toothfairy says

oh really? give an example of a 1m house that rents for $2500

Mine for the last 5 years of renting. Recent sells in my new area has me thinking that I am in a 1.2m now. And guess what? No property tax, no insurance, no PMI, no worry about the market continuing to go south. I just hang by the pool and smile. ;)

Lucky you! Most people aren't so lucky! Look on Craigslist to see reality... I am extremely happy we bought in February! When we refinance next month PMI will be GONE and our payment will be cheaper than rent for a larger/nicer house in a better neighborhood. I was a part of Ben's blog in LA and even hosted get togethers. Due to the knowledge I gained, I was able to get a great deal and live happily! I don't have to worry about an idiot landlord raising my rent or telling me what to do. NOW is a bad time to buy as I think there is a bump going on now. I don't care if prices go down since I have a 30 year fixed and it will always be lower than rent as I don't see rents going down anytime soon as I live in a high dollar East bay neighborhood.

toothfairy says

BoomAndBustCycle says

RentingForHalfTheCost says

$2500 gets you close to a 1mil house if you look hard enough and are lucky enough to have great credit and no pets/smokers.

Oh shut up... show me a link to a million dollar home that rents for $2500.

Doesnt exist. he needs to change his name to Rentingforthreequartersthecost.

I'll find you guys a house for a small fee if you want.

www.mapliv.com and you can do it yourself. Took me about 2 weeks of searching to change my renting status

Foster City 2900 for a 1.2m house
Pleasanton 3000 for a 1.2m house

Easy as pie. In total I visited about 10 houses in 2 weekends. There were a lot of 2500/mth for houses that could sell for 1mil+. Each area I checked the redfin sales data to see the prices. You can do the same if you are such inclined. I'd rather spend my time thinking about how to spend the other half of my ownership costs each month. Life is hard.

sheltielover1 says

Lucky you! Most people aren't so lucky! Look on Craigslist to see reality... I

That is the problem. People look on craiglists one day and make up there mind. If you are serious then you search multiple site daily until you find a place that fits. They are out there. Not everyone is trying to sneak every last dollar out of their rental. Some people actually love their house and are just looking for someone to do the same.

People will spend months to years looking for a house to buy, but look for days for a rental and then cry there are none cheap. Crazy behavior for such a large financial event. Invest your money to become rich, rent a pile of crappy wood to keep yourself safe from the outside elements. ;)

RentingForHalfTheCost says

sheltielover1 says

Lucky you! Most people aren't so lucky! Look on Craigslist to see reality... I

That is the problem. People look on craiglists one day and make up there mind. If you are serious then you search multiple site daily until you find a place that fits. They are out there. Not everyone is trying to sneak every last dollar out of their rental. Some people actually love their house and are just looking for someone to do the same.

People will spend months to years looking for a house to buy, but look for days for a rental and then cry there are none cheap. Crazy behavior for such a large financial event. Invest your money to become rich, rent a pile of crappy wood to keep yourself safe from the outside elements. ;)

Life's too short to live in a shithole! You can't take the money with you! Our payment is 25% of our monthly income. Quite reasonable. I don;'t want to be under someone's thumb..

sheltielover1 says

Life's too short to live in a shithole! You can't take the money with you! Our payment is 25% of our monthly income. Quite reasonable. I don;'t want to be under someone's thumb..

Huh? Being indebted to a bank in not under someone's thumb, it is under their whole body while they gyrate on you. I'd rather be paying 1/2 the cost of ownership to a person with a heart. Banks only care about your money, no heart. Good luck the next 30 years, hope you can always cover the payment. ;)

Btw, most owners in the bay area live in a shithole while they are indebted to the bank.

RentingForHalfTheCost says

sheltielover1 says

Life's too short to live in a shithole! You can't take the money with you! Our payment is 25% of our monthly income. Quite reasonable. I don;'t want to be under someone's thumb..

Huh? Being indebted to a bank in not under someone's thumb, it is under their whole body while they gyrate on you. I'd rather be paying 1/2 the cost of ownership to a person with a heart. Banks only care about your money, no heart. Good luck the next 30 years, hope you can always cover the payment. ;)

30 Years? I don't think so! Because we bought so cheaply - 10 years!

sheltielover1 says

RentingForHalfTheCost says

sheltielover1 says

Life's too short to live in a shithole! You can't take the money with you! Our payment is 25% of our monthly income. Quite reasonable. I don;'t want to be under someone's thumb..

Huh? Being indebted to a bank in not under someone's thumb, it is under their whole body while they gyrate on you. I'd rather be paying 1/2 the cost of ownership to a person with a heart. Banks only care about your money, no heart. Good luck the next 30 years, hope you can always cover the payment. ;)

30 Years? I don't think so! Because we bought so cheaply - 10 years!

If I wouldn't be able to make my mortgage I would not be able to make the rent payment either - hence why we bought! LIFE is DIFFERENT for everyone!

sheltielover1 says

If I wouldn't be able to make my mortgage I would not be able to make the rent payment either - hence why we bought! LIFE is DIFFERENT for everyone!

You don't live in the bay area then, cause rent is half of ownership costs around here. If you live outside then I am in agreement with you. Hardly anyone in the bay area can pay down a house in 10 years. They will be lucky to meet all the obligations while they tick away at the 30 years. I got many at my work that can't put any money in their 401k, or company share programs because it all goes into their overpriced house. Good thinking when they could have rented the same place for 1/2 the cost and actually be accumulating wealth each paycheck.

Danville

sheltielover1 says

Danville

Funny, I searched in Danville for a rental and that is where I found the most number of overpriced houses renting for next to nothing. I had a few landlords ask me why I wouldn't rent their house when I said 'No thanks'. People are in a world of hurt with housing around here, especially in Danville.

Good for you! I will live my life and you can live yours... I AM much happier now than in my "shared" rental for more money! My landlord got $400/mo. with the next idiot! RENTS are going UP not down! Many people on this board think certain people here are in "dreamland" when it comes to the cost of rents. And I am one who agrees!

RentingForHalfTheCost says

I'll find you guys a house for a small fee if you want.

www.mapliv.com and you can do it yourself. Took me about 2 weeks of searching to change my renting status

Foster City 2900 for a 1.2m house
Pleasanton 3000 for a 1.2m house

So I took a look..

I found only one house in Pleasanton and it was renting for $2500
http://www.mapliv.com/show_post.php?id=28032184
Zillow puts its value at $350k (sold in 2008 for 500k)
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1496-Calle-Enrique-Pleasanton-CA-94566/25080975_zpid/

There were 3 in Foster City for $2900, but only one had an address included
http://www.mapliv.com/show_post.php?id=28359723
Zillow puts it at $635k (failed to sell for $740k in both '08 and '09)

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/850-Cabot-Ln-Foster-City-CA-94404/15614991_zpid/

zesta says

So I took a look..

Look every day for 2 weeks if you are serious. Rental properties are not like buying a place. The good ones are gone immediately. What you see hanging around are the ones you just posted. Junk. There is a completely different approach you need to find a rental as opposed to buying. Most houses for sale sit for long enough that if you search weekly or bi-weekly you will see them all. The rental I currently got lasted up on craigslist for all of 1/2 day. Yup, that would be my doing. Cash and good credit talks. ;)

sheltielover1 says

Good for you! I will live my life and you can live yours... I AM much happier now than in my "shared" rental for more money! My landlord got $400/mo. with the next idiot! RENTS are going UP not down! Many people on this board think certain people here are in "dreamland" when it comes to the cost of rents. And I am one who agrees!

Rents on 1m+ homes have been in decline and continue to be falling. I don't know how long I can enjoy the benefits of pool/spa/built in everything on a >10K lot and >2k sqft for less than 1/2 the mortgage, but I'll take it as long as they are willing. If it stops then I always have the option of downsizing or even moving. Buying in the BA is definitely not for me anytime soon. Maybe in a few years when the sellers realize the good times are actually gone to stay. Maybe.

zesta says

So I took a look..

I spent 15 minutes just to get a feel for todays deals out there. Just focused on Foster City.

House on Vega sold for 1m+ just 6 weeks ago. 2000 sqft on a crappy 5200sqft lot.

http://www.redfin.com/CA/Foster-City/844-Vega-Cir-94404/home/1017319

In the same area here is a 1800 sqft house for rent for $3500 (which means you can get it for $3000).

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/apa/3096625826.html

I actually think the rental house is nicer than the one that sold. Don't get me wrong, I think they are both junk and their true value is more in the 400-500K range IMHO.

Enough of me for now.

I just got done with a short-notice move and I have to say that it sucked. Having children tends to increase the amount of stuff you have, and the fortress I choose to live in is difficult to find rentals I can afford. It was stressful, involved staying up until 1:00 am every weekday night for a week to pack and move, and we still aren't all the way out of boxes yet. Truly a bad and stressful sequence for me and my family. Wouldn't have happened that way if we owned.

It's a tradeoff I will make, though, because of the other downsides of owning. I won't pretend like it wasn't a walk in the park -- it sucked.

RentingForHalfTheCost says

I actually think the rental house is nicer than the one that sold. Don't get me wrong, I think they are both junk and their true value is more in the 400-500K range IMHO.

if it rents for 3500 (or even 3000), it's worth a heck of a lot more than 400K.

zesta says

I'll find you guys a house for a small fee if you want.

www.mapliv.com and you can do it yourself. Took me about 2 weeks of searching to change my renting status

Foster City 2900 for a 1.2m house
Pleasanton 3000 for a 1.2m house

Patio Home and TownHouse?? GAG!! Both are dumps and higher than my mortgage payment! You couldn't pay me enough to live in either place... Give me a real house that's not a dive in a shitty area!

RentingForHalfTheCost says

In the same area here is a 1800 sqft house for rent for $3500 (which means you can get it for $3000).

Nice assumption, ass.

guruoracle says

zesta says

I'll find you guys a house for a small fee if you want.

www.mapliv.com and you can do it yourself. Took me about 2 weeks of searching to change my renting status

Foster City 2900 for a 1.2m house

Pleasanton 3000 for a 1.2m house

Patio Home and TownHouse?? GAG!! Both are dumps and higher than my mortgage payment! You couldn't pay me enough to live in either place... Give me a real house that's not a dive in a shitty area!

Huh? Waterfront house in prime area in Foster City, and a updated family home with pool, spa, BBQ, redwood trees, gazebo, etc. I wouldn't want you living with me, so it works both ways. ;) Both these places are more house than what people are paying over 1,000,000 of the banks money to buy. Silly stuff.

BoomAndBustCycle says

RentingForHalfTheCost says

In the same area here is a 1800 sqft house for rent for $3500 (which means you can get it for $3000).

Nice assumption, ass.

Name calling is for the fat.