patrick.net

I would buy a cheap SFR as close to your work as possible. Convert the garage into a studio apartment and live in that while you rent out the main house. You can decide to convert the garage with permits or without. If you decide to do it without permits that would not be considered a legal unit so you need to know what you are doing for safety reasons. A smart guy can figure it out. I would also consider chopping a 3/2 home by 1/3 for yourself. Creating a private entrance for yourself and maybe even sectioning off part of the yard. And again rent out the main house or visa versa if you have a family. Meaning you take the bigger half and rent out the smaller half. That's what I would do.

Carolyn,

I think you missed my point. I don't have 1 million USD to buy a crapshack in Santa Clara or Sunnyvale or San Jose. But your idea could work if I had the funds to pay for it.

I was thinking of homes in the price range of $150,000-$300,000. In neighboring towns that are not as expensive. They do exist. East Palo Alto, Hayward, Oakland, you get the point. Ok, I only see two homes available in Palo Alto and Hayward. Some cities offer down payment assistance and that can put you in range to get a home if you cant afford these prices. I have a home in Oakland and it's quite nice. I venture into East Oakland on occasion. There are homes for sale in East Oakland close to the San Leandro boarder. Those neighborhoods seem as peaceful as San Leandro. It is block by block. The city of Oakland does offer large down payment assistance for those who have trouble affording the mortgage. I know it's a bit of a commute to your work but so is Sacramento. I am sure the prices are comparable. At least Oakland is located in the middle of one of the largest Job hubs in the US.

I don't see anything in safe area even in Hayward or E Palo Alto in these price ranges. Oakland is FAR from Santa Clara might as well pay same amount and buy in Livermore or Tracy for bigger place.

I have worked with people who used to commute into the Bay Are from places like Pismo Beach (225m) and the Sierra Foothills (100+ mi), even Idaho. The first person had bought a VW camper and lived in the parking lot during the week driving home on weekends while the second had a boat in the bay but would often camp out on the company roof. The third rented a local condo and flew home on weekends. If you are single its doable but if you are married its very hard to do - especially with kids .

I also worked with people who lived in the SC mountains up by La Honda and even further out. Their commute to Palo Alto was not bad by Bay Area standards, maybe 1/2 hr - 45 minutes and the rents were much more reasonable. They also had something most people don't get in the valley - lots of room! The downsides were:

Less local shopping (shop at lunchtime or after work)
Utilities were not as reliable (get a generator)
Roads could be treacherous in the winter. (get an AWD vehicle)

I also know a guy who up until recently rented a garage in Los Gatos for $300/mo. No heat or A/C or utilities of any kind but you may be able to use the shower at your gym and eat out more.

If it were me I'd get a small RV and live in the parking lot at work for a few days a week if the management were agreeable. They might since you'd also be extra night security.

How about Gilroy and Caltrain? Is that an option for you?

I could not afford 900k homes 3 years ago when I moved here for work what makes you think I can afford it now? Anyways, I am single no kids so this can work to have a boat in marina here sleep on it 3x a week, home in Sacramento or Elk Grove and commute 1x a week to and from work. Its less expensive.

SJ says

I could not afford 900k homes 3 years ago when I moved here for work what makes you think I can afford it now? Anyways, I am single no kids so this can work to have a boat in marina here sleep on it 3x a week, home in Sacramento or Elk Grove and commute 1x a week to and from work. Its less expensive.

What CAN you afford? How much for rent, now much for a house?

A buddy of mine also rents in Elk Grove. he pays $1800/mo for an $1800 sqft house but he's renting from his brother in law. He also commutes to the Bay area and it works fine for him.

You might also look in Vacaville. The Capitol Corridor train makes a stop there and ends in SJ. Not the fastest option but at least you don't have to drive.

Carolyn C says

I was thinking of homes in the price range of $150,000-$300,000

I don't think any area around SF/SV or LA, with those prices, are safe towns.

The only metro area with those prices, are the 'burbs between DC and Baltimore.

Otherwise, you're talking about semi-rural areas like western MA, but that's 1.5 hours from Boston.

I'm basically talking about metro areas in Cali or the Northeast Corridor, neither Texas nor N Carolina.

I make six figure income so my max rent/mortgage would be 3k a month.
San Ramon and Livermore used to be a lot less expensive as did Fremont. I'm thinking Elk Grove could work and have a sailboat at the marina in Redwood City to sleep on during the week and drive home on weekends. At least I would own a home and not have rent increases. The rents keep going up in bay area. They used to be 1400 for a 1 bedroom now see 2k-3k.

SJ says

I make six figure income so my max rent/mortgage would be 3k a month.

San Ramon and Livermore used to be a lot less expensive as did Fremont. I'm thinking Elk Grove could work and have a sailboat at the marina in Redwood City to sleep on during the week and drive home on weekends. At least I would own a home and not have rent increases. The rents keep going up in bay area. They used to be 1400 for a 1 bedroom now see 2k-3k.

Do you realize the absurdity of what you're proposing?

SJ, lotsa single people (and lotsa nonsingles too) have roommates to share housing cost with. Done it myself. My. partner and I may have to do it again some time. It's not the First Choice, but there are worse living arrangements. Like hellish commutes.

SJ says

I make six figure income so my max rent/mortgage would be 3k a month.

San Ramon and Livermore used to be a lot less expensive as did Fremont. I'm thinking Elk Grove could work and have a sailboat at the marina in Redwood City to sleep on during the week and drive home on weekends. At least I would own a home and not have rent increases. The rents keep going up in bay area. They used to be 1400 for a 1 bedroom now see 2k-3k.

Oh come on!

If you have no kids nor plans for them school districts mean nothing to you That allows you quite a bit of flexibility. No pets? Even better as far as renting goes.

We rented at this place a while ago. Management was very good, things got fixed promptly when broken. Pools, hot tubs, exercise rooms all clean and well maintained. Great freeway access, plenty of shopping within a few minutes walk. Noise and parking could be a bit problematic but that's apartment living. We had a freshly renovated unit, very nice. we also got our entire deposit back - $80 for carpet cleaning.

http://www.kcmapts.com/Foxchase/Pricing-and-Availability

If you are willing to trade space for commute there is this place:

http://www.liveatwillowbend.com/sunnyvale/willowbend/

We also lived at this place for a few years. You do have to put up with Caltrain running by but the tradeoff is an easy walk to the Lawrence station. Management was OK, some fight to get the deposit back.

These are just two examples off the top of my head. I'm sure you can find better deals with some effort.

Why don't you rent a room and save/invest your money? A single buddy of mine rents a room in Cupertino for $600 a month so I am sure it is even cheaper in Santa Clara and Sunnyvale.

SJ says

The rents keep going up in bay area. They used to be 1400 for a 1 bedroom now see 2k-3k.

Maybe up in SF and up the Peninsula but in Silicon Valley there are plenty of rentals in your price range. Here are posting for rentals for $1500 or below

do you have a valid response to my post?

Yes, I got the timing wrong, I admit it, but hey, you print $85 billion Bernanke Bux out of thin are EACH MONTH AND YOU CAN PROP UP ALL THE FUCKING STOCKS YOU WANT....

until you can't

It would have been nice to have bought a couple hundred thousand dollars worth of LinkedShit (a supposed $25 BILLION company that brings in about $3 MILLION net per month) but I'm not a gambling man.

No, I moved here 2 years ago for work.

sux, i thought so. The cheerleaders for those media companies are all non-locals.

I tried to rent a room and looked at several. The landlord owners never got back to me and time was running out so I rented an apartment.

SJ, now that you have a place, keep looking. You can also look for a roommate to defray the cost of your rental, if you're renting a 2 BR unit.

Welcome to the Bay Area. In most of the US, to be an Engineer is to be The Big Man on Campus. Not so here. Just a faceless face in the crowd. If you're not from here you may consider in a few years taking your young career out of this region to someplace where a "tech job" will provide you with the quality of life that you would like but cannot have here.

SJ says

I tried to rent a room and looked at several. The landlord owners never got back to me and time was running out so I rented an apartment.

So what are you paying for the rental and how long is your lease?

Too much but have until next June to deal with it. I may get a new job that allows me to live anyplace and travel some and work remote. This would be great since I would be able to move to a cheaper place and actually buy a house for a low cost.

New Renter says

I also know a guy who

I think we know the same people!

This time is different (TM)!

rufita11 says

New Renter says

I also know a guy who

I think we know the same people!

Could be - the guy I am referring to seems to have a wide network. He also spends a fair amount of time up your way.