Just bought a condo.

zoiks

Lifer
Jan 13, 2000
11,787
3
81
First purchase for us and am happy that we could find something here that we were able to find that was to our liking. Yay for me and the wife. It's been a struggle for us for a long time/

The housing market is incredibly tough here right now in the bay area for a buyer. We have been searching and bidding on houses for over a year and lost every one of them to higher bidders. We've bid 150k over on some houses but some guy decided to pay a higher cash offer with no contingencies. In fact every place is going without contingencies only right now since sellers have the luxury to choose the best offer. Last house we bid on (900k), had over 8 offers and went over 1.2mill.

We're in contract and escrow right now and hopefully everything will go fine. Wish we could afford a house but you have to be able to afford 1.2-1.5 mill for a good place. But you have to be lucky to get one too even if you have the money. A surgeon friend of ours lost out when someone overbid by 500k on a 2.8million house in Palo Alto.
God damn you Google, Facebook, Apple and the likes.
 

OCGuy

Lifer
Jul 12, 2000
27,224
36
91
You just contracted to buy a condo :p

I wish you good luck in your adventure to obtain your keys. :thumbsup:
 

jaedaliu

Platinum Member
Feb 25, 2005
2,670
1
81
Real estate in the Bay Area is insane. Hope you aren't hit by a massive market correction.

he'll be fine. even if there's a pull back in the market, the values will go right back up quickly. Desirable areas in CA barely went down during the housing crash, and have long since recovered.
 

zoiks

Lifer
Jan 13, 2000
11,787
3
81
Real estate in the Bay Area is insane. Hope you aren't hit by a massive market correction.

I'm hoping as well. But the thing is that the current situation is not at all similar to what it was before. Right now, you have to have a great credit score, have a lot of cash on hand, be able to prove your worthiness before anybody will give you a loan. Previously, people were putting down 5% or so to buy expensive homes which ultimately ended up in foreclosure.

The condo we've bought is expensive but it hasn't gone up the same way the home prices have here.
 

zoiks

Lifer
Jan 13, 2000
11,787
3
81
Move to Texas man, you can buy a mansion for you paid for a condo...

Funny. A few years ago, my entire team at Computer Associates was laid off and I was offered to relocate to Plano, TX. I didn't want to go to TX so I quit and found another job within a month that paid a lot more than CA.
 
Feb 6, 2007
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Thanks! But you have to live here if you want to get the decent salary. :)

The decent salary is a wash if the cost of living is substantially higher. You might only get a third as much in Texas, but if a house costs 1/5th as much, you'd be better off (excepting of course that you'd be stuck in Texas). I personally don't get the appeal. My sister-in-law and her boyfriend each clear six figures and they have to live in a tiny condo in Oakland because home prices in the Bay Area are so out of control. Doing the exact same jobs in Oregon/Washington would effectively double their purchasing power even though the paycheck is technically less.
 

zoiks

Lifer
Jan 13, 2000
11,787
3
81
The decent salary is a wash if the cost of living is substantially higher. You might only get a third as much in Texas, but if a house costs 1/5th as much, you'd be better off (excepting of course that you'd be stuck in Texas). I personally don't get the appeal. My sister-in-law and her boyfriend each clear six figures and they have to live in a tiny condo in Oakland because home prices in the Bay Area are so out of control. Doing the exact same jobs in Oregon/Washington would effectively double their purchasing power even though the paycheck is technically less.

Agreed. But if I were to change jobs, it's not that easy to find something in my specialty there whereas here I can hop from company to another without moving or relocating. Also if I were to move from there, it would probably be a pain to sell my house since that's likely why the house prices are affordable (since there is less demand).
If I were able to work from home then I wouldn't have an issue.
 

Sheep

Golden Member
Jun 13, 2006
1,275
0
71
Congrats, and get ready to spend an inordinate amount of time at Home Depot, Lowes or your local hardware stores.
 

amdhunter

Lifer
May 19, 2003
23,329
246
106
I just bought a condom. It's probably the last one I'll ever buy. :(
Congrats though. Pics of wife?
 

maddogchen

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2004
8,903
2
76
Dang, 5 years ago a 3 bed 1bath house in south San Francisco I bid on went for 535,000, only 26,000 over asking. I can't imagine 150k over asking but I guess when you hit 1 mil homes what's another 100k?
 

poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
14,612
318
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Congrats! It is exciting times!

Those prices sound nuts, my 90's two story house cost your overbid.
 

Hacp

Lifer
Jun 8, 2005
13,923
2
81
Did you pay 900k for a 2bedroom condo? That's NYC midtown prices right there.
 

jpiniero

Lifer
Oct 1, 2010
15,161
5,695
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The threat really is if (when) interest rates go back up to relatively normal levels - Will people be able to afford these 900k condos? 'Course if they are paying straight cash (homie!) that wouldn't matter.

Maybe the Big One will hit SV?
 

rednas

Senior member
May 26, 2010
298
0
76
Move to Texas man, you can buy a mansion for you paid for a condo...


I just moved from the Bay Area to Texas. You speak the truth. Just the down payment on the condo the OP bought would buy a nice place out here.
 

rednas

Senior member
May 26, 2010
298
0
76
The decent salary is a wash if the cost of living is substantially higher. You might only get a third as much in Texas, but if a house costs 1/5th as much, you'd be better off (excepting of course that you'd be stuck in Texas). I personally don't get the appeal. My sister-in-law and her boyfriend each clear six figures and they have to live in a tiny condo in Oakland because home prices in the Bay Area are so out of control. Doing the exact same jobs in Oregon/Washington would effectively double their purchasing power even though the paycheck is technically less.

http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/

this link better explains what you are trying to say.

Personally when I moved to Texas I got a pay raise. So it not always necessary to take a pay cut.