One & Done: Only child
EMarieMe
member
WWYD....Interested in your thoughts on a homebuying situation...
EMarieMe
member
Hi ladies,
I know some of us in the bay area of California have talked before about the insane housing market. Homes on the peninsula (between San Francisco and San Jose are going for $100-$300K over asking price in some areas. With a starting point of $650K it's not chump change, and you're basically getting a very, very modest home.
This one for example is going for $785K and is sliding down a hill, needing an estimated $300K in improvements. https://www.trulia.com/property/3159138479-23-Chestnut-St-San-Carlos-CA-94070
So that's the set-up. My deal is that we are renting from family in a fair/good area and they are willing to sell us the home at a discount. We would inherit the lower taxes as well. Sound great right? Well, two doors down recently became a rental. There are at least 9 adults (9 specific cars) and 7 children living in a three bedroom home. They are not loud or rude, but they are trashing the place. They've broken boards on the fence and their yard is full of garbage. Last week they put a microwave on the lawn, this week they've added a mattress.
I've looked up county laws and there's not stringent rules around how many adults can live in a house, and the few rules that they have are hard to enforce. I'm also trying to be empathetic in that money is tight for a lot of Americans and mulch-generational living is becoming common again.
It's the garbage, and the destruction and just treating a home like trash that's bothersome.
One, have you ever been in a similar situation with neighbors, especially renters? How did it work out? Would you buy a house in this situation? Remember how tough it is to get into the market here. This isn't our only shot, but it represents significant cost savings.
My plan for now is to get our retired neighbor on the case even further. He sits outside all day and is already annoyed that they take up the street parking and block the sidewalks almost constantly. I'm also going to try and see if we can get the home owners name and reach out in a "Not sure you are aware....." way.
Finally, am I in the wrong here? Should I care less about appearances of our neighborhood? I'm open to that, but it's just disappointing. My grandomther's family were dirt poor coal miners and had ten people in a tiny two bedroom house, but when you look back at pictures everything was always clean and tidy. They didn't have much but they treated it with pride and took care of their little home.
Eager to get anyone's thoughts really! Thanks! I'll also probably show my husband this thread. He would never come here and read on his own, but I will show him this and wanted to disclose that to you all.
I know some of us in the bay area of California have talked before about the insane housing market. Homes on the peninsula (between San Francisco and San Jose are going for $100-$300K over asking price in some areas. With a starting point of $650K it's not chump change, and you're basically getting a very, very modest home.
This one for example is going for $785K and is sliding down a hill, needing an estimated $300K in improvements. https://www.trulia.com/property/3159138479-23-Chestnut-St-San-Carlos-CA-94070
So that's the set-up. My deal is that we are renting from family in a fair/good area and they are willing to sell us the home at a discount. We would inherit the lower taxes as well. Sound great right? Well, two doors down recently became a rental. There are at least 9 adults (9 specific cars) and 7 children living in a three bedroom home. They are not loud or rude, but they are trashing the place. They've broken boards on the fence and their yard is full of garbage. Last week they put a microwave on the lawn, this week they've added a mattress.
I've looked up county laws and there's not stringent rules around how many adults can live in a house, and the few rules that they have are hard to enforce. I'm also trying to be empathetic in that money is tight for a lot of Americans and mulch-generational living is becoming common again.
It's the garbage, and the destruction and just treating a home like trash that's bothersome.
One, have you ever been in a similar situation with neighbors, especially renters? How did it work out? Would you buy a house in this situation? Remember how tough it is to get into the market here. This isn't our only shot, but it represents significant cost savings.
My plan for now is to get our retired neighbor on the case even further. He sits outside all day and is already annoyed that they take up the street parking and block the sidewalks almost constantly. I'm also going to try and see if we can get the home owners name and reach out in a "Not sure you are aware....." way.
Finally, am I in the wrong here? Should I care less about appearances of our neighborhood? I'm open to that, but it's just disappointing. My grandomther's family were dirt poor coal miners and had ten people in a tiny two bedroom house, but when you look back at pictures everything was always clean and tidy. They didn't have much but they treated it with pride and took care of their little home.
Eager to get anyone's thoughts really! Thanks! I'll also probably show my husband this thread. He would never come here and read on his own, but I will show him this and wanted to disclose that to you all.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: WWYD....Interested in your thoughts on a homebuying situation...
And if double check on state laws and city codes. The vast majority of cities require minimum floor space per person living in the house, and they'd need a pretty large house for 16 people.
Buying a house sucks, but I swear it's just painful here.
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I seriously hope for this.... ALL THE TIME.
Our street has some undesirables on it as well. Too many, but we bought at the bottom of the market and it will be sooo much easier to buy up than try and get the nicer house first.
Unfortunately, in places like the Bay it's not even an option of "Should we hold out for something in a nicer neighborhood?" when you're outgunned by all cash buyers willing to overpay. Good luck!