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Built with brick and mortar rather than wood like most SFH in the US. I guess builders never read "the three little pigs". Every contractor should able to recite this story before given their license. I spent some time in Germany and the 200 yr old houses look like they were built yesterday. Here in the U.S. after 200 yrs all you got is a liability. Horrible foresight, and you can see the greed straight in the materials list on the blueprint.
Brick isn't exactly the best idea in a major earthquake zone.
Brick isn't exactly the best idea in a major earthquake zone.
Really?
Tell us about seismic zones and seismic restraint as it relates to horizontal and vertical reinforcing in double wythe masonry walls.
Does that relate to one of your $60/sq. ft. houses? Why don't you explain to me why brick isn't the material of choice in seismically active areas? In fact, I don't think I can recall ever seeing a brick house in all the years I lived in Tokyo. Are there lots of them in the Bay area?
Oh, and didn't you forget something?
Oh it's a SHIT...HOUSE...priced mighty mighty, just rentin' it 'til the rout...
I can't put up a CMU building in seismic zone S-4? Really? REALLY?
Realtors Are Liars.
Where exactly did I say that?
Contractors Are Liars.
Most especially $60/sq ft ones.
And doesn't that mean that you are one of a handful of people on here who actually benefited from the housing bubble. Or are you just Googling your construction info?
hrhjuliet, I am in a similar boat. The biggest problem is that my husband can't get a job that pays nearly as much anywhere else. I don't think we can move. So I sit here pondering the purchase of a home. I can't figure out what to do about it. I continue to work on my down payment. I think that prices will continue to go down at a "slow hiss" pace on Peninsula. I have almost been thinking about buying a rental while we continue to rent. On the low end, it seems that there are properties that meet rent parity.
Still another option is to hold out for longer, save up a LOT of cash from your supposedly cushy, well-paying California job, and basically semi-retire somewhere else. My folks live in Semi-rural NC and they own a large piece of land, a decent house, and so on and the value of all of it is well under 200k. Where they live a normal house in say- an acre of land- is still easily less than 150k. I have even seen some for under 100k. So figure you save up lots of dough and go to someplace like that, buy a house for cash, stick the rest into various savings and retirement accounts, get some crappy joe-job that at least pays for your insurance, and call it a day. Sure- it would be a huge shift in lifestyle. I grew up that way. For others it would be a real shocker
This has been our generally approach.
But getting back to that question, if where you live means you actually have to pay more to get what you really want, then would it be worth it to save up some more? I personally don't see a reason to rush right now. The market is actually still depreciating and even if it bottoms out, it will probably be awhile longer before it moves.
That has also been my view of things. Even if it bottoms, I don't think it will take off like a rocket. I think recent increase in prices is artificial, akin to a dead cat bounce.
BG
Of course I don't like the Bay Area, lots of people don't, but a lot of people are stuck here for the very reasons I gave. It is a hard choice. I'm afraid of regrets, but I'm also afraid of making the wrong choice and buying if the market is still going down.
How's the housing market in your area between Feb and now? Up, down or sideways? If so, by how much?
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What do you all think? Wait out the Bay Area market a few more years? We have two kids, jobs here and we are renting a 500 square foot home. Should we buy some crap hole under $400,000 in the area, or move to a place where we could have a nice home for $200,000? Should we invest? Please add your reasons why, and any solid data or links you have to help.