RE prices

[steveny]

With all the talk about the high cost of living in other parts of the country I thought I would start a thread about what 600k-900k buys in my area. Here are a couple of places near where I live. Look at the amount of taxes on each property.

http://www.hagerealestate.com/listings/d/d07.html


http://www.hagerealestate.com/listings/d/d18.html

 

[Jett]

Absolutely no way could you buy that much house in my area for that price. Those look like half-price sales. Those property taxes look a a lot higher than here though, I would guess those taxes are about double. Here is what $600k and $900k will get you in my ZIP code.

$595khttp://www.homesdatabase.com/cgi-bin/aa.fcgi?+NWJiYWNlMDY0NTJlNDUwZDhjNzZiZGQ3Yjc2OWI3MWUSlI0iZbI78etCOGgOJKH3K%2fBiVte4iAvGr2jKXbpEtSKpJc%2fYOXTTVeisynw1e0qMPrECM3H4VQ%3d%3d

$600khttp://www.homesdatabase.com/cgi-bin/aa.fcgi?+NWI2MjY3MDc2ZTI3NGI5NmI2NjlmYjVjZDhkNTQzNGQSlI0iZbI78etCOGgOI6zyJPxiVte4iADW53bKEL9a+i%2fwLcfYRU+0EM6ChCh6f17NJfUZcCO2EVmh

I happen to know a little about the two townhouses above. I believe they were purchased by a flipper who got caught when the market topped. They are right across the road from me and are really very nice townhomes, with top-of-the line interior amenities, but they are a little too elegant for the location, and I am not sure anyone really wants an elevator. They have been on the market for almost two years, and I don't think they have ever been lived in. I believe the owner is holding out and trying to get what he paid, but he is getting desperate. He must have deep pockets to have been able to wait this long, because carrying a mortgage on both of those while they remain empty would be a bonecrusher, while at the same time finding suitable tenants would be difficult because the rent would be so high, and if the rent were set lower the tenants might cause enough wear and tear so as to essentially zero out the income derived from renting them. Maybe he owns them free and clear or put down a substantial amount of money up front, because I don't see how the average person could have carried the mortgages on those this long if they only put, say, 20% down, in hopes of flipping them and making a quick $50-75k each. Every month you carry them puts you deeper in the hole. Frankly, I am somewhat surprised that they haven't seen a short sale or been to foreclosure. My personal opinion is that the prices need to be lowered at least $100k, minimum, to attract a buyer.

$896khttp://www.homesdatabase.com/cgi-bin/aa.fcgi?+YzNiNjM2MTA5NmM5MjgyYjc3ZGUyYWY4MzAzMmJkMWISlI0iZbI78etCOGgOIqD3KvVrVte4iAHGr2jKXbpEtSKpKMbTODayZ8Snynw1c0qMPrECM3H4VQ%3d%3d

$900k gets you a large, new suburban home. Nice, but nothing to write home about. I remember in the early nineties when these were $300k in my former neighborhood. I thought they were expensive then.

The least expensive property in my ZIP code, period, is a 1-br condo for $239k. There are NO (zero) listings for less than that. And it's not like I live in San Francisco. I like Gambrills very much, but it's not Paris or anything.

$239khttp://www.homesdatabase.com/cgi-bi...Gr2jKXbpEtSKpIsfYQHDaQb6qynw1c0qMPrECM3H4VQ==http://www.hagerealestate.com/listings/a/a01.html

This might be a good move for someone in your area. Take a look at the property below. Looks a little farther than Dryden from Cortland, but on the opposite side.

http://www.hagerealestate.com/listings/a/a01.html

Of course family, work, and schools have a lot of impact on where to live (location, location, location), but that looks like a beautiful spot. A nice flat lot of over an acre in grass, with a few mature trees to surround the house. If someone were to buy that property and build a modern, beautiful log home right in among those trees, they might end up with a beautiful homestead for a great price, if they like country living. Live in the trailer for a few months until the log home is done, then yank the trailer out of there. Utility hook-ups are already in place. Just an idea.

In this area, $39k will get you a rat and roach-infested fixer-upper rowhouse in the absolute worst crack-infested neighborhood in the city.

 

[otto_joe]

There is currently nothing avalible in my neighborhood in that price range. Anything near $1mil gets snapped up. My neighbor just sold his house in 2wks! The only good thing is that property taxes are about 1.2%.

This is what you can get in a decent school district near me in that price range though:

http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1075387325
43293 STARR ST
FREMONT, CA 94539
MLS ID#: 40239252
$749,888
3 Bed, 2 Bath
1,074 Sq. Ft.
0.12 Acres

http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1076544097
41659 JOYCE AVE
FREMONT, CA 94539
MLS ID#: 40245086
$799,888
3 Bed, 2 Bath
1,140 Sq. Ft.
0.12 Acres

Otto

 

[heathbar0]

With all the talk about the high cost of living in other parts of the country I thought I would start a thread about what 600k-900k buys in my area. Here are a couple of places near where I live. Look at the amount of taxes on each property.

http://www.hagerealestate.com/listings/d/d07.html


http://www.hagerealestate.com/listings/d/d18.html

Under your first listing...under recreation...This has got to be the reason for the high taxes in your area.
I dont think you can get one of those in my area. CONGRATULATIONS!:biggrin:

 

[NSXLuvr]

Yeah I LOL'ed on that one.

Recreation: in-ground fenced poo. :biggrin:

 

[PhiAlpha44]

There is currently nothing avalible in my neighborhood in that price range. Anything near $1mil gets snapped up. My neighbor just sold his house in 2wks! The only good thing is that property taxes are about 1.2%.

This is what you can get in a decent school district near me in that price range though:

http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1075387325
43293 STARR ST
FREMONT, CA 94539
MLS ID#: 40239252
$749,888
3 Bed, 2 Bath
1,074 Sq. Ft.
0.12 Acres

http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1076544097
41659 JOYCE AVE
FREMONT, CA 94539
MLS ID#: 40245086
$799,888
3 Bed, 2 Bath
1,140 Sq. Ft.
0.12 Acres

Otto

That is absolutly laughable. I can't believe the prices to live in CA. I paid close to 200K for my place. 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath bi-level. Hardwood floors, detached 3 car garage on 6 acres.

 

[otto_joe]

That is absolutly laughable. I can't believe the prices to live in CA. I paid close to 200K for my place. 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath bi-level. Hardwood floors, detached 3 car garage on 6 acres.

This is why my best friend is moving to CO in another week. He and his wife are going from dual income to just him consulting part time after cashing out their house over here. They are also looking at purchasing a rental property over there in addition to the primary home they just got.

I'll don't think I'll ever leave CA, but I will probably relocate to another house after my kids get out of school if there is still a premium to get into our school district 13yrs from now.

Otto

 

[mickeylex]

1096 Madden Lane looks like an awesome property! I'd love to live there if it wasn't for the snow :smile:

At $900K w/ two acres, that's about 1/3 the price of what you would pay where I am in CA (and I'm no longer in the Bay...Bay Area prices would likely be 4-5x that amount).

$23K in RE taxes - that's pretty high and it's about 2x what I pay now in NorCal (but then again, my house isn't as nice as that Madden Lane property).

 

[steveny]

This is why my best friend is moving to CO in another week. He and his wife are going from dual income to just him consulting part time after cashing out their house over here. They are also looking at purchasing a rental property over there in addition to the primary home they just got.

This is one smart friend you have. It blows my mind WHY some people work their a$$es off to live in california in a not so nice house with neighbors 5 feet away on all sides. For the price of their house in cali they can live quite well here AND not have neighbors or have to work at all. Sell a million dollar average house in Cali, buy a 500k house here that is much better than the Cali house and invest the other 500k.

BTW I am not a broker.

Also the DeRuyter area is way the hell out in the middle of no where. There is no cable service for high speed internet. Pretty much just farms and the smell of cow crap in the spring. Also that house looks over priced to me. Vacant property in DeRuyter can be had for as little as 1k an acre. If someone where going to build a cabin they would be much better off buying 40 acres with their 40k and building on that. There are a few cabins up in that area now built by people out of NYC. My brother-in-law has a cabin in the DeRuyter area. Well he calls it a cabin, it's way to nice to be a cabin. Cabins don't have 3 hole golf courses IMO.

 

[steveny]

1096 Madden Lane looks like an awesome property! I'd love to live there if it wasn't for the snow :smile:

At $900K w/ two acres, that's about 1/3 the price of what you would pay where I am in CA (and I'm no longer in the Bay...Bay Area prices would likely be 4-5x that amount).

$23K in RE taxes - that's pretty high and it's about 2x what I pay now in NorCal (but then again, my house isn't as nice as that Madden Lane property).

Think of the best neighborhood you can live in your area. That is where Madden lane is, Renaissance development. There is not any other neighborhoods that are more expensive. This is it, if you live there you are considered to be the cream of the crop. To live in a more expensive home you would have to buy on the water.
And the taxes at 23k are at the current value of 615k. When some one buys that at 900k the taxes will adjust and probably be 30k a year.

 

[robr]

$600K
http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1073991710

Too bad my price range is $250K. Here's what you get for that:
http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1069680083

Not going to be squeezing a family of 4 with two toddlers into that place (not to mention lead paint in the majority of the houses around here).

 

[DocL]

$609K

http://realtor.com/FindHome/HomeLis...81F99210884C&snumxlid=1074902780&lnksrc=00001

$899K

http://realtor.com/FindHome/HomeLis...478C&pgnum=7&snumxlid=1069668400&lnksrc=00002

Property tax is 3%, you do the math. :frown:

 

[docjohn]

Here is a sample page from NE Pa http://www.realteconesourcerealty.com/content/listings.html?ad_id=238153

 

[DocL]

docjohn, do you guys need any dentists up there? I'd love to get a 5,000sqft on 3+ acres for under $900k. :biggrin:

 

[docjohn]

I think the market is pretty saturated but heck I need a personal dentist at all times,besides you being a golfer is a plus!:tongue: Hey you beat me to 3k dammit congrats!

 

[AdnanVCS]

Those home's are giant for dutch standards.
They would be getting $1,900,000 to $2,250,000 easy over here (land is expensive and it's a small country)

 

[jlindy]

Imagine how much the $599,000 house would get if it had a fenced in pool instead of fenced in poo. :biggrin:

 

[nsxotic911]

This is what will buy you in my neighborhood in Bellevue, a middle class neighborhood.

http://www.windermere.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Listing.ListingDetail&ListingID=17382803

It looks like the houses are selling though b/c Microsoft keeps hiring..

I'm with the mindset that I'm going to liquidate 3 properties in I have in the next year and live out in CO or somewhere cheaper and 'nice' for basically free..

 

[Ben]

There is currently nothing avalible in my neighborhood in that price range. Anything near $1mil gets snapped up. My neighbor just sold his house in 2wks! The only good thing is that property taxes are about 1.2%.

This is what you can get in a decent school district near me in that price range though:

http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1075387325
43293 STARR ST
FREMONT, CA 94539
MLS ID#: 40239252
$749,888
3 Bed, 2 Bath
1,074 Sq. Ft.
0.12 Acres

http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1076544097
41659 JOYCE AVE
FREMONT, CA 94539
MLS ID#: 40245086
$799,888
3 Bed, 2 Bath
1,140 Sq. Ft.
0.12 Acres

Otto

That is absolutly laughable. I can't believe the prices to live in CA. I paid close to 200K for my place. 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath bi-level. Hardwood floors, detached 3 car garage on 6 acres.

And for those not familiar with the SF Bay Area, Fremont is suburbia in the East Bay. The East Bay is generally less expensive as many of the neighborhoods were "emerging" neighborhoods as recent as 10-15 years ago.

For something in the city or on the Peninsula, $800K buys you a 1000-1100 Sq. foot condo or townhouse. If you find a single family home in that price range, it's usually one in which there is no yard, and your wall is right up next to your neighbor's wall. Often times it will be what I call a "tall and skinny", which is like a 400-500 sq ft footprint, but 3 stories tall.

For $250K, there are a limited number of 700-800 sq foot condos which were converted from apartment complexes in San Jose, but those are rare and hard to find.

 

[steveny]

And for those not familiar with the SF Bay Area, Fremont is suburbia in the East Bay. The East Bay is generally less expensive as many of the neighborhoods were "emerging" neighborhoods as recent as 10-15 years ago.

For something in the city or on the Peninsula, $800K buys you a 1000-1100 Sq. foot condo or townhouse. If you find a single family home in that price range, it's usually one in which there is no yard, and your wall is right up next to your neighbor's wall. Often times it will be what I call a "tall and skinny", which is like a 400-500 sq ft footprint, but 3 stories tall.

For $250K, there are a limited number of 700-800 sq foot condos which were converted from apartment complexes in San Jose, but those are rare and hard to find.

WHY??? Why would someone want to live in those conditions? Am I missing something here? Is there 30 years added on your life span for living in this area? What are the advantages???? All I see is working non-stop to pay for a place to sleep if I lived in the SFB area. Not worth it IMO. I would love to hear why some of you want to live there.

 

[Ben]

WHY??? Why would someone want to live in those conditions? Am I missing something here? Is there 30 years added on your life span for living in this area? What are the advantages???? All I see is working non-stop to pay for a place to sleep if I lived in the SFB area. Not worth it IMO. I would love to hear why some of you want to live there.

I'd leave if I could, but for many of us who work in the technology industry, our jobs (and often times, stock options) are tied geographically to just a few places in the country. The unfortunate reality is that a great majority of opportunities for those of us with technical and engineering backgrounds are in the Bay Area. It's not that we don't want to leave (I do), but where would we go that has comparable number of opportunities? I'd say a good 90% of my undergraduate class (EE/CS) ended up here. The only way out for many is to get in on the real estate and investing track to replace their day jobs, which many people, including myself, are starting to do.

In addition to the real-estate prices, CA is also a very car-enthusiast un-friendly place when it comes to smog, importation, and modification laws.

For those with kids, some of the school districts are also among the best in the country, and the University of California is also among the best public university system in the country. Those are compelling reasons for many.

Another reason is that many families have been here for years or even generations. Those that bought their homes, investment properties, and land tracts in the '60s, '70s, and '80s at reasonable prices are now reaping the benefits, so why would they want to leave? The mortgage and property taxes houses bought in the '70s is ridiculously low by anyone's standard, but the rents they generate are quite good. If you bought a tract of farmland or orchard cheap in the '70s, you probably sold it to a developer for millions, and it's a strip mall, condo complex, or housing tract today.

 

[NimbleSexyXquisite]

Anyone fmilar with Studio City, North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks Area?

 

[Tom239]

WHY??? Why would someone want to live in those conditions? Am I missing something here? Is there 30 years added on your life span for living in this area? What are the advantages???? All I see is working non-stop to pay for a place to sleep if I lived in the SFB area. Not worth it IMO. I would love to hear why some of you want to live there.

As Ben said, the career opportunities in the bay area are huge if you're in the electronics or computer industry. It's not just a matter of being able to make lots of money there (although you can), you also have a wide range of interesting work to choose from, and many top-notch co-workers who come from all over the world.

The weather is good, too.

Me personally, I left the bay area nine years ago because I got tired of city life in general. But I had a good life professionally and socially while I was there.

 

[davidg]

I live on the east end of long island (hamptons) and 600-900k gets a starter home.We do have some nice roads out here and in the summer some really nice cars come out.

 

[|Adeel]

Just trying to learn, is the property tax annual? Or a one time only fee?