Married, 1 kid (Ages 31, 30, 2) What do you all think we can afford? HHI - $420k (HH Base is $371k) Cash - $350k Investments and vested RSUs - $450k 401k - $200k Unvested RSUs - $220k (vest every quarter) We want an SFH only if we are buying. Diverse school district with good test scores is enough. Okay with Union City, Blossom Valley.
HH base? What’s your age? If it’s close to 40, you may consider 15y mortgage which may reduce your affordability
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/10/always-use-the-30-30-3-rule-before-buying-a-home-during-pandemic-says-finance-real-estate-expert.html This was the gold standard. People now stretch like crazy because of FOMO and will tell you to do the same. You decide
Can’t you calculate it for yourself 😑 only you know how much you want to spend on a home.
I can. But I’m also trying to get out of my echo chamber. Is there harm in seeking advice from people?
No harm. I say you can even afford a 1.7M home. You will be stretched very thin though. But why buy a home you don’t like now if you can afford a home you like in the next couple of years?
With your requirements and current market, get ready to spend at least 1.5m, 1.75 is more realistic(good school districts starts at 1.7m for SFH). As far as I know, good test score and good diversity, actually drives school rating even higher so that makes it more desirable for buyers. You can afford it but will it be wise financial decision,given your monthly cash flow, only you can decide!
Agreed! And it’s extremely hot, every house is going over the comparables by 100k or more. It’s going to be tight for a couple of years for sure but long term, it seems doable.
1.7 and Good schools don't go together. The really good schools all have 2.5m prices unless you're going far.
Usually getting the best home you can see yourself living works out great in Bay Area. The home itself will be an investment that will appreciate as more nvidia and meta employees vest their rsu’s. And given you are still 30 your TC will keep going up making the house much more affordable over time and you can even pay it off within 10 years depending on TC growth and one or two promos
You can explore the YouTube channel linked below, which demonstrates how to run the math that answers your question. It helps you calculate the different odds of comfortably making your mortgage payments at various price points. A free (but limited) version of the simulation is available on the site. Check it out, and also, love to get your feedback on if it was useful in helping you in figuring things out. https://www.youtube.com/@paymentjock/playlists
Zero. You can’t afford houses here
Get a starter townhouse for 1.3 in a good school district. Don't stretch too much unless you can afford to.
Union city is shit
:( the few neighborhoods we visited weren’t that bad. What part of it do you not like?
I think the schools, the neighborhood, crime rate. You are much better off with fremont IMO. Its best to buy a smaller unit in a good neighborhood. At the end its all about the location location and location