Currently renting a 1 bed 1 bath in South Bay for $2550 inclusive of all furniture, utilities, electricity & Roku TV. Should I invest in a 2 bed, 2 bath condo—price range is 685k-700k—instead? I currently have $180k cash saved up, my yearly TC is 210K, credit score is 785, under 30, and I’m single. My concern is the interest rate, but honestly, it doesn’t seem like that’s going to level off anytime soon. Monthly mortgage payments with 20% down payment + HoA fees would be around $4,900, not including furniture, utilities, etc. Should I wait it out? I’m eager to purchase a property in my mid 20s. #personalfinance #investments #realestate #tech #techcareer #bayarea #apple #google #meta #netflix #nvidia #amazon #finance #mortgage
Does your 4900$ also include insurance? Also if the condo is in a well maintained community HOA fees will likely be higher than 500$
No I think just the property taxes, & HoA. I’m basing it off of Compass estimate
Where are you going to find a 2be2ba condo for $700K in South Bay though? Unless it's old and crumbling... The city standards for condo quality in building is usually lower than SFH
South San Jose
Is this way down South in the 7 trees or Silver Creek area?
Engineer and realtor here. $500 is pretty much the norm for hoa if not more depend on what it covers (water, garbage, etc ). If you can get a good deal on condo, why not. If interest does come dow eventually , refi the loan.
"I wish I didn't buy a house" -nobody has ever said this in the bay area in the past 20 years. If you think you can afford it and it's a good long term plan, go for it.the market is just getting crazier
Firstly, get a good realtor who guides you well and gets you a deal. You can do 10% down payment, just make sure you are prequalified for it. Your mortgage should increase by 400-500 depending upon HELOC and interest rates.
Now is the right time to buy a house for first time home buyer as lock your taxes which are going to stay forever but interesting rate might fall down after 5 years
Once interest rates drop the prices of houses will increase because the demand/competition will be insane.
This is a good argument for buying right now... if you can afford it, you will win when you refi when rates come down in N years.
I would aim a bit higher. Get pre-approved, see if you can do smaller downpayments somehow.
Have you done the math? You currently have a certain amount of cash leaving your pocket every month (and your rent is impressively cheap). To buy, you would take a big chunk out of savings (reduced interest returns) and more out of pocket every month, and you can guess/estimate how much the property would sell for every year for the next 5 years. Make low medium high estimates. Then compare your renting case vs those 3 hypotheticals. I suspect that your rent is so low, it will not make sense for you buy for anything other than a high market outcome.
Okay that is very helpful guidance. I didn’t know that’s the math I should be doing. Appreciate it.
Agree with what @partay is saying. I’m in similar boat as you, OP. I did this sort of calculation and then decided to keep renting until I’ve plans for marriage
Not sure. But definitely a smart move to get suggestions on blind.
No need to be snippy about it. I’d be the first homebuyer in my family. I don’t have a network I can lean on for advise like this. Check your privilege.
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If the HoA is high, selling a condo is a pain.
As of now it’s $500 I’m sure it’ll go up in the coming years.
The real estate experts can chime in here, but that's a bit high, and if it's not a fixed amount for life, then it can kinda be a pain when selling..