I am 25, work in Sunnyvale under H1B visa, living with my girlfriend, and not planning to have any kids at least within the next 5 years. I have been house-shopping in the south bay and the only affordable yet nice property I could find is a new 1200sqft 2-bedroom condo in Milpitas ($850K). HOA is $575 monthly. Should I go ahead and buy it before prices and interest rate go up. Or wait another year in hope of having more options (New developments or salary raise which will allow me to buy more expensive property)? Note that I am looking to live in this house for foreseeable future, so I am okay with the fact that renting it won’t cover the mortgage payment. But It is not okay if the home price depreciated by the time I want to go for an upgrade. Also what do you think about living in Milpitas in general? I know about the smell myth, but this property is far enough from the dump, so it should be okay.
Right now is a great time to buy. Interest rate are low. If you plan to keep this place for at least 5 years buy it. You can alway do an upgrade later.
Interest rates may go down next year
$575 monthly
Why is it so high?
Are you on visa?
I am on H1B
Are you sure that you (and your future family) will be OK with the smell? Have you experienced the worst days of the year?
Could buy a house in East Oakland for half that price.
Didnt know this. Is East oakland safe?
Seems pretty safe. I own a rental house there and haven't had any problems any of the times I've been there.
What’s the HOA? Condo HOAs are sunk cost. In general, I would avoid condos. They are the first to drop in value in a down market
HOA is $575 monthly
HOAs are not tax deductible and they only go up over time.
Yea, the sales told me about it. And they said that the government has done above and beyond to clean it up completely
Wow. Thanks for this
Never buy a condo as an investment. Keep renting and buy a freehold duplex that is cash flow positive in Oakland.
That HOA is murder. And the smell isn’t a myth. There’s a smell map. Check it out. I’d try and find an older place further out with no HOA if you can.
That smell is not a myth.
Do you live in Milpitas? How bad is it in the area between great mall and I680?
Smell is bad near 680/great mall too. Sorry.