[Panderso]

Forgot to add, we are also being undergrounded.

[Panderso]

Have you bought yet? If not, have you considered College View Estates (College West)? It’s close to Talmadge/Kensington but we can choice into the Del Cerro schools, which are excellent. It’s also MUCH cheaper than Talmadge. We bought here over the summer and are super happy with our decision.

We’re land locked, which I personally like as there are some less desirable areas that border Talmadge. We’ve got Alvarado Estates (gated multi million $ homes) to the west, SDSU to the East, canyon to the north and Montezuma Rd to the South.

No pre war homes here so perhaps not a good option if you want that style, it’s all 1960s homes. Most are very well maintained and have cool mid century modern features though. The community is tight knit and really amazing.

[Panderso]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=millennial]. . .
I’m a bit puzzled as to why your employer would coddle a portion of their employees in this way. [/quote]

Wait, Boomers say they don’t like millennials, hire consultants, but the millennials are coddled? Sounds to me like that boomers are getting coddled, they are the ones getting consultants because they don’t get along with their coworkers or can’t figure out how to manage their staff.

I’m really sick of seeing this generational crap all the time. People come from all different backgrounds; some are hard workers, some are not, and I think it has very little to do with your generation.

The picture that BG is painting does not make any sense … Most millennials I know, myself included, started working around the Great Recession, so we’re all contentious, hard workers that are terrified of being randomly laid off when business goes south. If anything we are probably less demanding because of that.

[Panderso]

It’s definitely interesting to hear everyone’s opinions. I think we’re going to try to buy. Inventory is tight right now but we have time on our side so we can wait for the right place at an okay price. I did notice a bunch of price drops at the end of summer last year so fingers crossed the same thing happens this year.

I’m leaning towards keeping the condo too. I ran numbers today on keeping the condo vs putting the money in the stock market, assuming 7 percent annual return in the market, 3 percent annual rent increases, and 2 percent appreciation (and really, I think the numbers for rent and appreciation are quite conservative considering actual historical data) and it still comes out way in favor of the condo. And yes, I considered maintenance, improvements, less than 100 percent occupancy, depreciation, PALs, depreciation clawback on the sale (I’m an accountant).

Again, we don’t need access to that capital any time soon. We would be keeping the condo for the long haul. I could see our future kids using it for college or us even retiring in it when we’re older.

Yes, it’s a risk to keep money in a rental, but we’re young, are saving like crazy, and I think some calculated risk is how you build wealth. People are trending towards the overwhelmingly negative right now on home prices — yes, prices will dip at some point, but assuming less than 2 percent annual appreciation over 30 years in coastal CA is a bit silly IMO.

[Panderso]

Thanks all for your thoughts. This is exactly why I like posting on the internet — folks have no qualms about telling it like it is and exploring worst case scenarios, which is important to hear.

Flu, I totally get what you are saying and luckily we’ve considered all those factors. To clarify, I don’t expect 100 percent occupancy, I just said that to give some frame of reference to the cash flow numbers. I expect negative cash flow the first few years. I’m not thrilled about becoming a landlord and that’s weighed on our decision to keep the condo. The thing is, where would we invest that capital if we sold? We ran the numbers and, assuming 2 percent annual appreciation on the condo and averaged cash flow of only $100 a month, we’re still way better off compared to having it in the stock market at a 5 percent annual return.

I do like diversified investments though … If folks can suggest a better place to park the cash I’d love to hear it.

[Panderso]

Really? My understanding was that daycare/preschool is $10k to $15k a year, is that about right? I’m early on in the research process.

[Panderso]

Edit to my last comment: I just checked the Zillow rental estimate again and apparently cash flow would be $100-$200 a month, not $300-$400.

Bewildering – yeah, we’ve considered child-care in our budget. That’s why we have a cap on what we’ll buy. It is expensive and unfortunately we don’t have immediate family in the area so no free day care. 🙁

[Panderso]

Thanks guys.

Rich – I read your linked post and TBH it sounded pretty indecisive. Pretty similar to where I am right now!

Re: the condo – you make a good point about a concentration of assets in SD real estate. Right now we don’t need access to the equity and the condo seems a good place to park it and make some return … Maybe not better than putting it in the market though.

Hobie and La Jolla Renter – the condo is in UTC (La Jolla Colony), worth about $360k, we’ve got about $250k left on the loan, cash flow from renting would be $300-$400 per month assuming 100 percent occupancy. We’re looking to buy a SFH in Scripps Ranch.

[Panderso]

Thanks guys. We are leaning towards Scripps just because we like the area more. $85 a year for the bonds is nothing though. It could be ten times that amount and it wouldn’t factor into our decision making.

[Panderso]

FWIW we just called Sebonic this morning to refi our condo and they are basically honoring what they advertised (many do not). We got an instant quote for 3.25 with $1,300 in fees, ended up getting that exactly except $1,500 in fees.

You must mention that you found the info on Zillow though or else they will give you a worse rate.

[Panderso]

Another aspect to consider in the California vs Texas debate is state benefits, especially if you are looking to have kids. In California, a woman gets 3 to 4 months of paid disability/family leave and I believe the husband can take up to 6 weeks as well. Texas has no such program so you’ll be relying on your wife’s work’s disability insurance, which generally pays for 6 weeks max for her alone.

[Panderso]

Great, thanks for letting me know. It sounds like you think it won’t have a large financial impact on individual homeowners.

Your last sentence is a little foreboding … do you think there are bigger issues we’re going to face owning in RPQ??

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