[Scarlett]

[quote=bearishgurl]

I see, Scarlett. A “cosmetic fixer” might be fine, then … that is, a property that just needs a minor “face-lift” and/or some landscaping purchased. An 1800 sf SFR might work, depending on the layout.
[/quote]

That’s correct.
[quote=bearishgurl]
WOULD be willing to commute to/from the right property. As for your 30 min door-to-door requirement to/from employers, I’m not sure if this is possible on a regular basis from the areas you are mentioning here.

(…)would take a 1600 to 2000 sf SFR which possibly might need remodeling, either immediately or at some point in the future.[/quote]

PQ, NW Mira Mesa are about at that 30′ threshold on most days. My boss lives in PQ and I know his commute (he claims 25′, I-15 to 52) and similar work hours (9:30 – 6). CMR and SS are not quite there, but if we REALLY like something there that’s a good deal too we might compromise on the commute, or alter our work schedule – we like those neighborhoods as well. Scripps Ranch is also not too far from 30′, so same thing applies (although less likely since it’s more expensive). We are keeping an eye also on UC.

[Scarlett]

[quote=pemeliza]Scarlett, given where you work have you considered something like this:

http://www.redfin.com/CA/La-Jolla/8778-Caminito-Sueno-92037/home/4867851

I am not sure but these might drop under 500k if things continue to decline.

edit : I just checked some recent posts and see that you have already considered these condos.[/quote]

Those from LJ Shore Heights rarely come on the market. $370 HOA!

[Scarlett]

[quote=pemeliza]Scarlett, given where you work have you considered something like this:

http://www.redfin.com/CA/La-Jolla/8778-Caminito-Sueno-92037/home/4867851

I am not sure but these might drop under 500k if things continue to decline.

edit : I just checked some recent posts and see that you have already considered these condos.[/quote]

Those from LJ Shore Heights rarely come on the market. $370 HOA!

[Scarlett]

[quote=pemeliza]Scarlett, given where you work have you considered something like this:

http://www.redfin.com/CA/La-Jolla/8778-Caminito-Sueno-92037/home/4867851

I am not sure but these might drop under 500k if things continue to decline.

edit : I just checked some recent posts and see that you have already considered these condos.[/quote]

Those from LJ Shore Heights rarely come on the market. $370 HOA!

[Scarlett]

[quote=pemeliza]Scarlett, given where you work have you considered something like this:

http://www.redfin.com/CA/La-Jolla/8778-Caminito-Sueno-92037/home/4867851

I am not sure but these might drop under 500k if things continue to decline.

edit : I just checked some recent posts and see that you have already considered these condos.[/quote]

Those from LJ Shore Heights rarely come on the market. $370 HOA!

[Scarlett]

[quote=pemeliza]Scarlett, given where you work have you considered something like this:

http://www.redfin.com/CA/La-Jolla/8778-Caminito-Sueno-92037/home/4867851

I am not sure but these might drop under 500k if things continue to decline.

edit : I just checked some recent posts and see that you have already considered these condos.[/quote]

Those from LJ Shore Heights rarely come on the market. $370 HOA!

[Scarlett]

[quote=bearishgurl]
Based upon what I remember of Scarlett’s previous posts, it seems they have recently decided on attempting to buy an over 2000 sf SFR when in months past, they seemed willing to consider 1600-1800 sf SFR OR condo. Obtaining a =>2000 sf SFR is and will be MUCH more challenging for them to obtain in 92122 and 92131 in their price range which tops out at about $500K, IMO.

If they continue to insist on 2000 sf, they may end up having to consider SC or set at least $20K aside to immediately FIX an SFR in 92122.[/quote]

Which is why CHANCES are that we wouldn’t find something like that in 92122 or 92131 NOW. They are too expensive at they are and no, we won’t have money leftover to fix them up right away. I’d much rather put 20% down. We are ok with something like repaint or recarpet right away – which is not too expensive and it’s quick so we can move in right away, or with a dated kitchen, or some landscaping which we can do over time (but we can live with it). In general we won’t have much discretionary income that we’d spend on fixing up a house, and if we don’t we may start hating living in that house -so we’d rather buy something pretty well done (not necessarily upgraded, but relatively neat and clean).

We are ok with 1700-1800 sf – but depends on the layout.(We saw recently one off Calle Cristobal that was over 1800 sf and felt smaller than our 1600 sf former townhouse.). A little larger is better of course – especially since we’ll have parents staying for extended time. Most 2000-2100 sf are fine for us in terms of space. We’ve owned before a townhouse before of 1600 sf, which, BTW, indeed called our name. We loved it. (At the time when we bought we didnt have kids and we worked flexible hours, so we didn’t give a thought to the commute, which proved intolerable for us at rush hour when we had kids.). (If you recall we put an offer on a 1700 sf townhome in La Jolla 3 months ago – only to find out that it would be difficult to finance it because of the low rate of owner/rental occupancy. So condos are not ok for us.)

Yes, I feel we will find something that we like in PQ in our price range, only because that’s where we’ve been focusing in the last couple years. Prices there are now in the low 500s. There could be other neighborhoods, like around Calle Cristobal in MM, or perhaps in 92128 areas close to 56 (CMR, Sabre Springs).

To live on one income we’d need a 350K house, but CHANCES are we would think the tradeoffs too great to be worth it. The problem isn’t finding one or two at that price (over 1800 sf) – there would be a reason for the price – being a fixer, the problem really is to have MANY at that price point so one can find something they LIKE out of those. We are not there YET and I’m not sure if we’ll ever be.

[Scarlett]

[quote=bearishgurl]
Based upon what I remember of Scarlett’s previous posts, it seems they have recently decided on attempting to buy an over 2000 sf SFR when in months past, they seemed willing to consider 1600-1800 sf SFR OR condo. Obtaining a =>2000 sf SFR is and will be MUCH more challenging for them to obtain in 92122 and 92131 in their price range which tops out at about $500K, IMO.

If they continue to insist on 2000 sf, they may end up having to consider SC or set at least $20K aside to immediately FIX an SFR in 92122.[/quote]

Which is why CHANCES are that we wouldn’t find something like that in 92122 or 92131 NOW. They are too expensive at they are and no, we won’t have money leftover to fix them up right away. I’d much rather put 20% down. We are ok with something like repaint or recarpet right away – which is not too expensive and it’s quick so we can move in right away, or with a dated kitchen, or some landscaping which we can do over time (but we can live with it). In general we won’t have much discretionary income that we’d spend on fixing up a house, and if we don’t we may start hating living in that house -so we’d rather buy something pretty well done (not necessarily upgraded, but relatively neat and clean).

We are ok with 1700-1800 sf – but depends on the layout.(We saw recently one off Calle Cristobal that was over 1800 sf and felt smaller than our 1600 sf former townhouse.). A little larger is better of course – especially since we’ll have parents staying for extended time. Most 2000-2100 sf are fine for us in terms of space. We’ve owned before a townhouse before of 1600 sf, which, BTW, indeed called our name. We loved it. (At the time when we bought we didnt have kids and we worked flexible hours, so we didn’t give a thought to the commute, which proved intolerable for us at rush hour when we had kids.). (If you recall we put an offer on a 1700 sf townhome in La Jolla 3 months ago – only to find out that it would be difficult to finance it because of the low rate of owner/rental occupancy. So condos are not ok for us.)

Yes, I feel we will find something that we like in PQ in our price range, only because that’s where we’ve been focusing in the last couple years. Prices there are now in the low 500s. There could be other neighborhoods, like around Calle Cristobal in MM, or perhaps in 92128 areas close to 56 (CMR, Sabre Springs).

To live on one income we’d need a 350K house, but CHANCES are we would think the tradeoffs too great to be worth it. The problem isn’t finding one or two at that price (over 1800 sf) – there would be a reason for the price – being a fixer, the problem really is to have MANY at that price point so one can find something they LIKE out of those. We are not there YET and I’m not sure if we’ll ever be.

[Scarlett]

[quote=bearishgurl]
Based upon what I remember of Scarlett’s previous posts, it seems they have recently decided on attempting to buy an over 2000 sf SFR when in months past, they seemed willing to consider 1600-1800 sf SFR OR condo. Obtaining a =>2000 sf SFR is and will be MUCH more challenging for them to obtain in 92122 and 92131 in their price range which tops out at about $500K, IMO.

If they continue to insist on 2000 sf, they may end up having to consider SC or set at least $20K aside to immediately FIX an SFR in 92122.[/quote]

Which is why CHANCES are that we wouldn’t find something like that in 92122 or 92131 NOW. They are too expensive at they are and no, we won’t have money leftover to fix them up right away. I’d much rather put 20% down. We are ok with something like repaint or recarpet right away – which is not too expensive and it’s quick so we can move in right away, or with a dated kitchen, or some landscaping which we can do over time (but we can live with it). In general we won’t have much discretionary income that we’d spend on fixing up a house, and if we don’t we may start hating living in that house -so we’d rather buy something pretty well done (not necessarily upgraded, but relatively neat and clean).

We are ok with 1700-1800 sf – but depends on the layout.(We saw recently one off Calle Cristobal that was over 1800 sf and felt smaller than our 1600 sf former townhouse.). A little larger is better of course – especially since we’ll have parents staying for extended time. Most 2000-2100 sf are fine for us in terms of space. We’ve owned before a townhouse before of 1600 sf, which, BTW, indeed called our name. We loved it. (At the time when we bought we didnt have kids and we worked flexible hours, so we didn’t give a thought to the commute, which proved intolerable for us at rush hour when we had kids.). (If you recall we put an offer on a 1700 sf townhome in La Jolla 3 months ago – only to find out that it would be difficult to finance it because of the low rate of owner/rental occupancy. So condos are not ok for us.)

Yes, I feel we will find something that we like in PQ in our price range, only because that’s where we’ve been focusing in the last couple years. Prices there are now in the low 500s. There could be other neighborhoods, like around Calle Cristobal in MM, or perhaps in 92128 areas close to 56 (CMR, Sabre Springs).

To live on one income we’d need a 350K house, but CHANCES are we would think the tradeoffs too great to be worth it. The problem isn’t finding one or two at that price (over 1800 sf) – there would be a reason for the price – being a fixer, the problem really is to have MANY at that price point so one can find something they LIKE out of those. We are not there YET and I’m not sure if we’ll ever be.

[Scarlett]

[quote=bearishgurl]
Based upon what I remember of Scarlett’s previous posts, it seems they have recently decided on attempting to buy an over 2000 sf SFR when in months past, they seemed willing to consider 1600-1800 sf SFR OR condo. Obtaining a =>2000 sf SFR is and will be MUCH more challenging for them to obtain in 92122 and 92131 in their price range which tops out at about $500K, IMO.

If they continue to insist on 2000 sf, they may end up having to consider SC or set at least $20K aside to immediately FIX an SFR in 92122.[/quote]

Which is why CHANCES are that we wouldn’t find something like that in 92122 or 92131 NOW. They are too expensive at they are and no, we won’t have money leftover to fix them up right away. I’d much rather put 20% down. We are ok with something like repaint or recarpet right away – which is not too expensive and it’s quick so we can move in right away, or with a dated kitchen, or some landscaping which we can do over time (but we can live with it). In general we won’t have much discretionary income that we’d spend on fixing up a house, and if we don’t we may start hating living in that house -so we’d rather buy something pretty well done (not necessarily upgraded, but relatively neat and clean).

We are ok with 1700-1800 sf – but depends on the layout.(We saw recently one off Calle Cristobal that was over 1800 sf and felt smaller than our 1600 sf former townhouse.). A little larger is better of course – especially since we’ll have parents staying for extended time. Most 2000-2100 sf are fine for us in terms of space. We’ve owned before a townhouse before of 1600 sf, which, BTW, indeed called our name. We loved it. (At the time when we bought we didnt have kids and we worked flexible hours, so we didn’t give a thought to the commute, which proved intolerable for us at rush hour when we had kids.). (If you recall we put an offer on a 1700 sf townhome in La Jolla 3 months ago – only to find out that it would be difficult to finance it because of the low rate of owner/rental occupancy. So condos are not ok for us.)

Yes, I feel we will find something that we like in PQ in our price range, only because that’s where we’ve been focusing in the last couple years. Prices there are now in the low 500s. There could be other neighborhoods, like around Calle Cristobal in MM, or perhaps in 92128 areas close to 56 (CMR, Sabre Springs).

To live on one income we’d need a 350K house, but CHANCES are we would think the tradeoffs too great to be worth it. The problem isn’t finding one or two at that price (over 1800 sf) – there would be a reason for the price – being a fixer, the problem really is to have MANY at that price point so one can find something they LIKE out of those. We are not there YET and I’m not sure if we’ll ever be.

[Scarlett]

[quote=bearishgurl]
Based upon what I remember of Scarlett’s previous posts, it seems they have recently decided on attempting to buy an over 2000 sf SFR when in months past, they seemed willing to consider 1600-1800 sf SFR OR condo. Obtaining a =>2000 sf SFR is and will be MUCH more challenging for them to obtain in 92122 and 92131 in their price range which tops out at about $500K, IMO.

If they continue to insist on 2000 sf, they may end up having to consider SC or set at least $20K aside to immediately FIX an SFR in 92122.[/quote]

Which is why CHANCES are that we wouldn’t find something like that in 92122 or 92131 NOW. They are too expensive at they are and no, we won’t have money leftover to fix them up right away. I’d much rather put 20% down. We are ok with something like repaint or recarpet right away – which is not too expensive and it’s quick so we can move in right away, or with a dated kitchen, or some landscaping which we can do over time (but we can live with it). In general we won’t have much discretionary income that we’d spend on fixing up a house, and if we don’t we may start hating living in that house -so we’d rather buy something pretty well done (not necessarily upgraded, but relatively neat and clean).

We are ok with 1700-1800 sf – but depends on the layout.(We saw recently one off Calle Cristobal that was over 1800 sf and felt smaller than our 1600 sf former townhouse.). A little larger is better of course – especially since we’ll have parents staying for extended time. Most 2000-2100 sf are fine for us in terms of space. We’ve owned before a townhouse before of 1600 sf, which, BTW, indeed called our name. We loved it. (At the time when we bought we didnt have kids and we worked flexible hours, so we didn’t give a thought to the commute, which proved intolerable for us at rush hour when we had kids.). (If you recall we put an offer on a 1700 sf townhome in La Jolla 3 months ago – only to find out that it would be difficult to finance it because of the low rate of owner/rental occupancy. So condos are not ok for us.)

Yes, I feel we will find something that we like in PQ in our price range, only because that’s where we’ve been focusing in the last couple years. Prices there are now in the low 500s. There could be other neighborhoods, like around Calle Cristobal in MM, or perhaps in 92128 areas close to 56 (CMR, Sabre Springs).

To live on one income we’d need a 350K house, but CHANCES are we would think the tradeoffs too great to be worth it. The problem isn’t finding one or two at that price (over 1800 sf) – there would be a reason for the price – being a fixer, the problem really is to have MANY at that price point so one can find something they LIKE out of those. We are not there YET and I’m not sure if we’ll ever be.

[Scarlett]

[quote=UCGal][quote=Rustico]It seems like buying something that requires two incomes to “sustain” is always stretching.[/quote]
I have to agree with Russell here. Maybe I come to that perspective because I owned a house before I got married… As did my husband. So the idea of doing it on a single income was natural.

In an ideal world, folks would buy based on one income… which allows the other income to fund savings, etc…[/quote]

Well, UCGal, depends on the income and the house…I don’t share that perspective…When I got married I was a postdoc, earning 30K or so…It was unconceivable then to me to own a house on my income – even later, as a programmer analyst in my mid 30s earning 40k…What kind of house I could have gotten that was 100K then? The bubble was almost full blown…LOL…I had practically no savings at all for a downpayment either. That was not many years ago either mind you – less than 10! – so we were already in the housing bubble… To us it was clear that if we want to have a decent house & life we need both incomes… That was our perspective.

As a note, I am not trying to live on one income and save the other exclusively. Life is short, and we haven’t indulged much so far as student/postdoc as we worked very hard during those times. Sure we would save a good part. But we want to be able to afford the mortgage AND put food on the table IF we will be on ONE income – cutting out non-essentials.

[Scarlett]

[quote=UCGal][quote=Rustico]It seems like buying something that requires two incomes to “sustain” is always stretching.[/quote]
I have to agree with Russell here. Maybe I come to that perspective because I owned a house before I got married… As did my husband. So the idea of doing it on a single income was natural.

In an ideal world, folks would buy based on one income… which allows the other income to fund savings, etc…[/quote]

Well, UCGal, depends on the income and the house…I don’t share that perspective…When I got married I was a postdoc, earning 30K or so…It was unconceivable then to me to own a house on my income – even later, as a programmer analyst in my mid 30s earning 40k…What kind of house I could have gotten that was 100K then? The bubble was almost full blown…LOL…I had practically no savings at all for a downpayment either. That was not many years ago either mind you – less than 10! – so we were already in the housing bubble… To us it was clear that if we want to have a decent house & life we need both incomes… That was our perspective.

As a note, I am not trying to live on one income and save the other exclusively. Life is short, and we haven’t indulged much so far as student/postdoc as we worked very hard during those times. Sure we would save a good part. But we want to be able to afford the mortgage AND put food on the table IF we will be on ONE income – cutting out non-essentials.

[Scarlett]

[quote=UCGal][quote=Rustico]It seems like buying something that requires two incomes to “sustain” is always stretching.[/quote]
I have to agree with Russell here. Maybe I come to that perspective because I owned a house before I got married… As did my husband. So the idea of doing it on a single income was natural.

In an ideal world, folks would buy based on one income… which allows the other income to fund savings, etc…[/quote]

Well, UCGal, depends on the income and the house…I don’t share that perspective…When I got married I was a postdoc, earning 30K or so…It was unconceivable then to me to own a house on my income – even later, as a programmer analyst in my mid 30s earning 40k…What kind of house I could have gotten that was 100K then? The bubble was almost full blown…LOL…I had practically no savings at all for a downpayment either. That was not many years ago either mind you – less than 10! – so we were already in the housing bubble… To us it was clear that if we want to have a decent house & life we need both incomes… That was our perspective.

As a note, I am not trying to live on one income and save the other exclusively. Life is short, and we haven’t indulged much so far as student/postdoc as we worked very hard during those times. Sure we would save a good part. But we want to be able to afford the mortgage AND put food on the table IF we will be on ONE income – cutting out non-essentials.

[Scarlett]

[quote=UCGal][quote=Rustico]It seems like buying something that requires two incomes to “sustain” is always stretching.[/quote]
I have to agree with Russell here. Maybe I come to that perspective because I owned a house before I got married… As did my husband. So the idea of doing it on a single income was natural.

In an ideal world, folks would buy based on one income… which allows the other income to fund savings, etc…[/quote]

Well, UCGal, depends on the income and the house…I don’t share that perspective…When I got married I was a postdoc, earning 30K or so…It was unconceivable then to me to own a house on my income – even later, as a programmer analyst in my mid 30s earning 40k…What kind of house I could have gotten that was 100K then? The bubble was almost full blown…LOL…I had practically no savings at all for a downpayment either. That was not many years ago either mind you – less than 10! – so we were already in the housing bubble… To us it was clear that if we want to have a decent house & life we need both incomes… That was our perspective.

As a note, I am not trying to live on one income and save the other exclusively. Life is short, and we haven’t indulged much so far as student/postdoc as we worked very hard during those times. Sure we would save a good part. But we want to be able to afford the mortgage AND put food on the table IF we will be on ONE income – cutting out non-essentials.

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