🚀 go-pugleaf

It's undeniable that the housing market in the Bay Area is horrible.  We
never thought we would be able to own a home either, but last month we
bought a pretty nice 3 bedroom place with a very promising garden.  Of course,
having a house means that we'll have to live like paupers for many years
to come, but then again, we're used to it.

here are some tips for buying a home:

-Look outside the Silicon Valley.  There is no way in hell that we could
ever have afforded to buy a house anywhere in San Mateo or Santa Clara
county (or at least anywhere without a crime problem).  Instead, look at the 
East Bay, where more affordable housing can still be found.

Hayward, San Lorenzo and San Leandro are good options for people who work
in SV (or really, most other parts of the bay).  These areas are centrally
located so if you change jobs your commute won't change that much and they
have BART stations (if you get a job close to one).  The commute, of course,
can still be very long but much better than from other areas.  Houses
here are not cheap, but you can get a 3 bedroom house for $200K and up 
(the cheaper ones are usually in less desirable locations).

Other areas to consider are Richmond (where we lived before, you can get
a nice house in the Richmond North and East area starting at about $160K)
and the new Chronicle darlings Antioch and Pitsburg (which seem to be cheaper
still).  Of course, this means a longer commute (unless you can bart).

There are other cheaper areas to live, but the ones I mention are those not
plagued by high crime rates.

-Look at buying a condo.  These tend to be cheaper than houses and while
they may not be ideal, they allow you to build equity until you can
afford a detached house.  You can still get a 1 bedroom condo for about 
$200K in the Penninsula or the Valley, and for much, much less in the 
East Bay

-Buy a house with less bedrooms/bathrooms that you would like.  You may not
be able to afford your typical 3 bedroom/2 bath house - but it may very well
be that you can afford to get a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom one.  If you get a house
with the right design, you may not even feel the absence of that extra
room.  For example, a formal dining room can be easily converted into an 
office but still will cost considerably less than an extra bedroom.

-Buy a fixer-upper.  Look specially for houses which are in need of cosmetic
rather than structural work.  They tend to be cheaper and you can do the
work as you get the money.

-Talk to a lender.  You may find out that you can actually afford to buy
a much more expensive house that you previously thought.  There are many
loans now that allow you to put less than 5% down, and you may qualify to 
buy a house which costs up to 5 times  your yearly income.  Of course,
this will mean HUGE monthly payments, but you'll be building equity and
you missed ramen anyway :)

-Rent extra rooms in your house, that should help you make your mortgage
payments.

-Ask your employer for help - some employers might be able to help you buy a 
house by providing second mortages or loans/gifts towards your down payment.

It seems to me that if you are an engineer making a good salary you should
be able to buy a home - perhaps not the home of your dreams, but something
that you can make your own.

Good luck!

Marga


-- 
Margarita Lacabe - Derechos - marga@derechos.org - http://www.derechos.org
____________________________________________________________________________

                 "We are never so likely to settle a question
                    rightly as when we discuss it freely."
                            Thomas Babington, 1830