Poll: How many millions do you have?
In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don’t Feel Rich – New York Times
“You’re nobody here at $10 million,” Mr. Kremen said earnestly over a glass of pinot noir at an upscale wine bar here.Not every Silicon Valley millionaire, of course, shares that perspective.
Celeste Baranski, a 49-year-old engineer with a net worth of around $5 million who lives with her husband in Menlo Park, no longer frets about tucking enough money away for college for their two children. Long ago she stopped bothering to balance her checkbook. When too many 18-hour days running an engineering department of 1,200 left her feeling burned out and empty, she left and gave herself 12 months off.
Yet like other working-class millionaires of Silicon Valley, she harbors anxieties about her financial future. Ms. Baranski — who was briefly worth as much as $200 million in 2000 but cashed out only $1 million before the collapse of the tech bubble — returned to work in March.
“People around here, if they have 2 or 3 million dollars, they don’t feel secure,” said David W. Hettig, an estate planner based in Menlo Park who has advised Silicon Valley’s wealthy for two decades.
[snip]
“I don’t know how people live here on just a normal salary,” said Ms. Baranski.
Ok, time for a poll. To all readers (yes YOU): How many millions do you have (excluding house value)?
Are you a nobody? Do you feel secure?
Post your reply in the comments!
August 5th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Bill Gates and I have a combined net worth over $50 billion.
August 5th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
I’m a renter — we’re barely recognized as human these days.
August 5th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
I’m close to a $1 million, and should be there by this time next year. Oh wait, are we boasting about net debt or net worth??
August 5th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
My husband and I have a combined net worth of about $300k. He’s 42, I’m 35. We have a combined income of about $225,000 from technology jobs. We aren’t comfortable purchasing property in California and feel distinctly ‘below average’ living here — we plan to move next year (when I get accepted into an MBA program).
-PM
August 5th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Age: 41
401K: $400K
Savings & Investments: $490K
Total: $0.89M
Rent a decent condo: $1100/month
No debt.
I feel quite secure. 9 more years of work and I might call it quits. I’m watching the housing bubble play out to identify a possible retirement spot–it won’t include Shallow Valley. Hey, if I include regular savings interest and tax-free bond interest with my take-home pay, it’s $2,104/week. I can remember the days when rent was more than 1 week’s paycheck. Yeah, I feel secure.
August 5th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
The best part around Silly Valley is when they talk about below-market rate rentals, and have salary requirements like
August 5th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
The best part around Silly Valley is when they talk about below-market rate rentals, and have salary requirements like less than 40k for a family. I make 80k, and I feel like I deserve a BMR. The middle class is ridiculously squeezed here.
Or maybe the best part is the Porsche’s and BMWs parked in front of ridiculously crappy ranch houses. That always makes me laugh too.
August 6th, 2007 at 9:13 am
PM,
We are very similar to you… almost the same income and net worth… ages 36 and 30. We too feel distinctly below average which is just insane. We live within our means and save 15% of our income. That of course that means we live in an over-priced slum apartment. Now that rents are going up, our landlord just raised the rent 17%, we are moving to an East Bay slum. My friends and I joke that it seems like everyone won the lotto except us. And, like you we are planning to move…
SF Bay Area
The Worst Place on Earth
August 6th, 2007 at 11:13 am
33yo here and tech job. Our family used to have 200k+/year income combined until my wife decided on going to a post-graduate school. Now it’s 140k+/year and we can barely afford renting a crappy apartment in San Mateo area because of all tuition, daycare expenses. Even after my wife’s graduation I don’t think we’ll afford a 800ft garage in BA.
Yeh, I know what burbed said: Bay Area is special. But I still don’t get why my friends from East Coast are laughing at me.
August 6th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Anyone here have kids?
August 6th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
I am a renter with a few hundred thousand dollars invested in stock market. My rent counts around 10% of my pre-tax income. I live below my means. I feel secure, because I can maintain my current life style without working income for at least 15 years. The only thing worries me is that living in apartment is not good for my baby girl when she grows up.
August 6th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
I do. 5yo boy and 2yo girl. My wife used to teach kindergarten, but quit 3 yrs ago to focus on the kids. I’m 40, our net worth is about 800k which is all assets as we have zero debt. My annual salary is 100k. Rent in Fremont at 2025/mo for a 3BR+den, 2.5BA, 2CG, 1866 sqft SFH with a roughly 15×25 backyard. 2 cars, 10 and 13 years old respectively. No car payments. Public school, no daycare. Vacations this year to Hawaii, San Diego (twice), Australia and South Asia.
We feel secure financially, but very frustrated by the housing market and the greed and entitlement we see. The house we’re renting now goes for 800k on the market. I’m grimly waiting to pay all cash for it if it reaches 400k in value. Otherwise to hell with buying; I’d rather pay my landlord money for the privilege of painting my walls and/or remodeling. I have far better uses for my money than sinking it all into a bloody house. If that means I’m priced out for ever and will never “have a roof over my head” (according to my in-laws) until I die, so be it.
Luckily I have a beautiful wife who is with me 100% on the financial side, and two awesome kids. Wifey and I enjoy bashing RE types and evangelists, and racing our Roth IRAs against each other. And sites like Burbed and thehousingbubbleblog keep us sane. Thank you.
August 6th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Lesser Fool,
You got a good rental deal. Your landlord should charge you $4000/m to get 5% rental yield:
$4000 x 12 / $800,000 = 6%
6% – 1% (property tax0 = 5%
Or that house really worthes $400K.
August 6th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
Wow, I’m with you guys (especially you Lesser Fool). Owned a home (townhouse) when it reached half a mill in “supposed” value I said SOLD. Took the money and rented. Bigger house (we needed it) waaaay bigger house, renting is okay. Saving over 10% monthly. Retirement fund, college fund, emergency fund — all the essentials. No car payments, a little personal debt but working my way through — nothing a few months of working can’t fix.
I don’t feel insignificant . . . hell, even when I had two nickels to my name I didn’t feel insignificant. I think that these people have issues with their self-worth. I think that even if they made $30 million tomorrow, they would still feel unworthy and needed to KEEP UP with their buddies.
Their gauge of success is how they can one-up their neighbors and friends. Not how happy their family is, how much time they can spend with their family, how comfortable their home is FOR THEM (not for show). If you don’t have those things clearly in mind as valuable in your life . . . then yeah, you’ll never feel like you are worth anything.
Sad state of affairs we are witnessing.
August 6th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Renter,
we have a great landlord, actually a property management company who also owns the property. This makes it a much more stable environment for the renter, as the landlord knows what they are doing. Also, they bought around construction time I believe so their cost basis must be about 350k or less. They cannot be having too much trouble paying the mortgage.
We’ve been in this house for 4 years now. Started out at 1950/mo and just got our second increase, to 2025. First two years there was no increase. Co-incidentally, perhaps, both those years I asked them to reduce the rent, which was not granted either.
Telemill, I agree with you about making the house comfortable for oneself before thinking about what others think. Our best purchase for our home has undoubtedly been our mattress. Splurged 2.5k on it (Stearns and Foster, about a foot thick or more). Our reasoning was that this is the place where we spend 1/3 of our lives. Why not get the very best? Certainly before buying a fancy car (unless you commute from Tracy to the BA in which case 1/3 of your life might be in your car) or a 52″ plasma or high-end appliances or, *gasp* granite countertops. Our bed is like heaven, and being an eastern king still supports the four of us when necessary, no problem. We have yet to sleep on a hotel bed that matches up to our own.
It’s amazing how quickly people forget how much fun they had in college or just starting out with next to nothing. Why think that you can buy happiness with an HGTV house? I bought my first dining table in 1997 for $50 second hand (including four chairs). We reluctantly got rid of it 3 months ago (it’s still in the family; now in my mil’s apartment) and upgraded to a World Market beauty made of rubberwood from a renewable source which sits 7 comfortably. That was 10 years of wonderful meals and poker games we squeezed out of that $50 purchase.
This is my approach to pretty much all purchases (I can’t speak for my wife, but she is moving in my direction). It has to either be used a lot (eg. clothes), be some kind of appreciating asset, or be a tool that can advance you in some way, monetarily or otherwise. It’s amazing how much crap we avoid buying when these criteria are applied. Like Renter, we try to live below our means and really, when you make 100k that’s not hard to do! But if you buy a house now then you can say *poof* to your lifestyle and security. How ironic, eh?
I’ve reached the point where to get any meaningful increase in salary will require taking time away from what I like to do best (ie, anything other than my job). This life is not about slaving for some corporation and retiring fat and rich. It’s about appreciating what you have, exploring ALL your talents and fantasies, and loving those close to you which means spending MORE TIME with them instead of showering them with MORE MONEY and LESS TIME. Besides, if you live below your means and are smart about it you can manage and grow your wealth without too much effort or risk.
Unfortunately America is nowadays driven mostly on one principle: CONSUME CONSUME CONSUME. It used to be PRODUCE PRODUCE PRODUCE. Yes Telemill, it’s a very sad state of affairs.
August 6th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Here is story of someone live modestly:
“By Silicon Valley standards, Brian Wilson is not rich. But despite a nest egg of roughly $1.5 million — small in comparison to many of his engineering friends’ — Mr. Wilson, 40, feels less anxious about his wealth than many of his peers.
Mr. Wilson, an engineer with a master’s degree from Stanford University, rents rather than owns. And in the land of BMWs and Lamborghinis, he drives a 2002 Nissan Sentra. ”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/technology/05rich-wilson-web.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
August 6th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
I have zero millions.
August 7th, 2007 at 1:04 am
We (fiancee and I) are of the class known as renters.
I humbly order my drip coffee at Starbucks with my head down, since I won’t be tipping.
I don’t own an LCD or Plasma television the size of a drive-in movie screen.
I drive a well maintained 10 year old car that yields 30 mpg.
I cook and eat well, shopping at farmers markets.
I haven’t stepped inside a mall in years, though I do shop at discount stores and on the internet.
I discovered that I like sunlight, riding my bike, and walking and that I hate conference calls, NetMeetings, and daily Dilbert moments, so;
I recently left an IT job in which my daily departure from the office felt like the escape scene from the movie The Shawshank Redemption.
Savings amount to approximately $40K (not inclusive of 401K funds).
We have health insurance.
We will remain renters until the housing market regains a measure of “normalcy”, and it will.
We don’t feel “inadequate”, as our lifestyle is relaxed and fun, but somewhat austere for the moment.
We will continue to live below our means, which should still afford fun and well budgeted travel, even after I’ve found a job that doesn’t feel like the daily passing of a kidney stone.
To Mrs. Baranski: We live pretty well on “normal” salaries, apparently you would not.
August 7th, 2007 at 8:29 am
Taking out a giant loan to own a home is “the American dream,” people! Also, two months’ salary is a customary guideline for an engagement diamond. And 4 out of 5 doctors recommend smoking Chesterfields.
The wife and I earn about $250k/year. One kid in day care. Rent a spacious 3BR, two story duplex for $2600, which is a ton of cash but gives us the room(s) to have a second kid. Zillow thinks the building is worth $1.4MM, which would probably value our unit at $800k-$900k as a condo. Good landlords — their 20-something daughter lives in the building.
We max our 401ks (about $300k total), around $100k in other money in savings and mutual funds. We indulge in a few luxuries: two cars instead of one, but both are modest ’99 models; big TV set with DirecTV and NFL Sunday Ticket; takeout dinners twice a week.
At our incomes, we don’t feel like we could afford a home in the Bay Area without taking on a huge amount of stress. Happiness is more important than a mortgage that murders you a little more every day.
We’re probably moving away in 2009.
August 7th, 2007 at 9:16 am
I just recently sold my house and have been contemplating my next move. I am 37, male,single, my net worth is about 750K ( is that enough for start a business here ? ) Annual income is around $150K. I did not feel secured at all when I had my mortgage. In fact I did not have any salary adjustment for the past 3.5 years. I think I make below the market rate now ( ugh!) . My job is far from being secured ( outsourcing etc) and I am not in a hurry to buy anything either. I feel like I might be pricing out forever.
I’d like to explore other states in the country.I am very liberal, worldly, not sure if I can survive in the redneck towns though. Austin might be an option, Portland is nice but it rains too much. Any other suggestions ?
August 8th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Lesser Fool – I also have an Eastern King Stearns & Foster mattress – its the only decent furniture I own.
Question for you – where do you buy sheets? I haven’t had much luck finding sheets for my mattress since most stores have Cal king sheets. Also, my mattress is not a super deep mattress – its standard depth. Any ideas on where to find snug fitting sheets for a standard depth Eastern king mattress?
August 8th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
I had never heard of these mattresses before. Interesting stuff.
Do they always come up with boxsprings? My current (Ikea) bed frame doesn’t have that.
August 8th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Mattress Lover, I can’t remember offhand where we got our sheets from. Could have been IKEA, or maybe BB&B. We only have a fitted sheet and then a comforter (with cover) on top. Takes about 5 seconds to make the bed. We tried having those fancy “model home” pillow setups on our bed but soon threw them out. With 2 small kids there’s no point.
Speaking of IKEA, burbed, their mattresses I found to be too thin for the kind of comfort we’re now used to. Not sure of the physical purpose of box springs – perhaps to stabilize the mattress better. With the box spring, which itself is elevated off the floor by the bedframe slats, our actual sleeping surface is about 2.5 feet off the floor! This was extremely scary when we first bought the mattress about 6 years ago, but we soon got used to it and now even our 2-year-old is quite comfortable mounting and dismounting by herself.
Otherwise, we rather like IKEA, particularly for children’s furniture/storage and lighting. Also their 1.99 kids meal
August 8th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
I can’t believe the likes of Baranski
Even here in NYC where $25 MM townhomes are not uncommon … $10 MM is a considered a watershed … the point where you have made it.
I guess the easy silly valley lotto makes people insecure … they just happened to be in the right place at the right time…. when you have slogged through ultra-competitive Ivy league programs and worked your way through the ruthless world of high finance you know you can make it anywhere ….work in a prop group with ultra smart peers
btw… I am a cheapskate, bubble sitter…drive a 13 year Acura Integra (my first car!!), rent at
August 8th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
Burbed – Stearns & Foster is a high end maker that is owned by Sealy. Basically they use much heavier wire in the springs. My mattress was about $2k and that was 6 years ago (they have their own special boxsprings). If you haven’t tried a high end mattress, you owe it to yourself to get one – its money well spent.
August 8th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
>Even here in NYC where $25 MM townhomes are not uncommon … $10 MM is a considered a watershed … the point where you have made it.
Yes but that’s in Manhattan. And Park Slope, Brooklyn (at this rate). But you don’t see Long Island or Bergen County as insane. And you wouldn’t expect them to be since they’re the suburbs.
That’s why this is mostly a Silicon Valley blog, and not a San Francisco one.
August 9th, 2007 at 6:45 am
[...] do you have? — Burbed.com: Your San Francisco Bay Area Home and Mortgage Insanity Blog Poll: How many millions do you have? — Burbed.com: Your San Francisco Bay Area Home and Mortga… Ok, time for a poll. To all readers (yes YOU): How many millions do you have (excluding house [...]
August 9th, 2007 at 7:04 am
I am screwed. Job sent overseas. Hundreds of applicants for the rare opening. $12,000 yearly. Five decades old and, yes Virginia, I am convinced there is age discrimination. Broken down body after a quarter-century of hard physical labor; unable to do the jobs I did in the past. Retraining after job injury led to a 14 month stint in new career before outsourcing. New career turned into a dead end. Scraping by as a substitute teacher. Getting ready to select a cardboard box to retire in. There ARE millions sharing my plight. Just glad the illegals get free health care. Veterans hospital won’t do a thing for me. I sure was a sucker falling for that elite class-based propaganda about working hard, keep nose clean and, at the least, have a wee bit of security and a comfortable life. Sigh………….
August 9th, 2007 at 7:56 am
Hate to say this, but you are asking for it:
Age: 35, single.
Net worth $1.55 million.
$650k in securities (taxable and tax deferred accounts), $900k in home equity.
Bought in Palo Alto in 2003. At the time I bought I was worth $226k. Recovering stock markets, a high savings rate (with a 200K income) and the insane PA house market have all been good to me during the last 4 years.
I don’t understand the R/E market here – there is no way I would pay today’s prices for housing, but in 2003 when I bought my P+I on a 5/1 mortgage was $2600, not much more than renting (I also have about $8k in yearly prop taxes, but I figure this is a wash with the tax deductions). I do feel bad for all the renters – its gone from just expensive to just plain nutty here. My neighborhood is up about 30% during the last year and I don’t get it at all. Thinking of selling out but I don’t know where to go.
August 9th, 2007 at 8:01 am
In mid 2006, I landed my first software engineering job in the valley with a pay of 65K + bonuses. For 2006, my earned income was 50K. I wondered how the heck I was ever going to afford to purchase a home.
I am now making 80K + bonuses. My take home pay after insurance, 401K, etc is $3600 per month. Rent is $1400. Car is $500 + $130 ins + $200 gas. Bills $250+. No cc debt. After socializing, the left over is put into the stock market and savings. I have 100K in assets, and, including my stock market winnings, I will have an earned income of 150K + easily.
I am 27.
By no means a millionaire, but I am doing quite well. However, I worry about how I will be able to buy a house and start a family. When I was younger, these things were just fundamental. Assuming I make 150K per year from here on out (doubtful), the mortgage on a million dollar house will be very tight, and very stressful. This is the main concern of many of my peers who are in the same boat…
August 9th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
PM said she has a combined income of $250K but a net worth of $300K (he’s 42, she’s 35), that sucks. I’m staying in the Mid-Atlantic region.
I’m a lawyer in DC making $250K, the wife makes $80K. I went to public law school, so I have no school debt, the wife paid her’s off. I bought my first house in ’99, now I own 7. My rentals are cash flow positive. My own mortgage is less than half of my take home pay (4BR house, walk to Metro). I’m worth about $2.5 million, even with the pullbacks in the markets (Stock and Real Estate). I only paid $100-120k for my first 3 rentals, so even the pullback isn’t killing me.
The one thing wierd about the DC real estate explosion is that prices were still pretty cheap when the dot com money was flowing in 2000 and 2001. It wasn’t until the supposed recession that the real estate market took off. You Bay Area folks should move here. There are plenty of six figure jobs and the condo market is about to tank in some pretty good areas in Arlington, Alexandria, and the District. The Metro is excellent too.
August 9th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Lots of lawyers on this thread it seems – I guess I picked the wrong profession.
August 9th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
I’m in software. Combined income with wife is a bit less than $200k. $190k 401k, $125k savings and other investments. I’m 40. Rent is $1700 (3br apt), cars are new, paid cash ($50k, ouch), after the old ones died after 10 years. No debt.
I’m not buying a house until it’s cheaper than renting, period. I suspect I’ll purchase in 2010, though if the wife really insists, it may be earlier – in some other state.
When I first moved to the Valley in ’97 to take a software job, I made $50k, and houses were $300k, since then, rents have gone up by about 15%, housing prices tripled, but so did my pay. I just can’t go back to the ’99-style living of spending so much of my salary on rent (sorry, I mean rent-to-the-bank in mortgage). I love only spending one sixth of my take home on housing costs… Who wouldn’t?
And if you’re wondering why I only have so little in the bank on my income, the answer is simple – 1999-2001 were one continuous party. Wouldn’t go back and get that money for all the houses in China.
August 9th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
We left the Bay Area 11 years ago and we haven’t looked back. Our kids are raised and gone, and we have a nice home which we can pay off anytime. I see my children struggling with the hopes of buying a home some day. Watching us, they realize what the consequences are to owning a home. New roof, new plumbing, new septic system, new deck (the termites ate the other one), new appliances, and the list goes on. If you don’t have the means to pay for these things, you are up sheets creek. Also, you never really own your home free and clear. If you don’t pay your property taxes, the government will take your home away. Our new neighbors taxes for the year is $9,000 and will be more next year. I couldn’t sleep at night with that debt hanging over my head.
Retirement is a few years away for us. If the RE market comes back to normal by then, we’ll probably sell, pack up and move out of California.
August 9th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
28yrs old, engaged, 1 child. I am in sales and live in Austin. Income is about $125k/yr; fiance is currently in school and not working.
IRA/401k: $100k
Stock/cash/other liquid investments: $82k
Equity in home: $40k (not including appreciation).
I bought my house a few years ago for $172k. Did 20% down on a 30yr fixed with a 5.25% rate. My monthly payment, including tax and insurance, is about $1100. It was actually cheaper for me to buy than continue renting. When I finished college and started my career, I had $2 to my name and was borrowing from friends. I have always managed to live within my means; other than the mortgage, I have no debt or car payments.
I would love to move out west but cringe at the thought of digging into my savings or taking on a large loan. My hope is that, in a few years, prices will drop back to normal and I can relocate.
August 9th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Pretty funny that the Californians want to move to Austin and the Austinites to California. I guess the grass is always greener, eh?
Wife and I have combined salary of $225k and feel pretty comfortable. $1M total net worth, but that includes rental property and 401k. Bought a home in San Francisco back in 2001 for $600k and mortgage payments are about 15% of our gross and less that what renting this place would cost today.
Homes are expensive here, but wouldn’t want to live any other place. Probably wouldn’t buy now though, but rent and wait for prices to drop.
August 9th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Came to the Bay Area 16 years ago. Bought first house in the South Bay for $300K. Seller moved out of state and was desparate to sell. Moved up a couple of times since; now live in $2M dollar house with $700K mortgage fixed at 5.5%.
We have 2 kids. Don’t really feel all that secure since we don’t have second house for income. Have about $600K left in the bank not counting 401K. Can’t find a decent house to buy and still generate positive cash flow, since median price in Santa Clara County is like $800K (median price house = junk).
August 9th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
I agree of (median price house = junk). Houses around Cupertino’s Fremont High School district sold for at least $900K. But that school’s API score is only 720. It looks like people paying $1000 property tax monthly don’t deserve to send their kids to a decent public school.
Burbed, maybe you could have some post related to good school district. There are so many intellectual people in south bay, but so few good public schools. I wonder what would happen to the next generation.
August 10th, 2007 at 12:09 am
The people of California decided that public education wasn’t important with Prop 13 in 1978.
August 10th, 2007 at 8:07 am
They also decided that people who bought houses after 1978 (like, you know, their children), were less important than people who bought before that magic date.
Those darn kids never call anyway.
August 10th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Oh forgot to answer the kids question: yes one kid, will probably send her to public schools when she is ready, but it depends on which school she gets into.
I think an API of 720 is a very good school, but then again I went to a high school with a 660.
I really wish the people who are making $1/4M and complaining would just leave. There are dozens willing to take your place, you know.
August 10th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
Here’s where we stand.(I kid you not)
33 and 30 years old
10 month old daughter
combined income of 70K
Retirement savings 40k
Other savings 26K
Student Loan Debt 11k
No other debt
We rent a 2 bedroom house for $1750.
Share it with my mother in law (she receives social security only)
She more than earns her keep by watching the baby while we go to work.
Believe it or not, I feel pretty secure. My family comes first. We all have health insurance and feel like we enjoy a pretty high standard of living. Our jobs cannot be outsourced and if we lost them it would not be difficult to find work at comparable pay.
I’d love to own a home, but at this point it’s out of the question. The thing that really gets me down, however, is the thought of sending my daughter to one of the horrible public schools here. That will be the factor that will force me to move out of this otherwise wonderful state.
August 11th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
I’m baffled by this California obsession with
“good” schools, as though going to a bad high school will somehow doom you to a life of flipping burgers. Most of my (very successful) friends went to crap schools. Where I grew up, “good school” meant you wouldn’t get knifed in the cafeteria.
I don’t (yet) have a child, but when I do, I intend to take responsibility for her education, not pass it off to strangers – just like my parents did. (No, not home schooling, but assigning extra homework over the stuff from school is a good start.)
It’s certainly not worth an extra $500k just to get a better quality of stranger to teach my kid – I can pay for that directly and get a better result.
August 11th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
Ex-Alamedan here – Bought our place in Alameda years ago at $200,000, sold at $600,000 and moved to Canada. Bought a 3,000 sq foot 1891 Victorian in downtown Toronto for $579,000 Cdn when the Cdn dollar was 80 cents… Mortgage is $900 a month, and have a legal basement apartment we rent out for $600…
And live downtown a block from the subway, so walk to work now – no transit or car costs any more…
So at this point, have a house worth $679,000 with a $170,000 mortgage and $200,000 in 401K’s… oh, and free health care!
August 12th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
41 years old, around $172k in 401K, $120k in other investments. I gross around $220k – $250k a year. I left SFO last year and bought a house in Seattle primarily because of the points most have made in this thread. Life is good, I own (rent from the bank) a nice 1912 home in a hip Seattle neighborhood and don’t feel like I need to keep up with anyone anymore. Leaving San Fran was a huge relief. There’s something wrong with a city where you need a salary of $180k just to scrape along let alone afford to buy a shitty 2 BR condo.
August 13th, 2007 at 10:30 am
burbed: Good call about the lawyering. A family friend has a daughter who just got offered a job at a mid-range law firm in Philadelphia. I’m an engineer with six years experience and a Master’s degree here in the Silicon Valley, and she’s going to be making almost half again what I make as her starting salary.
Which, y’know, good for her, but it does leave me a bit disheartened. Seems that the big money in America these days is the business equivalent of taking in each other’s laundry…
August 13th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Median home price in Minneapolis metro area is around 220 or 230K, I think. We built a 3000 sq ft (2000 sq ft finished) modified two story on a 1/4 acre lot seven years ago for $200K. Now assessed at $320K. Homes on the block have sold for up to $450K in the past couple of years. Lately some are taking a long time to sell at 300K. Single income of about 80K supports me and spouse and one
August 13th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
…me and spouse and one <2 year old child. Net worth of about 500K. (170K mortgate only debt.) Have been looking to bay area for a possible opportunity, but I think you’ve succeeded in scaring me away.
August 13th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
You should definitely sell your house for $300k and buy a 1br condo in a bad part of town.
I’d also suggest that you leave your child behind so that you and your spouse can focus on work instead.
August 14th, 2007 at 10:53 am
I think many people posting here have the income and assets to comfortably buy a house in the bay area. For someone making >100K/year with 100′sK in cash to be whining about money is pathetic!
We’re in our early 30′s. We don’t make as much money as many here, but by all measures, we do very well. We have a nice little house for our family of three that we paid a little over median house price. We’re comfortable and complacent with our financial and housing situation. If we ever have a financial crisis and have to sell our house, it won’t be the end of the world. I grew up in very poor conditions (not in US) and was perfectly happy, so I know I can live happily with less.
Also unlike many others here, we love the bay area, and all our friends love it too. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. We’ve lived up and down the west coast and also spent time on the east coast, the south, and the mountain time zone. We’ve also vacationed in many parts of the world. I love the bay area’s climate, proximity to nature, cultural diversity and open-minded thinking. Reading Burbed makes me think that there’s something wrong with me…
August 14th, 2007 at 11:06 am
BTW, saying “median price house = junk” is just a slap in the face to those less fortunate. Median price house is not a McMansion, but for most families, it’s fine.
I didn’t know Burbed is full of rich whiners. I’m with NoeValleyJim. They should just leave.
August 14th, 2007 at 11:20 am
I don’t think it was meant a slap in the face to those less fortunate – it’s more of a “dude wake up, you’re getting screwed!” thing.
Most median price houses around the South Bay require extensive reworking.
Why worth 80hrs a week and rent out 2 rooms for a house that’s about to collapse, when you could work 40hrs a week elsewhere for a house that’s actually up to code?
August 16th, 2007 at 8:46 am
burbed: It’s also a comment on the “MUST BUY PROPERTY” mindlessness that has put home prices in such a state to begin with.
And it’s worth pointing out that not every property in Silicon Valley looks like the ones we see here on burbed. Burbed is going through and picking out the worst examples
August 16th, 2007 at 9:15 am
That said, you have to agree that the prices featured on Burbed are fairly consistent with reality.
August 25th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
38 year old scientist, salary $110k
I always marvel at how much money people spend on stuff here, not just housing but also cars, electronics, etc
got lucky in the IPO game and cashed out at strategic times
$500k in securities (from IPO), $200k in 401k
I used some of my stock options to help buy my house (1000 square foot starter home); current $600k equity, $150,000 owed on mortgage.
I live cheaply but like a few others on this board I splurged on the Stearns and Foster mattress – that was my IPO gift to myself and it’s still super comfy 8 years later.
August 26th, 2007 at 11:14 am
[...] this old thread where Burbed readers posted how many millions of dollars they have in assets (come on, we’re in Silicon Valley – who doesn’t have at least a [...]
August 29th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Moved from Walnut Creek to Indianapolis 10 years ago. 35 and 33 years old 1 little baby.
190K 401Ks, 40 in cash, and we live in a 500K house with a 240K note. All cars paid (nice cars), and zero debt.
Income close to 250K (It’s been a very good year).
We built a 4,000 sqft home on a lake on the best area of town (great schools) with a 3 car garage for 300K, now worth 500.
Life is great, working on the house debt first – cash in the bank 2nd. Once the house is killed the investments will come 2nd. We have a 36 month plan to burn the note on the house, and then throw it into 2nd gear and slow down a bit.
Would love to go back to the bay, but I can’t ever give up what I have here for what I can’t there.