Comments on: Affordable and lucky houses in Daly City

By: nomadic

nomadic — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 07:13:02 +0000

Did I miss the “troll off” announcement?

.
bob, did you demote your Wife? She was lowercase up there.

By: Real Estater

Real Estater — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 07:02:34 +0000

Bob, Why would you go to Austin when you can get this house for $165K in the outskirts of the Bay Area?

By: Herve Estater

Herve Estater — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 06:59:49 +0000

> Does making a million dollars matter when you can live in a $150K shack in 105 degree weather? It won't matter since he won't have kids. However, he could still do a couple of things with that money... Yes, bob is the cutest.

By: DreamT

DreamT — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 06:51:14 +0000

come on guys, Bob is cute.

By: Real Estater

Real Estater — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 06:48:56 +0000

Let’s not forget, Bob does not care about appreciation. Why would anybody? It’s only money. Does making a million dollars matter when you can live in a $150K shack in 105 degree weather?

By: Herve Estater

Herve Estater — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 06:40:56 +0000

$60,000 in Texas:
taxable income is $45K after 401K contributions
federal tax is $7,500
no state tax
-> $37,500 left ($3,125 a month)

$80,000 in California
taxable income is $65K
federal tax is $12,500
state tax is, say, $4K
-> $48,500 left ($4,042 a month, $900+ more than in Texas)

Now that’s a very simplistic view since the Wife would also be working. bob showed a house for $150K (950 sq ft on 4,500 sq ft lot). Such a house would be about $500K in Mountain View. A $350K mortgage would cost you $1,900 a month and give you more tax deductions so all in all it looks like there is no clear winner as far as cash flow is concerned (I did not include the property tax here but I don’t think it changes the cash flow comparison much).

However after 30 years your house would be worth $1.6M in Mountain View and $500K in Austin (assuming 4% yearly appreciation).

By: Real Estater

Real Estater — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:50:18 +0000

>>I’ve been renting for 15 years.

Compare that to someone who has been owning for the past 15 years. That person’s mortgage payment will be lower than the payment on your Austin house, and his equity is likely higher than your savings.

By: Real Estater

Real Estater — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:47:46 +0000

I acknowledge Austin has great BBQ, but don’t expect it to be super cheap. Unless you want to eat junk stuff (like everything else in your life apparently), the cost of eating out is comparable to California. Downtown Austin costs about the same as downtown Palo Alto.

By: steve

steve — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:35:57 +0000

bob, I understand your interest in being closer to family, establishing real roots in a community and reducing financial pressure, and I wish you the best of luck with the current job opportunity.

unlike RE, I assume you will be happier in austin if you move there. I love the BBQ, the music scene, the age of the city. and, if I didn’t have significant roots here, I would consider it along with seattle and portland as alternatives. but, I do, and I am lucky enough to be able to afford stay, and I will never leave. most people I know fall into the same category and that is why we overpay for housing.

life’s too short to live somewhere you don’t like.

By: bob

bob — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:05:21 +0000

RE,
I don’t give a flying F^%ck about appreciation. Its just a house that I plan to live in. Besides, Austin has had healthy growth for over 25 years. Your whole financial plan seems to revolve around your house… which is the opposite of how things should be.

Why do you have such a problem with me moving to Austin? Its a pretty damned-obvious choice for me. I understand if its not for you. But again- why should you care?

Lastly- wherever you ate there must have sucked. We ate at great places every day and most were well under $20 per person with drink. Next time you go, check out the BBQ joints, brewpubs, and steak houses.

Namely: Black’s BBQ, The Hoffbrau, and the Ginger man ( microbrew pub)