<p>Timing is as important as location, IMHO. We’ve had to sell because of job transfers when it sometimes meant a significant loss and other times a net gain of <2% after all expenses. </p>
<p>After a large loss on our previous home, which we had to sell in 2008, we hoped that the “deal” we got on this house would help make up for that hit. However, if we sell our current home in the next year or two, we’ll be lucky to get the same price we paid. Our loss will again be substantial, since we’ve had to put >$250K in repairs - something we did not expect on a new house. On the bright side, taxes here are low. We have relatives in other states who pay as much as we do on houses that are 1/3 the size and sit on lots 1/5 as large. </p>
<p>In the area where we plan to build once dh retires, the property taxes on a $400K house run from about $1,200/yr. in one county (outside city limits) to $1,600 in the next county to $2,400 in the city (all before exemptions for >65 and/or disability.) There, $400K will currently buy a new brick house with about 2800 - 3600 SF, hardwood floors in most rooms, upgraded kitchen cabinets + granite counters & SS appliances, nice millwork in the living & dining rooms + master bedroom, 3 car garage, on a sodded and landscaped 1/3+ acre lot.</p>
<p>That’s a very big difference. Plus, there’s the $250K/$500K exemption for capital gains that you wouldn’t get on the S&P, not to mention the enjoyment of the property. There are so many other variables that it is hard to make a blanket comparison. </p>
<p>A friend of mine sold their house in a week (Seattle area), with 17 offers, way over listing price. However, she was not excited about it. Apparently the common thing to do is for people to include letters telling the sellers why and how much they want the property, and it can get very personal. One lady said her child had leukemia, and this would be closer to the medical center. Another person said that this was the house they had actually grown up in. It was very tough on her, because you can’t say yes to everyone, and she is a very kind person.</p>
<p>I don’t think I want to see any of these kind of letters if we ever sell our house. </p>
<p>@anxiousmom: A relative owns a 1600 SF 3 bd/2 ba brick house w/ 2 car gar. on 1/5 acre lot. She pays less than $1K/yr. in property taxes (within the city limits of the area where we hope to retire.) The finishes were “builder grade” when it was built about six yrs. ago (laminate & carpet.) The same builder offered granite counters and engineered hardwoods in the living/dining rooms at the same price a couple of years later, in order to maintain his prices ($180 - 200K.) At some point, she will have to replace counters & flooring if she hopes to get a quick sale for a good price but she has no plans to move any time soon.</p>
<p>Yes, mstee. It sounds like instead of the joy they should have had with such success, they were just depressed. She said some of the letters made her cry. What next, people visit with you and make a personal plea? Have their kids tell you how much they want the house?</p>
<p>Why wouldn’t she just accept the highest offer with the best terms (i.e., cash offer with no contingencies)? I wouldn’t even look at such letters. </p>
<p>Most of our county hasn’t been assessed since the 1950s. They do assume your property has increased in value and there are equalization rates for every town. Generally older houses are assessed for too little and newer houses for too much. If you do an addition there are formulas for how much to increase the assessment. Sooner or later our town will decide to reassess and we will probably have to pay more. I’m not looking forward to it. </p>
<p>When we talked about tax assessments in some past conversation someone was convinced that the amount I was paying had to be per month, not per year. And believe me our taxes are reasonable compared to some other towns!</p>
<p>My son is looking for an apartment to share in the San Jose CA area. Looks like the standard rents for 2BR 1BA generic apartments are in the $2400/month range. How the heck can people afford them?</p>
<p>My son is renting a 5 bedroom place. He has 4 roommates. There are 5 paychecks contributing to the rent. </p>
<p>Now how does a familiy compete with that? My wife’s cousin has two kids and needs a 3 bedroom place but he cant compete with 3 paychecks from the financial world. (We can substitute tech world for financial world).</p>
<p>San Jose was the number 1 housing market country recently. Maybe it still is…</p>
<p>One thing buying does is lock you in, sort of, as far as costs go…
With rents in some markets…well my daughter was told there is going to be a 15 percent increase in rents.</p>
<p>Depending on the town and the perceived quality of its school system, some may feel the high taxes are worth it. </p>
<p>While my uncle in one such NNJ town occasionally grumbles at the high property taxes, he also acknowledges all of his children all had the benefit of a topnotch education from one of the best and safest public school systems in NJ. A public school system well supported with such taxes. </p>
<p>If you are flipping a house, you aren’t considering any variables other than finances. But most people buy a family home not just hoping it will be a good investment, but the fact of where they are going to live to raise their families, make memories, and enjoy a certain quality of life. If we had only broken even on our family home, it would have been a win, as it will remain dear to all our hearts as the place where our children spent the majority of their lives. We designed it with our family in mind, and it served us very well.</p>
<p>Yeah, but if you move up to Harlem or the Bronx or out to Queens or Brooklyn or over the river to Hoboken, rents are less. In contrast, if you move out to the suburbs of San Jose, like to Cupertino or Palo Alto, rents get <em>higher</em>. San Jose is the local minimum.</p>
<p>San Jose is 6 times bigger than Manhattan. It is also divided into many neighborhoods. For example,in the Willow Glen,Almaden or Rose Garden area, rents will be much higher than if you live in east or south San Jose (Story Road area) or Campbell or Santa Clara. There are as much price variances in rent in different parts of San Jose as Greenwich Village, Harlem, UES, Bronx or Brooklyn.</p>
<p>You can rent a lower-end two bedroom in Washington Heights for that…and that’s market. Granted, the apartment conditions and area may not be optimal in terms of convenience or possibly safety. </p>
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<p>Parts of Brooklyn like Williamsburg or Brooklyn Heights can give many parts of Manhattan a run for the money in the high rent department. Especially considering Williamsburg is arguably one of the “IT” neighborhoods for many well-off college grads/young professionals who want to be close to the nightlife bar/music scenes. It also provides easy access to Manhattan nightlife in the LES and the Village. </p>
<p>A lot of folks who want to be close to that scene without paying sky high Manhattan-level rents are moving into Bushwick or parts of Ridgewood, Queens bordering Bushwick. . </p>
<p>Astoria also has a decent nightlife music/bar scene, but many parts of Queens tends to be a bit too residential, expensive, and/or inconvenient. </p>
<p>As for the Bronx, rents tend to be much cheaper there, but there’s still a negative perceptions about its high crime* and long commuting distance to Manhattan and other parts of the city. </p>
<p>Like some friends who live in Yorkville, Spanish Harlem, Washington Heights…many friends living in the Bronx around the Lehman College, Bronx Zoo, or around the Fordham area mainly gripe about that long commute and the fact many friends living in the more trendy/central parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn avoid visiting them due to them “being too far” and latent fears about “Bronx’s crime”. </p>
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<li>Mostly derived from issues in the South Bronx.</li>
</ul>
<p>Wow, Busdriver. That is a real estate nightmare - trying to figure out who is the most deserving of the property while keeping the monetary aspect in mind, too. </p>
<p>As I recall, big kiddo and her hubby wrote a letter to the seller, too, but that seller had a number of criteria in place, and they agreed to it (like promising to keep the “trees”). </p>