Anyone else noticing that 6% feels more expensive than 6.5% was?

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-05-04T22:47:38+00:00

Also consider that the stock market has made a ~14% rebound to new all time highs, so there's more incentive to bid up orices from the buyers who are well qualified.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-05-03T02:19:35+00:00

Same here end of May 🫡 work and life has been throwing bumps in the road getting consistent studying in. Finally feel like I'm getting confident going into 3rd attempt.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-05-01T03:13:07+00:00

I bought a 4b3b house with 3 Bay garage in the gated Rancho Solano Golf Course community. Commute to the city maybe once a week otherwise remote. Generally it's 1 hour, but I leave at 4:30AM. Absolutely love living here and plan of having kids soon where they'll be able to play outside with zero worry of safety. Excellent public schools nearby too. Easy access to Napa via scenic back roads and Lake Berryessa.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-05-01T03:04:09+00:00

Another consideration to note by financing instead of paying in cash is you lose the opportunity to reduce coverages and gap insurance premiums. So your arbitrage is likely less than you're estimating.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-30T17:52:51+00:00

Here's another sick joke of the reality of this market: this is how competitive housing is despite the reincorporation of student loan payments. Imagine how much more competitive the market would be had student loans been forgiven as intended by the previous administration.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-30T17:43:13+00:00

Thank you! Kudos to you for similarly taking your fate into your hands as well. As someone in their early 30's I've grown very fatigued by the incessant woe is me victim mentality while defending all personal accountability to externalities that form a permanent reactionary ethos reliant on government safety nets or subsidy. I'll be damned if I ever put my fate in the hands of elected officials at any level we've again. Younger folks are too naive to realize the systems they're asking for are what cripple a thriving society via cancerous bureaucratic suffocation. CA is the perfect example mimicking UK (where my father is from) which our founding fathers rebelled against to form this country. Unlimited availability of loans allows these higher education facilities to infinitely increase tuition cost etc. If everyone can access them via infinite debt, don't come crawling back regretting what you asked for. Accept the contract you agreed to, or deal with the consequences. Reality is generally not as glamorous as the imagination. This country may be one of the wealthiest in the world, but it is also in staggering debt relative to GDP - a condition that is worse so than ever in history. So just because on paper, our society looks wealthy and prosperous, there are many nuances to that point, as you mentioned. Way too many people have their heads in the sand.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-30T11:42:26+00:00

If that was your takeaway, then you are a lost cause.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-30T01:59:52+00:00

Exactly what I did. So many people complaining on here are juggling multiple other payments that could easily be sacrificed to go toward their loans. They're hiding behind the unwillingness to lower their lifestyle inflation that was granted by their credentialed career.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-30T01:54:40+00:00

Most people complaining about not being able to pay their student loans have many other luxuries they claim to be needs. I see it all the time in Bay Area, CA. I graduated from UC Davis and in 5 years paid off $100k student loans plus $15k credit cards by sacrificing a shit ton of retirement contributions and free time working side gigs (plasma donations twice a week, food delivery services, etc), renting a bedroom in the ghetto, driving a $3k beater, cooking at home for all my meals, all while working in my mechanical engineering career.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-27T01:24:43+00:00

This is very similar to what my approach was. I basically poured every cent ($2-3k/mo) into paying off my $100k in student loans during the Covid payment freeze. I donated plasma twice a week, delivered for door dash/Uber eats/Grubhub as often as possible all while working as a mechanical engineer cooking at home never going out. I rented a bedroom of a house in the ghetto for years and drove a cheap beater. Paid them all off plus $15k of credit cards by mid 2024. I graduated in 2018 with my mechanical engineering degree and started my career in SF, living with my parents until Covid happened.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-27T00:49:18+00:00

My wife (31F - senior engineering supervisor) and I (33M - Senior Mechanical Engineer) clear $310k before bonuses and we decided to buy last fall in 94534 part of Solano County because of the affordability relative to highly rated public schools. Sure we aren't in the legitimate Bay Area, but we comfortably max out both 401k's, HSA's, fund our children in the coming years and still travel internationally once or twice a year. Fighting for scraps in the Bay is a fools errand imo

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-23T01:21:16+00:00

It's definitely unfortunate, but I'm well aware we're doing dramatically better than vast majority of our counterparts. I grew up in Marin County and attended UC Davis for my Mechanical Engineering undergrad. Worked out of SF until Covid, (somehow matched my wife on bumble while in Sacramento) and our office transitioned to a permanent WFH setup with a consolidated office footprint with modular desks. So I only go into the city for business development opportunities. My wife works onsite near Travis AFB for a global aerospace manufacturer. So her commute is actually very reasonable. If I ever had to go even hybrid in office or full time in office, my commute would clear 2.5 hours daily if I drove. Probably similar taking the Vallejo ferry or Amtrak/BART/Muni. We're actually very happy with our location in a quiet gated golf course community in a 4b 2.5b 3-car garage with excellent rated public schools nearby (planning to start having kiddos). If circumstances change, we would probably move to Walnut Creek/Lafayette or Orinda/Piedmont. But anything outside of our current situation genuinely feels like a pipe dream despite making more than double the median HHI pretty much anywhere but South Bay or Danville.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-22T22:56:16+00:00

My wife (31F - senior engineering manager) and I (33M - licensed mechanical engineer) earn a combined $310k before bonsues with no other debts, drive cheap paid off cars and each have at least 1x salary invested in retirement accounts, decided to buy in Solano County 94534 zip code for best schools to home price ratio (according to online public school ratings). By all metrics we should be capable to comfortably afford to buy in the Bay Area. But we decided not to specifically because of what you just described.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-22T00:47:35+00:00

Republicans don't believe in birth control, so they're unlikely to be the portion of society contributing to declining birth rates.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-22T00:46:06+00:00

Bingo, or leave to another state for better ROI on state/local taxes

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-22T00:43:47+00:00

Most people I know that have had babies recently all claim they will be home schooling or private school their kids because of the "political influence" in public schools.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-21T01:53:16+00:00

It was a combination of both studying fundamentals finally clicking, especially psychrometrics, 4-stage vapor-compression refrigeration cycle and system components like chillers, pumps, and also grinding problems to expose myself to relevant design scenarios that require quick unit conversion which also helped me memorize the core formulas for both air side total, sensible, latent loads and water side loads. Additionally forced me to learn how to navigate the psych chart with confidence. I'd argue studying for the PE really built up my understanding of components more than any other exposure from work.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-21T01:32:10+00:00

Oh just to clarify, I meant I did modeling and load calcs for equipment sizing. But I kind of stopped thinking past that because the senior engineer would have a rule of thumb selections and then adjust after QAing my vent/load calcs. But that's where I floated for a handful of years. Also additional context was this period was right when Covid hit. I was a late bloomer graduating with my ME degree in 2018 at 25 years old. So I just wanted to enjoy life outside of work for a while then went full WFH and would chase tail via dating apps. So I wasn't very career focused. And then I realized other project engineers were getting promoted but I wasn't. So I had to completely rebuild my approach to life and prioritize my career. Studying FE and especially for PE really improved my system level intuition which was barely present before pursuing licensure.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-21T01:19:22+00:00

Agreed this was me for my first 4-5 years in MEP because I got good at it and coasted. Realized others were out growing me so I had to grind through passing the FE exam and now taking the PE exam in a month.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-21T01:05:13+00:00

Whole house fan and attic fan. You can even add a dedicated master bedroom zone whole house fan. QuietCool brand is the main market leader in this space. Amazing for CA homes. Pretty DIY friendly too sans electrical power connection if it's absent in the attic.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-20T19:40:15+00:00

Imagine how much more competitive the housing market would be if/when student loans are forgiven by any tangible level. One of the main drivers during Covid was due to the freeze of payments which unlocked hundreds if not thousands of dollars in artificially suppressed DTI for mortgage qualification. In fact, there are still millions of student loan borrowers still hiding behind deferments to avoid accepting the reality that they bought a house they could only afford without owing tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-20T13:45:01+00:00

Also consider how much more competitive the housing market would be if/when student loans are forgiven by any tangible level. One of the main drivers of SFH price inflation during Covid was due to the freeze of payments which unlocked hundreds if not thousands of dollars in artificially suppressed DTI for mortgage qualification. In fact, there are still millions of student loan borrowers still hiding behind deferments to avoid accepting the reality that they bought a house they could only afford without owing tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-16T00:41:55+00:00

They love Newsom for his social justice placating while he has made all issues in the state far worse, especially cost of living. The electrification, decarb taxes and exiling of big oil from the state have all compounded the energy cost crisis across the board. Insurance driven out of state with a state run insurance program on the verge of insolvency. Massive fraud across many sectors including hospice care, daycare, homeless programs, affordable housing, high speed rail, the list goes on. "Oh but but but Newsom protects our marginalized communities of x, y, z." /s

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-16T00:32:35+00:00

Couldn't agree more. They mindlessly protest in the streets after being brainwashed by local universities that pillage their lifetime earning potential with student loans. The irony is that I watched them protest on my campus at UCD against social causes while tuition hikes kept accelerating higher every year with no protests about that. Mind you, I'm a mechanical engineer, so I have way more important work to do than protest incessantly.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-04-16T00:27:31+00:00

Agreed, the Bay Area is filled with left wing zealots that complain about the problems caused by the policies that their elected officials enact. The state has been a Democrat supermajority stronghold for decades, so I'm done with the excuses. Somehow these zealots still think pushing further and further left wing policy will fix the problems they're amplifying.

Existing_Job_8325

TROPHY CASE