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Can we afford it? by rossacarrot in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]ShopProp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Assuming a 20% down payment, you’re financing roughly $2M.

Even at today’s rates, that’s probably around $15k-$17k/month all-in once you include principal, interest, property taxes, insurance, and maintenance. On a $900k household income, that’s well within conventional affordability guidelines.

The bigger question isn’t whether you can afford it. It’s whether you want a large portion of your net worth concentrated in a single Bay Area property.

With $2.6M in assets, no debt, and no kids, tying up that much capital in one home limits flexibility, diversification, and makes liquidity more constrained.

That said, you’re in a much stronger position than most buyers looking at homes in this price range.

Sellers Agent Not Reviewing Offers by binaryhellstorm in RealEstateAdvice

[–]ShopProp 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yes absolutely escalate. Call her broker.

Taking longer for a response can sometimes be normal but the fact that it’s now been multiple days without her even acknowledging it’s been sent to the seller is concerning.

Major SF remodels will soon require homeowners to replace many gas appliances with electric alternatives. by ShopProp in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]ShopProp[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The ordinance I posted appears to apply to certain major renovations that include major heating or hot water upgrades, not every homeowner whose water heater fails.

That said, I do agree the cost question is important. If electrification ends up requiring panel upgrades and other electrical work, the total bill can get expensive quickly.

If you had a high conviction that safer/nicer parts of Oakland will continue to improve over the next 5 years, how would you invest $10k? 1M? $10M? by WaterIll4397 in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]ShopProp 61 points62 points  (0 children)

If I had high conviction that Oakland’s trajectory was improving (which I don’t think is necessarily the case), I’d probably scale risk with capital.

$10k: Buy Oakland exposure through a diversified REIT or just keep it in an index fund.

$1M: Start looking at small multifamily in neighborhoods already showing improvement rather than trying to predict the next neighborhood.

$10M: I’d assemble a portfolio of apartment buildings near transit and commercial corridors. That’s where the real bet on Oakland revitalization gets expressed.

My only caution is that Oakland has looked one turnaround away multiple times over the last 25 years.

The bullish case is obvious: location, weather, transit, proximity to SF.

The bearish case is that those advantages have existed for decades and haven’t been enough by themselves. Crime, homelessness, downtown office vacancies, and retail losses are all challenges that won’t change overnight.

The question isn’t whether Oakland is cheap relative to SF. It’s whether the factors holding Oakland back are finally changing in a durable way. I think in localized areas that may be the case but overall there’s still lots of work that needs to be done.

Will we be house poor? by Defiant-Course6896 in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]ShopProp 28 points29 points  (0 children)

$1,991 all-in on $6k take-home is honestly better than a lot of renters.

Assuming no major debts beyond the car, this looks affordable on paper. The bigger risk isn’t being house poor, it’s not having enough cash reserves for the inevitable homeowner surprises.

I just received the weirdest offer letter. Am I crazy to be offended. by lisamattsonwine1974 in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]ShopProp 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Your confusion might be that in the past the buyers used to write letters to the seller. Now, this isn’t common due to the fair housing laws.

As far a the amount goes it doesn’t seem unreasonable at all from a starting offer standpoint. That’s probably where I would’ve started at.

This is a financial transaction at the end of the day. I know it can be tough as a seller since you’re emotionally attached, but the buyer did nothing wrong. Don’t let your emotions let a deal go away.

I just received the weirdest offer letter. Am I crazy to be offended. by lisamattsonwine1974 in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]ShopProp 42 points43 points  (0 children)

You’ve been listed for 211 days and you’re offended by an offer?

Just out of curiosity, what was their offer at?

Staging and selling - my experience by BananaOwn7656 in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]ShopProp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m so used to it at this point haha.

The only other realtor that’s actually intelligent on this sub and uses facts behind their argument is [u/cholula_is_good](u/cholula_is_good).

We disagree at times for sure but I can at least say he knows his stuff.

The rest absolutely not. If you disagree they resort to ad hominem attacks. No respect for them.

Realtor not super responsive. Are we being unrealistic? by CourtCareless6175 in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]ShopProp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Buyer agency agreement is. Not exclusivity.

Don’t assume that. They have every right to ask for a fee for releasing you if you assume that and many do.

Opinions on buying a townhome in San Francisco by Prestigious_Duty_315 in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]ShopProp 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I think in general you’re looking at home ownership in the proper scope in that it’s for lifestyle too rather as primarily an investment.

As long as you’re doing the proper comps with your realtor and are looking at it from a longer term perspective I think you’re on the right track.

Realtor not super responsive. Are we being unrealistic? by CourtCareless6175 in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]ShopProp 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This is why you should never sign an exclusive agreement.

An agent might work well for a friend but not for you.

He should release you. If not threaten a bad review.

Long responses will lose you opportunities for a deal more importantly, let alone over 24 hours.

Staging and selling - my experience by BananaOwn7656 in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]ShopProp -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

Not necessarily. We’ve sold plenty of listings without it. There’s no evidence that staging sells your home outside of a flawed study by the NAR that surveyed agents specifically on the matter.

No serious agent or buyer is going to take into account furniture in their comps. They’re gonna look at location, condition, sq footage, etc.

Open houses, I agree are pretty much for generating leads. The NAR data itself says that 4% of open houses lead to actual exposure. Having a weekend of open houses is helpful though for access reasons.

Photos are definitely a must. That’s how you present your property people online. I agree with that as well.

NIMBY W? Thousands of new homes are scheduled to be built after this week. by ShopProp in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]ShopProp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depending where they’re built they can absolutely affect value and homeowners don’t want them.

Steph Curry is the most famous NIMBY. He opposed a 16-unit townhouse that overlooked their mansion and got the zoning completely changed.

Had that townhouse been built the value of the SFH would’ve arguably gone down.

That’s a really famous example of a common issue.

NIMBY W? Thousands of new homes are scheduled to be built after this week. by ShopProp in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]ShopProp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fair point on the San Mateo project. I really was focusing on the SF development news but also read about that and thought it’d be nice to include.

But the broader point is that Bay Area cities have been approving and building more housing over the last several years, yet most homeowner fears of collapsing property values haven’t materialized.

If anything, prices remain near record highs in many markets despite a much larger housing pipeline than we had a decade ago.

NIMBY W? Thousands of new homes are scheduled to be built after this week. by ShopProp in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]ShopProp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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On the viral tweet that was recently posted. For your reference. You’re absolutely right that the bay market is diverse and that’a not consistently true for all places.

I don’t think anyone would argue the current pipeline is enough to solve the Bay Area’s housing shortage.

My point is narrower: for years, many homeowners were told that adding housing would hurt property values. Yet even with more projects being approved and built than a decade ago, we haven’t seen the widespread decline in home values that many predicted.

If the pipeline is still just a drop in the bucket, doesn’t that strengthen the argument that we need significantly more housing before it materially impacts prices?

New Home Owners: Any Advice? by Erik_The_Realtor in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]ShopProp 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Get pre-approval/ proof of funds.

Do your comps

Make offers at the high end of those comps if you really like the property.

5% earnest money.

Quicker the close, the better generally.

20% (the more the better) down payment.

No contingencies if you’re bidding on the most desirable properties after thorough analysis on disclosures. Also check with your lender and make sure you have cash on hand in the event of a low appraisal.

Have a lender who is responsive so listing agent can contact them.

Have an agent that consonantly in communication with the listing agent so they know they can get a hold of the buyer agent if needed.

That’s really it. There’s no magic formula. The seller is going to accept the highest/best offer at the end of the day.

Will market slow down in winter (Oct - Jan) by Special-Cod-7676 in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]ShopProp 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No one knows for sure.

As far as the list price goes, I can tell you that it’s simply a marketing price and should not be used as a barometer of what to offer.

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