Everyone else I know is getting a bigger house...pity party

[Palermo]

Bigger house = more housework

[Lucky32]

Originally Posted by Mira

Hell, that's a deal compared to the dot com boom days. That same apt. was $2500+ back then. Then the vacancy rate went to 40+% and the building owners had no choice but to lower rents. Even with that, I'll bet the vacancy rate is still high. Do you happen to know what it currently is, Lucky?

I remember the good ol' dot com. I had a friend rent half a garage in the city for $800. I moved here when it was at a low, so my studio is cheap. Not really, but SF prices, it is cheap. The SF Chronicle has it at 7% vacancy rate. I got here just in time.

[Mira]

Back in 2002 a friend rented an entire flat in the Richmond with a garage and access to the backyard for $1800. Same flat was $2600 two years before.

[darksithbunny]

The housing prices anymore just boggle my mind. We are all going to end up with a nice community of vans down by the river.

[Lucky32]

^^^
You know someone will own the land by the river and charge an arm and a leg to park.

[Kathie_Moffett]

^^^
But at least we'll be living near Grimmlok.


The dot-com boom was a NIGHTMARE. I couldn't even consider moving till it was over, as I was locked into a nice little $660/month one bedroom by Lake Merritt (Oakland) and other units in the building started going for $1500! Only, I wish I'd done some killer stock buying and selling...(NOT Webvan...LOL)

Hotncmom, my little house 45 minutes from SF was $350,000. The real estate market has slumped, so it's no longer worth much more than I paid for it, but frankly, I don't care. All I want is to add another bathroom, which will make my husband soooo happy, and finish creating a beautiful cottage garden. And, one day, maybe terraform the attic into a really cool bedroom.

My house is 1400 square feet TOPS, and there isn't even a garage. Sigh.

But see, the yard is HUUUGE--the lot is almost 7000 sq. feet and the house only has about a 1000 sq. foot 'footprint'. So we could add a garage up by the street, if we ever get flush. And the lot size thing leads to my next thought....

Would it make you feel better to sort of make a horizontal shift? That is, don't go up a whole lot in price or mortgage size--if at all--but get yourself a house that would be fresh and new and maybe have interesting/appealing qualities your old one doesn't--in particular, more land? You spoke of adding on; well, one of the things I liked about this lot here is that there's room not only for a possible garage but also a cottage and/or a possible add-on, even a substantial one. Maybe you would feel better if your house had more 'room to grow'. I know I do. Even if it never happens, it's also nice to just have extra space. Gardens are so restful and give you such opportunities for creative fun!

[veronabrit]

i dont mean this offensively, but maybe you should be thankful for what you do have: a loving family, a husband who makes enough money that you can stay home, a nice home (despite the bigger homes some of your friends have) etc...

I know its hard to see other people have more money, but having a bigger and more expensive house is more stressful, more cleaning to do, higher bills to pay etc...

also, some people have big houses and live in expensive neighbourhoods to give off a certain image, but they are drowning in debt or have a child with cancer...it always seems greener on the other side...but the most important thing is to be happy with what you have. its nice to admire the things others have, but you have to realize that you are pretty darn well off if you dont even have to work. if you want a bigger home, work part time and give up the time with your kids, there is good and bad to every scenario.

[hotncmom]

Originally Posted by veronabrit

i dont mean this offensively, but maybe you should be thankful for what you do have: a loving family, a husband who makes enough money that you can stay home, a nice home (despite the bigger homes some of your friends have) etc...

I know its hard to see other people have more money, but having a bigger and more expensive house is more stressful, more cleaning to do, higher bills to pay etc...

also, some people have big houses and live in expensive neighbourhoods to give off a certain image, but they are drowning in debt or have a child with cancer...it always seems greener on the other side...but the most important thing is to be happy with what you have. its nice to admire the things others have, but you have to realize that you are pretty darn well off if you dont even have to work. if you want a bigger home, work part time and give up the time with your kids, there is good and bad to every scenario.

Oh, I know I am completely blessed! No doubt about it. I didn't mean to seem like I'm whining. And I know the cons of a bigger house too. I guess what I was asking was more specifics about how people afford these houses when they seem to have the same income level. I think it's just that a lot of people feel more comfortable with a higher level of debt than I do. So maybe we can afford a bigger house, but the corresponding larger house payment is what I don't feel comfortable with. Some days I feel satisfied with our house because it means that I can stay home and we can easily afford the house and other nice things like vacations, and I know that a bigger house means we'd have to give up some things. Other days, yeah, I'm kind of envious of the larger houses.

We decided to remodel our bathroom. We don't have any space to add on and make it larger but we are making it nicer. The shower will be a little larger, but not much. Unfortunately there is no room for expansion. But I am still getting excited about the possibilities.

Over the last couple of years we have finally started to decorate - we went so long without real window treatments and just the original builder beige paint! So the house is looking nicer and I am proud of it.

And we built a screened porch this spring which I love. We really have a good neighborhood for kids and people are so nice for the most part. We have a few social climbers in our neighborhood, but they won't be here long. They're going to move to the prestigious neighborhoods just as soon as they can.

I think one advantage of living in a non-prestige neighborhood is that we don't have the social pressure to drive the right car and join the country club and all that stuff!

[sweetrebel]

I have decided to be happy for those who can and do better themselves and their situation. I think that sending out those good vibes are bound to bring some goodness back to me

[LaFolie]

Come over to my 33-sq-yd flat in a rundown building!

[piperdiva]

i used to wonder about people like this too. now people are in foreclosure right and left.

i don't understand why a family of 5 or 4 can't make do in a 2500sft home. We have 2 kids and ours is 2200sft. It's just more space to keep clean, imo.

[Beeyotch]

Wow, I can only dream of one day owning anything. Husband and I are 30, been renting since we moved out of our parents'/college.

In our central Florida college town we had a 2BR 1200 sq. ft. townhouse for $870. It wasn't fancy, but it was clean, had new fixtures and was spacious.

We moved to San Fran, and had a 2BR 700 sq. ft. apartment, $1950; it had brand new remodeled EVERYTHING wood floors, clawfoot tub, kitchen, appliances--it was in a cute Victorian building in a relatively safe neighborhood and close to everything. Even though it's the most I've ever paid in rent, I loved it and I really miss it.

In Barcelona we found a nice 2 BR just under 800 sq. ft. for 1250 Euros ($1720 U.S.). Partially furnished, 11 ft. ceilings in a nice upper middle class neighborhood in the center of the city. Only downside was no A/C.

Maybe once we settle down either in California or Florida, we'll see if we can afford to buy anything.

But even though my situation is different, I can see hotncmom's point of view. I think it's hard not to feel envious when it seems everyone else has so many things and it seems so effortless for them. Of course, we don't see the reality of others' situations, maybe they are up to their eyeballs in debt, or came into some family money, just are lucky to have extra perks or compensation, whatever. I think I too would wonder if I was doing something wrong or if everyone else knew something I didn't.

I guess it's all about reminding yourself about what you DO have instead of what you don't.

[olivia720]

I got you all beat: I live with my parents!!