I'll admit we got a little distracted along the way by all the open houses. Yes, despite our lack of capital we have been house shopping lately, more like test house shopping to be exact. I don't want anyone getting any ideas that we're buying a house any time soon because logistically that's just not possible. We really just want to see what is out there, and what exactly if anything is available for under $500,000. The housing market in San Francisco is insane to put it lightly. With my only reference point being the Midwest, where housing is so cheap, the prices here seem that much higher.
As we were walking Flat Grace to the beach we saw an open house on Lincoln Way. For the price of $469,000 you get a 720 square foot, fully-detached, single family home. The catch, it's a total fixer upper. Carpets need to be removed. Kitchen needs to be redone. There's a unfinished room on the back that's needs some serious help. It definitely had potential though. You could really make it whatever you wanted it to be.
I know people would say that I am crazy to even consider some day buying a house in San Francisco, where half a million dollars gets you a two bedroom fixer upper. The thing is when I see a house here I don't see a shabby little row house in the Sunset; I see our house with Nik's studio in the garage and a cute little bright kitchen and maybe a backyard (backyards are something I will address in an upcoming post). The point is I see our future here in California. I never felt this way about buying a house when we lived in Omaha; we never even considered it. We knew we weren't staying, and I guess that's why I get so excited looking at houses here. This is the longest we have ever lived in one place, in one apartment. While we may not live in San Franciso forever, it definitely feels like we've found a place to stay for a long time. A place neither of us talk about leaving. San Francisco feels like home.
2 comments:
I'm surprised you can even get a 2-bedroom fixer upper for that! I occasionally check Zillow to see what's available around here and it is beyond depressing...2-bedroom detached fixer uppers go for $700k. The nicer new places are all townhomes and condos, you can get some of those for around $500k.
There are some deals to be found in the Sunset these days. The house across the street from us is going for $669,000 and it has a fully updated kitchen, bathroom, and an in-law in the bottom. The house for $469,000 was a bank seizure and needed a lot of work. We did find a house we really liked that was being offered for $533,000. But I totally agree, the prices can be disheartening at times.
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