Took us 80 houses to find this one. We finally got to the point where we said we’d go looking 1 more time and make an offer that would buy the best of what we saw that one last looking day.

One year later, after having moved in, we started a 4 month project that moved rooms, plumbing, electrical, removed walls, added windows. I GC’d the project while working 50 hrs/wk. GC’ing was fun.

This house is now the way we like it and we won’t be moving out until we’re carried out in pine boxes/urns.

We had been looking off and on for about 5 years before we found this house. We found it only because the grocery stores in this area did not sell wine before a certain time so decided to drive around for a while. Hubby wanted to show me a street that he had admired the houses on. Turns out this was the house he had wanted to look at. If I had heard or been given the correct price would never have looked at it as it was much more than I wanted to pay. Walked in the front door and knew it was us. Keep looking but please fix the mustiness as that can hurt your health. You will find the right house that says this is it.

Oh I so understand your frustrations. I'm in the same boat and thought our waiting was over when we had our offer accepted on a place that fit the majority of our wishes although the house was a bit larger than we wanted and we needed to add a garage etc. Then a couple of days after our offer was accepted I decide for some reason to check the registered sex offender site and found one living right across the street. Now this is out in the country and several acres apart, so before deciding what to do we pulled the court records on that case. Best 60 dollars I ever spent, but based on that information we decided to pull out. We considered a repeat to be likely if given the opportunity and also after consulting with a co-workers wife who used to be a parole officer she had the same opinion. We could still have bought it and taken precautions, but we felt that us intentionally moving there and potentially putting our daughter (who is the age of his victim) in closer harms way was not something we could do so we terminated the contract.

I'm still mourning the loss of that property. We've been looking for 3 years almost now. Not much for sale in our area that fits our needs and budget. We are wiling to build, remodel, etc. but need a property in one of 2 school districts, and want it wooded without any flood zones that would keep us stuck on the property during a heavy rain or unable to get in. My area is one where a lot of folks buy second homes and don't even seem to care about comps when purchasing which makes it hard as well to compete since we do need a mortgage.

OP, have you considered building?

I hope we realize it when the right house comes along :-) ncreg--> we have considered building, but there really aren't any parcels available that we could afford to build. We've also thought about buying a small place on large lot and doing a big addition, but that just sounds too stressful. However, if everything else was right maybe that would be a good way to go!

Since we are now preparing for the flooring, and too busy to go view homes, I've been watching listings to see how long the ones I like most stick around. So far it seems my favorites are the first to go pending. I didn't notice this as much before, but now that I'm feeling a little detatched it is more apparent. Maybe that understanding will be useful moving forward.

Your favorite is likely to be a favorite of others and they will be the ones that go quickest. I think doing your flooring and other projects in the current home makes a lot of sense -- wouldn't you need to do that to sell, and won't you need a quick sale if you want to be in a strong position to get your offer accepted and to get financing? If you sell first, can you put yourself in a position to pay cash? Sellers typically won't take less from a cash buyer, but they will take a cash buyer (no finance contingency. no sale of existing home contingency, possibility of fast close) over one with contingencies and a longer contract period.

I'm afraid to sell first given the lack of homes we like that are in our price range. Flooring goes in soon, much of our stuff is packed away. House isn't feeling quite so cramped :-) If we can get by for another year or two and save more $, maybe by then the right place will come along. We did go to an open house this weekend. The home was nice enough but, after seeing so many homes this year, DH and I both agreed it was at least 10% overpriced. So now I watch to see if it sells or gets price reductions. i did like it, actually, but it's not so special that I feel motivated to do anything further. We are talking more seriously about looking at the small homes on >0.3 acre lots and maybe adding on.

I don't know what has happened to housing, and am sorry it is so frustrating. I wonder if you are more likely to find something you like in the winter, when people don't tend to move. Perhaps they will stay on the market long enough for you to make an offer.

During the holidays between Thanksgiving and New Years is an excellent time to get a better than average deal as many buyer's stop looking and sellers get more frustrated with the lack of showings. So, if you have had a difficult time finding the right property, try right now when others have taken their selves out of the market

My SIL and BIL are renting in CA and we heard what their home search was like -- to buy or rent. We encouraged them to look outside CA because they could. Staying in CA means he will never be able to retire, but if they came here or someplace with a similar cost of living could have meant they could buy a house -- possibly even pay cash, work less and even retire (he was months away from being able to take full SS benefits). They stayed and are paying twice in rent what it would cost to own elsewhere. The CA real estate market is crazy, but it tends to be cyclical. Maybe you hold long enough to hit the next cycle, but to really benefit from that, you'd have to sell high, rent a bit and buy on the low side.

I think the cycle is easier to see once it has already passed. It seems to me that when prices go down, it's generally across the board. If our house goes down $150K, that may bring the $700K homes closer to $550...which pulls it into our budget. Maybe I'm thinking about this too simplistically, but for us the fixed equity we can count on has come from paying down the mortgage. The rest is just part of all home price inflation. Unless we time the market right or move to a low cost of living area we don't really necessarily benefit from the inflation. Our salaries don't fluctuate with the house price inflation so we can buy more when all prices are lower. That's partly what is bumming me out...even though our home value is up the inflated market really only seems to make moving more unattainable because salaries have not correspondingly risen by even 50% though prices are about doubled.

The things I'm reading indicate this is where prices should be, not that they are uncharacteristically high. With the population growth, lack of enough housing construction, buyers being priced out of Bay Area etc, that this is just the new normal for Sacramento. So what used to be a really nice home for $450-$550...now it is $650-$800. I guess I need to get used to the new normal and that what we can move to won't be all that different from where we are. Basically DH says we can either get a larger home, or a nicer neighborhood, or notably larger lot, maybe 2 out of 3 if we're lucky. But all 3 is out of our budget unless we move out of Sac. It kind of goes back to maybe I'm not being realistic :-( Ultimately I think I'd rather stay here and keep saving... ESPECIALLY with the nice new flooring going in soon :-)

You are right. If you buy and sell at the same time, any fluctuation in the market impact you on both ends, so it is hard to profit from the change without making some other changes. And that's not how most people live.

And this is why Californians are relocating in droves. Between the high tax burden, virtually impossible to break into real estate ladder, and various natural hostile environmental issues coming home to roost, exiting the state has never been more popular.

Isn't Prop 13 still in effect?

Yes, Prop 13 still exists, but I cannot figure out what it has to do with this thread. It most benefits those that have been in one house for a long time.

Maybe he's suggesting that as another reason inventory is low? If we move we are definitely looking at a big property tax jump; that has been one of many factors determining our budget.

"Yes, Prop 13 still exists, but I cannot figure out what it has to do
with this thread. It most benefits those that have been in one house for
a long time."

Two posts before your's and immediately before mine, PRO Sophie Wheeler said, "And this is why Californians are relocating in droves. Between the high
tax burden, virtually impossible to break into real estate ladder,..."

Sheesh! Can you not connect the dots and find a nexus?lol

If you think that Prop 13 does not have a massive effect on property
taxes for newly purchased homes than that would suggest a total lack of
understanding of the process!

No need to be rude, Saltidawg. My memory was that melle_sacto purchased her current house within the past few years, or at least not a long time ago. So if she were to purchase a different house now, the tax rate would not be that different. The great increases come after selling a house one has lived in for a long time, which has a very low property tax, and then purchasing a new house, which will have a much higher tax.

Three consecutive posts. Yours being the third. You ignored the first of the three posts -the one I responded to in the second post.

Rude, hardly.

Do you actually understand the effect of Prop 13 on current property tax?

It appears not.

I've lived in CA my entire life, and am familiar with our property tax and Prop 13. I didn't ignore the post--it isn't very applicable if one is already paying the higher property tax rate due to a more recent house purchase.

As exampled below, if one is a long time-owner, your annual tax can be very low compared to other like homes that have sold in recent years. But when it is sold, the amount due by the new owners usually will be much higher (as shown by the $492% jump for the new owners, after the house was sold by the long-time owners). But if someone has purchased a house within recent years, then sells and purchases a similarly priced/market area house, the difference in property taxes between the two will not typically be anywhere near as different, because they have already taken on the high rate.

I also have lived in CA. Your reply continues to support the contention that you have no idea about Prop 13's effect as Sophie Wheeler alluded to.

I'll move on while you destroy the help that was being proved.

Gooday.

Sheesh. I'm not destroying anything. Whatever you meant by "help being proved".

My understanding of Prop 13 is that property taxes are based on what a buyer paid for their home. We bought our house 16 years ago. If we were to buy it today we would be paying about double in prop taxes what we pay because home values in our neighborhood are around double. But with what we want to move to we are estimating 5-6x what we currently pay in taxes...which ultimately just limits what we can buy.

But I think taxes are based a little bit on current property values because our taxes aren't the same every year. The big impact to the tax base, however, comes when you buy. Consequently, for us, moving after being here 16 years will result in a large jump in property taxes.

For now, however, it's moot because nothing available in our budget is attractive enough to buy.

My apologies, melle santo. As I wrote earlier. I thought you had purchased more recently, decided it was not the correct house for you, and wanted to purchase one that was more to your liking. I remember other threads about your searches, and wish lists. But it is easy to confuse different members' stories over long stretches of time, or to forget details.

But I think taxes are based a little bit on current property values because our taxes aren't the same every year.

Yes, if you have been in you home for 16 years, the property tax increase for a new purchase can be significant. Your tax changes yearly if the assessed value of your home changes, but Prop 13 limits assessment increases to 2% per year. In many parts of CA, that means the market value can increase at a much quicker rate than your assessed value for tax purposes. That is why even when local home (market) values decrease, your property taxes may continue to increase yearly--they are still playing catch-up due to the increase limits imposed by Prop 13. Special assessment taxes (such as for vector control, schools) that are approved, or changed, also show up on property tax bills and can also change the total amount of taxes owed.

I understand your frustration with the prices and market. Hope your new flooring exceeds your expectations! :) I wish we could do that for our house--but not happening anytime soon.

Thanks! I think you remember my posts pretty well... Maybe it's just hard to imagine a person staying for this long in a house and neighborhood they don't like (ha). I cannot believe we've lived here this long, but it was affordable. When we went thru the real estate crash I left my job and was stay home mom so moving was out of the picture financially. Well, maybe it could have been done but we didn't feel comfortable.

At any rate, the kids are older and we are both working again but the market is not what it was and everyone keeps telling us inventory is so low. I imagine that's contributing to not finding "the one". There have been some very close "could be" homes but they weren't quite right.

Regarding the flooring: it's going in this week. Not as smooth as we'd hoped, but still managable. I suspect we will declutter & reorg quite a bit as we move things back in. I really like having everything out of the house because it's not feeling so cramped

In my case (in WI), property taxes have nothing to do with what you pay for a home. The municipality does assessments periodically, which is completely different from market value.

Where the OP is in California, property taxes are set from the sales price of a property when it is sold.

sushipus is correct.

Friends of us stay in their expensive ocean view house they purchased decades ago instead of downsizing, as they realize they would not have much savings if they get a new house of half of the size. May be this is another reason inventory is low.

My husband worked for the city's finance department and sat on the county's Board of Equalization before laws changed and only the counties assessments were deemed to be the official ones. At that time there were 5 counties in the metro area. Part of the Board's tasks was to equalize the assessments on the many properties that were on the county lines. Those assessments sent out in WI are based on comparable sales in the area plus probably a hired team or individual to look at improvements that can be seen from the street or now areal photos. He did this for about ten years and I got an earful about what to look for and how the assessments were computed.

May be get all your family together buy a family compound, a farm, everyone shares the high property tax and mortgage. I think this will be a trend in the future due to the high property cost in CA.