| >meaning freestanding homes that have a yard, not condos/apartments; such homes actually appear to be so rare within city limits that you'd have difficulty getting them no matter how much money you were willing to spend I'm not claiming these homes are affordable inside SF, but they certainly exist - anyone who has spent much time in the city or searched zillow can attest (I would link you if I weren't on my phone). There are three-story single-family Victorians all over the place. The yard is usually in the back, though, as putting one next to city street traffic is a waste of space. There are some gated communities with front yards. The preponderance of single-family homes in the city is one of the causes of the high housing prices. Most of the apartments/condos are actually subdivided versions of the victorians, because it is not legal to build anything taller. And now you have owners evicting all occupants of a property like this, converting them back into a single-family-home with an open floor plan, giant deck, lots of windows, and asking price in the millions. The circle is complete. >For example, I know Daly City is only a few miles from SF proper, but that doesn't mean you can get doorstep-to-doorstep in under an hour given the transit conditions. The BART train from Daly City reaches Montgomery station in 15 minutes. If you can't stand a train you do need to commute in off-hours. >This is a good idea if you can get the timing right. Granted, there are possible scenarios where this won't work, but all you need is for housing to appreciate at the rate of inflation over a few decades. If that happens fifteen years after you buy, you can sell and lock in your gains early. It's not so different from putting your 401k in equities when you are decades from retirement. |