I’m looking for a sanity check on a potential home purchase in San Francisco. I’m transitioning into a white collar job and want to see if these numbers are as sustainable as they look on paper. I grew up in section 8 housing/apartments and never lived in a home so home ownership is very new to me.

Bio:

• 35y/o, frugal mindset, no debt.
• GF will be earning 165K but I dont feel right charging her rent and profiting off of her.
• Still trying to figure what neighborhoods to buy. Can get more bang for my buck in Berkeley/Oakland but will feel like I'll be missing out on "SF"
• Want to buy because moved every 2 years since I graduated college and want an "anchor." I know this is an emotional argument but I will feel very transient in renting.
• I could save more by renting but I do I just dump that into my brokerage?
• Concerned about buying at the top of market too...

Financials:

• Income (W2): $175,000 base. (but possible bonus_
• Non-Taxable/Fixed Income: ~$5,100/mo, tracks inflation.
• Total Monthly Inflow (Net): ~$15,200 (Post-tax)
• Assets: $1.2M (Mix of brokerage, 401k, and HYSA). Current ROI is roughly 4% (know I need to diversify better).

Target Property:

• Price: up to $1.5M (San Francisco/Oakland).
• Loan: VA Jumbo Loan (0% down, waived funding fee).
• Rate: Approved for 5.5%.

Projected Monthly:

• PITA/Maintenance - Total Housing: ~$11,267.

Strategy:

1. Tax Arbitrage: Between the $40k SALT cap and the mortgage interest deduction, I expect my federal tax liability on the $175k salary to be minimal. I plan to adjust my W-4 to increase monthly cash flow.
2. Retirement: I still plan to max 401k ($24.5k) and maybe Backdoor Roth ($7.5k).
3. Cash Flow: After the house and retirement, I’m looking at roughly $3,000–$3,400/mo for "everything else" (food, lifestyle, travel).

My Questions:

1. Is a ~75% housing-to-net-income ratio insane given that I have a $1.2M safety net?
2. With $1.2M in assets, should I put a down payment to lower the monthly P&I, or keep the liquidity in the market (aiming for better than 4%)?
3. Are there any SF-specific "gotchas" I’m missing for a 2026 purchase?
4. How far above the 1.5M can I go?

I’ve been out of school for a little over a year and am currently working at a big tech company under F1-OPT visa. My wife graduated a few years earlier and is currently working under F1-CPT visa.

Recently, I’ve noticed that the housing market in the Seattle area has cooled down quite a bit compared to when I was in school. Back in 2022, my parents tried to buy a house here and even offered $500k over asking, but still couldn’t get one. Now it seems like many homes are sitting on the market or even seeing price reductions, unless they are truly exceptional properties.

Areas like Kirkland, Sammamish, and Issaquah all seem to have more listings with price cuts, which makes it very tempting to buy. However, our immigration status is still not very stable, so we’ve been hesitant to move forward. Also, we’ve noticed that mortgage options seem more limited for people in our situation.

On the other hand, my wife works at a big tech company in the Bay Area, so we’ve also been considering buying there instead. Our parents are willing to help with part of the down payment.

At the same time, if we don’t buy now, we’re worried we might miss a good opportunity.

Would really appreciate any advice from people who have been in a similar situation—especially regarding:

Buying on F1-OPT/CPT

Seattle vs Bay Area market timing

Risk vs opportunity in the current market

Thanks in advance!

I viewed this house on a whim today, and found it very interesting, but there are a couple of things about it that are confusing to me. First of all, typical sale prices in this neighborhood are $1,100-$1,200 per square foot - this house is asking $760 per square foot. So I knew there had to be some sort of a catch. In person, the house was impressive, but viewers at the open house were not able to go down to the bottom level (levels?); there was a gate (not even a door) that explained that there was a tenant downstairs. Apparently the home comes with this tenant, and they are able to enter the home from a different entrance. But how is this possible, if there is only a single address being sold, not multiple units? And what would be the legality of someone buying the house, then having someone else living in it? There wasn't even a door to the downstairs unit, just a small, waist high gate - its like you're buying a house and getting a roommate with it. Seems very strange to me - maybe its the reason for the price. I also find it interesting that this is not explained in the zillow listing, but only in the printed materials that I picked up during the open house.

It also seemed extremely likely to me that the downstairs tenant was a caretaker for the previous owner who lived in the top two floors. So I'm thinking that maybe they could be grandfathered in to some extremely cheap (or even nonexistant) rent.

Zillow listing: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/601-Corbett-Ave-San-Francisco-CA-94114/15129898_zpid/

Unintentionally, bought a fixer upper with an inheritance I was surprisingly blessed with. Nobody in my family owns a home. The mixed-use 2 unit building needed repairs but technically I could’ve moved in but decided to start fixing everything since it was vacant. Hired a GC at first but since they didn’t start on the project for 3 months, I requested a partial refund. Due to the wasted time, I decided to fix everything in stages, ie. roof electrical exterior paint with separate contractors which has now been done. Now I need a bathroom remodel and other items around the house done. I’ve realized after finishing up the 3 projects that finished I was seriously taken advantage of by the contractors for allowing sloppy work and paid too much. So to my question.. is it possible to hire somebody as a PM to handle other contractors? I jut need somebody to review any work as it progresses and make sure the contractors don’t damage the property. For example, the painters didn’t put anything around the outside drains and I found the color of some paint inside the ground drain. Aren’t they suppose to put a strainer on that? After the basement bathroom flooded I told them to snake the drain. All the paint chips must’ve been going down the drain. I need somebody to handle the bathroom remodel and other odd jobs around the building. Somebody who can make sure the contractor are pulling permits and not using cheap materials. I had one contractor remove a 100 year old cast iron vent pipe that I suspected was leaking and replace it with a plastic pipe. I noticed that one and had them redo it but it was too late. I’m sure I’d need somebody local that would have time to check- in and communicate directly with the contractors. This is in SF Mission district. Any suggestions appreciated.

I've owned my townhouse for 2 decades now. The last decade or so, every year, my mortgage lender - Bank of America - has asked for proof of building insurance. My townhome is covered by the HOA's master policy (including walls-in) and every time, I send the policy without further notice from the bank.

This year, I again received notice, sent in proof of the policy, but instead I get a letter back saying that the insurance is inadequate and that I need to buy additional insurance OR the bank will buy it for me.

I'm wondering why this is happening now, whether others are facing this issue, and what I should do next. I will call the bank this week to find out more. I'm fortunate I only have a smaller amount on the loan left and if need be, I can pay off the mortgage all at once (was hoping to pay it off gradually while using the $ for something else) but I know others do not have this option. (And might have to scrimp further or even lose their home.)

I found a furnished 1-bedroom, 615 sq ft ADU, 15-minute walk from Castro St. Is that a good deal? Would it be better to just spend $3700~ somewhere in an apartment building and furnish it myself?

Hi all! I have a really dated gas fireplace that needs a makeover. The tricky thing is that it sits far above the floor, so the mantel also sits weirdly high, and it doesn’t leave much room for mounting a TV above.

Asked around and learned that it’s really tricky to drop the gas firebox down because it involves the gas line and vent, and I don’t really use fireplace anyways, just need it for a focal point and maybe ambiance. Found that one option is to remove gas firebox and cap the gas line, demo and rebuild the wall, and put in a modern linear fireplace at a lower position instead. This way I can have the ambiance year round without worrying about the heat and safety. This will also free up options for surround materials.

Anyone has done this before? Would appreciate any insight. Also wondering if this is going to affect resale in anyway. TIL!

Anyone preparing for the DRE exam, or has passed the exam? I'm currently taking the 135 -hour Real Estate online course. Please share your tips and experience if you're preparing for, or have already cleared, the DRE California state test.

Bought 3/10/2026 490,000

Listed for sale 4/18/2026 697,000

What can be the reason?

I really don’t care where in the Bay Area I buy a house as long as it’s 20 minutes from San Mateo (work). I have a Vision to do a house in a super beachy vibe like the house is in Santa Cruz on the beach. I’m looking for a cottage style house or bungalow house with good bones. I looked at a lot of houses and Half Moon Bay and they’re mostly built in the 60s and 70s and the floor plans are really strange. I tried to get one in San Carlos that I loved, but there were way too many bidders so didn’t get it. Any ideas or else I can look?

I did scout out HMB. Have only a budget of 1.5-1.8 so that’s the main issue. Only need 2 bedrooms.

March numbers are in for San Jose single-family:

-Median price: $1.75M (flat YoY)

-Homes selling in ~8 days

-Still going ~6% over ask

-Inventory jumped (572 new listings vs 449 last month)

San Jose inventory is rising, but prices still aren’t dropping.

March numbers came in and single family is basically unchanged Y/o/Y at about $1.75M, but homes are still moving in roughly 8 days and selling around 6% over ask.

What’s interesting is supply actually picked up. New listings jumped M/o/M. Normally that should slow things down, but it hasn’t.

When you zoom out on the charts, months of inventory is still low historically and sale to list is ticking back up. So even though there’s more coming to market, demand is quietly absorbing it.

From what I’m seeing, it’s not evenly distributed. The top properties are getting multiple offers, everything else sits a bit longer and gives the illusion things are slowing.

Let me know in the comments what other city/county you want me to analyze and provide commentary on.

Source: MLS broker data.

Was anyone else following 1501 28th Ave in SF? I saw it went pending and honestly I was pretty surprised by how strong the marketing seemed compared with how the renovation looked to me in the photos.

Just my personal take, but some of the finishes felt more cosmetic than high quality. I could be wrong, and photos never tell the full story, but it gave me the impression of a quick flip rather than a really thoughtful renovation.

Not trying to bash anyone, just curious if others who saw it had the same reaction. Did anyone tour it in person and feel better or worse about the actual build quality?

My general opinion about sunset flips are how long before the quality really starts showing and folks have paid top comp for the area.

https://redf.in/4gahrj

I’m not talking 20%, but the listings that are obviously priced to sell 100% over list. I can totally see why the former case creates an environment that will result in a feeding frenzy and people overbidding as they don’t know the true value. But I genuinely can’t understand why you would list a home at 50% below its value. The people you bring in that have their budget filters maxed at 1.2 aren’t all of a sudden going to be able to bid at 2.4. And the people that want to pay 2.4 are going to do it whether the list price is 1.2 or 1.8. Would love to hear thoughts because my wife and I are really questioning these agents competency and values

Here’s a couple of recent examples:

- 287 Chenery St in Glen Park, SF. Listed at 1.15mm. Comps clearly put this going for more than 2mm. https://redf.in/BP0NqR

- 5451 Lawton Ave in Rockridge, Oakland. Listed at 1.195mm and multiple solid comps in the neighborhood have this going for 2.3mm+. https://redf.in/7PEkX9

Yo! This house has an assumable loan at 2.25%. Thought these were made up.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1465-Cortez-Ct-Walnut-Creek-CA-94598/18380620\_zpid/?utm\_campaign=zillowwebmessage&utm\_medium=referral&utm\_source=txtshare

What Jumbo rates are people seeing on the Peninsula this week? I’m targeting 5.5% but getting quoted 6%, and wondering if anyone has found better lately. Also, for those who closed recently, did your closing costs land around 2.5% of the price, or should I budget higher for the property tax reserves?