Bay Area

[wave]

I am looking to buy a house on the Peninsula. I was wondering what are some of the more affordable areas? My budget is around $600k and I would like a single family house that is well maintained. Old is OK as long as it is in good condition. I would like a yard and to be in a neighborhood with mature trees and low crime. My ideal area ranges from Burlingame to Redwood City. I am having a tough time finding anything at all in my price range let alone something I want. Thanks for advice.

[entendu]

-Desired sqft?

-Desired bed/baths?

The penninsula is pretty empty in all price ranges; yours is a very very competitive range. I'm running into the same issue myself in the south bay. Although this time of year isn't ideal to be selling your house so there's probably a little bit of pent-up stock.

[wave]

I am flexible in terms of sq ft and bedrooms and bathrooms. 1100 sq ft would be about the minimum for me I think. I could live in a 2 bed 1 bath but would greatly prefer at least 1.5 bathrooms. I also like the middle areas the best around San Mateo, Burlingame, Belmont, but those areas seem pricey.

[NetReality]

For that price range you are pretty much confined to Redwood City.  Saw some renovated 3/1's there for under $600k in nice starter home neighborhoods.

[NetReality]

Also, Dec/Jan is always the lowest months of inventory every year.  Wait a couple months...

[wave]

---

NetReality wrote:

For that price range you are pretty much confined to Redwood City.  Saw some renovated 3/1's there for under $600k in nice starter home neighborhoods.

---

Thanks for the advice. What are the names of these nicer starter neighborhoods? I'm not that familiar with Redwood City, it is a little south for me but I could compromise.

[sheriff]

You can go to www.city-data.com to get information about the neighborhood.  Go to www.crimereports.com to find out what the neighborhood's crime levels are. You can use your own neighborhood as a baseline.  Check out google's street view to see what they look like.  I did all these things when I was looking for a home and wound up choosing Evergreen in San Jose, a neighborhood I did not consider before.

[Jil]

---

wave wrote:

---

NetReality wrote:

For that price range you are pretty much confined to Redwood City.  Saw some renovated 3/1's there for under $600k in nice starter home neighborhoods.

---

Thanks for the advice. What are the names of these nicer starter neighborhoods? I'm not that familiar with Redwood City, it is a little south for me but I could compromise.

---

Search the forum with "RWC", you will see all about Redwood City.

Some others links of the same topic.

http://forums.redfin.com/t5/Bay-Area/What-to-buy-for-750k-on-the-Peninsula/m-p/347094

[wave]

Looks like there are a couple of homes in the Shoreview area of San Mateo, anyone know this area?

[mediaguru]

I don't know that area, per se, but I like San Mateo, in general.

Not sure about the land logistics (fault lines, flooding, soil integrity, etc.), but as far as bang-for-the-buck goes for primo location, I feel like it doesn't get much better than San Mateo.  The town itself isn't very happening... very low-key and suburbanite.  But what a great location to get on the road and pop up to SF, over to Oakland, or down the Peninsula...