Northern California Beach Home -- best time to buy?

[Anonymous]

We'd like to buy a beach home in Northern California. We visit family in the SF area quite often and instead of throwing more money down the tubes, we've decided to buy in a vacation place that we can rent out when we are not visiting and have our family visit us there. We looked at Half Moon Bay & Santa Cruz but both are artificially inflated by the Bay Area economy. We're now looking at Monterey and Big Sur, which are more affordable. I expect that the market will crash at the end of next year or early 2020 based on prior cycles. Do realtors agree?

[Anonymous]

Big Sur is very affected by mudslides and Highway 1 closures. It has been desolate and hard to reach for the past year or more so I would probably not buy there myself.

good luck!

[Anonymous]

There are no deals along the coast, and even after the last recession that was one of the few areas that wasn't greatly affected.

[Anonymous]

Go north of the Golden Gate bridge. Less tech affected by tech money, bigger lots, more solitude. I LOVE Bodega Bay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go north of the Golden Gate bridge. Less tech affected by tech money, bigger lots, more solitude. I LOVE Bodega Bay.

Tomales Bay and Inverness is also incredible and so gorgeous, a bit closer to the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go north of the Golden Gate bridge. Less tech affected by tech money, bigger lots, more solitude. I LOVE Bodega Bay.

Tomales Bay and Inverness is also incredible and so gorgeous, a bit closer to the city.

Tomales and Bodega are both on the San Andreas fault line There's a reason why something is cheaper (especially North California) - always.

[Anonymous]

Bodega Bay is gorgeous. It's worth the gamble that the big one hits, as long as you won't go broke if the house is a total loss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bodega Bay is gorgeous. It's worth the gamble that the big one hits, as long as you won't go broke if the house is a total loss.

Worth the gamble to pay $1,500,000 for the average house in Bodega Bay plus the $5,000 monthly annual premium for just earthquake insurance on top of the sky high California property taxes and home owner's insurance?

Not to mention should this major earthquake happen, there are continuous minor ones throughout the year of course, you need to cover the deductible to get the payout and you loose your home at the same time?

What are you smoking?

[Anonymous]

OP, I don't understand how any of these options help you visit people in San Francisco. You're talking about a one- to two-hour drive from the City. I grew up in San Mateo County (where Half Moon Bay is) and we never considered Santa Cruz or Monterrey to be an easy drive. Where are your relatives located?

Anyway, my parents (who still live in the Bay Area) have a vacation home just south of Bodega Bay. It's very pretty there, very quiet and peaceful: as an adult I love it. There is nothing to do with kids except the beach. There's almost nothing there in terms of retail and restaurants -- you have to bring groceries in. The drive is long and winding. My parents rent it out as a vacation property when they are not using it, and that is working okay but it is a lot of management even though they have a management company and cleaning service: renters break and steal things all the time. They are up there pretty often dealing with issues like that.

[Anonymous]

Op.

Instead of going to San Jose for Xmas, we'd fly into SJC and go to big sur. I think the mudslides may make now the time to buy.

Then I'll have our families come to us instead of us running around to them every 2 days in misery. We're in the bay area 4-10 times per year.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Are all your families really going to schlep to your tiny, damp, perhaps isolated beach house in Big Sur for the holiday? Unless you really love California and will spend a lot of time there, or you just have a lot of $$ lying around, this seems like a weird idea.

[Anonymous]

OP - where in the Bay Area do your relatives live? Do you plan on getting a property manager and renting it out? Will your extended relatives use it more than you?

I agree with others that someone in East Bay, SF or even the peninsula isn't going to think Monteray or Big Sur are very close. Santa Cruz/Capitola are very convenient for people in South Bay (Los Gatos, Saratoga, West and South San Jose) but you have to avoid Bay traffic.

We love going down to Santa Cruz but wouldn't buy anything down there. In the long run it still is cheaper to AirBNB or use one of the local inns.

[Anonymous]

The idea of NorCal beach makes me shudder. I would never consider spending so much money for something that's essentially a sweatshirt beach with rough waves.

[Anonymous]

Big fan of Santa Barbara county and you'll find some deals right now, given recent events.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Big fan of Santa Barbara county and you'll find some deals right now, given recent events.

Yes it’s beautiful here- but SB is pretty much Southern California. That wouldn’t really work for the OP’s situation.