HOW IN THE WORLD CAN ANYONE AFFORD TO LIVE IN California?

Question

How much does a job like Target or walmart pay out there? How can people afford to buy a home for $500,000 or more??
What is the lowest mortgage amount that you can get approved for? Michigan it's $50,000 for a home.
Please help me to understand how someone can survive there?

Answer 1

I bought my home in 1984 sold it. Then purchased another after that sold it, made double and bought my current home. I have stayed her 20 years. I cold not afford to do that today. I would have to leave the state.

Answer 2

Tar Jay and Wally's World don't pay anything and look for people who are happy with that...WalMart starts at 7.10 but pays more for experienced help. But it is difficult and dangerous to work with under informed and lifeless people. Target is opening on every corner and cannot afford to pay more for the help.
Your first objective in order to live comfortably here is to acquire a complete education or get with a union other than UAW. Union wages keep employers honest on cost of living, benefits, etc.
You start out with the best you can buy in the best place you can find. Even a 2 bdrm or a condo will gain in value if in the right place. Live as close to work as possible. You take a look at everything...gasoline, car and fire insurance, phone svcs, etc. Look for bargains on food from independent stores and write off everything you can. Talk to as many people as you can and make lots of true friends. Housing prices are down right now and may go further. Some Orange County homes are even 400k now..20% down is great..10 will get you going but there will be mortgage insurance in the mix. Foreclosures are everywhere. Save a little money and keep your head up. So Cal has a place for everyone. As mentioned above Santa Barbara area is a great place to live and work. A 2 bdrm condo 10 mi. south is almost a million bucks.

Answer 3

Q. HOW IN THE WORLD CAN ANYONE AFFORD TO LIVE IN California?
A. By having a very high paying job, or buy having bought years ago, when it was less expensive

Q. How much does a job like Target or walmart pay out there?
A. Enough for teenagers who live with their parents to earn gas money. Not enough to buy a house.

Q. How can people afford to buy a home for $500,000 or more??
A. They have a lot of money or they get a mortgage with a little down and big monthly payments.

Answer 4

I'm crossing my fingers for the housing market to crash because of all the people defaulting on their home loans so I will be able to buy a house.
I also wonder why people would pay $700,000 for a very unremarkable 3 bedroom 2 bath home that was built in the early 50's in Huntington Beach.
People that work at Target or Walmart have to get roommates to help pay the rent or work more than 1 job.

Answer 5

I've lived here in SoCal my entire life and I've asked myself that question a billion times. I wish I would have gotten married back in 1999 when a decent 3bd 2bth house was an "affordable" $220k!

But, I got married in 2005 and we could not afford anything, with the average house in my area being $650k. So, we are still renting a 1 bd 1bth for $1285/mo AND getting nailed on our income taxes since we supposedly make "too much money" together and we have no write-offs to speak of :-(

Its pretty dismal, but here is the flipside:

The beach, the desert, and the mountains are all a very short drive away. Plus, there's tons of stuff to do in Los Angeles, San Diego, etc. and we can drive up to San Francisco or out to Las Vegas for a 3-day weekend anytime!

Also, if you can find any way to possibly purchase a home, you will be sitting on a huge nest egg if you hang onto it for 5-10 years or so. I know many people who sold their ONE SoCal home, and moved to Idaho or Montana, built their dreamhome, and retired using just the profit they made from the sale of their SoCal real estate.

As far as the current real estate situation in SoCal, things are looking up for us first time homebuyers. We actually may be able to afford a condo/ townhome (prices right now are around $370k) in 2008 if this soft market trend continues!

Answer 6

It's a bit hard, in general, but don't forget that people get paid more here. Minimum wage is 7.50, and will be 8 dollars in Jan. But you're right, no one can really survive on minimum wage. The cheapest decent condo you can get around here is about 400k. Most people here make around 50k a year. But LA county is HUGE so it's hard to really say.. San Fran is more expensive than LA in a lot of ways.. like purchasing groceries and stuff.. it's insane! It's tough, though, probably everywhere, unless you're a doctor or a lawyer in CA.

Answer 7

Most people either have money or just bite the bullet and commit themselves to work their a** off to pay of a mortgage. I've seen multiple families live in a single house just so that everyone can contribute to the house payment.

Answer 8

i total agree.

for a house with 3 rooms 2 bath rooms its about 500,000 and its not even in a great area.

i actually live in so cal and i have no idea how my parents do this.

i saw some family from texas with a huge house and i wanted it and my dad told me if we moved there we could have a huge house. its so crazy how things are so expensive

Answer 9

When it comes to housing, many who have purchased homes recently have done so with crazy variable loans- which was pretty low risk until recently. That's why Countrywide just went bankrupt- too many defaulted loans. Also that is why California has one of the highest number of foreclosures in the u.s.

Answer 10

My parents were smart they bought our house in the 90's when the prices were lowER.
To live in California you have to fully know what you are getting yourself into, I have had so many neighbor move in from out of state and leave a year later because they got their house repossessed.
i am lucky enough to have parents who make very good money, so that is how we can afford to live out here