I’m stuck in pretty much the same deal here in Seattle (rent being less than the monthly mortgage payment on the same place). Though fortunately if I bought a duplex I would come out ahead on the deal.

The biggest stumbling block for me right now is not having the down payment. I did at one time but I spent the majority of my savings during my 2.5 years of unemployment.

Thanks to the new job, hopefully I’ll be in a position to buy a house in the next 12 months. I also got a boatload of stock options so potentially one day I’ll be able to afford a *REALLY* nice house.

I calculated that owning this same place, at the prices duplexes are selling for now, would make my mortgage payment almost double my rent payment, and that’s after I leased out the other half of the duplex. It’s just not worth it.

I suppose I shouldn’t make fun of San Jose real estate prices, the Seattle area is getting nearly as bad (though a house like the one you linked could go for as little as $250,000)

My neighborhood is weird price-wise. There are 45 year old 3BR homes going for $250k and brand-new 3 and 4BR homes going for almost $600k. The newer homes are much larger square footage wise than the older homes, but they are poorly built by comparison. The new homes are also on the absolute smallest lot size the zoning will allow and so don’t really have usable yards. Most of the older homes in the neighborhood have fairly large lots. I fail to understand the logic, such as it is, behind real-estate pricing.

So, when you bellyache about how c-c-cold it is, remember, you could be here, in Hell. Besides being a red state, we don’t have a Tommy’s Burger or decent Mexican food. It is enough to make a man throw himself under a bus.

Thank you.