First time home buyer - Fremont / Almden Valley/Cambrian ? 1.5M budget

[telemarker]

There is an area in mountain view called “the crossings” that you might want to check out. Los Altos schools, walk to Whole Foods, close to Caltrain.

[telemarker]

@hanera

to climb to the TROPHY peak where I am waiting

playing video games

[hmmwv79]

This place is one of my target!

[Roy321]

@rinkas

Realtors suggest following areas

• few pockets of fremont - concern crossing bridge is increasingly getting painful.
• Almaden valley - commute can be problem but quality of life for family quite good.
• Cambrain park - almost not available.

@rinkas

Recently bought home

So where did you end up among the 3 places you preferred? & why?

Answer might help other people to make a decision on their housing. (no pressure )
Thanks in advance.

[rinkas]

i bought in Ardenwood school district

1. 1 hr max for any place commute. if you can adjust your time then some of the place commute can be much lesser. (like 10AM to 7PM commute south bay). We have multiple combinations here, my wife also works and we have changed jobs from one corner to another.
2. School district is pretty decent and expected to grow further. So no pressure of sending kids to private schools. Yes, there is lottery system in school but my son is in upper grades(5th now) and chances are huge of not much conflict and that will help my daughter to get admission next year under sibling.
3. Excellent, neighborhood.
4. Above all, around 1.5M around budget this was the best SFH which I could get. Quality of life over all A or A+ for raising family.

Negative - there was too much competition for this price range and hence I ended up throwing additional 5% just to secure. I am long term player so getting house was priority.
It is not clear how much it will appreciate/depreciate with changing time specially comparing with other areas like Cambrian park (which was also in my reach, in-fact a 5% cheaper).

[Roy321]

@rinkas

i bought in Ardenwood school district

1. 1 hr max for any place commute. if you can adjust your time then some of the place commute can be much lesser. (like 10AM to 7PM commute south bay). We have multiple combinations here, my wife also works and we have changed jobs from one corner to another.
2. School district is pretty decent and expected to grow further. So no pressure of sending kids to private schools. Yes, there is lottery system in school but my son is in upper grades(5th now) and chances are huge of not much conflict and that will help my daughter to get admission next year under sibling.
3. Excellent, neighborhood.
4. Above all, around 1.5M around budget this was the best SFH which I could get. Quality of life over all A or A+ for raising family.

5. FB is in the neighborhood now

[Boolean]

@rinkas

i bought in Ardenwood school district

Congrats! Welcome to the neighborhood!

[RamDas]

Find an agent who represents you and not the seller. This is beneficial during the negotiation process. If you are working with a buyer’s agent, he or she is required not to tell the seller of your top choice. In addition, he or she is also focused on getting you the lowest asking price.

[sfdragonboy]

So, @RamDas,

Let’s say I am looking as well and I find a home on my own while the buying agent was also technically looking for me. Tell me, if the commission is 5% (2.5% to each agent) would it be fair to ask that the buyer agent refund me back some of that commission since I found the house?

[Eastbaylady]

Finding a house is the easy part. The hard part is getting your offer accepted and getting the deal done, close of escrow, which is where the worth of your buyer’s agent comes in. If you prefer to get the commission refund instead of full-service, brokerages like Redfin or Open Listings are the way to go.