All money eventually flows back to SF and the Valley. Just stay put and buy local. 
Easier said than done, my friend. It is so hard to find anything half decent now for a low price around here. I seriously got lucky on all my real estate buys, as all were private sales direct from the owners. Riskier sure, but as long as you get your inspections done you should be good. The flip side is no competition, so the savings from having to overbid to win can go towards any hidden repairs/costs during the remodel.
sfdragonboy,
What is the secret?
Well, because I have owned property since out of college I have developed relationships with contractors, architects, mortgage brokers over the years. For example, one of my long term tenants who is a contractor and whom I helped over the years with low rent, finally saved enough money to buy his own house so he is a great resource to have around. In fact, he wants to do a deal with me on a fixer somewhere where I finance it, he works on it, and we split the moola. Could work. I have also worked with a very experienced architect/permit expediter who probably has done so many remodeling projects here in the city that it is not funny. The street that I happen to live on is literally crawling with real estate professionals so they keep me abreast of anything interesting since I tell them that I am looking for fixers or any pocket listings. One realtor is a well known one who has over 35 years of experience easily. Someone like that is constantly hearing from a past buyer who wants to sell now. The thing is, these people know I can deliver or have the funds/know how, so if I say I am interested in buying they know they aren’t wasting their time. I have provided a lot of referral business to these people too, so they appreciate it and return the favor when it is something I need for myself. When a mortgage broker sends you a regular christmas gift, you must be doing something right.
One thing is, you need to be ready. So, you need to be actually pre-approved for a real loan. When opportunities arise, you have to be ready to move on a dime.
Did I not say this a month ago?
But SF is the 2nd hottest. Just stay put then…
I don’t think people realize how few jobs modern factories create. It used to be 5,000 auto workers a shift. Now it’s 500. Automation is alive and well in the auto industry.
Nobody wants to work in a factory. …and guess what some day no one will
Tjh is a trend setter…And whether he likes it or not his Antioch house is going up in value too…lol
Stockton still hot sold 2… 2 in escrow…One to be finished in 2 weeks…took 90 days to evict dirt bag tenant, who came back and stole the air conditioner. But it is a great house…all new $200k 1000sf 3/1… .One in Modesto still lingering…Takers?. $120k …8cap…downtown
Modesto is the wrong direction. Going north from 205/5 junction you have Stockton and Sac. Going south you got nothing until you hit Fresno, which nobody loves.
Speaking of Modesto, how’s Merced? Where are all the students living in?
Yeah got stuck with my Molesto house…Bought a package of 4, 3 in Stockton…But Molesto is nicer than Stockton. have good friends that live there. …its only claim to fame is Scot Peterson and a disgraced congressman…going to have to go visit…
I Yelp’ed for Chinese restaurants in Stockton last night. Oh boy, the options are pretty grim… Good that I like Denny’s. I can probably do OK there. Brookside houses are still pretty darn cheap.
I have found good Vietnamese and Japanese food in Stockton. .lots of good mexican places…Garlic Brothers is the best for enjoying the Delta, on the water in Village West Marina… Italian bar food…
More than you may know. An exact same but much better shape model on a few houses down just went on the market for $415. I’ve seeing a few $600 and $700 listings in the new, larger homes south of SR4 now too.
If I had dumped that place in 2012 when I bought the Vallejo place, I’d have been lucky to get $190.
On the other hand, I would NOT suggest investing in any SFH in either location today. There are simply too many SFH rentals which is going to hold them back.
My dentist picked up 22 SFH rentals in Vallejo and American Canyon during the recession. He has his son employed full time managing them, doing rehab, etc. Even he is beginning to sell them off now. Being a big shot landlord has come with more frustration and risk than he imagined, even though this wasn’t his first foray into rentals.
I’d stick to the hot, high end markets that are often discussed here. Would you rather deal in a high volume, mediocre quality, Chevy franchise or a high quality, low volume Lexus entity?
Actually, I miss working in a factory some days. I worked in one for summers back in the late 1970s. I hated it then.
It’s been desk jobs ever since. But I miss seeing a physical result of my efforts at the end of every day.
I don’t miss the people though. They were anything but educated professionals. I was a college kid and had to watch my back constantly. Their equivalent today would be the pants on the ground crowd.
And, I picked up an awful swearing habit back then that took years to break. The F word is amazingly versatile just like George Carlin said it was.
The article is typical exaggeration though. On several fronts. Starting with the headline.
Vallejo is hardly “crime-ridden”. If Vallejo is “crime-ridden” Oakland must be the murder capital of the world.
Antioch was worse. In Vallejo there are some areas to avoid. But really only at night. In Antioch, the miscreants move in right next to you in the nicest of neighborhoods thanks to huge number of Section 8 SFH rentals picked up by investors during the recession.
I’ve heard similar stories in Vallejo about former inner city denizens from SF, Oakland and RIchmond and bringing their problems with them as I did in Antioch. Only, I’m not seeing it in Vallejo. I see it every day in Antioch. It’s only gotten worse there.
Vallejo seems to have less homeless wandering around too. But part of that for me at least might be because there are two steep hills between my house and the freeway two miles hence. The homeless are too lazy to push those shopping carts up and down two long grades to get out to where I live now. 
Antioch is pretty flat. And the homeless wander with impunity. Some of my idiot neighbors there actually bag up their aluminum and leave it out front for the homeless. They should know what happens when you put out bird seed. 
The other factor left out in the article is the Vallejo is likely headed for bankruptcy again because they didn’t fix their main fiscal problem the first time around. Actually, neither did most other municipalities. Police and fire still have their Cadillac pensions and health care in retirement contracts. It now consumes 55% of the city’s annual operating budget and will continue to increase each year. This restricts and forward motion by the city which has antiquated systems by the way. I’ve seen them myself and just the other day spoke to an auditor who has Vallejo as a client.
Antioch’s future on that front is a bit rosier because of a growing tax base.
But. you know what? A bankrupt city isn’t as bad as one might think. People still live, work and interact without government oversight of their every move. Funny how that works. Think of all the rural places that function with only a basic, county structure. There are hundreds if not thousands across this country.
Time to sell the Antioch house