To buy, or not to buy.
You know that old brainteaser with the farmer, some wheat, a chicken, and a fox all needing to cross the river with a boat that only fits two of them? I kinda felt that way today, except it was me, J's bike, Caltrain, and $1900 worth of car maintenance. Yeah, that sounded more funny in my head. But I did end up locked out of the apt because my keys were in the car that needed to stay at the dealer which I'd forgotten while on the train to SF...long story. It was pretty funny. After I stopped beating my head into the wall.
Anyways, it's days like this, when the dealer calls with bad news, the DMV wants it's registration fees, the credit card is due, the smart part of you wants earthquake insurance in addition to paying the renter's insurance, and a host of other bills come calling...this is when I realize that I'm not ready for a house. Because a mortgage? And a broken hot water heater/gas line/mold problem/insert things that break in houses here that cost even more $$$... No Thank You.
Which is good
Because with the forclosure market heating up and staying strong in the forseeable future, house prices will continue to stay steady or drop while your income (yes, even yours Adam ;-p ) will rise over that period of time.
Buying right now, unless you buy a forclosure as a fixer-upper to sell (as an investment) is not a really good idea. That and the higher interest rates, etc.
****
Adam, I share your desire for a car... Yesterday it took me 90 minutes to travel 8 miles via public transit (busses were WAY behind schedule). Now I could have walked it, but I'm not real keen on walking through some of those areas and who really wants to put 8 miles of wear on their dress shoes?
Its strange, for me the lack of a car has saved me money in other areas... I don't have a microwave (which I would have bought if I had a way to transport it). Probably more furniture because I could carry it. I'd definately have more fresh food...
But the smog tests, registration fees, cost of getting a vechile I can rely on, insurance, etc... It sucks, and I'm supposed to have real job in the real world. Crappers.
car sharing
They have zip cars (or maybe flex cars... actually, it doesn't really matter anymore because they merged) in DC, so you could use those if you wanted Miah. Nat and I use it to do pet store runs and Target runs primarily (so you could get that microwave you've had your eye on), though we are now starting to also rent the car to get groceries at the super cheap grocery store. Even after adding the $30 for me to rent a car for 2.5 hours to go grocery shopping, I still save a ton of money on food. Market Basket is the closest thing to WinCo I've found in Mass.
agree
I can't even imagine getting a house in the SF area. Things are so freaking expensive there. But I do want a car... I spent half an hour yesterday looking over craigslist for a car in my area that was cheap. I found quite a few in the Bolo price range too ($700) that looked like they were perfect for me (priced lower due to cosmetic damage, e.g. dents etc but still running well). Insurance is a killer though, but zipcar is great, so I can't really complain too much.
What I don't like about zipcar though is that I can quantify how much it costs me to do everything. Is it worth $25 to go to the pet store, stop by trader joes, and pick up some stuff from work? Hmm... probably not, maybe next week. Is it worth $80 to rent the car for a day and go to the coast? That would be fun, but $80 is a lot of money so maybe next month. When you own a car, I don't think about these kind of things as much because you pay a fixed amount of money each month whether you use the car or not. With zipcar, I actually save money by not using it.