4 ms·

After college, I paid $800/mo and lived modestly to save up money in SF. Two years later, I bought my first house in Berkeley and moved in. The tax savings from

After college, I paid $800/mo and lived modestly to save up money in SF. Two years later, I bought my first house in Berkeley and moved in. The tax savings from mortgage interest helps save alot of money. We rented out 2 remaining rooms that we are not using and it helped cover the mortgage. (Starting out, I made around 100k and saved around 50-60k/year) 2 years after that, my gf (at the time) and I pooled our money to buy a house in south SF. 2 years after that, my mom and I bought a 3 unit run-down place in Oakland and fixed it up. 6 years after college, I have rental income coming in around 13k / month and I quit my job. No need to move to a new/cheaper location, 13k / month is plenty for bay area. Now, I run a nonprofit to help people in the bay area community learn how to code (we focus on low income workers and we pay them to quit their jobs so they can learn how to code full time). Looking back, the best thing I did for myself is to refrain from living extravagantly. Its an easy trap once you start making 200k/year. With that much money, its easy to think that you deserve a nice car, impress girls, and get stuck in the mindset of always getting the best, which not only drains your financial resources quickly, but also creates an internal emptiness. Reuse old cars, cook at home, host modest dinner parties in your own place with friends/coworkers instead of going to bars. You will save alot of money. Also, (I could write a whole blog about this), time capping your time at every company to 1-2 years helps you cut through political bullshit (huge time sink) and focus on impact. Plus, sign-on bonuses every year boosts your income significantly.

mistursinistur 9y ago
> I bought my first house in Berkeley > rented out 2 remaining rooms > buy a house in south SF > my mom and I bought a 3 unit run-down place in Oakland and fixed it up > rental income coming in around 13k / month > Looking back, the best thing I did for myself is to refrain from living extravagantly Surprising! Sounds like the best thing that happened in this story was partnering with other wealthy people to engage in leveraged speculation on Bay Area real estate.
- mark212 9y ago
  Maybe financially, but in the long run the best thing that he/she learned was that spending money doesn't lead to increased happiness. Stated differently, the same level of happiness can be reached at far lower financial cost. Even financially, that may be the more valuable learning.
- anothergoogler 9y ago
  For real. Trying to imagine the reaction I'd get to "hey mom, want to go in with me on a multi-family building?"
  - songzme 9y ago
    Not sure what you are trying to say here, but I'll try to indulge. 1. Your mom doesn't have enough money - You can still involve your parents by having them manage your property. You'd be surprised though, most parents have at least 20-30k saved up. 2. You can't imagine a partnership with your mom (maybe she's too controlling?). Coming from asian parents, I personally felt this way growing up. I suggest finding ways to bond and build trust with your parents first. If you notice friction with your parents, it would improve your long term happiness if you addressed this sooner than later. Usually, parents are the few people in this world who would never scheme behind your back to screw you over. Having them as your ally could do wonders.
    - csisvunit 9y ago
      dude, you are in the 1%. MAJORITY of the nation doesn't go to college, nor do they earn $100k/yr salary in their lifetime, let alone right out of college. I think the commenter was poking fun at your 1% lifestyle. Good for you mate.
    - daviross 9y ago
      > You'd be surprised though, most parents have at least 20-30k saved up. Most American households couldn't come up with $1k in an emergency, much less "20-30k saved up to go in on an investment". Plus, they'll already have jobs themselves, and you're suggesting adding an additional one on top of that? I hope they're getting paid well off that
    - ryandrake 9y ago
      I think the point was: your story (while interesting) is one of an outlier person with an outlier income and friends/family with outlier financial means. Congratulations to you for the good fortune, but it’s not a path available to many. Most people don’t even have the means to get past your step 1: “Buy first house in Berkeley”.
- songzme 9y ago
  > Sounds like the best thing that happened in this story was partnering with other wealthy people... I can see how you made this conclusion, which is semi-correct. You don't have to partner with other wealthy people though, it just makes getting to a point of retirement faster. So if I was to do everything myself, it would probably have taken 12 years to get to where I am vs 6.
  - interdocken 9y ago
    > it would probably have taken 12 years to get to where I am vs 6 This isn't a small difference, it's huge. 6 years of your most productive adult years.
QML 9y ago
What year did you buy your first house? I'm guessing 2009-2011 since that when house prices were still low enough that early college graduate could buy a house in the Bay Area -- especially Berkeley.
- songzme 9y ago
  late 2014. I had around 120k saved up and it put my bidding capacity at around 550k.
  - muzz 9y ago
    You mentioned you were saving money for the previous two years. Median home prices likely increased ~30% during that time (according to https://www.zillow.com/berkeley-ca/home-values/ https://www.zillow.com/berkeley-ca/home-values/) which would have been more than the amount you saved up. That's the incumbent-wins nature of the Bay Area housing market-- someone owning a median home would have increased net worth more than someone who saved a large portion of income. This trend has of course continued in recent years and housing has "outrun" people's ability to save for it, to even a larger extent.

mistursinistur 9y ago

> I bought my first house in Berkeley > rented out 2 remaining rooms > buy a house in south SF > my mom and I bought a 3 unit run-down place in Oakland and fixed it up > rental income coming in around 13k / month > Looking back, the best thing I did for myself is to refrain from living extravagantly Surprising! Sounds like the best thing that happened in this story was partnering with other wealthy people to engage in leveraged speculation on Bay Area real estate.

mark212 9y ago
Maybe financially, but in the long run the best thing that he/she learned was that spending money doesn't lead to increased happiness. Stated differently, the same level of happiness can be reached at far lower financial cost. Even financially, that may be the more valuable learning.
anothergoogler 9y ago
For real. Trying to imagine the reaction I'd get to "hey mom, want to go in with me on a multi-family building?"
- songzme 9y ago
  Not sure what you are trying to say here, but I'll try to indulge. 1. Your mom doesn't have enough money - You can still involve your parents by having them manage your property. You'd be surprised though, most parents have at least 20-30k saved up. 2. You can't imagine a partnership with your mom (maybe she's too controlling?). Coming from asian parents, I personally felt this way growing up. I suggest finding ways to bond and build trust with your parents first. If you notice friction with your parents, it would improve your long term happiness if you addressed this sooner than later. Usually, parents are the few people in this world who would never scheme behind your back to screw you over. Having them as your ally could do wonders.
  - csisvunit 9y ago
    dude, you are in the 1%. MAJORITY of the nation doesn't go to college, nor do they earn $100k/yr salary in their lifetime, let alone right out of college. I think the commenter was poking fun at your 1% lifestyle. Good for you mate.
  - daviross 9y ago
    > You'd be surprised though, most parents have at least 20-30k saved up. Most American households couldn't come up with $1k in an emergency, much less "20-30k saved up to go in on an investment". Plus, they'll already have jobs themselves, and you're suggesting adding an additional one on top of that? I hope they're getting paid well off that
  - ryandrake 9y ago
    I think the point was: your story (while interesting) is one of an outlier person with an outlier income and friends/family with outlier financial means. Congratulations to you for the good fortune, but it’s not a path available to many. Most people don’t even have the means to get past your step 1: “Buy first house in Berkeley”.
songzme 9y ago
> Sounds like the best thing that happened in this story was partnering with other wealthy people... I can see how you made this conclusion, which is semi-correct. You don't have to partner with other wealthy people though, it just makes getting to a point of retirement faster. So if I was to do everything myself, it would probably have taken 12 years to get to where I am vs 6.
- interdocken 9y ago
  > it would probably have taken 12 years to get to where I am vs 6 This isn't a small difference, it's huge. 6 years of your most productive adult years.

QML 9y ago

What year did you buy your first house? I'm guessing 2009-2011 since that when house prices were still low enough that early college graduate could buy a house in the Bay Area -- especially Berkeley.

songzme 9y ago
late 2014. I had around 120k saved up and it put my bidding capacity at around 550k.
- muzz 9y ago
  You mentioned you were saving money for the previous two years. Median home prices likely increased ~30% during that time (according to https://www.zillow.com/berkeley-ca/home-values/ https://www.zillow.com/berkeley-ca/home-values/) which would have been more than the amount you saved up. That's the incumbent-wins nature of the Bay Area housing market-- someone owning a median home would have increased net worth more than someone who saved a large portion of income. This trend has of course continued in recent years and housing has "outrun" people's ability to save for it, to even a larger extent.