[silverc4s]

This aimed at Wayne and the group that was having the Southern California housing discussion in "Wayne's formula for when to buy real estate again... "

I lived in San Jose in the 80's and 90's, moving back to Texas in 1996. Came out well on my house there, but of course now could never afford to go back there and repurchase my house. The stats were like 3 br, 2.5 ba, 2 car garage, 2600 sf. Purchased in 1985 for 213K, sold in 1996 for 650K. That house was as high as $1M before the loan debacle started to unfold, no idea what it wold be worth now..

So, here is the question that was put to me earlier this week, prompting me to ask the "experts" (expert = you are in SOCAL & you have or want to have a house there today).

You are a 40 year old, very successful sales exec with a leading sporting goods company. They have a lot of their base in San Diego, but you currently live & work in Austin, TX. You are offered a VP Stripe, a corner office, and a great set of challenging accounts. The catch: you have to move to San Diego to do this job. You have a wife and two small boys, just starting school. You currently live in a Country Club Community, HOA, lots of rules, very nice desireable neighborhood, etc. Your house, 3100sf, 4-3.5-3 on a corner lot with a nice pool and spa will likely sell for around $500 to $600K. You will get a raise, but even so, can you afford to move? Also if you buy in San Diego now, are you buying in a falling market where your house will be worth less every quarter for years to come? What the he!! should you do??