Buy a Home in Silicon Valley for $25,000—but There’s a Catch

Anyone who lives here in the Silicon Valley knows housing (both renting & buying) comes at a premium. Last year I think it was when I heard the story of a guy in Mountain View who was renting a tent in his backyard for $800 a month, and I thought that was bad, but now I heard about this. So apparently a guy will rent a van, just to Google employees for $30.00 a day to sleep in their parking lot, since Google apparently doesn't pay some employees enough to afford a place. The employee can use their restroom, cafe, etc. provided they have a place to sleep - that's where the van comes in. Anyhow, seeing things like this speak to the high cost of housing here in the valley.



Psst … want your own place in Silicon Valley for a mere $25,000? Then you should meet Robert Allen, an entrepreneur who’s retrofitted six vans with beds and kitchenettes. His target clientele? Google employees.

This makes total sense: The tech behemoth, based in Mountain View, is justly famous for its amenities that encourage employees to linger in the office around the clock. With cafeterias dishing up a range of delicious free food throughout the day and top-notch exercise facilities where you can shower, who needs to go home for anything but sleep?

That’s where Allen’s vans come in. He initially rented the vans to travelers staying a night or two, via his site Go-Tel.net (not hotel—get it?). But his latest Craigslist ad woos cash-strapped Googlers with the following pitch: “Eat Google food, use their gym, and sleep in the van (CHEAP).”

There is a precedent for this—in one highly publicized case, a 24-year-old software engineer opted to sleep in a box truck in the parking lot at Google to  save on housing costs. The company’s reaction? Shrug.

The vans rent for $30 per day, or you can buy one outright for $25,000. If you’re not lucky enough to be employed at Google, Allen’s ad says, “you tell me where you would like it parked and I do the research to make that happen” (which we infer/hope means he finds legal parking spots for you).

Sure, living in a van sounds cramped and uncomfortable, but it’s undeniably a deal, considering that the cheapest Mountain View apartments on realtor.com® start at $1,625.

Here’s a pic of the place, located at 1970 Latham St.:



And here’s a peek at what we presume is the kitchen and, um, the rest. Cozy isn’t it? But hey, if you’re working around the clock at Google and taking advantage of its immense cafeteria and other amenities, all you really need at your crash pad is a few microwaveable meals in your freezer for the weekends. Assuming there’s room for a microwave, that is.



As for the cheapest house you can actually buy in Mountain View, that’s a whole different animal. The cheapest listing on realtor.com is a mobile home at 191 E El Camino Real, Space 210, going for $99,000.

And according to the listing, it “may need to be a cash deal.” You may even need to bring it in a suitcase.

Once you see the reality of real estate in Mountain View, a van for $25,000 starts looking pretty sweet, doesn’t it?

Source: Realtor,com, Judy Dutton

http://www.realtor.com/news/trends/buy-home-silicon-valley-for-25000/?iid=rdc_news_hp_carousel_theLatest

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Camping Tent Rents at $900 a Month in Mountain View
Million Dollar Shack: Trapped in Silicon Valley's Housing Bubble

WTF!! Really! A tent in a Mountain View backyard is renting for $900 a month! YES, you read correctly

I know someone is doing this to prove a point and make a statement about the ridiculousness of  the Silicon Valley market, but damn! $900 a month for a tent in someone's backyard. The scary thing is, with housing being as scarce and high priced as it is, this tent idea might just catch on - who knows?



Housing prices in Silicon Valley are so out of control that you can rent a tent for $899 per month

You may have heard that real estate is expensive in the Bay Area.

This is how expensive: A 9' by 7' tent someone has pitched in their garden is currently going for $899 per month (or $46 per day) in the Silicon Valley town of Mountain View. A tent. In someone's garden. Rents for nearly $900 a month.

And this is considered a steal.

The listing on Airbnb says that "the tent comes with a shower per day." It's also specified that the renter "can eat inside."

The crazy thing is that if you spend enough time researching Silicon Valley housing, this does start to look like a steal.

Buying a pretty basic house in the area, within a good school district, costs over $1 million these days.

However, if you are the type of person considering pitching a long-term tent, living at the gorgeous Big Sur campground seems like the better option, for just $11 a day more.


Source: Buisness Insider, Shane Ferro
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-silicon-valley-housing-crisis-is-epitomized-in-this-listing-for-a-899month-tent-2015-6