For those who have been in the dark, my parents have been trying to sell their house for three months and they have finally found a buyer.  I remember when we first moved into the house, it was for $130,000.  After years of appreciation, my parents were able to sell it for $480,000.  This was 2-3 years before they were going to complete the last payments/mortages of the house.  They then proceeded to buy another home in Hercules for $600,000.  So here's the ultimate question...

Why sell and buy a more expensive home?

Reason #1.  This is the main reason they are moving.  Some rich dude has been buying a bunch of 1 level houses in the court and turning them into nursing homes (aka convelescent homes) this means more ambulances, more business traffic, etc. All the neighbors of the court even went to city hall to protest on the rich dude's businesses. They lost including my parents. City hall even went as far as saying that "this business will bring down the value of the home by more than $100,000" and they cannot do anything to the business because "it provides a service to the elderly".  Good for elderly...not for neighboring citizens. My parents were initially going to stay in our house until they paid it off completely. Then, when they retire, they would sell the house and jump into a retirement home.  Well...plans change

Reason #2.  It's closer to me and the rest of the sibs.  Since most of us are in the SF area.  Hercules is closer than Vallejo.  Hecules is close to all of our other cousins who live in Fairfield, Vallejo, and Oakland.  We keep close tabs with them.  'nuff said.

Reason #3.  Mommy gets to carpool with co-worker who (coincidently) lives in where else...yeah...Hercules.

Reason #4.  It's a pretty damn nice house.  The new house is located near the shores of Hercules so the location is really nice.  It's a 6BR and is more than 2400 sqft.  Their current residence is 1400 sqft.  Since they sold the house for their asking price of 480K.  This makes the mortgage extremely manageable for the Herc house.  600K - 480K = 120K / 15 years = easy to pay for.  Their retirement plan is also effective enough to pay for their living expenses and the house if they plan to quit work.  So yeah...my moms is pretty keen in financial sector.  She is a quazi financial analyst and I rely on her alot on my stock choices, 401k, and other shit like that.

Some have asked me...why should they move when they can just stay there indefinitely.  The value of the home doesn't change as long as you don't sell it.  That's the problem.  They plan to sell it.  They even went as far as asking me what I thought.  I said "Sheeyat Mom...I don't know.  Even though I really don't stay there anymore it really depends what you're most happy with.  Sticking with sentimentals or moving on?"

I think it's an ok decision.  I really don't think too much about it but alot of memories reside in that house.  I've grown with alot of friends in Vallejo but....time moves on.  I used to be a sentimental guy but I try to not hold on to the past so that I can concentrate on the future.  Maybe this is a sign of positive change.  Who knows.  Looks like Hecules is the new home of the castros.  As for me, I'm not sure where I'll permanently live yet.  I like Pacifica, Daly City, and SSF but I work at SJ.  Anyway...yeah...I love seeing the beeetches every morning.  I'll show you pictures later.