The notion of a grounded existence all the time felt a little bit out of attain to Chris Ramos.
Out of his household dwelling at age 16 after a tumultuous couple of years, the Clovis, Calif., native went spinning by means of a collection of short-term residing preparations, crashing at pals’ homes and taking tiny residences or room leases. A transfer to Portland, Ore., when he was 21 opened Mr. Ramos to the type of city, cultured atmosphere that he’d been in search of as a younger homosexual man, nevertheless it was no cakewalk.
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“I labored in a nightclub as a reserving assistant, at a espresso store within the morning and at a restaurant,” mentioned Mr. Ramos, now 43, smiling on the reminiscence. “Individuals would get their espresso within the morning after which go to the membership at evening, and so they’re like, ‘You’re working in every single place.’ However I wanted to, as a result of I used to be the one caring for me.”
In search of steadier revenue, he cycled by means of jobs in Portland after which, starting within the mid-2000s, in San Francisco. A brief however impactful stint at an structure agency launched him to town, and a subsequent gig on the Golden Gate Nationwide Parks Conservancy lasted a decade. In the meantime, he was juggling schoolwork as he pursued a bachelor’s diploma in city examine and planning at San Francisco State College.
Finally, he parlayed all of it right into a job with good pay and advantages, overseeing amenities administration at a Silicon Valley agency. And but, Mr. Ramos nonetheless discovered himself trying to find one thing he considered the inspiration of a life: a house of his personal.
“I all the time had that worrier in me about being safe, being OK,” he mentioned. “Having my very own property felt like a giant a part of shifting away from that fear.”
He was prepared to grind for the imaginative and prescient. Together with his boyfriend’s assist, Mr. Ramos purchased and transformed a Dodge van and lived in it for a yr and a half, repeatedly switching parking spots to keep away from tickets and showering at his health club. What he may need paid in hire, he banked as an alternative, aiming for a down fee within the Bay Space’s notoriously costly housing market.
By the point Mr. Ramos had saved sufficient, it was summer season 2024 and the market had swung again in his favor, with costs dipping for the sorts of one-bedroom condos he favored. A mutual buddy launched him to Michael Baldassara, an agent with Christie’s Worldwide Actual Property.
“I felt aligned together with his purpose, and I understood his wrestle,” Mr. Baldassara mentioned. “Chris had sacrificed a ton to do that. He additionally was open to the probabilities and didn’t really feel that he needed to seize one thing immediately, which is a ravishing place to be for a purchaser. And he was brave. It may be scary to purchase your first place.”
By final fall, the search was on. With about $100,000 saved for a down fee, Mr. Ramos figured that $600,000 was his top-end buy value. Though he liked San Francisco, he was prepared to think about areas within the East Bay, like Oakland and Berkeley, if the worth was proper.
Amongst his choices:
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