They purchased 20 years in the past for $400,000. Downsizing will price practically $1 million

For greater than 20 years, Genii Sidoli and Gregg Dye have lived in a three-bedroom ranch in West San Jose. However with retirement on the horizon, the couple determined it was time to downsize. Type of.

Sidoli and Dye wished much less maintenance and a smaller yard, however had been additionally hoping they could discover a area with further sq. footage in a single essential space: a lounge that might match Dye’s grand piano.

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“Right now, we open the door and it’s like, ‘Welcome to our piano,’” Dye joked.

Music was what introduced the 2 collectively. They met of their 20s when Sidoli, who now works in accounting, signed as much as assist handle one among Dye’s bands. In 2004, they each joined the Steely Dan tribute band Aja Vu, the place Dye performed the keys and Sidoli helped promote its gigs.

Now each of their 60s, they hope to have extra time to dedicate to hobbies like music — together with the three ensembles Dye performs with as of late — in addition to their San Jose group.

“As we’re inching toward retirement and lifestyle changes, we wanted to find something, hopefully in the neighborhood, that would accommodate us,” Sidoli stated.

However actual property has modified quite a bit since they purchased their home 20 years in the past for $415,000, a value that even then felt “astronomical,” Dye stated.

“We hadn’t really followed our home’s appreciation,” Sidoli stated. “When we started to look, we were like, ‘What the—?’”

Their search started casually. The 2 would pop into open homes they got here throughout throughout their common walks across the neighborhood. However they bought spooked when actual property brokers began asking them to signal types about illustration earlier than touring, a observe that some brokerages have instituted because the Nationwide Affiliation of Realtors modified its guidelines final August to delineate how commissions are set.

Because the couple began to get extra critical about shopping for, they reached out to the agent who helped them purchase their first house — Jerry Hill, a San Jose-based agent with REMAX/Gold.

“I felt like we needed an agent who’s listening to us and working in our best interest,” Sidoli stated. “Not only did Jerry listen to us, but he was also very realistic with us.”

Hill helped steer the 2 towards properties of their value vary. Sidoli, who works with licensed public accountants, and Dye, a designer who works in computer-aided manufacturing, had saved up through the years — sufficient to afford a house priced as much as $1 million, however not far more.

Along with room for a piano, Sidoli and Dye had a couple of different necessities, however they wished to remain near San Jose. “I don’t commute,” Sidoli insisted.

Additionally they wished a house with three parking spots: two for his or her vehicles, and one other for the van that Dye masses with devices for gigs.

Even with three vehicles, the 2 take pleasure in strolling most locations — in order that they wished someplace centrally positioned. And, regardless of Dye’s ardour for planting tomatoes within the spacious yard at their San Jose house, they wished a spot with a smaller yard that will require much less maintenance.

Listed here are the choices they thought of, all in Santa Clara.

A spacious townhouse in a central neighborhood

This three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath house was in-built 1980 and measured 1,350 sq. toes. It was positioned southwest of Santa Clara College and north of the Westfield Valley Truthful mall, each a couple of 20 minute stroll. It included a coated patio and a small outside space close to the doorway. It additionally was positioned throughout the road from a cemetery, which they noticed as optimistic, because it meant the positioning seemingly wouldn’t be developed sooner or later.

The townhome included an hooked up two-car, side-by-side storage, outfitted with a 220 volts electrical car charging outlet. The kitchen had been not too long ago transformed with black and white counters and new lighting. They didn’t like that the structure included plenty of staircases. It was listed at $1.15 million, with a $420 month-to-month owners affiliation (HOA) price.

472 N. Winchester Blvd Apt 4 in Santa Clara, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group) 
Subsequent door, an excellent structure and massive main bed room

Simply subsequent door, this three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath townhouse measured 1,254 sq. toes. Although in-built 1979, it had an up to date kitchen with cherry wooden cupboards and stainless-steel home equipment. The lounge was massive, and featured a fuel hearth. The first suite was additionally spacious. It included a one-car indifferent completed storage, plus a delegated parking area in entrance of the storage.

The townhouse was listed for $819,000, with month-to-month HOA dues of $750 that coated a swimming pool and the water and trash payments.

An exterior view of a 3-bedroom townhouse that Genii Sidoli and her husband, Gregg Dye, thought of in Santa Clara. (Dai Sugano/Bay Space Information Group)The kitchen of a 3-bedroom townhouse that Genii Sidoli and her husband, Gregg Dye, thought of in Santa Clara. (Dai Sugano/Bay Space Information Group)An inside view of a 3-bedroom townhouse that Genii Sidoli and her husband, Gregg Dye, thought of in Santa Clara. (Dai Sugano/Bay Space Information Group)An inside view of a 3-bedroom townhouse that Genii Sidoli and her husband, Gregg Dye, thought of in Santa Clara. (Dai Sugano/Bay Space Information Group)Present Caption1 of 4An exterior view of a 3-bedroom townhouse that Genii Sidoli and her husband, Gregg Dye, thought of in Santa Clara. (Dai Sugano/Bay Space Information Group)Develop
A light-weight-filled unit close to the college

This two-story, two-bedroom, three-bath townhouse measured 1,408 sq. toes — that means it had probably the most sq. footage however the fewest variety of separate bedrooms. It was positioned simply north of Santa Clara College. The top unit bought gentle on three sides and got here with two reserved parking spots beneath the constructing, although Dye was unsure his van would clear the low ceiling.

It was listed for $998,000, with a month-to-month HOA price of $410.

Gregg Dye and Genii Sidoli thought of this house on Fremont Avenue close to Santa Clara College. (Courtesy of Brian Bernasconi, Christie’s Worldwide Actual Property Sereno)Gregg Dye and Genii Sidoli thought of this house on Fremont Avenue close to Santa Clara College. (Courtesy of Brian Bernasconi, Christie’s Worldwide Actual Property Sereno)Gregg Dye and Genii Sidoli thought of this house on Fremont Avenue close to Santa Clara College. (Courtesy of Brian Bernasconi, Christie’s Worldwide Actual Property Sereno)Gregg Dye and Genii Sidoli thought of this house on Fremont Avenue close to Santa Clara College. (Courtesy of Brian Bernasconi, Christie’s Worldwide Actual Property Sereno)Present Caption1 of 4Gregg Dye and Genii Sidoli thought of this house on Fremont Avenue close to Santa Clara College. (Courtesy of Brian Bernasconi, Christie's Worldwide Actual Property Sereno)Develop
Which one did they select?

Sidoli and Dye appreciated the primary house they toured close to the cemetery — however the house owners ended up taking it off the market and renting it out.

The townhouse close to the college was a no, on condition that Dye’s van wouldn’t match. Additionally they seen the house had already been listed for about six weeks by the point they noticed it. “Homes that sit make us worried,” Sidoli stated.

The home down the road from the primary house they toured felt good — they appreciated the structure that will permit Dye to have a separate area to play piano, and Sidoli may make a small house workplace out of one other bed room. The worth was additionally inside their finances.

Their dealer, Hill, spoke with the itemizing agent, who stated he anticipated 4 gives, along with Sidoli and Dye’s.

Primarily based on what comparable properties had offered for and the competitors over the house, Hill advised bidding barely north of $900,000.

Sidoli, in the meantime, was crunching numbers, double-checking that they might afford that value.

“We compromised our lifestyle to afford our first house when we bought 23 years ago,” Sidoli stated. “We gave up eating out and all sorts of things to get into a house.”

Sidoli and Dye determined to push their supply up, however conservatively. It turned out that Hill had made the proper name. A sixth supply got here in on the final minute, bidding precisely $900,000. Sidoli and Dye’s supply? $903,000. Simply sufficient to win the home.

“It doesn’t get any better than that, does it?” Hill stated.

Owners Genii Sidoli, left, and her husband, Gregg Dye, of their new townhouse on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in Santa Clara, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Space Information Group) 

For his or her half, Sidoli and Dye stated they had been shocked they gained the bidding struggle with the addition of simply $3,000.

“You have all these people here who can just cash in stock and throw a bunch of money at a home,” Sidoli stated. “We’re just ordinary middle-class people that were able to do this — and I don’t know that we would have been able to without Jerry.”

The couple closed on the house in March. They plan on performing some small renovations and staying of their present house till these are accomplished. Leaving the place they’ve recognized for 20 years has confirmed troublesome, even when they’re simply relocating a couple of minutes down the highway.

“We feel that pretty much everything we like is right here,” Dye stated. “There’s really nowhere in this country we’d rather live.”