Are we the only family in the DMV who is priced out?
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Anonymous
I don't think you're a liar, OP, but you just don't know the meaning of "priced out." |
Anonymous
| Almost everyone is. People are going to regret overpaying for fixer upers... |
Anonymous
| OP I’m trying to do it on a single income of $230K as a single parent so don’t feel too sorry for yourself. |
Anonymous
| Priced out of being a picky little whiner. So sad. |
Anonymous
If your realtor said that you need to fire her. Utter BS on an old house. Because tearing down a house (and rebuilding it) due to a $100k in renovations makes loads of financial sense. 
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Anonymous
Why? Put in sweat equity and you get what you want. What’s the alternative? |
Anonymous
+1 We don't have as much money as OP but we live in a safe neighborhood with a good school. And we own our home. It's just a condo. A nice one, too. We do worry a bit about MS/HS. At that point we may be "priced out" of DC proper, but then we'll move to a suburb. We may have to buy a townhome to get in the school district we want. Oh no. My best friend from grad school lives in NYC. They've probably got an HHI of upwards of 600k. They are "priced out" of much of the city. They live in LIC, in a 3 bedroom high-rise apartment they don't love, so that they can afford private school because public schools in NYC are hard to navigate and they would rather downgrade their housing than compromise on education. They don't run around saying they were priced out of the city because they can't afford their ideal home with magically great public schools in a city that doesn't have many of those. They are aware they could always just move to a more affordable city -- if they cashed out today and found jobs paying even a third or a quarter of what they now make, they could afford to pay cash for the best school districts in any number of cities in the US. They like where they are and are willing to make the compromises to stay. Just like we're willing to compromise by living in a condo so that we can live in the neighborhood we want. Even the ultra-wealthy compromise. Imagine your dream house in your dream neighborhood in your dream city with your dream schools and dream amenities. Does it actually exist? If it does, would you actually be happy there? Like I'd love to live in Monmarte in Paris and probably there are some good schools there. But I'm American with okay French and it's so far from my family. Would I make friends? Would it really feel like home? Realistically, no. Even with all the money in the world, there is very likely no perfect place for you, or at least no more perfect than any of the perfectly wonderful neighborhoods with terrific schools that you can afford to buy in, right here in the DMV. |
Anonymous
[mastodon]
Agree. We bought a very outdated house and spent 10 years doing the work piece by piece. Urgent must-fixes first, then the nice to haves later. In fairness it has been a real hassle and has taken all of our disposable income in that time, but now we have a house that fits our needs and tastes perfectly, with an extra $300k in equity, in a neighborhood we wouldn’t have been able to afford. We also could have done less with some projects (we moved the kitchen, added a full bath, etc.), but we had been living there long enough to know what extra money would improve livability for us the most. That said, the housing market is completely different now. If we had bought at the top of our budget, we wouldn’t have had the discretionary income to do all of the work we did. Which means the true fixer uppers that need upgrades to get up to code and be safely livable are less feasible for families like mine and OP now. But DC in particular is full of young professionals that want a pretty turn key house, so the dated but livable ones tend to sit. |
Anonymous
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It’s interesting that OP claims to be priced out but hasn’t given any criteria other than “single family home”.
OP - what are you looking for? Bedrooms/baths, square footage, yard space, etc? You can absolutely afford homes in Kingstowne, south Alexandria, Hayfield, Springfield, Burke, Kings Park, Fairfax Station, Fairfax City. Can you afford a 4Bedroom in Vienna or Arlington, no, but you absolutely have options. All the neighborhoods above have SFH for under $1M, and with your down payment and income you should be able to afford a $700K mortgage. The house may not be updated, but not updated doesn’t make it a year down. |
Anonymous
What’s with comments like this? What’s going on in your life that you have to spit on others? |
Anonymous
| NP. Lots of people just have MUCH less $ than OP and would love her budget. We bought a fixer-upper with half her budget and loved it until our family outgrew it. Then we bought another fixer upper in a LCOL area. Most people would look at us and think we had this amazing housing budget, but we settled for a townhome. When OP says she’s not interested in a townhome, it sounds like she thinks they’re not good enough for her family. In reality, unless she has a family member with limited mobility or other special needs, she could make a townhome work. |
Anonymous
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Back when my kids were little I too was a loser like the OP. I say it in a nice way.
I felt priced out. Had a stick up my Ass had to be right neighborhood, right house, right school district, close in. But something I really could not afford. My wife was pregnant and getting bigger and baby was due. We were still in my one bedroom coop. After touring 200-300 houses in richer areas from engagement through beginning of marriage at an open house in a neighborhood that was a stretch a realtor at open house took me aside and said I got a pocket listing doing open house on Sunday. Guy had bad divorce and business is failing has to sell. Trust me will be great your family. We go over this very blue collar area. Small house 1,300 sf on 60x100 plot. Brown oven, yellow dishwasher, cracked floors, rusty screen doors, filthy dirty in need of paint job and yard a mess and electrical panel shot. Guess what wife wanted it. Our very small downpayment in richer area was 45 percent down on this cheap house. We fixed it up on our own over next 15 years. My wife a few months later quit work, we had three kids, paid off small mortgage in 9 years. Lived mortgage free 11 years. Took tons of trips and activities. My salary went up to 400k a year. I did sell as had to relocate and bought the house you are looking for. 6,000 sf on fancy block, close in with best school district. My wife is lonely and no one home all day in these houses except maids and gardeners. My kids don’t consider it home. My kids are a bit ashamed where we live. There is a stigma being in a rich house. It is not the house that matters. If we bought big house my wife would have traded being with kids their whole childhood and we never would have had a third. I also get ripped off every home repair or estimate my new house. I wish I kept my my old little house so when I retire could go back. My large empty house will be depressing |
Anonymous
I am paying 2.5k/month in rent and have no debt. Did I cut expenses enough for you? I'll try dog food for the family, too. That might help us save enough. |
Anonymous
Some of these areas I have familiar with and have looked at but haven't found homes that don't need a ton of work yet. Prices are coming down on these types of homes in some of those areas, so I'm hopeful we will find something in the next year. Others I hadn't been too, so I will look into those, too. NoVa does seem to have more options that DC and MD for people at our income level with the downpayment that we have. |
Anonymous
There's a little downward pressure on home prices in the market now (just a little) and homes are taking longer to sell. Lots of stressed real estate people out there. Just a guess. |