I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do condos depreciate so much in DC area? Is it a regional thing, is it a quest for new build condos, is it overbuilding?

My old state they hold up in value really well. I think it is NIMBY so very very hard to build so new construction is rare. Also they tax new construction heavy. So older ones much more in demand. My old town has not build a condo complex since 2003. None are in works. So old condos are not competing new ones and less supply

It seems to screw new condo buyers here

You answered your own question. The only places that condos appreciate and/or hold their value are cities that constrain the ability to build new housing in some way (available land, zoning, etc).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And I will never be able to afford a Lamborghini and make do with my 12 year old Honda that is running just fine. I will also never be able to afford to go on a safari in Africa, so, we visit the National Zoo and make due with a week at the beach.

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

This is OP. I hear this point. I hear that posters are saying I sound entitled. And you’re right. I suppose I
AM feeling entitled. I think a successful lawyer who has been practicing for 20 years should be able to afford a small SFH in the DC with a commute of 45 minutes or less door to door and good schools.

You are a maxed out government lawyer. You are not a successful lawyer.

So, this is not a criticism, but that is exactly what I was thinking, LOL. I am also a government worker so I think I can say that.

This is OP. To the extent that your point is that I can change jobs to make more money, that’s true. I have an Ivy League law school degree and 20 years of prestigious jobs. But I stand by my point that one should be able to choose government service and still be able to afford a SFH with a commute of less than 45 minutes and good schools without family money and without a spouse. I am a government lawyer because I believe in what I do.

Why should this be true?

I have been a government lawyer as well as in private practice. By working for the government, you have made a trade-off — more predictable hours, no pressure to bring in clients, no pressure to make partner or leave, guaranteed pension — in exchange for a lower maximum salary. If you were in private practice, you wouldn’t have as much of an issue about the length of your commute, because you wouldn’t be able to leave in time to pick up your kids from daycare, anyway.

You made a choice, and now you’re upset because you’re dealing with the downside of your decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Neither is OP entitled to have a SFH in the exact location with the exact commute length that she wants.

Actually, she is. Virginia has fair-housing laws, which includes protections against “source of funds” (aka not discriminating again low-income people using vouchers). If people making $170k can only afford a condo in Arlington, then what the heck are actual middle-class and poor people affording there? Every single civilized/non-barbaric society has made it possible for people of various incomes to live in decent housing near the city, why is America so behind? Who went into these former middle-class and working-class neighborhoods and told the communities that were there for decades that they aren’t entitled to their neighborhoods anymore? The view that “you’re not entitled to live in this town because you don’t make enough” is exactly what’s exacerbating socio-economic (and in turn, racial) segregation. It’s why there’s a “North Arlington” and a “South Arlington” (which is become absorbed into North Arlington). That’s not okay, and that’s not “life” in any other civilized country.

The people in this thread are so out of touch with reality. Wanting a Lamborghini or a gated house in Beverly Hills is not comparable to simply wanting a stable lifestyle within 20 minutes of where you work, especially when you have an income that is 50% above the region median. Jesus H Christ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why should this be true?

Because it’s true in every other developed country. In fact, people of various incomes are actually able to live in the city and have all those things most developed countries. I think a better question is, why do posters here for more entitled to significantly appraised property values than someone else feels to a normal and simple lifestyle within a decent commuting distance from work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Neither is OP entitled to have a SFH in the exact location with the exact commute length that she wants.

Actually, she is. Virginia has fair-housing laws, which includes protections against “source of funds” (aka not discriminating again low-income people using vouchers). If people making $170k can only afford a condo in Arlington, then what the heck are actual middle-class and poor people affording there? Every single civilized/non-barbaric society has made it possible for people of various incomes to live in decent housing near the city, why is America so behind? Who went into these former middle-class and working-class neighborhoods and told the communities that were there for decades that they aren’t entitled to their neighborhoods anymore? The view that “you’re not entitled to live in this town because you don’t make enough” is exactly what’s exacerbating socio-economic (and in turn, racial) segregation. It’s why there’s a “North Arlington” and a “South Arlington” (which is become absorbed into North Arlington). That’s not okay, and that’s not “life” in any other civilized country.

The people in this thread are so out of touch with reality. Wanting a Lamborghini or a gated house in Beverly Hills is not comparable to simply wanting a stable lifestyle within 20 minutes of where you work, especially when you have an income that is 50% above the region median. Jesus H Christ.

She makes above medium for a single person and less than the medium for a married couple. Why would single people deserve homes meant for families in an urban environment with limited housing? That's wasteful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Neither is OP entitled to have a SFH in the exact location with the exact commute length that she wants.

Actually, she is. Virginia has fair-housing laws, which includes protections against “source of funds” (aka not discriminating again low-income people using vouchers). If people making $170k can only afford a condo in Arlington, then what the heck are actual middle-class and poor people affording there? Every single civilized/non-barbaric society has made it possible for people of various incomes to live in decent housing near the city, why is America so behind? Who went into these former middle-class and working-class neighborhoods and told the communities that were there for decades that they aren’t entitled to their neighborhoods anymore? The view that “you’re not entitled to live in this town because you don’t make enough” is exactly what’s exacerbating socio-economic (and in turn, racial) segregation. It’s why there’s a “North Arlington” and a “South Arlington” (which is become absorbed into North Arlington). That’s not okay, and that’s not “life” in any other civilized country.

The people in this thread are so out of touch with reality. Wanting a Lamborghini or a gated house in Beverly Hills is not comparable to simply wanting a stable lifestyle within 20 minutes of where you work, especially when you have an income that is 50% above the region median. Jesus H Christ.

You just won't stop spouting this nonsense, will you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why should this be true?

Because it’s true in every other developed country. In fact, people of various incomes are actually able to live in the city and have all those things most developed countries. I think a better question is, why do posters here for more entitled to significantly appraised property values than someone else feels to a normal and simple lifestyle within a decent commuting distance from work?

You are delusional. It is not “true in every other developed country” any more than it is in DC. Nice, close-in areas in London and Paris are more expensive than DC, and the “affordable” close-in areas are equally undesirable. There are cheaper areas closer in to downtown DC. OP doesn’t want to live there because she wants Arlington schools. Others on this thread have suggested less-expensive areas with good schools that are not a longer commute. No one is “entitled” to live in a specific school district.

[Anonymous]

I love this person speaking like in global cities the average commute is just 20 minutes and everyone is singing a tune on the Metro while they jaunt to work.

Last I checked, the average commute time in the global city Paris was something like an 65 minutes, London 60 mins... basically the same as DC. Although at least in Paris they have completely banished poor people to the far hellish suburbs.

When I lived in SouthEast Asia, my commute sometimes was THREE HOURS! Yes, that is real.

[Anonymous]

You can't compare middle-class lifestyle in European countries without pointing out that in cities like London and Paris, people live in apartments their entire lives. There isn't the same obsession with having a detached home in the center of the city like there is in America. Those who do want detached homes in Berlin or wherever live in suburbs that are just as sprawling as American ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread has hit the wall. OP has many options but chooses not to take them. There isn't much point in further discussion.

Agent here. I had a perfectly good single family home open today that OP could easily afford. It is in a good school pyramid and walkable. The woman who submitted the first offer on it is a government lawyer with two adopted kids that look like they are maybe 6 and 10. She has a condo that she sold and has been renting back while she nails down a house.

Our deadline is tomorrow and she will likely get it. So it can be done. Rather than spinning her tale of woe on DCUM, this woman affirmatively did what was needed.

Her children will have to share a bedroom but I doubt OP would consider such a radical idea!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread has hit the wall. OP has many options but chooses not to take them. There isn't much point in further discussion.

Agent here. I had a perfectly good single family home open today that OP could easily afford. It is in a good school pyramid and walkable. The woman who submitted the first offer on it is a government lawyer with two adopted kids that look like they are maybe 6 and 10. She has a condo that she sold and has been renting back while she nails down a house.

Our deadline is tomorrow and she will likely get it. So it can be done. Rather than spinning her tale of woe on DCUM, this woman affirmatively did what was needed.

Her children will have to share a bedroom but I doubt OP would consider such a radical idea!

Right. She can't have EXACTLY what she wants EXACTLY where she wants it with EXACTLY the commute she wants. Whatever man. When I bought my house I had big dreams too! But then I realized I couldn't afford a four-story rowhouse in Dupont Circle. So I bought where I could afford and made it work. This is not a "poor people can't afford housing" story or a "the middle class is being shafted!" story, though those things may be true, this is a Wahhhhh! I can't have what I want story. I don't have sympathy for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can't compare middle-class lifestyle in European countries without pointing out that in cities like London and Paris, people live in apartments their entire lives. There isn't the same obsession with having a detached home in the center of the city like there is in America. Those who do want detached homes in Berlin or wherever live in suburbs that are just as sprawling as American ones.

True, but many Euro exurbs are nicer than the DC exurbs. For one, they tend to have better public transit (think S-bahn) and decent retail cores. You can get a version of this in the NY area or even New England - but the car-centric DC area is not a good match.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
You are delusional. It is not “true in every other developed country” any more than it is in DC. Nice, close-in areas in London and Paris are more expensive than DC, and the “affordable” close-in areas are equally undesirable. There are cheaper areas closer in to downtown DC. OP doesn’t want to live there because she wants Arlington schools. Others on this thread have suggested less-expensive areas with good schools that are not a longer commute.

The average commute time to Finland’s capital is 26 minutes, and it’s in the 30-ish minutes in Sweden. Those countries also have significantly better education systems than the United States, and people of all income-brackets enjoy their education system there. It’s almost like, if you work to make sure all people in your society are receiving a quality education it actually works and fixes a bunch of systematic issues!! Who would have ever guessed? People in those countries don’t think in barbaric ways like the posters here do. Nobody there thinks they need to sacrifice comfortable and reasonable living to be able to access their jobs and for their kids to be able to access a quality education.

Arlington schools aren’t even that great, and they actually have very abysmal gs ratings (the tool real estate agents use), so I highly doubt the schools there are cushioning property values, nor are they worth those home prices at all. They are not W schools, not even close. They are not even on the level of many pyramids in Anne Arundel, Howard, and Frederick Counties, when looking at college readiness measures.

Anonymous wrote:No one is “entitled” to live in a specific school district.

Will you still endorse this view if redistricting ever becomes a possibility, or is it only something you believe when someone with less money than you wants good schools for their children?

More like, nobody is entitled to having their shitshack appraised above the roof, especially when the school district is average as hell and there are many others that put it to shame that offer more affordable housing prices and decent commute times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You are delusional. It is not “true in every other developed country” any more than it is in DC. Nice, close-in areas in London and Paris are more expensive than DC, and the “affordable” close-in areas are equally undesirable. There are cheaper areas closer in to downtown DC. OP doesn’t want to live there because she wants Arlington schools. Others on this thread have suggested less-expensive areas with good schools that are not a longer commute.

The average commute time to Finland’s capital is 26 minutes, and it’s in the 30-ish minutes in Sweden. Those countries also have significantly better education systems than the United States, and people of all income-brackets enjoy their education system there. It’s almost like, if you work to make sure all people in your society are receiving a quality education it actually works and fixes a bunch of systematic issues!! Who would have ever guessed? People in those countries don’t think in barbaric ways like the posters here do. Nobody there thinks they need to sacrifice comfortable and reasonable living to be able to access their jobs and for their kids to be able to access a quality education.

Arlington schools aren’t even that great, and they actually have very abysmal gs ratings (the tool real estate agents use), so I highly doubt the schools there are cushioning property values, nor are they worth those home prices at all. They are not W schools, not even close. They are not even on the level of many pyramids in Anne Arundel, Howard, and Frederick Counties, when looking at college readiness measures.

Anonymous wrote:No one is “entitled” to live in a specific school district.

Will you still endorse this view if redistricting ever becomes a possibility, or is it only something you believe when someone with less money than you wants good schools for their children?

More like, nobody is entitled to having their shitshack appraised above the roof, especially when the school district is average as hell and there are many others that put it to shame that offer more affordable housing prices and decent commute times.

What are the populations of those cities and what % live in apartments?

And do they have scalable, efficient public transportation?

p.s. The market dictates pricing, not the shitshack owners.

[Anonymous]

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/1036-S-Edison-St-22204/home/11265381

Under 500k SFH