If your parents didn't pay for your college

[Anonymous]

And you graduated with honors how long did it take for you to buy your first home?

DH and I both are from another country. We both paid for our own school so no loans left but so far we can't afford a home.

When we got the offer to come it sounded like an awesome deal but now reality is knocking on our door: we pay 40% of our salaries in taxes due to our visa, our credit history is pretty recent, our savings in our home country mean NOTHING if we get it in USD so I don't see it happening in the near future. Do we have any hope?

What did you do to afford a home?

[Anonymous]

My parents didn't pay for my college or my gradschool. I bought my first home at age 24.

We rented below our means to save up the down payment. Could have rented a bigger apartment in a nicer neighborhood, but we rented a little tiny one bedroom in a marginal neighborhood, got by sharing one car, and saved, saved, saved.

[Anonymous]

25. Purchased a condo in an "up and coming" area as a singleton.

[Anonymous]

OP, what area are you looking at? I'm assuming what you mean is you can't afford a home in your first (or ideal) choice of location, or is it also unrealistic in a second/third choice location? It's a complex situation, I realize (same for DH and I), figuring out where would be best, what pricing, area, etc etc.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

We've been looking around and we can probably afford something in South Carolina, LOL.

Now, seriously, I can work anywhere but DH has to stay in DC and commuting for more than 1.5 hour is just not an option. We can only afford a decent home in far away burbs and DH works downtown

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

We've been looking around and we can probably afford something in South Carolina, LOL.

Now, seriously, I can work anywhere but DH has to stay in DC and commuting for more than 1.5 hour is just not an option. We can only afford a decent home in far away burbs and DH works downtown

Check out Mount Rainier, MD. Or nearby Cheverly, Hyattsville or Greenbelt. Decent homes, just a few miles to the Capitol. You could even bike downtown if you want. And, the kicker: house prices around $200K.

Not that PG county is good enough for anyone in these types of discussions, LOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents didn't pay for my college or my gradschool. I bought my first home at age 24.

We rented below our means to save up the down payment. Could have rented a bigger apartment in a nicer neighborhood, but we rented a little tiny one bedroom in a marginal neighborhood, got by sharing one car, and saved, saved, saved.

So you were actually a "we" prior to age 24? That makes a big difference, too. Two working people living extremely frugally at age 20 or 21 certainly can save up enough for a downpayment by age 24.

It wasn't until DH and I got married (at age 29) that we were able to really save money to buy a house. Both of us had paid for college (and living expenses, car, insurance, etc.) entirely on our own, and finished paying off those expenses by about age 30. Then we were able to buy our first house at 31 - small, cheap, old house, though. No help from parents.

[Anonymous]

OP, you will likely have to make the sacrifice and buy with a bit of a commute. That is what people do not comprehend here. I have heard of people who want a $2m house for their first home purchased! WHAT????? And they want all the bling in the meantime???? Truly no concept of reality.

The name of the game is sacrifice. It won't be a perfect house, but it will be a nice house. It can even be in a safe area with good schools.

DH and I paid for our own really nice wedding. DH and I both sent ourselves to undergrad, grad school and law school. Which means a really, really, huge stack of school loans that seemingly will never go away. We don't make a lot of money, but we do make sacrifices. Not to sound harsh, but that is one word that will have to become very familiar very often and very quick.

Sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents didn't pay for my college or my gradschool. I bought my first home at age 24.

We rented below our means to save up the down payment. Could have rented a bigger apartment in a nicer neighborhood, but we rented a little tiny one bedroom in a marginal neighborhood, got by sharing one car, and saved, saved, saved.



So you were actually a "we" prior to age 24? That makes a big difference, too. Two working people living extremely frugally at age 20 or 21 certainly can save up enough for a downpayment by age 24.

It wasn't until DH and I got married (at age 29) that we were able to really save money to buy a house. Both of us had paid for college (and living expenses, car, insurance, etc.) entirely on our own, and finished paying off those expenses by about age 30. Then we were able to buy our first house at 31 - small, cheap, old house, though. No help from parents.

A lot of it depends on salary. Yes, DH and I got married young and saved early, but we also made maybe $50K combined at that age, too. The "we" of it isn't always relevant, because there are plenty of 20 somethings who make more than that on their own.

[Anonymous]

We bought at 23 and 24.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

OP, you will likely have to make the sacrifice and buy with a bit of a commute. That is what people do not comprehend here. I have heard of people who want a $2m house for their first home purchased! WHAT????? And they want all the bling in the meantime???? Truly no concept of reality.

The name of the game is sacrifice. It won't be a perfect house, but it will be a nice house. It can even be in a safe area with good schools.

DH and I paid for our own really nice wedding. DH and I both sent ourselves to undergrad, grad school and law school. Which means a really, really, huge stack of school loans that seemingly will never go away. We don't make a lot of money, but we do make sacrifices. Not to sound harsh, but that is one word that will have to become very familiar very often and very quick.

Sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice.

We pay 40% of salary in taxes, we share a car, live as a family in 1bed apt. Only our child gets organic food. I know exactly what this word means.
I'll look into the PP's suggestion to check out PG county. Didn't really think of it.

[Anonymous]

We were thirty. We still have over $100K in student loans we're also paying.

[Anonymous]

Wow, OP you are the only one that pays taxes, you know.

[Anonymous]

OP, you sound like a whiner. No one owes you anything.

Plenty of people worked full time or more and still maintained an A average and sent themselves to school and bought their own house. Sometimes you have to be patient. Americans pay at least 33% in taxes, plus property taxes every year once you own a home. It is part of living here. You had never heard of taxes before you lived here? Every country I have ever traveled to has taxes.

Sometimes you have to consider a different commute or a different area. Start looking and see what is possible. But a self entitled attitude will not help anyone.

[Anonymous]

I didn't get a house of my own until 40. I had the money at 28. But it's best to save and invest as much as humanly possible in your early years. Now I have no financial obstacles. Patience is as important as sacrifice.