Would you buy a relative's home in close-in Bethesda?

[Anonymous]

I wish somebody would have done that to my parent's house. We all work and have very full lives with young kids. We just had a parent die and an aging parent to find a place to live. Taxes are more than most pay for a mortgage. Selling is complicated, getting all the shit (not good stuff but actual, take to the dump shit) out was a huge amount of work.

I don't think it is selfish and if you have a bunch of time on your hand you will be doing them a favor.

[Anonymous]

If you're hoping to buy it at below-market rates then turn a quick profit, you're an asshole. There are other relatives that might have wanted the place, or your relatives could make a fair profit themselves.

[Anonymous]

We live in Bethesda. So many of the young families in the neighborhood bought from their relatives.

[Anonymous]

I lived in NWDC for 20 years and thought I had zero interest in moving to Bethesda. Now I'm here I can't believe I waited so long. This could be a great opportunity to expand your thinking OP. But if you really have no interest in moving here, best to leave the house to someone who would welcome great schools, easy access to DC, a safe community, functional public services and a non-corrupt government.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in Bethesda. So many of the young families in the neighborhood bought from their relatives.

Yes, because most young families cannot afford to buy into Bethesda any other way.

[Anonymous]

OP here: to be clear, if the relatives offered to sell to us, we would be clear as to our plans (i.e., tear down and sell). This is not a "homestead" or anything of the sort. It is a very run down cape that has not been well-maintained in the last decade, no central air, etc. No historic value, no charm, etc. There are 3 grown children, neither of whom live here and have zero intention of moving back to the DC area.

We previously joked about buying the house and building a new one for ourselves, but just thinking about the commute makes our skin crawl.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: to be clear, if the relatives offered to sell to us, we would be clear as to our plans (i.e., tear down and sell). This is not a "homestead" or anything of the sort. It is a very run down cape that has not been well-maintained in the last decade, no central air, etc. No historic value, no charm, etc. There are 3 grown children, neither of whom live here and have zero intention of moving back to the DC area.

We previously joked about buying the house and building a new one for ourselves, but just thinking about the commute makes our skin crawl.

Also, the relatives are not old and senile folks we would be taking advantage of. They are in their late 60s/early 70s with all their faculties intact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here: to be clear, if the relatives offered to sell to us, we would be clear as to our plans (i.e., tear down and sell). This is not a "homestead" or anything of the sort. It is a very run down cape that has not been well-maintained in the last decade, no central air, etc. No historic value, no charm, etc. There are 3 grown children, neither of whom live here and have zero intention of moving back to the DC area.

We previously joked about buying the house and building a new one for ourselves, but just thinking about the commute makes our skin crawl.

Also, the relatives are not old and senile folks we would be taking advantage of. They are in their late 60s/early 70s with all their faculties intact.

So let them sell to a developer and make a profit. OP, you sound like a knee-jerk jerk.

[Anonymous]

Is this north Bethesda aka Rockville? NW DC to Bethesda in terms of commuting is really not that big of a deal. Why would that even be an issue?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here: to be clear, if the relatives offered to sell to us, we would be clear as to our plans (i.e., tear down and sell). This is not a "homestead" or anything of the sort. It is a very run down cape that has not been well-maintained in the last decade, no central air, etc. No historic value, no charm, etc. There are 3 grown children, neither of whom live here and have zero intention of moving back to the DC area.

We previously joked about buying the house and building a new one for ourselves, but just thinking about the commute makes our skin crawl.

Also, the relatives are not old and senile folks we would be taking advantage of. They are in their late 60s/early 70s with all their faculties intact.

So why don't you help them out and help them sell to a developer. Or they can just use an agent to do that - it sounds like you are not adding any particular value as a middle man. Selling a house or a lot is just not that complicated and selling it to you does not make it that much easier for them.

The commute from close in Bethesda really makes your skin crawl? This isn't Clarksburg we are talking about. I live less than a mile over the DC line - that mile does not add that much to my commute compared to the residents of "urban" Spring Valley or AU park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have older relatives who live in close-in Bethesda (Whitman district) and are thinking about selling their home. It is a small dump and would be torn down (nothing worth saving at all). It's not a huge lot, but every other home in the 'hood is a tear down. They don't even live there anymore (spend most of their time with grown children out of state).

DH and I currently live in NW DC and have zero interest in moving to Bethesda. This home is probably a good 20 min walk to the metro, and it's just too residential for us (plus commute would be much longer to downtown, probably an hour +). But, I was toying with buying it, tearing it down, building a new house, then selling.

Is this nuts? I am not seriously considering it, but my relatives are looking to sell and would probably be willing to sell it to us so we would not deal with a bidding war, realtor fees, etc. Am I wrong to think that we would make any money off of this?

Are you planning to walk downtown? It takes me 20-30 minutes to drive downtown from my house in the Whitman district.

[Anonymous]

My skin would crawl if I fleeced my relatives by making a big profit from their house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My skin would crawl if I fleeced my relatives by making a big profit from their house.

Well-put. My philosophy is that there is no such thing as an easily made profit. It's one thing if you were going to build and then live in the house (oh, but the horrors of a downtown Bethesda-DC commute :roll. This will come back to haunt you, in one way or the other.

[Anonymous]

I live in the Whitman district .5 miles from DC. Takes me 15-20 minutes in traffic to get to Foggy Bottom. Ride-On bus to metro comes every 20 minutes. OP must have a very thin skin.

[Anonymous]

The OP doesn't sound like an expert in anything - not in commuting, not in family relations and not in building houses. Let the people who know what they're doing manage the real estate deals and you go back to your GPS to find a shorter way downtown.