Moving to DC, will there be anything on the Market to buy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With a 900K budget, you should definitely be able to find a nice house or rowhouse east of rock creek park. It may take a few months of looking though so you should prepare for at least a short term rental. Since schools are not an issue for this move, that opens your field considerably. West of the park will be extremely tricky for that budget - very little inventory to begin with in all price ranges, and almost non-existent in the 900k and below range (some do get listed for below that but then often get bid up for way more). With 2 big dogs, I'd try to find a house with a bit of yard if I were you. It's possible in Takoma, Brightwood or Brookland (brookland's got a lot of boosters tho I find that neighborhood really meh myself). Lots of other areas if you're ok with rowhouse. Get an agent and pre-approval letter ASAP.

OP is coming from an midwest college town. his wife doesn't really want to move to DC.

do you *really* think they (more likely she) will like living east of the park???? it's a lot nicer than it used to be, but we are talking quantum shift here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With a 900K budget, you should definitely be able to find a nice house or rowhouse east of rock creek park. It may take a few months of looking though so you should prepare for at least a short term rental. Since schools are not an issue for this move, that opens your field considerably. West of the park will be extremely tricky for that budget - very little inventory to begin with in all price ranges, and almost non-existent in the 900k and below range (some do get listed for below that but then often get bid up for way more). With 2 big dogs, I'd try to find a house with a bit of yard if I were you. It's possible in Takoma, Brightwood or Brookland (brookland's got a lot of boosters tho I find that neighborhood really meh myself). Lots of other areas if you're ok with rowhouse. Get an agent and pre-approval letter ASAP.

OP is coming from an midwest college town. his wife doesn't really want to move to DC.

do you *really* think they (more likely she) will like living east of the park???? it's a lot nicer than it used to be, but we are talking quantum shift here.

I dunno. I moved to DC from a college town (western, not midwestern) straight into upper NW. I felt very out of place until we moved to the Hill, which I love and feels like home.

[Anonymous]

I'd look in North Arlington. You could get a small SF there in your budget.

[Anonymous]

OP here. We already have a realtor and a lender. We've been lurking for a while and did a recon visit back in April,,but haven't been able to commit until now.
I definitely don't need something West of the Park, it's better for our commutes to be East. We also have will child care already worked out through work.
When I said I didn't know what would happen in 5 years, I meant with the school system, not my situation. I'm a big believer in the idea that schools are not good or bad, and the big determinant of a schools quality is the income of the parents. I think if you bussed the entire student population from Bethesda into a poor performing school in SE and vice versa, the performance of the students would likely not change. In fact I suspect that given an influx of motivated students with wealthy families to the school in SE would probably do better.
It's fairly obvious that the demographics of the District are changing at a rapid clip and in 5 years the distribution of wealth in the area will look very different. The schools will likely improve and the calculus will change. So buying now planning on what schools will be like in 5 years seems silly to me.
And I'm a little sad to be leaving my college town, but the opportunity for me is very promising. That's the thing about the city. More opportunities.
I actually liked Brookland, especially the yards. Takoma is nice as well. Brightwood, not as much. The only thing I worry about Brookland is that it is very hot and the potential to overpay is high. I've actually done a fair bit of research and there are probably 5-6 neighborhoods that are acceptable to us where we probably would be very happy, especially given my school philosophy..

Thanks for the advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We already have a realtor and a lender. We've been lurking for a while and did a recon visit back in April,,but haven't been able to commit until now.
I definitely don't need something West of the Park, it's better for our commutes to be East. We also have will child care already worked out through work.
When I said I didn't know what would happen in 5 years, I meant with the school system, not my situation. I'm a big believer in the idea that schools are not good or bad, and the big determinant of a schools quality is the income of the parents. I think if you bussed the entire student population from Bethesda into a poor performing school in SE and vice versa, the performance of the students would likely not change. In fact I suspect that given an influx of motivated students with wealthy families to the school in SE would probably do better.
It's fairly obvious that the demographics of the District are changing at a rapid clip and in 5 years the distribution of wealth in the area will look very different. The schools will likely improve and the calculus will change. So buying now planning on what schools will be like in 5 years seems silly to me.
And I'm a little sad to be leaving my college town, but the opportunity for me is very promising. That's the thing about the city. More opportunities.
I actually liked Brookland, especially the yards. Takoma is nice as well. Brightwood, not as much. The only thing I worry about Brookland is that it is very hot and the potential to overpay is high. I've actually done a fair bit of research and there are probably 5-6 neighborhoods that are acceptable to us where we probably would be very happy, especially given my school philosophy..

Thanks for the advice.

If you think that a crappy school is going to transform into a good school in five years, you're deluding yourself. In five years, you're going to wish you had considered the schools.

[Anonymous]

Would she rather rent for a bit and take her time to buy or face moving again in five years, possibly with another kid, when schools are on the line? Unless you're willing to choose a close-in suburb with good public schools, which for $900,000 you could certainly do.

Having jobs in close-in MD and close-in VA means you have some tricky commute considerations. It may make sense to live close to one of your jobs and have one do all pick-up and drop-off while the other bites the bullet on commuting...are either of your jobs likely to change in the next few years?

Buying a house is a hard decision to make, and we learned a ton renting our first couple years here and then learned a ton more our first year with a baby as to what really mattered for us in terms of location, house, etc.

[Anonymous]

+1 for renting instead of buying. The commute issue is a big one. And with a new baby you never know what your work situation will be. People change their minds on this all the time.

[Anonymous]

No I just think my definition of a crappy school is different than probably most people on this forum. And From my reading, there are potential changes coming to how these things are distracted anyways. Also many potential places don't really have problems until Middle School and there are more acceptable elementary schools. There is just too much uncertainty in that 10 year horizon.

On a side note. I think that people here put too much importance on what the school does and not enough on the parents. Every meaningful study of schools shows that as incomes of the students rise, so does performance, no matter what else is done. Most of the neighborhoods are rapidly gentrifying. I just think it's funny that people don't think that as the demographics change, the schools want. From what I've read about some schools in east MoCo, a good school can certainly turn into a mediocre one in that period of time.

[Anonymous]

On a side note. I think that people here put too much importance on what the school does and not enough on the parents. Every meaningful study of schools shows that as incomes of the students rise, so does performance, no matter what else is done. Most of the neighborhoods are rapidly gentrifying. I just think it's funny that people don't think that as the demographics change, the schools want. From what I've read about some schools in east MoCo, a good school can certainly turn into a mediocre one in that period of time.

This is so wonderfully naive--especially as it relates to DCPS particularly--that I don't know where to begin. I'll just say that I wish you the best with this line of thinking and that you might contemplate doing a little more research.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would she rather rent for a bit and take her time to buy or face moving again in five years, possibly with another kid, when schools are on the line? Unless you're willing to choose a close-in suburb with good public schools, which for $900,000 you could certainly do.

Having jobs in close-in MD and close-in VA means you have some tricky commute considerations. It may make sense to live close to one of your jobs and have one do all pick-up and drop-off while the other bites the bullet on commuting...are either of your jobs likely to change in the next few years?

Buying a house is a hard decision to make, and we learned a ton renting our first couple years here and then learned a ton more our first year with a baby as to what really mattered for us in terms of location, house, etc.

LOL, There will not be another kid. Trust me...I also want to take advantage of low interest rates. Jobs unlikely to change, other than the inherent "anything could happen" caveat.
We've really gone overboard with the research and visits and have good feel for neighborhoods. I know there is no substitute for living here And renting, and maybe we will do it because of inventory. I think it's a good idea, but when we evaluated the the hit to our happiness is not worth the advantage. If the inventory is low and we can't find the right house, that calculation changes.

I really appreciate the advice...

[Anonymous]

You can def. get a good house with that much money. It won't be in NW DC, but who cares? Good luck and welcome! Your wife will find plenty of other midwesterners, and other great people here, too.

[Anonymous]

OP, it sounds like you have it all figured out. So I wonder why you posted on this forum to begin with?

[Anonymous]

OP, congrats for having your wode eyed midwest idealism and optimsim regarding the schools, but you are really talking nonsense with regards to DC metro real estate as it relates to schools.

[Anonymous]

By close in VA are you talking the pentagon?

Look at Shirlington.

Others...can you get a TH for there budget there?

[Anonymous]

Houses is sought after neighborhoods tend to sell in a few days. My neighborhood is now doing the whole "coming soon" sign possibly meaning the homes never even hit the market.

If I were you, I would find a short-term rental, like 6 months, and then go for it.