How does anyone find a job that pays enough to afford a home here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some many decent properties available for under $1M. Here's an example of a small SFH in Falls Church at $729K.

https://redf.in/e9As2Q

With a high school rated 2/10 — so you have to budget for private school.

No you don't.

You have around 15 years from when your kid is born to build equity, grow your career, and move to a house with a better high school.

That's literally the entire concept of a starter home.

That’s the trap around here. Places with bad school don’t match the appreciation of homes with good schools; so you actually probably fall behind compared to renting and investing the difference. Same problem with condos and townhomes.

A starter home needs to be in targeted neighborhood to work out, but those have been snapped up by builders and torn down

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think salaries have gone way up in respect to housing prices. My house value is pretty much exactly the same as when I bought it 13 years ago with a cumulative of 41% inflation. However, I am essentially earning the same as I did at that time despite numerous years of experience, maybe a percentage point or two increase.

So, people entering the market a few years ago have quite the buying power.

EG they can afford to go and get themselves a mortgage if they want to buy my house. Even considering the one bright spot of my matriculation was that mortgage rates were rock bottom.

That being said, I wish mortgage rates were lower, so that I can raise the price of my house.

You must not live around here. When we were first striving for a 3br 10 years ago, they were $1M. We thought, oh in 3-4 years we’ll be able to afford that. The same 3brs 3-4 years later were then $1.2M. And now they are $1.6. We cannot earn or save enough to reach the first rung on the ladder.

You have champagne tastes on a beer budget.

More likely she has beer taste but the bar is way overpriced.

Sounds like she wants a 2023 new construction, 5500 sqft, top of the line finishes, sub zero fridge, in a cul-de-sac hood of McLean, inside beltway, walkable to the golf course, movies and coffee shops, and priced at $500,000.

You got all of that from her stating that they wanted a 3 bedroom house?

Get a life, you miserable loser. Oh wait, you can’t! Because you’re spending all your money on your average house lol.

No worries I have 2 houses over 1.5mm. You sound jelly.

LOL. Yes, I’m totes jelly of an illiterate adult who says things like you must be jelly. Teach me your ways, girlboss!

Or work harder, once your HHI is over 500k you will find ppl less illiterate 😁

So you’re both illiterate and moronic? This clap back is non-sensical, girl.

Just being helpful. I see that being poor made you unfriendly.

I think I’m the PP you were responding to about buying a 3br. We love smaller than most of our peers and only recently bought our first car (used). My req’s are basically that it be livable. I am fine with 1,700 sq ft and up. I actually prefer old construction as new stuff is trash. Doesn’t need to be redone but with the high prices I would demand that it doesn’t need all new electrical or plumbing throughout. (Hence the word livable.) I’m happy if the kitchen is crummy or whatever. I don’t even need off street parking. NW DC is just too expensive with extremely little inventory. We have kids who go to public school which is why we don’t move into a more marginal neighborhood. My kids will be taking public transit to school (like all DC kids bc the city doesn’t provide transportation) so we have to live somewhere relatively safe.

Wrong person. Agree Living in a competitive city requires steps to achieve your goals. Your first house will always have something undesirable. First job will be lowly paid. It takes work to get to a better place.

This. Our first house was a dilapidated 70s townhouse in a district with a rough middle school. There was drug paraphernalia on the playground. We got out before elementary school, but we couldn’t have bought the nice house we live in now without that first unit and all the sweat equity we put into it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All the people saying they bought affordable starter homes probably did so 15-20 years ago and don’t know what the market is like now.

Condos barely appreciate in value. Lots of condos in DC look affordable until you dig into the HOA costs. They can be $2000+ a month depending on the building. Renting a crappy apartment to save money makes sense, but buying is a tough sell.

Townhomes these days are often going for $800k+ even in the suburbs.

The market in DC is just crazy. And if you have school aged kids and need to be in a decent district, forget about it.

Boo hoo.

Every decision involves tradeoffs.

You want to be in a good school district and also close in? Guess what, everyone else wants the same thing. So you are looking at a condo instead of a SFH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some many decent properties available for under $1M. Here's an example of a small SFH in Falls Church at $729K.

https://redf.in/e9As2Q

With a high school rated 2/10 — so you have to budget for private school.

No you don't.

You have around 15 years from when your kid is born to build equity, grow your career, and move to a house with a better high school.

That's literally the entire concept of a starter home.

That’s the trap around here. Places with bad school don’t match the appreciation of homes with good schools; so you actually probably fall behind compared to renting and investing the difference. Same problem with condos and townhomes.

A starter home needs to be in targeted neighborhood to work out, but those have been snapped up by builders and torn down

You're forgetting that home ownership gives you massive leverage of your money. You can get on the property ladder with very little startup capital - an FHA loan on a $425,000 2br condo in a nice neighborhood or rowhouse EOTR only requires about $15K down but you're getting appreciation on the full $425K, not to mention a portion of your mortgage payment goes to equity.

Let's look at an example. Person A puts 3.5% down on a $425,000 home with a 6% mortgage and assuming 6% growth in home prices. In 7 years their house is worth $640K and they've got $272,000 worth of equity.

Person B puts $14,875 in the stock market at 12% growth. After 7 years they have $33,000.

Person A now has a substantial down payment on a home they can raise kids in. Person B has a nice vacation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some many decent properties available for under $1M. Here's an example of a small SFH in Falls Church at $729K.

https://redf.in/e9As2Q

With a high school rated 2/10 — so you have to budget for private school.

No you don't.

You have around 15 years from when your kid is born to build equity, grow your career, and move to a house with a better high school.

That's literally the entire concept of a starter home.

That’s the trap around here. Places with bad school don’t match the appreciation of homes with good schools; so you actually probably fall behind compared to renting and investing the difference. Same problem with condos and townhomes.

A starter home needs to be in targeted neighborhood to work out, but those have been snapped up by builders and torn down

You're forgetting that home ownership gives you massive leverage of your money. You can get on the property ladder with very little startup capital - an FHA loan on a $425,000 2br condo in a nice neighborhood or rowhouse EOTR only requires about $15K down but you're getting appreciation on the full $425K, not to mention a portion of your mortgage payment goes to equity.

Let's look at an example. Person A puts 3.5% down on a $425,000 home with a 6% mortgage and assuming 6% growth in home prices. In 7 years their house is worth $640K and they've got $272,000 worth of equity.

Person B puts $14,875 in the stock market at 12% growth. After 7 years they have $33,000.

Person A now has a substantial down payment on a home they can raise kids in. Person B has a nice vacation.

You’re making a huge assumption on home price appreciation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think salaries have gone way up in respect to housing prices. My house value is pretty much exactly the same as when I bought it 13 years ago with a cumulative of 41% inflation. However, I am essentially earning the same as I did at that time despite numerous years of experience, maybe a percentage point or two increase.

So, people entering the market a few years ago have quite the buying power.

EG they can afford to go and get themselves a mortgage if they want to buy my house. Even considering the one bright spot of my matriculation was that mortgage rates were rock bottom.

That being said, I wish mortgage rates were lower, so that I can raise the price of my house.

You must not live around here. When we were first striving for a 3br 10 years ago, they were $1M. We thought, oh in 3-4 years we’ll be able to afford that. The same 3brs 3-4 years later were then $1.2M. And now they are $1.6. We cannot earn or save enough to reach the first rung on the ladder.

You have champagne tastes on a beer budget.

More likely she has beer taste but the bar is way overpriced.

Sounds like she wants a 2023 new construction, 5500 sqft, top of the line finishes, sub zero fridge, in a cul-de-sac hood of McLean, inside beltway, walkable to the golf course, movies and coffee shops, and priced at $500,000.

You got all of that from her stating that they wanted a 3 bedroom house?

Get a life, you miserable loser. Oh wait, you can’t! Because you’re spending all your money on your average house lol.

No worries I have 2 houses over 1.5mm. You sound jelly.

LOL. Yes, I’m totes jelly of an illiterate adult who says things like you must be jelly. Teach me your ways, girlboss!

Or work harder, once your HHI is over 500k you will find ppl less illiterate 😁

So you’re both illiterate and moronic? This clap back is non-sensical, girl.

Just being helpful. I see that being poor made you unfriendly.

I think I’m the PP you were responding to about buying a 3br. We love smaller than most of our peers and only recently bought our first car (used). My req’s are basically that it be livable. I am fine with 1,700 sq ft and up. I actually prefer old construction as new stuff is trash. Doesn’t need to be redone but with the high prices I would demand that it doesn’t need all new electrical or plumbing throughout. (Hence the word livable.) I’m happy if the kitchen is crummy or whatever. I don’t even need off street parking. NW DC is just too expensive with extremely little inventory. We have kids who go to public school which is why we don’t move into a more marginal neighborhood. My kids will be taking public transit to school (like all DC kids bc the city doesn’t provide transportation) so we have to live somewhere relatively safe.

Wrong person. Agree Living in a competitive city requires steps to achieve your goals. Your first house will always have something undesirable. First job will be lowly paid. It takes work to get to a better place.

This. Our first house was a dilapidated 70s townhouse in a district with a rough middle school. There was drug paraphernalia on the playground. We got out before elementary school, but we couldn’t have bought the nice house we live in now without that first unit and all the sweat equity we put into it.

Our first house was built in the 1930s and was in bad shape. We couldn’t live in it for months. Ugh, the roaches.

It was nice by the time we sold it. We couldn’t fix the school pyramid though. That sale helped us buy our next house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the people saying they bought affordable starter homes probably did so 15-20 years ago and don’t know what the market is like now.

Condos barely appreciate in value. Lots of condos in DC look affordable until you dig into the HOA costs. They can be $2000+ a month depending on the building. Renting a crappy apartment to save money makes sense, but buying is a tough sell.

Townhomes these days are often going for $800k+ even in the suburbs.

The market in DC is just crazy. And if you have school aged kids and need to be in a decent district, forget about it.

Or under $600k.

Here you go.

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/8180-Fernlake-Ct-22309/home/9814423

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/7010-Old-Brentford-Rd-22310/home/9780954

Even a SFH under 700k:

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/5005-Rosemont-Ave-22309/home/9813899

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/6515-Berkshire-Dr-22310/home/9789280

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Springfield/8812-Skyron-Pl-22153/home/9769951

[Anonymous]

Another one, in Arlington:

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/1119-S-Edison-St-22204/home/11265420

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some many decent properties available for under $1M. Here's an example of a small SFH in Falls Church at $729K.

https://redf.in/e9As2Q

With a high school rated 2/10 — so you have to budget for private school.

No you don't.

You have around 15 years from when your kid is born to build equity, grow your career, and move to a house with a better high school.

That's literally the entire concept of a starter home.

That’s the trap around here. Places with bad school don’t match the appreciation of homes with good schools; so you actually probably fall behind compared to renting and investing the difference. Same problem with condos and townhomes.

A starter home needs to be in targeted neighborhood to work out, but those have been snapped up by builders and torn down

You're forgetting that home ownership gives you massive leverage of your money. You can get on the property ladder with very little startup capital - an FHA loan on a $425,000 2br condo in a nice neighborhood or rowhouse EOTR only requires about $15K down but you're getting appreciation on the full $425K, not to mention a portion of your mortgage payment goes to equity.

Let's look at an example. Person A puts 3.5% down on a $425,000 home with a 6% mortgage and assuming 6% growth in home prices. In 7 years their house is worth $640K and they've got $272,000 worth of equity.

Person B puts $14,875 in the stock market at 12% growth. After 7 years they have $33,000.

Person A now has a substantial down payment on a home they can raise kids in. Person B has a nice vacation.

A 425k condo will not appreciate that way in 7 years. Not even close. You will *maybe* sell it for 500k in that time, assuming great neighborhood that doesn't also have an influx of new construction condos in the interim. You also have to factor in closing costs and maintenance.

Signed,
A condo owner in DC who cannot afford to upgrade to a SFH after 10 years even though we have a lot of equity in our condo at this point

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the people saying they bought affordable starter homes probably did so 15-20 years ago and don’t know what the market is like now.

Condos barely appreciate in value. Lots of condos in DC look affordable until you dig into the HOA costs. They can be $2000+ a month depending on the building. Renting a crappy apartment to save money makes sense, but buying is a tough sell.

Townhomes these days are often going for $800k+ even in the suburbs.

The market in DC is just crazy. And if you have school aged kids and need to be in a decent district, forget about it.

Or under $600k.

Here you go.

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/8180-Fernlake-Ct-22309/home/9814423

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/7010-Old-Brentford-Rd-22310/home/9780954

Even a SFH under 700k:

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/5005-Rosemont-Ave-22309/home/9813899

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/6515-Berkshire-Dr-22310/home/9789280

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Springfield/8812-Skyron-Pl-22153/home/9769951

Yep. PP here and I posted others in Springfield. I think the OP is gone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another one, in Arlington:

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/1119-S-Edison-St-22204/home/11265420

That’s a pretty dicey area for Arlington, it’s right across from Arlington Mill which is still working through some issues. There’s a reason it’s priced so low and sitting. That area won’t turn around anytime soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some many decent properties available for under $1M. Here's an example of a small SFH in Falls Church at $729K.

https://redf.in/e9As2Q

With a high school rated 2/10 — so you have to budget for private school.

No you don't.

You have around 15 years from when your kid is born to build equity, grow your career, and move to a house with a better high school.

That's literally the entire concept of a starter home.

That’s the trap around here. Places with bad school don’t match the appreciation of homes with good schools; so you actually probably fall behind compared to renting and investing the difference. Same problem with condos and townhomes.

A starter home needs to be in targeted neighborhood to work out, but those have been snapped up by builders and torn down

Yep. OP get into the best schools you can - you might not check all the boxes so if you need to let one “go,” pick middle school, it’s the cheapest one to have to pay for private (due to shorter duration). Make sure the elementary is great so when you go to sell young families like you used to be want to buy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some many decent properties available for under $1M. Here's an example of a small SFH in Falls Church at $729K.

https://redf.in/e9As2Q

With a high school rated 2/10 — so you have to budget for private school.

No you don't.

You have around 15 years from when your kid is born to build equity, grow your career, and move to a house with a better high school.

That's literally the entire concept of a starter home.

That’s the trap around here. Places with bad school don’t match the appreciation of homes with good schools; so you actually probably fall behind compared to renting and investing the difference. Same problem with condos and townhomes.

A starter home needs to be in targeted neighborhood to work out, but those have been snapped up by builders and torn down

You're forgetting that home ownership gives you massive leverage of your money. You can get on the property ladder with very little startup capital - an FHA loan on a $425,000 2br condo in a nice neighborhood or rowhouse EOTR only requires about $15K down but you're getting appreciation on the full $425K, not to mention a portion of your mortgage payment goes to equity.

Let's look at an example. Person A puts 3.5% down on a $425,000 home with a 6% mortgage and assuming 6% growth in home prices. In 7 years their house is worth $640K and they've got $272,000 worth of equity.

Person B puts $14,875 in the stock market at 12% growth. After 7 years they have $33,000.

Person A now has a substantial down payment on a home they can raise kids in. Person B has a nice vacation.

That is a BIG assumption for a place with bad schools. Completely untethered. Sure in the 2000s...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the people saying they bought affordable starter homes probably did so 15-20 years ago and don’t know what the market is like now.

Condos barely appreciate in value. Lots of condos in DC look affordable until you dig into the HOA costs. They can be $2000+ a month depending on the building. Renting a crappy apartment to save money makes sense, but buying is a tough sell.

Townhomes these days are often going for $800k+ even in the suburbs.

The market in DC is just crazy. And if you have school aged kids and need to be in a decent district, forget about it.

Or under $600k.

Here you go.

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/8180-Fernlake-Ct-22309/home/9814423

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/7010-Old-Brentford-Rd-22310/home/9780954

Even a SFH under 700k:

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/5005-Rosemont-Ave-22309/home/9813899

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/6515-Berkshire-Dr-22310/home/9789280

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Springfield/8812-Skyron-Pl-22153/home/9769951

All terrible schools except Springfield.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some many decent properties available for under $1M. Here's an example of a small SFH in Falls Church at $729K.

https://redf.in/e9As2Q

With a high school rated 2/10 — so you have to budget for private school.

No you don't.

You have around 15 years from when your kid is born to build equity, grow your career, and move to a house with a better high school.

That's literally the entire concept of a starter home.

That’s the trap around here. Places with bad school don’t match the appreciation of homes with good schools; so you actually probably fall behind compared to renting and investing the difference. Same problem with condos and townhomes.

A starter home needs to be in targeted neighborhood to work out, but those have been snapped up by builders and torn down

You're forgetting that home ownership gives you massive leverage of your money. You can get on the property ladder with very little startup capital - an FHA loan on a $425,000 2br condo in a nice neighborhood or rowhouse EOTR only requires about $15K down but you're getting appreciation on the full $425K, not to mention a portion of your mortgage payment goes to equity.

Let's look at an example. Person A puts 3.5% down on a $425,000 home with a 6% mortgage and assuming 6% growth in home prices. In 7 years their house is worth $640K and they've got $272,000 worth of equity.

Person B puts $14,875 in the stock market at 12% growth. After 7 years they have $33,000.

Person A now has a substantial down payment on a home they can raise kids in. Person B has a nice vacation.

That is a BIG assumption for a place with bad schools. Completely untethered. Sure in the 2000s...

At 2% appreciation you have $120,500 of equity. Even at 1% you have $88K. At 0% with just principal payments and your down payment adding to equity you still have $57,500. Not to mention consistent 12% growth in the stock market is also a generous assumption.

Any way you slice it you're better off owning.