Are we the only family in the DMV who is priced out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not OP, but her preferences are what they are. All these snide posts about just wanting HGTV type house are tiresome. Some people are just not the “sweat equity” type. Neither DH nor I are handy so anything that needed immediate “sweat equity” was a no go. Our starter house was one that we thought oh we will do things over time, guess what, with the addition of kids and those expenses it never happened. Our second house needed to be turnkey. We did move further out (although we aren’t city people and were fine with that) to get everything on our must have list. People’s preferences are personal, and just because someone values things that you don’t doesn’t make them invalid.

The point is that you don't need to update a house to live in it. It is ok to have an outdated kitchen and bathrooms. It is ok to let some minor repairs go. Etc. There is a third option beyond sweat equity and professional remodel, and that is . . . do nothing, which is the cheapest and easiest option. But not if your ego is wrapped up in the look of your house.

I don’t know that it necessarily would be an ego thing, but the idea of dropping 4-5k a month on a mortgage for a house whose kitchen and bathrooms I hate would drive me crazy. Compromises are absolutely necessary, but what compromises someone finds palatable will vary wildly depending on the person. OP needs to decide what compromises are tolerable for her, whether that is the commute, the size of the house, the aesthetics of the house, the school pyramid, etc.

Again - sure. But that's very different than "priced out." It's "I don't think these houses provide a good value at the price."

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:DH and I are early 40s, two kids, HHI 300k gross. We have a downpayment of 300k set aside but are only interested in single family homes that are not total teardowns. We are priced out and have stopped looking.

DH interviewed for a higher paying job this summer but didn't pass the second round. I'm earning the max I can earn with my qualifications. Kids in public school and we are renting right now.

Are we the only ones in this situation?

What do you consider a tear down?

A house that requires more than 100k of rehab work after purchase or cannot be rehabbed without being torn down to the foundation.

The realtor we looked at houses with showed us two of these. Then he told us to ask our parents for another 200k so he could put us into a house for 1.1.

We have credit scores over 800.

A big part of the problem is this expectation that everybody needs to spend $100k plus on a sparkling new kitchen and bathrooms, and let's redo the floors while we're at it.

Some of you need to learn to live with dated kitchen cabinets for a few or even 10 years. Splurge on a new stove if you want.

This. Buying a home (or in OP's case upgrading to a SFH) in a HCOL area requires either A) a lot of money or B) sacrifices. Renting a SFH was a poor decision, OP. You should have stayed in the condo and lived on a strict budget until you could afford to buy a SFH. If you're in your 40's now and you have kids, then you had years to figure this out and save.

I lived very cheaply with roommates and saved for a home. DH did the same. We each bought before we met. We lived in my home with dated everything and fixed it up as time and money allowed. We each bought a home, then got married, then had kids. You can switch the order of marriage and buying a home, but it's really hard to save for a SFH when you're paying for childcare and don't have a high HHI.

If you're really serious about buying a SFH, then you need to cut your costs to save more. Spending a lot on renting a SFH when your HHI is $300K and you already have kids makes it hard to save for a SFH.

I am paying 2.5k/month in rent and have no debt. Did I cut expenses enough for you?

I'll try dog food for the family, too. That might help us save enough.

$2,500 is a lot to spend on rent with your HHI when also trying to save to buy a house. Many of us explained to you that you chose not to scrimp and save earlier. That's how many of us in your situation afforded to buy the SFH. You want what other people have without making the sacrifices they made.

But the bigger point is that you can't afford what you want now because you can't go back in time and make different decisions. So if you want to buy a house now, then you either cut expenses (including rent) to save more, increase income, or reassess your criteria.

OP is being defensive but lol at the idea that 2500 is a lot to spend on rent for a family.

But ultimately OP - I agree with the PPs who say you need to shift expectations. We have your numbers and purchased a house within the past year in Silver Spring just outside the beltway (so, near the Forest Glen metro). Decent schools, nice communities, and well within your price range. I think you’re more interested in NOVA but just wanted to share a MoCo option in case you’re actually looking for solutions here (or in case it’s helpful for someone else).

$2,500 is a lot to spend on rent, period. OP is forced into paying this now because she didn't take the opportunity to save more before kids.

This is the dumbest take in this entire thread. Have you looked at the actual cost of home ownership? In this area? If OP has her family in a nice apartment, in a nice location, with good schools and a decent commute for only $2500 a month she would be FAR better off to just stay there and invest the difference in her rent vs mortgage + property tax + insurance + repair/maintenance costs, etc. Then she can eventually buy the house of her dreams (but maybe in a different location). Or she can retire early and travel the world! Or whatever!

Unquestionably. Our old 2 BR, 2.5 BA with a den in Columbia Heights - with bad schools - rents for more than $4500.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We bought a 4 bedroom in Fairfax at half that income and down payment. It’s not my dream home- 50s ranch with a tiny kitchen, but I’m grateful every day for the space my kids have to play, our lovely yard and garden and patio, the good schools.

Would I prefer a bigger kitchen and to not have to share a bathroom with teenagers? Sure. But this was a solid choice and feels like home.

I love ranch houses!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:DH and I are early 40s, two kids, HHI 300k gross. We have a downpayment of 300k set aside but are only interested in single family homes that are not total teardowns. We are priced out and have stopped looking.

DH interviewed for a higher paying job this summer but didn't pass the second round. I'm earning the max I can earn with my qualifications. Kids in public school and we are renting right now.

Are we the only ones in this situation?

Priced out of what? You can comfortably afford a house but it's not what you want so stop complaining. You can buy a $600-700K house comfortably.

That doesn’t buy you anything someone making $300,000 with two kids would want to live in here.

We make that amount and live in a $400K 1000 square foot house. It's not about where you want, it's what you can afford at the time of purchase. Time to grow up.

Congratulations, I guess, that you don’t feel bitter that someone making your salary can only afford 1,000 sq ft. A lot of us realize it’s like this because corporations, rich people, foreigners, and foreign countries are buying land and houses for profit and pricing out Americans who earn their paychecks here. It’s frustrating and wrong.

It's not just DC. It's happening in many parts of the country. I've said this before, but we need laws that prohibit rentals for foreign-owned properties and limits for corporate owned rentals. It will never happen due to lobbyists.

Agree. I worry for our children and grandchildren.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are early 40s, two kids, HHI 300k gross. We have a downpayment of 300k set aside but are only interested in single family homes that are not total teardowns. We are priced out and have stopped looking.

DH interviewed for a higher paying job this summer but didn't pass the second round. I'm earning the max I can earn with my qualifications. Kids in public school and we are renting right now.

Are we the only ones in this situation?

Priced out of what? You can comfortably afford a house but it's not what you want so stop complaining. You can buy a $600-700K house comfortably.

That doesn’t buy you anything someone making $300,000 with two kids would want to live in here.

We make that amount and live in a $400K 1000 square foot house. It's not about where you want, it's what you can afford at the time of purchase. Time to grow up.

Congratulations, I guess, that you don’t feel bitter that someone making your salary can only afford 1,000 sq ft. A lot of us realize it’s like this because corporations, rich people, foreigners, and foreign countries are buying land and houses for profit and pricing out Americans who earn their paychecks here. It’s frustrating and wrong.

It does suck if what you want is a big house. Then I would suggest moving to a cheaper city.

Also, I love the sense of entitlement that comes with making 300k as an HHI. In this area, that is two GS14/15 feds, or two middle managers of medium sized companies. (It is obviously harder to do as a single income, but the point stands.) The idea that you deserve some big house in the close in suburbs of a major city with tons of wealth shows a profound lack of perspective. You might want to see if you can work remotely and move somewhere cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are early 40s, two kids, HHI 300k gross. We have a downpayment of 300k set aside but are only interested in single family homes that are not total teardowns. We are priced out and have stopped looking.

DH interviewed for a higher paying job this summer but didn't pass the second round. I'm earning the max I can earn with my qualifications. Kids in public school and we are renting right now.

Are we the only ones in this situation?

Priced out of what? You can comfortably afford a house but it's not what you want so stop complaining. You can buy a $600-700K house comfortably.

That doesn’t buy you anything someone making $300,000 with two kids would want to live in here.

We make that amount and live in a $400K 1000 square foot house. It's not about where you want, it's what you can afford at the time of purchase. Time to grow up.

Congratulations, I guess, that you don’t feel bitter that someone making your salary can only afford 1,000 sq ft. A lot of us realize it’s like this because corporations, rich people, foreigners, and foreign countries are buying land and houses for profit and pricing out Americans who earn their paychecks here. It’s frustrating and wrong.

It does suck if what you want is a big house. Then I would suggest moving to a cheaper city.

Also, I love the sense of entitlement that comes with making 300k as an HHI. In this area, that is two GS14/15 feds, or two middle managers of medium sized companies. (It is obviously harder to do as a single income, but the point stands.) The idea that you deserve some big house in the close in suburbs of a major city with tons of wealth shows a profound lack of perspective. You might want to see if you can work remotely and move somewhere cheaper.

I also love the snobbishness that comes with living in this area and the looking down on federal employees and middle managers, as if they don’t deserve anything other than a sh!t shack last updated in 1972 because after all they are lowly feds or middle managers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of homes I could buy in DMV with a 300k down payment and 300k HHI.

You aren't priced out, you are just looking for some unicorn. This isn't Texas, you have to be realistic.

Agree. With that income and downpayment you can afford plenty of decent houses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are early 40s, two kids, HHI 300k gross. We have a downpayment of 300k set aside but are only interested in single family homes that are not total teardowns. We are priced out and have stopped looking.

DH interviewed for a higher paying job this summer but didn't pass the second round. I'm earning the max I can earn with my qualifications. Kids in public school and we are renting right now.

Are we the only ones in this situation?

Priced out of what? You can comfortably afford a house but it's not what you want so stop complaining. You can buy a $600-700K house comfortably.

That doesn’t buy you anything someone making $300,000 with two kids would want to live in here.

We make that amount and live in a $400K 1000 square foot house. It's not about where you want, it's what you can afford at the time of purchase. Time to grow up.

Congratulations, I guess, that you don’t feel bitter that someone making your salary can only afford 1,000 sq ft. A lot of us realize it’s like this because corporations, rich people, foreigners, and foreign countries are buying land and houses for profit and pricing out Americans who earn their paychecks here. It’s frustrating and wrong.

It does suck if what you want is a big house. Then I would suggest moving to a cheaper city.

Also, I love the sense of entitlement that comes with making 300k as an HHI. In this area, that is two GS14/15 feds, or two middle managers of medium sized companies. (It is obviously harder to do as a single income, but the point stands.) The idea that you deserve some big house in the close in suburbs of a major city with tons of wealth shows a profound lack of perspective. You might want to see if you can work remotely and move somewhere cheaper.

I also love the snobbishness that comes with living in this area and the looking down on federal employees and middle managers, as if they don’t deserve anything other than a sh!t shack last updated in 1972 because after all they are lowly feds or middle managers.

OP again- One senior manager and a teacher, actually. We definitely feel like we don't belong within a two hour drive of DC on a regular basis due to attitudes like this. DC is for white shoed attorneys, lobbyists, and people who own sports teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are early 40s, two kids, HHI 300k gross. We have a downpayment of 300k set aside but are only interested in single family homes that are not total teardowns. We are priced out and have stopped looking.

DH interviewed for a higher paying job this summer but didn't pass the second round. I'm earning the max I can earn with my qualifications. Kids in public school and we are renting right now.

Are we the only ones in this situation?

Priced out of what? You can comfortably afford a house but it's not what you want so stop complaining. You can buy a $600-700K house comfortably.

That doesn’t buy you anything someone making $300,000 with two kids would want to live in here.

We make that amount and live in a $400K 1000 square foot house. It's not about where you want, it's what you can afford at the time of purchase. Time to grow up.

Congratulations, I guess, that you don’t feel bitter that someone making your salary can only afford 1,000 sq ft. A lot of us realize it’s like this because corporations, rich people, foreigners, and foreign countries are buying land and houses for profit and pricing out Americans who earn their paychecks here. It’s frustrating and wrong.

It does suck if what you want is a big house. Then I would suggest moving to a cheaper city.

Also, I love the sense of entitlement that comes with making 300k as an HHI. In this area, that is two GS14/15 feds, or two middle managers of medium sized companies. (It is obviously harder to do as a single income, but the point stands.) The idea that you deserve some big house in the close in suburbs of a major city with tons of wealth shows a profound lack of perspective. You might want to see if you can work remotely and move somewhere cheaper.

I also love the snobbishness that comes with living in this area and the looking down on federal employees and middle managers, as if they don’t deserve anything other than a sh!t shack last updated in 1972 because after all they are lowly feds or middle managers.

I'm not looking down on feds. I used to be one, and I lived in what I'm sure you'd call a "sh!tshack". I think that accusing someone of snobbishness, and then referring to huge swaths of houses in this area as "sh!shacks" is rich irony. These are not decrepit teardowns. They just are not whatever people are seeing on HGTV.

This isn't the fault of foreigners, or corporations, or boomers. It's just that there are lots of special snowflakes like you in this area with these incomes, as well as tons of people making a LOT more. That has driven up the cost of housing. But hey, if you think getting a couple of fed jobs entitles you to a nice house in a close in suburbs, keep weeping and gashing your teeth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are early 40s, two kids, HHI 300k gross. We have a downpayment of 300k set aside but are only interested in single family homes that are not total teardowns. We are priced out and have stopped looking.

DH interviewed for a higher paying job this summer but didn't pass the second round. I'm earning the max I can earn with my qualifications. Kids in public school and we are renting right now.

Are we the only ones in this situation?

You are only priced out of certain neighborhoods. Most are still accessible to you at that income.

We have HHI of $110. If OP is priced out - we are screwed.

Exactly. Our HHI is only $150K. We live in a paid off house in Alexandria. I can't even imagine having HHI of 300K ( how nice that would be).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are early 40s, two kids, HHI 300k gross. We have a downpayment of 300k set aside but are only interested in single family homes that are not total teardowns. We are priced out and have stopped looking.

DH interviewed for a higher paying job this summer but didn't pass the second round. I'm earning the max I can earn with my qualifications. Kids in public school and we are renting right now.

Are we the only ones in this situation?

Priced out of what? You can comfortably afford a house but it's not what you want so stop complaining. You can buy a $600-700K house comfortably.

That doesn’t buy you anything someone making $300,000 with two kids would want to live in here.

We make that amount and live in a $400K 1000 square foot house. It's not about where you want, it's what you can afford at the time of purchase. Time to grow up.

Congratulations, I guess, that you don’t feel bitter that someone making your salary can only afford 1,000 sq ft. A lot of us realize it’s like this because corporations, rich people, foreigners, and foreign countries are buying land and houses for profit and pricing out Americans who earn their paychecks here. It’s frustrating and wrong.

It does suck if what you want is a big house. Then I would suggest moving to a cheaper city.

Also, I love the sense of entitlement that comes with making 300k as an HHI. In this area, that is two GS14/15 feds, or two middle managers of medium sized companies. (It is obviously harder to do as a single income, but the point stands.) The idea that you deserve some big house in the close in suburbs of a major city with tons of wealth shows a profound lack of perspective. You might want to see if you can work remotely and move somewhere cheaper.

I also love the snobbishness that comes with living in this area and the looking down on federal employees and middle managers, as if they don’t deserve anything other than a sh!t shack last updated in 1972 because after all they are lowly feds or middle managers.

OP again- One senior manager and a teacher, actually. We definitely feel like we don't belong within a two hour drive of DC on a regular basis due to attitudes like this. DC is for white shoed attorneys, lobbyists, and people who own sports teams.

Attitudes like what? If you are wiling to be two hours outside of DC, you should find something that easily fits your budget.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are early 40s, two kids, HHI 300k gross. We have a downpayment of 300k set aside but are only interested in single family homes that are not total teardowns. We are priced out and have stopped looking.

DH interviewed for a higher paying job this summer but didn't pass the second round. I'm earning the max I can earn with my qualifications. Kids in public school and we are renting right now.

Are we the only ones in this situation?

You are only priced out of certain neighborhoods. Most are still accessible to you at that income.

We have HHI of $110. If OP is priced out - we are screwed.

Exactly. Our HHI is only $150K. We live in a paid off house in Alexandria. I can't even imagine having HHI of 300K ( how nice that would be).

You paid off a 1M mortgage on a 150k income? Impressive. That would put you at what age?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are early 40s, two kids, HHI 300k gross. We have a downpayment of 300k set aside but are only interested in single family homes that are not total teardowns. We are priced out and have stopped looking.

DH interviewed for a higher paying job this summer but didn't pass the second round. I'm earning the max I can earn with my qualifications. Kids in public school and we are renting right now.

Are we the only ones in this situation?

Priced out of what? You can comfortably afford a house but it's not what you want so stop complaining. You can buy a $600-700K house comfortably.

That doesn’t buy you anything someone making $300,000 with two kids would want to live in here.

We make that amount and live in a $400K 1000 square foot house. It's not about where you want, it's what you can afford at the time of purchase. Time to grow up.

Congratulations, I guess, that you don’t feel bitter that someone making your salary can only afford 1,000 sq ft. A lot of us realize it’s like this because corporations, rich people, foreigners, and foreign countries are buying land and houses for profit and pricing out Americans who earn their paychecks here. It’s frustrating and wrong.

It does suck if what you want is a big house. Then I would suggest moving to a cheaper city.

Also, I love the sense of entitlement that comes with making 300k as an HHI. In this area, that is two GS14/15 feds, or two middle managers of medium sized companies. (It is obviously harder to do as a single income, but the point stands.) The idea that you deserve some big house in the close in suburbs of a major city with tons of wealth shows a profound lack of perspective. You might want to see if you can work remotely and move somewhere cheaper.

I also love the snobbishness that comes with living in this area and the looking down on federal employees and middle managers, as if they don’t deserve anything other than a sh!t shack last updated in 1972 because after all they are lowly feds or middle managers.

I'm not looking down on feds. I used to be one, and I lived in what I'm sure you'd call a "sh!tshack". I think that accusing someone of snobbishness, and then referring to huge swaths of houses in this area as "sh!shacks" is rich irony. These are not decrepit teardowns. They just are not whatever people are seeing on HGTV.

This isn't the fault of foreigners, or corporations, or boomers. It's just that there are lots of special snowflakes like you in this area with these incomes, as well as tons of people making a LOT more. That has driven up the cost of housing. But hey, if you think getting a couple of fed jobs entitles you to a nice house in a close in suburbs, keep weeping and gashing your teeth.

Sweetie, go back and read your previous post, the condescension was dripping from it. And then read the one I’m responding to now, which pretty much encapsulates the @ssholery that is synonymous with the close in DC suburbs.

[Anonymous]

I’m so glad that we left the DC area. It was really hard to adjust for about a year. Now I’m so grateful to own a comfortable home in a safe and pretty neighborhood with a short commute.

We have all of this by moving away from the insanity!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are early 40s, two kids, HHI 300k gross. We have a downpayment of 300k set aside but are only interested in single family homes that are not total teardowns. We are priced out and have stopped looking.

DH interviewed for a higher paying job this summer but didn't pass the second round. I'm earning the max I can earn with my qualifications. Kids in public school and we are renting right now.

Are we the only ones in this situation?

Priced out of what? You can comfortably afford a house but it's not what you want so stop complaining. You can buy a $600-700K house comfortably.

That doesn’t buy you anything someone making $300,000 with two kids would want to live in here.

We make that amount and live in a $400K 1000 square foot house. It's not about where you want, it's what you can afford at the time of purchase. Time to grow up.

Congratulations, I guess, that you don’t feel bitter that someone making your salary can only afford 1,000 sq ft. A lot of us realize it’s like this because corporations, rich people, foreigners, and foreign countries are buying land and houses for profit and pricing out Americans who earn their paychecks here. It’s frustrating and wrong.

It does suck if what you want is a big house. Then I would suggest moving to a cheaper city.

Also, I love the sense of entitlement that comes with making 300k as an HHI. In this area, that is two GS14/15 feds, or two middle managers of medium sized companies. (It is obviously harder to do as a single income, but the point stands.) The idea that you deserve some big house in the close in suburbs of a major city with tons of wealth shows a profound lack of perspective. You might want to see if you can work remotely and move somewhere cheaper.

I also love the snobbishness that comes with living in this area and the looking down on federal employees and middle managers, as if they don’t deserve anything other than a sh!t shack last updated in 1972 because after all they are lowly feds or middle managers.

OP again- One senior manager and a teacher, actually. We definitely feel like we don't belong within a two hour drive of DC on a regular basis due to attitudes like this. DC is for white shoed attorneys, lobbyists, and people who own sports teams.

You only need to go about an hour west of DC to get away from that feeling. I don’t know what your commute tolerance is, or how much you and your DH consider yourself to be city people, but you’ve had some good recommendations here for the Burke area and parts of PWC. If you are not city folk, spend a gorgeous fall day out in the western suburbs/exurbs, plenty of updated homes in your price range. To be honest if you’ve already gone as far out as Burke, going another 10 miles west is not that big of a deal.