Forum Index
»
Real Estate
Where to live?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
My husband and I have been talking a lot lately about where to buy a home in the next year or two. We currently rent a beautiful two bedroom in Clarendon and we LOVE it. But we have one child already (1 year old) and hopefully will have another in the next year or so. We are poor by DC standards (about $140k HHI - we have sacrificed salaries for ideological careers - seems crazy to me now!) and cant justify $500k for a 900sf condo in Clarendon.
We have lived in Clarendon for 12 years. We know NOTHING about many other areas. We want to stay in VA but...where? We know our income will limit us greatly. We don't mind driVing to a metro if we have to, but what we love so much about Clarendon is how we can walk to to so many different places. Are there any neighborhoods we should be exploring! We've considered Falls Church and Reston, but neither seem particularly walkable.... |
Anonymous
| There's always South Arlington near Glebe and the Columbia Forsest neighborhood. We live here and love it...on far less than what you and your DH make. |
Anonymous
$140HHI is not poor by DC standards. Plenty of people have made greater "sacrifices" and can't even afford Clarendon. It does mean you may not be able to buy a house in an upper-income enclave. Why not look in Silver Spring? More affordable than Falls Church and closer to the action than Reston. |
Anonymous
OP here -- You are absolutely right and in the light of day I feel horrible that I would make such a statement. I sometimes feel like the only people on this board are those who make $400k+ and live in mansions! Thank you for the reality check. I actually started looking at Silver Spring last night and it might be a good fit. I actually have never been there so we will have to get out that way and look around. Also, PP that suggested South Arlington, thank you as well. I had assumed we were priced out of that area as well. We will take a look. |
Anonymous
|
depends on how much you're willing to spend and how small a home you're happy with...in a $550-$650k range, you can find a very small and basic SFH or a medium-size nicely finished TH in the residential neighborhoods around Ballston, so you'd still be walkable to a metro and lifestyle amenities (parks, restos, library etc.).
There are, for example, brand new 'luxury' THs in the area selling for as low as $650k for the smallest model (1600 sq ft or so) that are 15 mins from metro and 5-10 mins from various other walkable amenities. More basic <1500 sq feet SFHs and TH can list as low as the mid-500s. |
Anonymous
|
OP, how much of a downpayment do you have saved? With an HHI of $140k, I would be hesitant to get into a mortgage that large (over $500k) with one child and planning for two. Childcare for two can be crippling.
The Silver Spring poster is right. You should spend time there. It doesn't seem like there is anything truly affordable (less than $500k) with the walkability of Arlington anywhere in Virginia. Some will recommend S. Arlington and I would also check that out too. |
Anonymous
| if you don't mind a bit of suburbia, and it does greatly depend where you and DH work, but an option could be Vienna - either 22182 or 22180 as these are the 'closer' zip codes relative to maple ave 9123) and the town of vienna. lots of parks and playgrounds hidden in every neighborhood (like Arlington), and lots of great mom andd pop type little places to grab a pizza, ice cream cone, croissant, etc. with the "luxury" of having tysons a stone's throw away. the orange line already runs through to nutley st (SW side of Vienna) and the silver line will offer a couple of more options for mass transit in a couple of years. wonderful schools (arhcer and wolftrap es!) that statistically are on par with the best in FFX and Arl. Co and the demographics (including HHI) is generally more diverse than say the Churchill area of mclean. housing affordability is an issue - depends on how much house you want, but you can reasonable places between 600-750 (4 br/2.5or 3 bath; garage; 1/4 or even 1/2 acre depending where in Vienna you look). commutes to DC are a bear unless you leave (drive) early. but if you are working in tysons, reston, or anywhere west, can't beat the location. |
Anonymous
|
If you are willing to be less picky about the size and condition of the house/townhouse/condo, I think you CAN afford something in walkable Arlington in the Orange Line corridor, under $500k. If you love everything about Clarendon- this is what I suggest. You would have to be open-minded, and would have to search widely.
Somehow South Arlington seems to get short shift on this board - but it is a great location, has come a long ways in the past 10 years, and has some really nice sections. Parkfairfax is just lovely in my opinion. People who live there really like Shirlington and Fairlington. It is all on good, frequent bus lines so it isn't so far off from Metro, and much more reasonably priced. |
Anonymous
|
OP here, thank you so much for the wonderful suggestions. For the PP who asked, we can probably scrounge up $30k - $40k for a down payment, so not a ton. We actually have sort of assumed we would only get approved for about $400k (we have great credit, we just have never attempted to get a loan before). We truly don't need a lot of space, but would prefer three bedrooms. In an ideal world we would purchase a single family home with an "in-law suite" in the basement for my handicapped sister, but I don't expect to find that anytime soon! But, because that is something we are taking into consideration, we would prefer a place where we could potentially sell relatively quickly should we have to pull up stakes and find a larger place to fit my little family and my sister.
I have spent the day exploring Zillow and have found a few options in South Arlington. We plan to check out Silver Spring this weekend. Again, thank you for your responses! |
Anonymous
| Good luck OP! Have fun checking out Silver Spring! You should check out the Capitol View area, the area around McKenny Hills park. I don't live in SS but I have friends in those two neighborhoods who love it. A week or so ago, SS neighborhoods were discussed in depth on this board. That may be useful to you. |
Anonymous
| Just remember, banks are now routinely asking you to put 20% down in order to qualify for a mortgage. With only 40k on downpayment, it is highly likely that you will not qualify for anything close to a $400k loan (at least without wasting lots of $ on penalties like points and mortgage insurance). |
Anonymous
| w/ only $40k in the Bank you might be better off saving a little while longer... |
Anonymous
I disagree. Interest rates are low and with prices where they are it's a buyer's market. We bought our first home 2 years ago at just under $400K with only a slightly higher income than you. At the time we also had about 10% to put down. With excellent credit, we were approved for a conventional loan (up to at least 500K--it might have been more, I can't remember) and qualified for a special, up-front PMI program. The total we owed for PMI came to just over $2000, which was covered completely by the seller subsidy. The full amount of our closing costs was also covered. Although we qualified for what was an excellent interest rate at the time, we were able to refinance last summer and lowered it even more to a 30-year fixed rate of 4.5%. While we still were just shy of 20% equity at the time of re-fi, the up-front PMI certificate carried over and we didn't have to pay it again. |
Anonymous
|
Most of South Arlington will be a gamble. First off, at sub-$400k, even in South Arlington, you'll still be getting duplexes, condos, and small 1940s SFHs in terrible condition.
Then consider, will parents keep doing the traditional "move further out" dance when their kids hit kindergarten or they have a second kid, leaving you with the bag? Or will you be the future version of folks who bought in Bethesda 15 years ago for $150k or whatever? I notice in all the discussion about ArlCPS overcrowding, there is no mention of Wakefield getting overcrowded ... then again, don't listen to me, I picked the wrong part of South Arlington and did the move out dance shortly after DD turned one. I live in a place where I can walk to the movies, bars, entertainment, parks, and the such, but most here on DCUM would put me down for it. (Plus, it's a bit far out for ideological careers, which I'm guessing mean you work near the Capital.) How often do folks here *really* go to the Kennedy Center? |
Anonymous
| There are some decent neighborhoods in South Arlington, and while it's not as walkable as Clarendon, at least you would be a quick drive away. I looked at a bunch of houses in South, and liked some of them very much, but my price range was a bit higher than yours and I ended up finding something in North. Still, it's about as close in as you're going to get in VA, and I think Wakefield is a better bet than TC Williams. If I were you and could swing the condo fees, I'd probably look around Shirlington, in Fairlington. I think that would be a really great place to live with young kids. |