s/o How old are you? What kind of house do you live in?

[Anonymous]

44. My spouse is 40. We own a 5,200 square foot 92 year old house on a 24,000 square foot yard in NW DC. Paid about 2 for it and will put 1 or so more into it to get itninto better shape before we are e done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread makes me feel sad.
I just turned 27, I rent a small apt.

This, except I’m 34.

To make you feel better: I am 54 and bought my house at 36 as a single parent. It is a small, one-bath, three-bedroom SFH in Montgomery County. It is probably worth less than $400,000. But it's my home and I like it.

[Anonymous]

We are 50. When we are in DC, we rent a small townhouse (our kids are grown). Most of the time we live in a very rural part of the country in a large farmhouse on about 50 acres. We built it as our forever home and for us it is just perfect in every way.

[Anonymous]

30 and I own a small townhouse condo in Arlington.

Honestly, I miss the ease of renting. I bought into the homeownership thing and it’s been fun but I am so much poorer for it. I don’t think my place will substantially appreciate anytime soon. I poked around in the city and close in MD for deals but I was just too late to the game with my small budget, and Arlington makes the most sense for my commute so I gave in and bought here. I’m envious of those who made it big in the market!

[Anonymous]

Bought near H St NE in 2008 at the bottom of the market for $425k at age 28 and 28. Sold six years later for almost $800k. Bought a fixer upper in N. Arlington for $900k but put almost $100k into it over the first two years. It's now probably worth around $1.1M, or a bit more. We're both 36.

No family money. We had a bit of help with undergrad tuition ($10-20k each), but the vast majority of undergrad was covered by merit scholarships. Paid off our own grad loans pre-kids.

[Anonymous]

me 38, him 36. 2 BR rowhouse with two kids in a walkable neighborhood of Alexandria. When kids are out of daycare we can afford more but I'm not interested in a higher mortgage. Will probably squeeze in a small space for as long as feels reasonable and then consider whats next.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This list scares me a lot. So many people in this thread and the other one are talking about family money and big law being the only way they can afford these big houses close in. I guess if DH and I with no family money and middle of the road salaries ever want to buy we are destined for a mcmansion in Ashburn. D:

We bought our first house this year (we're 35). No family money. We bought a 3 bd/ 2.5 bath split level in Silver Spring. I love our house.

[Anonymous]

I'm 32, DH is 35. We bought a 3 bedroom TH in Fairfax earlier this year.

[Anonymous]

34 and 37. Own a three bedroom rowhouse in dc. Bought for $740k in 2014. HHI is 400k

Wish we had waited to purchase as our income has increased significantly. However it allows us to save around 5,100 a month outside of retirement.

Goal is to purchase for around $1.4ish in around two years. Our goal is to have around 500k to put down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:31/33. 900k 3000 sq ft. TH N Arlington walkable to metro...not TF-babies etc., DP w/ own resources and mortgage on our own earned dime...and we know plenty of other early to mid 30 somethings in high paying DC jobs with THs/SFHs in the $800-$1M price range. They are two-income professional families of lawyers, World Bank/IMF, doctors etc.

I don't know why there is such surprise about young people able to afford such homes in a place with so many high-end professional jobs with relatively higher job security than other US markets....and no it's nothing to do with having bought in 2000 etc.

Because most lawyers and doctors have a decent amount of student loans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the parent cannot afford the tuition and they have to take out that much in loans to pay for college, the parent should have the sense to tell their child that no undergraduate education is worth that kind of crippling debt and find reasonable and less expensive alternatives like in-state public.

Except that as tuition has risen in-state publics have gotten more competitive (also because more state schools are increasing the number of OOS students they take for the $$$)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:33/35

Purchased our first TH pre bubble when we were 23/25, rented it and then got another SFH pre bubble in far burbs. Made a fortune after selling both and taking the capital gains exception. Have a SFH in burbs and a vacation house all thanks to that first home.

45 and 44. Just bought a $900K house in Arlington, after living in a NW DC condo for 15 years. We love the condo but decided our kids would benefit from more outdoor space and a safer street with less traffic. HHI has never exceed $150K. We are not big consumers and have always had a high savings rate -- so high, in fact, that we could have simply bought the house in cash, with plenty left-over. If you don't consume much, even a modest income can add up to significant savings across time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:33/35

Purchased our first TH pre bubble when we were 23/25, rented it and then got another SFH pre bubble in far burbs. Made a fortune after selling both and taking the capital gains exception. Have a SFH in burbs and a vacation house all thanks to that first home.

45 and 44. Just bought a $900K house in Arlington, after living in a NW DC condo for 15 years. We love the condo but decided our kids would benefit from more outdoor space and a safer street with less traffic. HHI has never exceed $150K. We are not big consumers and have always had a high savings rate -- so high, in fact, that we could have simply bought the house in cash, with plenty left-over. If you don't consume much, even a modest income can add up to significant savings across time.

Interesting. How much were you making/saving, just out of curiosity?

[Anonymous]

39, $1.1 mil beautiful wooded SFH in close-in potomac, bought in cash in 2012 after parents died young and tragically like a PP - sending love if you’re still reading. Kids go to wonderful local public elementary - I’m a private DC school alum but like others couldn’t stomach the atmosphere/parents.

[Anonymous]

TH at age 22
SFH at age 25
SF Vacation home at age 31
2nd SFH at age 33

Met my DH in college, married @26, but combined financial resources prior to marriage to buy our 1st 2 homes.