SERIOUSLY - how are people affording these $1Mil+ homes with $8,000+ monthly mortgages!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The market sets the prices. If you don't prepare to meet the market where it is, you can reasonably expect to be disappointed. Many people in this generation live a life of luxury, free spending, and expect to have it all. That is not a reasonable expectation. I can tell you are upset by the increasing insults you are hurling. No one owes anyone else a house.

I’m upset that you and your entire generation have royally f$&ked up our entire country due to your stupidity and short-sightedness, and you don’t even have the good grace to STFU and stop telling the youngsters that it’s the avocado toast and not the mouth breathing Fox News cult members and the blue blood union busting union beneficiaries (ahem, you) who are ruining their futures.

No one owes you respect. And you clearly aren’t worthy of any.

Look, I am 40, I have 3 kids and have a HHI of 400-450k. We own 3 houses in NW DC all over 1 mil in value. We also send kids to private school (about 80-90k/year).

We also never eat out, and watch what we spend. Our only car is very old, all the properties we bought were fixer uppers, etc. we rent two out of 3 and the rent pays for the mortgage and any repairs needed.

We had about 300k from my others to buy the first house, but we bought the second and third on our own by saving (living below our means).

We are not boomers (also not born in the US), but I see how much families with lower HhI than ours spend… that is why they can’t afford to buy a house. Stop shopping at While Foods, getting Ubers, eating out multiple times a week, getting nails done, etc. and you will see how much you will save.

Literally nothing else in your post counts when the bolded is true, princess. Stop pretending your generational wealth that allowed you to *vault* over your peers is NOTHING and you did it all by yourself because you’re just so wonderful and smart and frugal. Do some calculations using the median income (not your top 1% salary) in the DMV, add in reasonable expenses and retirement savings, and tell me how long it will take you to SAVE an extra 300K.

You’re nothing more than a spoiled rich @$$hole. Seriously, STFU.

Let me break it down for you since you are not very smart.

Yes, my parents helped buying the first house. It was a 1,400 sqft townhouse in downtown DC. Very walkable area, but not very safe and ok schools. House was outdated, but in decent shape for us. We dug the basement (after a couple of years of savings) and started renting it. Our income at the time was HHI 200k. The rent gave us an extra 1,200/months which was great. We had a 3k mortgage per month and one baby. I was in school and mostly took care of our daughter.

After about 6 years, we had saved enough to buy another townhouse. This new house is bigger than the first and little further out. Our income had gone up to maybe 350k (including the rent of the first house around 50k/year). This second house was a big dump. Disgusting, dirty, with pests everywhere. We moved into the basement that was the nicest part of the house (1 bedroom and 1 bathroom for 4 people). Slowly we started fixing the upper part. We took down carpets, broke down some walls, redid bathrooms and eventually 5 years later we redid the kitchen. For the first 4 years we lived with a very ugly and outdated kitchen/appliances. We painted a lot of the house ourselves and tried to cut costs as much as possible. Rented the basement after we moved in the upper floors and increased our income that way.
By this time, our income had gone up to 400 or so, but we had 2 kids in private so our take home was more like 170k. We were paying two mortgages. Always living as cheaply as possible, we bought another home recently while renting the other two.

We are trying to give our kids a head start by giving them a nice house each to start with, but I fully expect them to save and grow their wealth like DH and I are doing. This is how we are easing our kida

"Yes, my parents helped buying the first house."

[Anonymous]

Family helps with down payment. That’s how. Family helps with child care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Family helps with down payment. That’s how. Family helps with child care.

That's how some people afford it. Some people - like me and DH - had to save with salaries that were lower than OP's is now and mortgage rates were around 5.5-6%.

[Anonymous]

So many people keep overlooking the one thing that has prevented OP from buying the million dollar house: OP didn't save for a house before having kids.

If OP and their spouse had saved for 5 years before having kids, then OP would have gained a lot of equity from their starter home and been able to trade up to the million dollar SFH.

[Anonymous]

It would be nice if everything always goes according to plan and everything falls into place at the right time but life is not like that.

[Anonymous]

The only way for a $300,000 down payment to magically appear for most people is if they win a lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only way for a $300,000 down payment to magically appear for most people is if they win a lottery.

Who needs a 300k down payment for a first house? Answer. Nobody.

[Anonymous]

Our first house was a $300k townhouse in 2019 when we were making $160k. We down paid 5% for that house. Our HHI went up to $300k. We sold it in 2023 for $450k and then down paid 10% on a $1 million house.

I hope your jobs are secure because that's a big mortgage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Family helps with down payment. That’s how. Family helps with child care.

This. Half the adults I know are bankrolled by their parents. That’s how they do it.

[Anonymous]

Saved $2,000 a month from ages 22-25 (late 90s) for down payment. Bought dump townhouse in Glover Park for ~$350. Renovated ourselves. Sold for ~$800 around 2010. Bought dump in MoCo. Renovated. Live there now. We now owe <$300K on our mortgage and our housing costs are less than a 2BR "luxury" apartment. Along the way refinanced whenever judicious. Never took the temptation to buy a tear down for $3M. It's called saving and discipline. It's not that hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It would be nice if everything always goes according to plan and everything falls into place at the right time but life is not like that.

That's just an excuse. Life might throw some temporary setbacks, but then you keep pushing through and saving money. OP absolutely had the opportunity to save yet chose not to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Saved $2,000 a month from ages 22-25 (late 90s) for down payment. Bought dump townhouse in Glover Park for ~$350. Renovated ourselves. Sold for ~$800 around 2010. Bought dump in MoCo. Renovated. Live there now. We now owe <$300K on our mortgage and our housing costs are less than a 2BR "luxury" apartment. Along the way refinanced whenever judicious. Never took the temptation to buy a tear down for $3M. It's called saving and discipline. It's not that hard.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many people keep overlooking the one thing that has prevented OP from buying the million dollar house: OP didn't save for a house before having kids.

If OP and their spouse had saved for 5 years before having kids, then OP would have gained a lot of equity from their starter home and been able to trade up to the million dollar SFH.

This!! Especially in this area where people don't have kids before 30, it's not very hard to save before kids. For most people that's 6-8 years of working before kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The market sets the prices. If you don't prepare to meet the market where it is, you can reasonably expect to be disappointed. Many people in this generation live a life of luxury, free spending, and expect to have it all. That is not a reasonable expectation. I can tell you are upset by the increasing insults you are hurling. No one owes anyone else a house.

I’m upset that you and your entire generation have royally f$&ked up our entire country due to your stupidity and short-sightedness, and you don’t even have the good grace to STFU and stop telling the youngsters that it’s the avocado toast and not the mouth breathing Fox News cult members and the blue blood union busting union beneficiaries (ahem, you) who are ruining their futures.

No one owes you respect. And you clearly aren’t worthy of any.

Look, I am 40, I have 3 kids and have a HHI of 400-450k. We own 3 houses in NW DC all over 1 mil in value. We also send kids to private school (about 80-90k/year).

We also never eat out, and watch what we spend. Our only car is very old, all the properties we bought were fixer uppers, etc. we rent two out of 3 and the rent pays for the mortgage and any repairs needed.

We had about 300k from my others to buy the first house, but we bought the second and third on our own by saving (living below our means).

We are not boomers (also not born in the US), but I see how much families with lower HhI than ours spend… that is why they can’t afford to buy a house. Stop shopping at While Foods, getting Ubers, eating out multiple times a week, getting nails done, etc. and you will see how much you will save.

Literally nothing else in your post counts when the bolded is true, princess. Stop pretending your generational wealth that allowed you to *vault* over your peers is NOTHING and you did it all by yourself because you’re just so wonderful and smart and frugal. Do some calculations using the median income (not your top 1% salary) in the DMV, add in reasonable expenses and retirement savings, and tell me how long it will take you to SAVE an extra 300K.

You’re nothing more than a spoiled rich @$$hole. Seriously, STFU.

Let me break it down for you since you are not very smart.

Yes, my parents helped buying the first house. It was a 1,400 sqft townhouse in downtown DC. Very walkable area, but not very safe and ok schools. House was outdated, but in decent shape for us. We dug the basement (after a couple of years of savings) and started renting it. Our income at the time was HHI 200k. The rent gave us an extra 1,200/months which was great. We had a 3k mortgage per month and one baby. I was in school and mostly took care of our daughter.

After about 6 years, we had saved enough to buy another townhouse. This new house is bigger than the first and little further out. Our income had gone up to maybe 350k (including the rent of the first house around 50k/year). This second house was a big dump. Disgusting, dirty, with pests everywhere. We moved into the basement that was the nicest part of the house (1 bedroom and 1 bathroom for 4 people). Slowly we started fixing the upper part. We took down carpets, broke down some walls, redid bathrooms and eventually 5 years later we redid the kitchen. For the first 4 years we lived with a very ugly and outdated kitchen/appliances. We painted a lot of the house ourselves and tried to cut costs as much as possible. Rented the basement after we moved in the upper floors and increased our income that way.
By this time, our income had gone up to 400 or so, but we had 2 kids in private so our take home was more like 170k. We were paying two mortgages. Always living as cheaply as possible, we bought another home recently while renting the other two.

We are trying to give our kids a head start by giving them a nice house each to start with, but I fully expect them to save and grow their wealth like DH and I are doing. This is how we are easing our kida

Again, no one wants to read your autobiography you smug dingbat. Nobody cares what kind of house you picked out with your THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLAR GIFT.

This update actually makes you look more pathetic. You were pulling down 200K and you STILL needed mommy and daddy to buy you your shitty townhouse? What a freaking loser.

Calling people names makes you look even more pathetic… I feel really bad for you that you need or want to do this on an anonymous board. I hope your life gets better

Disagree. Maybe if people in real life told you that you’re a smug AH you would stop going around preaching to the poors that they’re just not as financially savvy and frugal as you are and that’s why they can’t afford a house.

You’re insufferable, but you can change. It starts with admitting to yourself that the reason you have a bunch of expensive real estate is because you have rich parents, not because you live your life better than people like OP.

To refresh everyone’s memory, this is the trite BS this absolute @$$hole contributed to this conversation:

“I see how much families with lower HhI than ours spend… that is why they can’t afford to buy a house. Stop shopping at While Foods, getting Ubers, eating out multiple times a week, getting nails done, etc. and you will see how much you will save.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Saved $2,000 a month from ages 22-25 (late 90s) for down payment. Bought dump townhouse in Glover Park for ~$350. Renovated ourselves. Sold for ~$800 around 2010. Bought dump in MoCo. Renovated. Live there now. We now owe <$300K on our mortgage and our housing costs are less than a 2BR "luxury" apartment. Along the way refinanced whenever judicious. Never took the temptation to buy a tear down for $3M. It's called saving and discipline. It's not that hard.

And luck and time, obviously. I mean, if the current administration succeeds in gutting the Federal workforce and Federal contracts are exclusively granted to companies with headquarters in Texas, let’s take some bets about what happens to the real estate market in this swamp town…