Pregnant and house searching -- PK3 question

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't plan your PK years around Ross. It has become exceptionally competitive. I think around 50% of the inbound non-sibling kids got a PK3 slot this year? And you can expect those odds to go down a lot more in the coming few years as more and more families squeeze into this hot neighborhood.

Before you mentioned Bethesda, I was just going to say to buy where you want to be for a good ES district, and take whatever decent PK you get -- like Seaton, which still decent odds of getting in but is gentrifying and improving quickly these days. But that's the opposite direction for you from GP. Not sure if there are comparable PKs between GP and Bethesda, but if there are, just plan on one of those. 80% of the PK programs in NW are perfectly good at this point, so if you're only worrying about 2 years under your IB ES slot kids in, just do that.

However, I caution you like others did that the savings aren't really that great over private preschool. You *can* save a lot of money through a combo of free PK and cheap aftercare. But the free and cheap aftercare and summer camps are pretty bare bones and may not be right for your three year old. to the extent parents have some money to spend on better aftercare, they are inclined to want to spend it. Our 4-year old son still has regulatory issues and doesn't do well in, well, "chaos". The PKs near us all had free aftercare, but it was essentially just dropping all 7 grades of kids in the gym, putting on a movie, running around the field, etc. I've heard the same about the super cheap YMCA summer programs. Our son will be able to handle that when he's 7, but that just wasn't a good option for us at age 3-4. So then we started having to think about the cost of nicer after care and summer programs, which aren't cheap, and at that point it would have just made more sense for us to spend a bit more on an after school/summer babysitter - making our lives easier and giving my son a break from the chaos of the school day. Taking all this into account and given that preschool is year round, we found that preschool was only going to cost $7200 more per year than the free PK program plus a 2-hour a day/summer babysitter.

Point is that I wouldn't plan my life around the free PK program.

Our experience exactly! We even have a pretty good aftercare program but it was still too much for our preschooler so we got a babysitter. Ultimately we are getting a good value for our childcare money now - high quality preschool and then one on one with a babysitter - but it is not any cheaper than daycare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work in Bethesda and live in Petworth. The commute is easy via Rock Creek Park.

There are plenty of Charters within a 10-15 minute drive from our home to Ward 5. I wouldn't necessarily move to where I work because I love the city.

Sounds like OP doesn't drive. That would be quite the commute via public transportation.

[Anonymous]

Ok - I am going to go against the grain with advice. If you want to stay in the Dupont area with either Ross or SWWFS - it may be worth it to go ahead and buy now. Just because your mortgage payment will likely be lower or the same as renting in these neighborhoods. At least you'll be building up your assets and investments over the next 3 years - rather than throwing the money in rent. And, if you do end up selling five years down the road, I think there is a small likelihood that these neighborhoods will depreciate. You'll likely be able to continue saving while owning in the Dupont neighborhood, and will hopefully sell for a slightly higher price to put towards a down payment elsewhere.

Also, you'll probably find yourself as one many of the families in both schools that live in 2 bedroom apartments (some I know are still in 1 bedrooms). We are in a 2 bedroom in the SWWFS zone with 2 kids enrolled there. The convenience of being in a nice community school and not having to do a crazy commute to school-work has influenced our decision to stay put. We can see ourselves staying in our condo for another 3-5 years (even though it only has 1 bathroom!).

[Anonymous]

Where will the OP find a 2 bedroom for 500k in Ross zone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where will the OP find a 2 bedroom for 500k in Ross zone?

Agree with this (in response to previous PP suggesting buying now in Ross). I think the issue is they can't now and likely won't be able to in the future afford to buy what they need in Ross. They'll have to look at farther out NW. In which case, you can either buy now or keep renting. But in either case, given the commute to Bethesda, I'd be looking in those regions (signed, a DuPont parent).

[Anonymous]

There are condos for 500k in the Ross zone. But they will likely be 1br plus den and less than 1000 square feet or english basement type apartments.

[Anonymous]

http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Washington-DC-20008/fsba_lt/2100640292_zpid/66132_rid/38.939054,-77.053294,38.934522,-77.063765_rect/16_zm/0_mmm/

1brm plus den. Sub 500K, IB for Hearst, on top of metro.

[Anonymous]

We live in a 2 bedroom condo in swwfs zone and bought it for just under 500k. Definitely doable....

[Anonymous]

OP here. This is all so helpful. Thank you! I just sent that Zillow listing to my husband.

To the PP with 2 kids in a 2-bedroom, is that stressful? I would think differing nap schedules etc. would be hard. Is it cramped? I can't believe some people with school-aged kids live in a 1-bedroom--though that makes me feel better about our prospects! If we buy in Dupont we will need to be here at least 5 years and by then we hope to have a 2nd kid (toddler aged), which scares me and makes me think we should just give up and move to a 3 bedroom house in Silver Spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You may want to look at some of the homes available in the Capitol Riverfront. You have guaranteed access to PK3/PK4 at Van Ness Elementary School.

Brand new condos breaking ground this Spring in the Capitol Riverfront (Yards Park). May be a good opportunity to buy and go to Van Ness.


http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2015/12/financing-found-for-first-for-sale-units-at-the.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Washington-DC-20008/fsba_lt/2100640292_zpid/66132_rid/38.939054,-77.053294,38.934522,-77.063765_rect/16_zm/0_mmm/

1brm plus den. Sub 500K, IB for Hearst, on top of metro.

Only $800/mo in condo fees. What a bargain...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Washington-DC-20008/fsba_lt/2100640292_zpid/66132_rid/38.939054,-77.053294,38.934522,-77.063765_rect/16_zm/0_mmm/

1brm plus den. Sub 500K, IB for Hearst, on top of metro.

Only $800/mo in condo fees. What a bargain...

No bone in this fight, but was curious so peaked at the listing. The apartment is a coop, so the $800 a month includes property taxes (and maybe utilities). So not as shocking as you might expect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Preggo?

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone--I always learn so much from this board! We currently rent a 1 bedroom in the Ross district so I guess we could keep doing that and bump up to a 2 bedroom within our building. Judging by the 6 fruitless months we've spent house searching I definitely don't want to do this again ever, but with a $500k budget it's been impossible to find a 2 bedroom, much less a 3 bedroom with decent HOA fees where we want to live (within 30 min walk to the left side of the red line since we want to be car free and both work in Bethesda--I know I know, car free with a baby is impossible anyway).

If you get into the right HRCS, you can live anywhere you want, and still do much better than 1,200-MS-students-Deal/Wilson-with-the-students-with-guns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Washington-DC-20008/fsba_lt/2100640292_zpid/66132_rid/38.939054,-77.053294,38.934522,-77.063765_rect/16_zm/0_mmm/

1brm plus den. Sub 500K, IB for Hearst, on top of metro.

Only $800/mo in condo fees. What a bargain...

May include real estate taxes and other services.