If you had $1M to spend on a house, where would you live?

[Anonymous]

If you can do private, why not stay? That said, we live in Somerset, in CC MD, and totally love it. We can walk to Friendship Heights and Bethesda. Granted, each is a mile away, but the Whole Foods on River Road is 5 minutes away. My DH commutes on the CC trail into DT DC. We have the advantage of having great services (they shovel your sidewalk for you if it snows more than 2" for instance) and the neighborhood residents are ridiculously friendly and inviting. Somerset elem is great. A million is a toughie here, but you can get a smaller house (2000 sf maybe) for that price.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

OP, I would totally stay where you are and renovate. You essentially have 1600 sq in a perfectly lovely, perfectly situated neighborhood. I am jealous!!! You should hire an architect and see what can be done within your price range. Moving costs, and the transaction costs of selling are significant. Even if your home sells for $800K, you would lost 6% to realtor fees, but add several thousand for movers, plus whatever minor renovations you might want for your new home. I'll bet that a $75K investment with an architect and contractor would do wonders for your current home.

This is a good suggestion, but I highly doubt that kind of renovation/expansion is only going to cost 75K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

OP, I would totally stay where you are and renovate. You essentially have 1600 sq in a perfectly lovely, perfectly situated neighborhood. I am jealous!!! You should hire an architect and see what can be done within your price range. Moving costs, and the transaction costs of selling are significant. Even if your home sells for $800K, you would lost 6% to realtor fees, but add several thousand for movers, plus whatever minor renovations you might want for your new home. I'll bet that a $75K investment with an architect and contractor would do wonders for your current home.

This is a good suggestion, but I highly doubt that kind of renovation/expansion is only going to cost 75K.

Don't know until you look into it - a good architect has vision - and can see things in your footprint that you can't. And you can talk to one without spending a lot of money. Plus, you could spend more than $75K - You are looking at spending $1MM on a home elsewhere. We bought a house at the height of the market that had an old kitchen and MBath. It, of course, went down some in value in the downturn, but we love the area and the neighborhood, so we gutted the kitchen and the MBath for a total renovation of $75K, now we have our wonderful location and neighborhood, with the kitchen and bath we always wanted. It was a win, win. If it were me, if we moved too far out, I would not appreciate the space or the amenities because I would be cursing the commute/being so far away from the action/the little neighborhood qualities would be missing, etc. If you love your home and area, it might make sense to try to make it work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks so much for all the helpful replies. It's been very interesting to read about different people's experiences.

To answer one PP, our current house is about 1300 sf, not including a 300 sf finished basement. We have a toddler and are thinking about another baby, and our current place already seems small. The main issue is that, although our house is officially a three-bedroom, the back "bedroom" is a converted sun porch -- teeny, cold in the winter, warm in the summer, not ideal for a kid. Also, we only have one bathroom for all the bedrooms to share. Now, I know many families live in apartments and make due with much less space, but we would really like something with more room, meaning 2 full baths upstairs, 3 real bedrooms, and (in a perfect world!) a powder room on the first floor. That doesn't seem so crazy for our price range, right? The thing is, most of the larger Wardmans I've seen in the Oyster school district are going for over $1M. Once you get into the Mann, Janney, Lafayette areas we are back to my original quandary -- is it worth it to live a little further out in MoCo and possibly (although not necessarily) be set for schools? Or should we just suck it up, live closer in, enjoy a better commute (for me), and be prepared for private, if need be, for MS/HS?

Actually, I do think that's an unreasonable, suburban-style space expectation for a high-demand urban neighborhood even in what would sound like a generous price range in some other cities. As you noted in your first post, you'll have to move farther out to find a balance that works for you.

[Anonymous]

When I first moved to DC, I lived in Chevy Chase, MD and my commute to the White House was consistently 20-25 minutes during rush hour. I was not walking distance to downtown Bethesda, though, but I was a few blocks from Rock Creek which was great for exercise.

Now I live in southwestern Bethesda. We were looking for a house around $1-1.1M. While I am technically about as far from the DC line (~0.5 miles), it takes me closer to 30 minutes during rush hour to get to work, and it is a lot more stressful.

I'd aim to live in Chevy Chase or near downtown Bethesda if you go the MD route.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I first moved to DC, I lived in Chevy Chase, MD and my commute to the White House was consistently 20-25 minutes during rush hour. I was not walking distance to downtown Bethesda, though, but I was a few blocks from Rock Creek which was great for exercise.

Now I live in southwestern Bethesda. We were looking for a house around $1-1.1M. While I am technically about as far from the DC line (~0.5 miles), it takes me closer to 30 minutes during rush hour to get to work, and it is a lot more stressful.

I'd aim to live in Chevy Chase or near downtown Bethesda if you go the MD route.

Are you talking about driving or public transport. I assume the opposite is the case if you were to use public transport?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks so much for all the helpful replies. It's been very interesting to read about different people's experiences.

To answer one PP, our current house is about 1300 sf, not including a 300 sf finished basement. We have a toddler and are thinking about another baby, and our current place already seems small. The main issue is that, although our house is officially a three-bedroom, the back "bedroom" is a converted sun porch -- teeny, cold in the winter, warm in the summer, not ideal for a kid. Also, we only have one bathroom for all the bedrooms to share. Now, I know many families live in apartments and make due with much less space, but we would really like something with more room, meaning 2 full baths upstairs, 3 real bedrooms, and (in a perfect world!) a powder room on the first floor. That doesn't seem so crazy for our price range, right? The thing is, most of the larger Wardmans I've seen in the Oyster school district are going for over $1M. Once you get into the Mann, Janney, Lafayette areas we are back to my original quandary -- is it worth it to live a little further out in MoCo and possibly (although not necessarily) be set for schools? Or should we just suck it up, live closer in, enjoy a better commute (for me), and be prepared for private, if need be, for MS/HS?

Actually, I do think that's an unreasonable, suburban-style space expectation for a high-demand urban neighborhood even in what would sound like a generous price range in some other cities. As you noted in your first post, you'll have to move farther out to find a balance that works for you.

ITA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks so much for all the helpful replies. It's been very interesting to read about different people's experiences.

To answer one PP, our current house is about 1300 sf, not including a 300 sf finished basement. We have a toddler and are thinking about another baby, and our current place already seems small. The main issue is that, although our house is officially a three-bedroom, the back "bedroom" is a converted sun porch -- teeny, cold in the winter, warm in the summer, not ideal for a kid. Also, we only have one bathroom for all the bedrooms to share. Now, I know many families live in apartments and make due with much less space, but we would really like something with more room, meaning 2 full baths upstairs, 3 real bedrooms, and (in a perfect world!) a powder room on the first floor. That doesn't seem so crazy for our price range, right? The thing is, most of the larger Wardmans I've seen in the Oyster school district are going for over $1M. Once you get into the Mann, Janney, Lafayette areas we are back to my original quandary -- is it worth it to live a little further out in MoCo and possibly (although not necessarily) be set for schools? Or should we just suck it up, live closer in, enjoy a better commute (for me), and be prepared for private, if need be, for MS/HS?

Actually, I do think that's an unreasonable, suburban-style space expectation for a high-demand urban neighborhood even in what would sound like a generous price range in some other cities. As you noted in your first post, you'll have to move farther out to find a balance that works for you.

ITA

I disagree. For a million you can easily find a nice house meeting your requirements in chevy chase dc or md. we found one for two-thirds that amount that meets these requirements (less the powder room on first floor).

[Anonymous]

How about a TH or spacious condo? If so, I definitely think you can find something. I didn't think the issue was the 3 bdr/2.5 ba as much as avoiding the commute when you work on the hill, your husband in bethesda, and the kid(s)'s school might be in a different direction.

[Anonymous]

"I disagree. For a million you can easily find a nice house meeting your requirements in chevy chase dc or md. we found one for two-thirds that amount that meets these requirements (less the powder room on first floor)."

But again, that's suburban-style living that only comes at an extremely high price in in-demand urban neighborhoods. OP was explaining she can't afford that in Woodley Park or any closer in than Chevy Chase, which is effectively suburban whether MD or DC.

I think she's made her list of priorities and isn't actually complaining, but she did say that it shouldn't seem too tall an order in her present neighborhood for the price she's willing to pay. With that I'm going to disagree, because the kind of house she's describing is naturally going to be priced pretty high in neighborhoods where space is limited and therefore quite expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ashburn

Ick.

[Anonymous]

Why do people keep saying Chevy Chase DC is "suburban"?

Yes, the northern reaches near the park feel suburban. But it's a big neighborhood with lots of sub-neighborhoods, and have you spent any time near Western and Military? that wouldn't be bucolic.

[Anonymous]

We decided to buy on the east side of the park in the Shepherd Park neighborhood. For around 750K, we got a beautifully renovated 4 bedroom, 3 bath colonial with a fully renovated eat in kitchen. We had looked in Bethesda, CC DC, and a few other neighborhoods but we got a lot more for our money here and decided to save the money for private school.

Although we were impressed with the Bethesda schools, the large class sizes that are steadily creeping up and the test based curriculum were worrisome to us. I am very happy with our decision. If I were you, I would probably continue to rent until the space issue is more pressing. It would suck to pay the premium for a Bethesda house and then decide you want to do private school.

On a side note, I truly think our neighborhood is on the upswing and houses here will continue to appreciate in the coming years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do people keep saying Chevy Chase DC is "suburban"?

Yes, the northern reaches near the park feel suburban. But it's a big neighborhood with lots of sub-neighborhoods, and have you spent any time near Western and Military? that wouldn't be bucolic.

If I'm not mistaken, there's a fairly recent apartment building on the corner of Western Ave. and Military Rd., but single-family homes start just a couple of blocks away. I'm aware of a few apartment buildings on the Connecticut Avenue side, too, and an older "townhouse" tract nearby (reminiscent of you-know-where), but the residential neighborhoods are overwhelmingly single family homes with yards, and there's a generally strict separation between residential and commercial blocks. That would be a suburban land use pattern.

[Anonymous]

to 16:33, what are you doing for schools? private? for what age kids?