Getting desperate: What would you suggest to a first time home buyer?
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Anonymous
| I agree about PG county. I live in Anne Arundel but would move to PG happily. And I also agree with PPs that the only reason DCUM overlooks it is because they’re racist. |
Anonymous
These aren't usable public schools. |
Anonymous
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I think you need to make a prioritized list.
I will share my experience just as food for thought. I bought an OK 4 bedroom house in Ashburn when my kid was a baby thinking to send my kid to private school. I didn’t end up liking the neighborhood. There were very few families with young kids in our immediate neighborhood….I’m talking our street and a few in either direction. Turns out the local elementary mostly had kids from the section 8 townhouses and apartments about a mile away, very few from the neighborhood of SFH’s that the school is actually located in. I felt like buying there was a mistake, we only made friends with the one other family on the street with kids. Neighborhood friends are important to me. If they weren’t the place would have been fine. Moved away from DMV for work, moved back when kid was entering kindergarten, decided to give living in DC a try. Rented an apartment for 1 year close to an elementary school we thought we would like. Ended up making a lot of friends with kids the same age there. So we bought there. It was a much smaller and older house than the Ashburn one, but friends and community are more important to me than a big yard and house. I grew up thinking a SFH was a must have, l don’t think that any more. |
Anonymous
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Thank you all!
We've been looking into Burke, Fairfax, W Springfield, Fairfax Station, South Run, parts of Clifton, Annandale west of 495 (though this last one is harder since Woodson premium makes same homes about 50-100k higher priced than their counterparts in the rest of the area). I get those of you who say I am dreaming. Here is my dilemna (and hence the post): Until about 2-3 months ago, our budget would have gotten us pretty much what we hoped for where we wanted to be. I checked all the sales, and drooled over some houses sold in the 750-800 range. For the suburbs in DMV with the exception of very close in areas and most desirable school pyramids, over 800k hasn't been exactly a starter home budget. Combination of crazy market, rising interest rates and extremely low inventory pushed these areas into uncharted territory espcecially in the last couple of months (like many other places). I saw this week some super overpriced homes sitting (meaning not in contract in under 24 hrs): priced at over 850k, not updated, or horrible quick flips in parts of the home. But they will be snatched too, because there is nothing else in the market. But it just gave me maybe some hope? So knowing all of that, we're trying to decide: a. Should we buy a smaller home (not updated is not an issue) at these prices right now b. Hope for the market to adjust in the next 1-2 months (or even 6 months?) just enough with more inventory and higher rates, and hope to buy where we want then c. Consider moving to Eastern Loudoun or similar for a bigger ready to move in home, but face commute on 66/7 etc and not being in our preferred school districts. It is a personal decision, yes, but it has a lot of rational components too, and surveying others help, hence DCUrban 
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Anonymous
THANK YOU!!! |
Anonymous
| I got a 4 bed/3 bath with an office in my target N. Arlington neighborhood in late 2019 for a bit less than that price but it is on the corner of a busy street. Could you look for something like that? |
Anonymous
Anonymous
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LCPS is just as good if not better than FCPS so I wouldn't consider that an issue.
If you both work from home, the commute is also a non-issue...going into work once a week or less, it can be a crappy drive. |
Anonymous
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I have sold three houses in the last two years. (Within a few months really). I’m going to let you know, the last one I sold got 15 contracts within 3 days and sold 100k over asking, as-is, in cash.
In Howard county. In the winter of 2021-2022. No basement. No remodeling. This house is my moms and we didn’t think it would sell so high. My fairfax house was even crazier. This is my advice- get a really good real estate agent who knows how to work escalation clauses to your advantage. Be willing to buy a house as-is. Talk to more than one mortgage person about a loan. You might have flexibility elsewhere. Consider a higher end townhome with a garage that is newer. Do not buy exurbs- if there is a bubble those locations crash first. You can work in a townhome- the trick is to have a basement. It separate the living areas more and you can move around then. Some of them have four levels- those work best. Don’t wait too long. The real estate agent told me because of my most recent sale, agents are waiting for my closing price to raise prices with comps. It’s going to be an utter mess. |
Anonymous
We're looking at the first one in Clifton/Centreville today. It's hot and likely to get a big bidding war, so most likely we'd be priced out quick. Homes like the ones in Ashburn are one of the options we're considering, but commute is scary... In this market, the listing price has to be around or under 800k for us to have any shot. Nicer homes in this area currently go over 30-60k above asking, easy.... (we know because we lost some bids and had to walk away from others) |
Anonymous
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I say wait. With interest rising you can actually grow downpayment more quickly. Home prices will
Stall then buy. Home insurance and property taxes are jumping in 2023 so that could ny an issue folks at their max budget |
Anonymous
That's in a really popular neighborhood and all three zoned schools are very good. But its a huge neighborhood so if you like it and don't get it, more houses will be available soon. |
Anonymous
Thanks! We don't know that area at all. Do you know how bad the flight noise is? it's apparently under a fligth path... |
Anonymous
| I could have written your post in spring 2020. We ended up in Loudoun and in general have few regrets about the move. It helps that both of our jobs are now mostly virtual forever. Based on your posts, OP, I think you should hold out for your preferred location rather than feel pressure to jump now. I don't see how you'll have better luck out this way than you would in some of the ffx co areas you've mentioned - budget may go further but securing the contract is no less competitive. Stay focused on your preferred schools and neighborhoods. |
Anonymous
I just texted my friend who lives in the neighborhood and she said she noticed it for the first month after they moved in early in the morning but hasn't since. They moved in well over 10 years ago though so I don't know if the flight paths have changed. |