House Hunting Sucks When...

[Anonymous]

I think for many people, commute does matter ESPECIALLY with gas prices as they are. Our search area is quite limited by this. Could I go out to Loudoun or PWC and get something cheaper? Sure, but the added expenses and commute frustration just aren't worth it. I think everyone knows they have to compromise on things - that is a given in this area.

Can I ask if people in the lower price ranges are putting 20% down? We put 5% down on a TH in 2003, and likely can only put 10% down (hooray for VA loans) on a small SFH at this point, and this is counting on a small profit from our TH (which seems to be shrinking by the day).

[Anonymous]

I think its so funny that so many people judge others life decisions. about a HOUSE on here. I posted thinking I was reponsing to the OP and then got some lovely responses (sarcasm)

We are looking up to the $700k mark BUT cannot afford it so we would want to look up to that with hopes of talking down

We have 20% to put down and worked really hard at getting all the cash together. I have a condo that I refinanced and pulled out cash and then with the sale of a TH there is some other money. We dont want to put it all in but definitely 20% and then can use the rest t fix up or just keep saving it.

Location means alot for us and we are willing to pay for it so we know we will have to sacrifice a bit in the house for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agreed.
We are looking for actual yard space (not .10 acre) and 3/4 bedrooms <$500. Just near impossible to stay in the area we rent in (N Arlington). Sucks that I have to uproot my daycare, commute, etc. to find something I can afford (and want).

Ummm...yeah.

Honestly, if this is what you are looking at, you should continue renting.

Home ownership is not for everybody.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Yawn, what an overused insult. I didn't see 11:03 as being a princess, and she even responded nicely to the person mocking her.

thanks, I guess I'll just have to live with my way-too-small tiara Like Duchess Katherine - without the rich parents and the royal in-laws.

what gets me is that I bet the people mocking the posters in this thread are likely living in really nice homes that they bought way before the prices climbed, then fell.

Again, I realize things could be worse for us. I realize I should be thankful for what we do have. I just feel powerless when it comes to money right now. Paying our bills, but not making any forward progress.

What kills me about responses like the above is that you just ASSUME that those of us who have money and live in a nice area do so b/c we have rich parents/in-laws. Honestly, that is just plain insulting considering how hard my husband and I work (and yes, we live in a million dollar house in a nice area and we put down over 20% of our VERY HARD EARNED money RECENTLY).

You totally sound like a princess and a rude one at that.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

Wow, I've only posted once- the first post.

I am chuckling at some of your budgets because when I said modest, that's not what I meant. I know that means we won't be living in Dupont and I am fine with that. We already have a commute, and it's not as horrible as some would lead you to believe.

Overall, I am really looking forward to finally being able to save some money because rent takes up too much of our budget and we are at the point of needing more space. So hopefully our house is out there. But boy, this process is frustrating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
What kills me about responses like the above is that you just ASSUME that those of us who have money and live in a nice area do so b/c we have rich parents/in-laws. Honestly, that is just plain insulting considering how hard my husband and I work (and yes, we live in a million dollar house in a nice area and we put down over 20% of our VERY HARD EARNED money RECENTLY).

You totally sound like a princess and a rude one at that.

when in the world did I say that I assumed you had rich parents? Good for you with your hard earned money.

The only thing I said is that I envisioned some of the folks who were being hall monitors probably bought before the boom and bust, or at least benefited during the good times rather than living through the ups and downs of it.

[Anonymous]

Wow. DH and I are first time homebuyers. I worry that we will NEVER be able to buy. Seriously. We are under 30, getting ready to try for a baby, but now talking about putting that off until we are in a house, which makes sense. Let's just pray we get there before I hit advanced maternal age and end up on the ttc board.

How are younger people supposed to make it in this market (without moving to Manassass or Germantown?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is where DC really shows how un-cityllike it really is. As soon as people in this town start having babies, they start looking for SFH's. In NYC, people live in 2 BR 1 BA apartments with kids all the time! And I don't mean with babies, I mean with older children, as well.

Actually, this may be a valid way in which people that live in DC are unlike people that live in NYC, certainly. But that doesn't make us "un-citylike." NYC is not the only city.

[Anonymous]

under 30 poster - I understand. We didn't want to be in a 1 BR condo when we were thinking about starting a family - we wanted either a 2+ BR condo or TH, and even in 2003, that put us in the outer suburbs. We looked in Gaithersburg and Germantown, actually - wound up in VA in much less space than our money would have gotten us in MD, but a new job in VA rather than DC made that decision for us.

The biggest frustration to me is that renting doesn't really save you money around here. We are thinking about renting for a while after selling our 2 BR TH, and the only money it MIGHT save is in repairs. Our monthly rent check will be the same as a mortgage payment. Plus we will no longer have the tax break on owning.

Good luck to you - you might wind up liking the burbs if that is where you settle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think its so funny that so many people judge others life decisions. about a HOUSE on here. I posted thinking I was reponsing to the OP and then got some lovely responses (sarcasm)

We are looking up to the $700k mark BUT cannot afford it so we would want to look up to that with hopes of talking down

We have 20% to put down and worked really hard at getting all the cash together. I have a condo that I refinanced and pulled out cash and then with the sale of a TH there is some other money. We dont want to put it all in but definitely 20% and then can use the rest t fix up or just keep saving it.

Location means alot for us and we are willing to pay for it so we know we will have to sacrifice a bit in the house for it.

Thanks for this! I posted a couple times on this thread too, and now wish I hadn't -- can't believe some of the responses on here, all over houses!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:under 30 poster - I understand. We didn't want to be in a 1 BR condo when we were thinking about starting a family - we wanted either a 2+ BR condo or TH, and even in 2003, that put us in the outer suburbs. We looked in Gaithersburg and Germantown, actually - wound up in VA in much less space than our money would have gotten us in MD, but a new job in VA rather than DC made that decision for us.

The biggest frustration to me is that renting doesn't really save you money around here. We are thinking about renting for a while after selling our 2 BR TH, and the only money it MIGHT save is in repairs. Our monthly rent check will be the same as a mortgage payment. Plus we will no longer have the tax break on owning.

Good luck to you - you might wind up liking the burbs if that is where you settle.

You never know - you might get lucky. We got into a house we love in a neighborhood we adore for WAY less than our mortgage would cost us. We definitely got lucky, but it does happen. And yes the house is old and needs work, but that probably keeps our rent down, and ownership is responsive when things break so I'm OK with it. Plus it's not our dime, which I've been very, very grateful for lately. (Don't discount the costs of repairs! Seems most everyone I know has been hit with pretty significant repair costs shortly after moving.)

[Anonymous]

Well, maybe there is some hope for those of us who are just starting out...this process is SO stressful. It has to be stressful too for those of you that are already owners, looking to move on up, but good lord, getting in the door nowadays seems impossible unless you both make over 150k and have no student loans. We are probably going to be renters for a very long time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is where DC really shows how un-cityllike it really is. As soon as people in this town start having babies, they start looking for SFH's. In NYC, people live in 2 BR 1 BA apartments with kids all the time! And I don't mean with babies, I mean with older children, as well.

This!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:under 30 poster - I understand. We didn't want to be in a 1 BR condo when we were thinking about starting a family - we wanted either a 2+ BR condo or TH, and even in 2003, that put us in the outer suburbs. We looked in Gaithersburg and Germantown, actually - wound up in VA in much less space than our money would have gotten us in MD, but a new job in VA rather than DC made that decision for us.

The biggest frustration to me is that renting doesn't really save you money around here. We are thinking about renting for a while after selling our 2 BR TH, and the only money it MIGHT save is in repairs. [b]Our monthly rent check will be the same as a mortgage payment. Plus we will no longer have the tax break on owning.[/b]

Good luck to you - you might wind up liking the burbs if that is where you settle.

You never know - you might get lucky. We got into a house we love in a neighborhood we adore for WAY less than our mortgage would cost us. We definitely got lucky, but it does happen. And yes the house is old and needs work, but that probably keeps our rent down, and ownership is responsive when things break so I'm OK with it. Plus it's not our dime, which I've been very, very grateful for lately. (Don't discount the costs of repairs! Seems most everyone I know has been hit with pretty significant repair costs shortly after moving.)

Agree with PP that you might get lucky if you have some time to look. We have been renting a SFH in a close-in suburb with excellent schools. The rent is way, way lower than a mortgage if we were to buy the same home. If you can find a SFH that was bought by its owners a while back (meaning they either own it outright or bought it before prices skyrocketed) you might find that the rent is reasonable.

[Anonymous]

There are tons of homes in the 300k - 350k range in Silver Spring. I don't know why people can't find something that suits them. If you have to live in Potomac or Bethesda, then it may be a problem. But just lower your expectations and you will find a nice place to live.