Starter home with newborn (DC)

[Anonymous]

We were looking at 2BR condos when we originally bought, and for the same price, ended up deciding to go with a 3BR rowhouse (about 1,400 SF) further east than our desired area. Eight years later, we are still really comfortable in the rowhouse with two kids, they're in a terrific charter school, and I can see us living here through elementary school (5 more years) if not longer. I'm so glad we have the extra space.

I think you should plan to buy with a 7-year timeframe in mind - it's up to you whether you think you can make a condo work for that long. If you don't think you can, I'd spend the next couple years saving aggressively to buy a larger place where you'll be happy for the longer term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:McClean Gardens is the answer.

Agree with this. i think these condos are underpriced for what you get. nice neighborhood with a bunch of new retail, nice parks, pool, in bounds for Eaton I think.

OP we are still in our starter home more than 10 years later with 2 kids. we thought we'd move after 5 years, but it's not that simple once you own a place and have small kids. I'd recommend a 2 bedroom condo in McLean Gardens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Begging and pleading: please stop the "I bought my condo and made a million bucks" posts. The person who posted it is either dimwitted or a troll.

I didn't make a million. Never said I did. But did I buy for 380K in 2008 and sell in one day on market in 2012 for 420K? Yes, yes I did. Speedy that offends you.

NP here. Your rate of appreciation was less than 3% a year. That's middling to normal. However, the appreciation rate for rowhouses and SFHs in much of DC and close-in burbs (desirable parts, that is) has been astronomical over the past few years. So not sure why you keep bragging about your lackluster condo sale?

Wasn't lackluster to me. It helped with my down payment significantly. I'm very much enjoying reading your bitter words from my 3-story SFH.

Sorry to disappoint but I'm hardly bitter - I bought my first home in DC for $750k and sold it for 3.5%/year appreciation 5 years later. Didn't pay any condo fees in the interim either because it was a rowhouse. I could have gotten higher rate of appreciation in a different neighborhood but I wanted to live where I wanted to live even if it meant just normal appreciation. Now live in a much more expensive SFH that is our forever home. I was only pointing out that your crowing is weird considering that your rate of return was really not that impressive. I had a better return than you but mine isn't remarkable either. I knew that going in tho - some of my friends chose to buy in Petworth, Brookland, etc because they wanted a steeper upside on their investment. They made a much higher rate of return when they sold than I did. I had a bit more financial cushion tho and knew I didn't have to rely on massive appreciation to buy the next house so I chose to live in a fully-gentrified area that I loved and felt safe in. That was a luxury that I paid for in terms of foregoing greater returns (tho on the flip side, it would have weathered another real estate dip better than other areas).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Begging and pleading: please stop the "I bought my condo and made a million bucks" posts. The person who posted it is either dimwitted or a troll.

I don't know. I bought a tiny 2 bedroom condo in an old building in a good school district 2010 and sold in 2014 for just 8,000 more. It sucked (we maybe broke even after agent fees IF you include taxes). In the meantime, everything else in the city increased by 20% a year (not every year, but we saw at least two years of that) and we were completely priced out of any 3 bedroom in Wilson.

NE now, looking at private for hs unless more options come online.

Condos are for suckers.

Condos in old buildings with high fees and often limitations on pets, noise (because everyone who lives there is old), deferred maintenance, and renting them out are for suckers--especially if the total amount a buyer would have to pay to live there is similar to what they'd pay to live in a house--Glover Park is a decent example of this. Condos in neighborhoods that become more popular and don't have much if any fee-simple housing can be a great deal. My condo, where fees have gone up $1 a month at most for the past few years and has a good reserve, has appreciated about 20% in the past three years, and it would be easy to rent it out for more than we spend on mortgage, fees, taxes, and insurance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a newborn and are looking for a starter home/condo ($500k-ish) in a close-in 'hood. My question is, since we're looking at roughly 800 sq ft, is it even worth worrying about the school at this point, especially since DCPS doesn't guarantee neighborhood pre-k? If we're planning to move in 5 or so years for more space (but really want to stay in DC and use a walkable public school), we'll have to play the lotter and commute in any neighborhood until kindergarten anyway, right? Or do I not have a good understanding of the system?

We are at Thomson ES and are happy with the school. There are a lot of nice condo/apt buildings in this school district. We just recently traded up in ours. We travel too much to have a house and prefer to live downtown. I think if you are happy than the kids will be happy -- no matter how many sq. ft. In-boundary students pretty much always get a spot for pre-k. I doubt this will change in the future.

[Anonymous]

Wtf does traveling have to do with having a house? We travel all the time and have multiple houses. Coping mechanism?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Condos are always bad investments.

Oh really? I bought in 2008 for $380K and sold in one day on market in 2012 for $420K.

Not too "bad," eh?

I bought in 2000 for $130K and sold in 2004 for $375K . . . terrible investment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wtf does traveling have to do with having a house? We travel all the time and have multiple houses. Coping mechanism?

People who cannot afford multiple houses might save money by having an apartment, or want to avoid lawncare, etc. But you may be so wealthy that you can't imagine how people could live like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think your assumption is correct. However you are gambling on your capability to buy a better house in a better neighborhood in 5 years. I don't think that's a good idea. I think it would be better to worry about the neighborhood at this point, and pick a place you can live for a long time.

Unless you know your financial situation will improve pretty significantly in the next five years, I think this is good advice. Transaction costs are a big deal.

+1 When we bought our started condo we were trying but pregnant yet, school seemed a million years away. Eight years later we have a first grader. Lucky for us we got into a good charter otherwise we would be SOL. Condo's don't increase value like SFHs do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a newborn and are looking for a starter home/condo ($500k-ish) in a close-in 'hood. My question is, since we're looking at roughly 800 sq ft, is it even worth worrying about the school at this point, especially since DCPS doesn't guarantee neighborhood pre-k? If we're planning to move in 5 or so years for more space (but really want to stay in DC and use a walkable public school), we'll have to play the lotter and commute in any neighborhood until kindergarten anyway, right? Or do I not have a good understanding of the system?

3-4 year window is somewhat narrow for a home purchase unless it's turn-key (ie no big projects or maintenance needs) and cheaper than renting. Is this going to be your only child? What's your tolerance for transitional vs. established neighborhood? Condo is a good starter option, but keep in mind that many areas zoned for top performing schools are more weighted towards single family homes, and the condo market is weighted towards studios and 1 BR. You can find 2 BR condos in good school zones but that's not the norm and you're not likely to find many other families in such buildings unless it's a townhome development as opposed to apartment. In top school zones $500K may be low for what's available. Use a tool like Estately.com to search by school zone and property type (not all zones are included, but many are).

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind that PK3/4 is not guaranteed for some of the neighborhoods you mentioned looking in, OP. Bancroft in Mt. Pleasant--we know multiple in-bounds families who did not lottery in this year. Oyster (for Woodley Park/AdMo) - forget it until kindergarten. Only in-bounds with siblings get into PK4, and there's a wait list at that. Capitol Hill--Brent, Maury - wait list for in-bounds families for PK3.

[Anonymous]

Look in Glover Park. Close in, you can get a decent 2BR for $500K, and you are in the Stoddert-Hardy-Wilson boundary.

[Anonymous]

PETWORTH

[Anonymous]

Yes, there are people who make money money when selling their condo but many don't. Condos simply don't appreciate as fast as a sfh or rowhouse and they are the first to depreciate in a downturn. Only buy a condo if it is your only way to own something. Also consider the condo fees. By the time you add the condo fees to the mortgage you may not have to pay much more to buy a sfh or rowhouse.

[Anonymous]

Begging and pleading: please stop the "I bought my condo and made a million bucks" posts. The person who posted it is either dimwitted or a troll.


I didn't make a million. Never said I did. But did I buy for 380K in 2008 and sell in one day on market in 2012 for 420K? Yes, yes I did. Speedy that offends you.

Okay, so you made, on paper, 40k in 4 years. Minus, let's say, 6.25% transaction costs (buyers/sellers agent at 2.5% each plus 1.25 transfer tax--whchi it is in DC)--not even including closing costs on loan--, bringing you to about 394k. that's 14k 'profit' in 4 years. Subtract closing costs--did you really make money? how did the cost of ownership--mortgage plus repairs minus tax break--compare to renting? what could you have made if you had invested the downpayment and rented?

I'm glad you think you made a great deal, but its important for the OP to realize that 5 years goes fast, condos aren't always good investments and what you think you need when you have a newborn is very different than what you need with a family with slightly older kids. If OP has money to invest in a downpayment, might make sense to wait and rent, or buy in a better school district/more space. Buying/selling in 5 years costs a lot of money!