can we please, please, retire the term "starter home"????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This isn't "insulting". What's insulting is you projecting onto others what should and shouldn't be the ideal long-term house just because you didn't buy a bigger house.

Huh? Seems like people who use the term "starter" in a listing are projecting onto buyers what their long term goals should be even if they're buying small right now.

If a 1000 square foot house in silver spring is your long term goal, you have serious self esteem issues.


Those of us without them will continue to aim high

I know, right? If only schoolteachers would show a little more self-esteem, maybe they could convince the kiddos to pony up and help them buy a bigger house! Maybe firefighters should have the confidence to negotiate more money from people while their houses are mid-burn. Aim high, after all!

Not everyone is trying to maximize their income, nor their square footage, and a lot of those people are doing the rest of us huge favors. Maybe we could be a little more sympathetic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Take this one, for example. Described as a starter home in the listing:

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Silver-Spring/632-Mississippi-Ave-20910/home/10953314

Maybe the listing agent wants to appeal to buyers who'd prefer some larger with more than one bathroom, but calling it a "starter" at $575,000 is insulting. I hate the idea that, even if it's a financial reach to spend that much, we should see at as a compromise relative to a house that costs even more.

but THAT is a starter home in the DC area. It's a sad statement, but it's reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This isn't "insulting". What's insulting is you projecting onto others what should and shouldn't be the ideal long-term house just because you didn't buy a bigger house.

Huh? Seems like people who use the term "starter" in a listing are projecting onto buyers what their long term goals should be even if they're buying small right now.

If a 1000 square foot house in silver spring is your long term goal, you have serious self esteem issues.


Those of us without them will continue to aim high

I know, right? If only schoolteachers would show a little more self-esteem, maybe they could convince the kiddos to pony up and help them buy a bigger house! Maybe firefighters should have the confidence to negotiate more money from people while their houses are mid-burn. Aim high, after all!

Not everyone is trying to maximize their income, nor their square footage, and a lot of those people are doing the rest of us huge favors. Maybe we could be a little more sympathetic?

You skipped the police and the nurses. Is there no one to think of the martyred middle class

Most of us here have careers to provide us with nice lifestyles, and the ones who don't make very much still want nice lifestyles

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This isn't "insulting". What's insulting is you projecting onto others what should and shouldn't be the ideal long-term house just because you didn't buy a bigger house.

Huh? Seems like people who use the term "starter" in a listing are projecting onto buyers what their long term goals should be even if they're buying small right now.

If a 1000 square foot house in silver spring is your long term goal, you have serious self esteem issues.


Those of us without them will continue to aim high

I know, right? If only schoolteachers would show a little more self-esteem, maybe they could convince the kiddos to pony up and help them buy a bigger house! Maybe firefighters should have the confidence to negotiate more money from people while their houses are mid-burn. Aim high, after all!

Not everyone is trying to maximize their income, nor their square footage, and a lot of those people are doing the rest of us huge favors. Maybe we could be a little more sympathetic?

You skipped the police and the nurses. Is there no one to think of the martyred middle class

Most of us here have careers to provide us with nice lifestyles, and the ones who don't make very much still want nice lifestyles

Man, non-rich people just can't get it right! Want a "nice lifestyle"? Too bad, you should have tried to make more money. Want a lifestyle that's actually financially viable for you? Your self esteem must be terrible and your standards are low!

[Anonymous]

I laughed when my realtor made a comment about a "starter home" I was buying that was around a half million. I laughed at him, and then gave him a very bad review. I found it so insulting. And bizarre since I was nearly 40 and single.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I laughed when my realtor made a comment about a "starter home" I was buying that was around a half million. I laughed at him, and then gave him a very bad review. I found it so insulting. And bizarre since I was nearly 40 and single.

He was being generous. I don't even want to think what 500k buys you here, or even 1 hour outside the beltway

[Anonymous]

I laughed when my realtor made a comment about a "starter home" I was buying that was around a half million. I laughed at him, and then gave him a very bad review. I found it so insulting. And bizarre since I was nearly 40 and single.

Single 40 year olds usually aren't buying small houses. They stay in condos or maybe a row house. I didn't get married and decide to have kids until I was late 30s. If I had stayed single into my 40s I would have never switched from a large condo to a SFH. Too much maintenance and hassle for just one person to deal with and without kids why on earth buy a SFH?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I laughed when my realtor made a comment about a "starter home" I was buying that was around a half million. I laughed at him, and then gave him a very bad review. I found it so insulting. And bizarre since I was nearly 40 and single.

Single 40 year olds usually aren't buying small houses. They stay in condos or maybe a row house. I didn't get married and decide to have kids until I was late 30s. If I had stayed single into my 40s I would have never switched from a large condo to a SFH. Too much maintenance and hassle for just one person to deal with and without kids why on earth buy a SFH?

Because I want it.

[Anonymous]

A condo or townhouse is a starter home in the DC area.

[Anonymous]

That house is cute, but, I don't see why it is offensive to call it a starter home, it's tiny! Someone pointed out that condos and townhouses are starter homes, well, those can also cost you the same as this house, so I don't really see where you draw the line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A condo or townhouse is a starter home in the DC area.

Not true. I know people who have been in their TH for more than 20 years with no plans of moving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I laughed when my realtor made a comment about a "starter home" I was buying that was around a half million. I laughed at him, and then gave him a very bad review. I found it so insulting. And bizarre since I was nearly 40 and single.

Nothing wrong with getting your first house at 40. Don’t blame the realtor for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A condo or townhouse is a starter home in the DC area.

Not true. I know people who have been in their TH for more than 20 years with no plans of moving.

And that’s fine but the reason most people consider them starter homes is that you can get them for 300-400k our in Germantown instead of spending 550-600k for a SFH. You build up equity and sell to move to a SFH. I know people that have rented their entire life, that doesn’t mean they should be upset if someone says many renters want to be home owners eventually...

[Anonymous]

Interesting observation, OP! I agree with you.

To me “starter home” has a connotation that you’ll be moving on to bigger and better things, and that the home is somehow lacking. It’s okay only if you are young and will eventually have more, is the implication.

“First-time homebuyer” is different. It means only that you haven’t bought before. It doesn’t say anything about the quality of the home or imply that you are expected to upgrade from it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting observation, OP! I agree with you.

To me “starter home” has a connotation that you’ll be moving on to bigger and better things, and that the home is somehow lacking. It’s okay only if you are young and will eventually have more, is the implication.

“First-time homebuyer” is different. It means only that you haven’t bought before. It doesn’t say anything about the quality of the home or imply that you are expected to upgrade from it.

Your "to me" is incorrect. A starter home is a first time homebuyer's home. It can be a smaller home or it can be their forever home, but there is no length to how long one must stay in their first home.