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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Ignore current pandemic, this is far enough away to not need to consider.

We have a big down payment of $640k, which is all of our cash on hand.  Healthy TSPs of about $800k.

We are both SES so make around $400k HHI

It seems like we could afford a $1.65M house, using that big down payment to bring down our monthly payment.  Taxes would be a bit high but we are looking in Arlington so taxes are relatively low anyways.

I am floored to even think about spending this much, but to keep our constraints of commute and school we end up looking at $1.25M homes that need a bunch of renovation (new kitchen and bath, who knows what else, easily $250k or more on a 80 year old house) or just getting a newer home at $1.65M and not having to do any renovation.

Am I missing something?  I hate spending this much, but we have lived with our kids in an apartment for all these years to save up this down payment and finally with pandemic we need to get a SFH but not kill ourselves with a commute (we won’t be teleworking 100% in our roles, guaranteed).[/quote]

I think you've made a lot of bad decisions, honestly. You lived in an apartment for years to save up a massive down payment that is completely unnecessary. You should have bought a property many years ago.

It is financially irresponsible to put all of your cash on hand into a home as a down-payment. There is no advantage to reducing your liquidity like that. I'd stay on the low end max $1.5 given your financial history.[/quote]

Stocking away $600k cash and $800k retirement is making bad decisions?

Maybe their $600k was a recent cash-out from trade accts.

Good Job OP for having the discipline to save so much.  Good luck with your house search.

[b]Also, I'm floooooored that having this kind of budget doesn't get you everything you want in Arlington. I've been away from NoVA for too long....[/quote][/b]

I think it does. OP must have very high tastes.[/quote]

We are aiming to stay east of Glebe Rd (for school zoning and commute), need 4 bedrooms up stairs for 3 kids, want a decent kitchen because we cook as a family all the time and would love to not be bumping into each other nonstop, and a decent yard.  And not a busy road.  We have looked for over a year, and there is a doughnut hole in pricing, lots of older homes needing new kitchens and baths for $1.2-$1.3 and then nothing until $1.5M (which is a new home without a yard that PP referred to) and then $1.6M for a package of a decent home (and by decent I don't need new, I'm happy with 10 years old which is still very new but won't need updates).  Our current rental is from the 90s, and all the cabinets are literally falling apart, the bathroom floors have layers and layers of grout an cracked tiles.  I know an older home will need updates.

For the older homes I'm budgeting $200k because we will want to put laundry upstairs, redo the 50s bathrooms, and probably need to reconfigure and expand the kitchen (either in addition or into existing space in the house).  And I'm sure there will be $20k of random work like old water heater and roof and what not from deferred maintenance.

If you can point me to recent sales or a current house that meets these goals for $1.2M.  But its not like we are looking for Corinthian leather or something.[/quote]

OP, I hear you. We live in Arlington and I think there’s a definite gap in the market between 1.2 and 1.6 mill. There have been a few houses popping up recently, but most of them are west of Glebe. You are more likely to find what you’re looking for if you expand your search to the Lee Hwy/Washington Blvd corridor west of Glebe. It might benefit you as well, bc Key/Science Focus/Taylor communities are going to go through a lot of changes in the next few years. Honestly, I think you’re going to have to bump your budget to $1.5. There was a house off of George
Mason a few weeks ago, 5 bedrooms upstairs, good size yard. I don’t know how much it Went under contract for, but there were a LOT of people looking, so I assume above asking (I think it was 1.39). Also, if you expand your search zone you can get a new build by a better builder - I personally wouldn’t buy a evergreen/bin/beacon crest home. I would look for Spring Street/MR Dev/Cherry Hill[/quote]

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