Anonymous wrote:OP here. We refuse to be house poor. We want to keep monthly payment affordable. With property taxes, increased interest rates, upkeep, it is just a lot of $$. And we don't want to sink $$ into a home to lose it if there is an adjustment in the market.

"We refuse to be house poor, and we refuse to look elsewhere than NW DC, Bethesda and Chevy Chase! Waaah!"

Stomps foot and storms off to soothe feelings with yet another highly caloric Bubble Tea, because OP is trying to lose weight with liquid diet.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We refuse to be house poor. We want to keep monthly payment affordable. With property taxes, increased interest rates, upkeep, it is just a lot of $$. And we don't want to sink $$ into a home to lose it if there is an adjustment in the market.

Stay where you are at. You can easily get a $800K house.

First listing I came across

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7620-Wiley-Dr-Lorton-VA-22079/51993700_zpid/

Half acre is ridiculous.

We bought a $1.5M house (20% down) on ~$350k income last year. Based on our mortgage payment, we do not consider ourselves house poor.

Granted rates are higher now, but you can still afford plenty of house -- almost anywhere in this area -- and not be house poor.

This is absolute BS. You can find plenty of homes "you can afford" with that HHI, equity, and credit scores.

$350K HHI you should be able to afford $1M home. Give me a large break.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What size house do you need?

3br, 2ba. Relatively newer build. minimum half acre

The half an acre is a ridiculous ask for close-in.

Anonymous wrote:What size house do you need?

3br, 2ba. Relatively newer build. minimum half acre

I’m going to need you to define “anything” and “this area” because pretty sure you CAN afford something in the greater DC area. Just not the specific type of house you were hoping for in the most expensive neighborhoods.

OP here. We refuse to be house poor. We want to keep monthly payment affordable. With property taxes, increased interest rates, upkeep, it is just a lot of $$. And we don't want to sink $$ into a home to lose it if there is an adjustment in the market.

?

We saved for years, then bought a house in Bethesda in 2010 on an 80K HHI. If you adjust for inflation and your income level, you'll see you can afford plenty of houses.

It's just that you don't like any of them

Atlanta, Birningham, Tuscaloosa—lovely places. Really.

What are you rambling about. You make plenty. You can buy a million dollar house. It may not be the house you want but if you cannot afford a house with $300 equity something is off. Please, move to Alabama.

What size house do you need?

We have 300+ in equity and credit scores in 800+. Also make ~$350+ and we cannot afford anything in this area. It sucks. We feel we need to move to lower COL area to live comfortably.

Thinking about moving to Georgia or Alabama for affordability.

Any suggestions?