You find the school that you think will work for your kids(if you have kids). You lower your expectations. You look at new constructions 45 minutes away from your dream location. You compromise. The only thing I wouldn't compromise on, was living next to power lines. Never.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’re renting and waiting for a market crash. And if that doesn’t happen before a job opportunity in a cheaper city, we’ll move. We’re too old and we work too hard to play this real estate game where we have to live in -and pay interest on - an expensive shitbox.

I’m the OP and feel that way too. Every house I see is just so horrible.

Yes, and given the renovations I see on most of the listings, I can’t get excited about finding a contractor and designer to work with for the eventual continuing expense of making one less horrible. DC jobs just don’t really compensate for the COL, unfortunately.

Anonymous wrote:We’re renting and waiting for a market crash. And if that doesn’t happen before a job opportunity in a cheaper city, we’ll move. We’re too old and we work too hard to play this real estate game where we have to live in -and pay interest on - an expensive shitbox.

I’m the OP and feel that way too. Every house I see is just so horrible.

Anonymous wrote:We’re renting and waiting for a market crash. And if that doesn’t happen before a job opportunity in a cheaper city, we’ll move. We’re too old and we work too hard to play this real estate game where we have to live in -and pay interest on - an expensive shitbox.

Likewise. We shopped hard this spring, then paused when a potential job opportunity came up in Frederick - didn't work out, but I was SO excited about the idea that I realized maybe it's not a great time to lock ourselves down here. Especially if it's harder to sell, we would not be as able to follow opportunities in the next few years.

What about a townhouse? In my price range there were disgusting 50s homes with mold issues or nice townhouses

I prioritized location. Chose a place that had a functional, boring rehab over the places that had horrible garish rehabs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’re renting and waiting for a market crash. And if that doesn’t happen before a job opportunity in a cheaper city, we’ll move. We’re too old and we work too hard to play this real estate game where we have to live in -and pay interest on - an expensive shitbox.

You're going to end up moving. Better find a city you can live with. I hear Dallas and Charlotte are nice. Maybe Syracuse?

Chicago is dirt cheap compared to DC. Nothing wrong with Charlotte. DC is a great city but it’s not the end all be all of cities.

Fixer, and slowly fix up. Or, get a better job.

Anonymous wrote:We’re renting and waiting for a market crash. And if that doesn’t happen before a job opportunity in a cheaper city, we’ll move. We’re too old and we work too hard to play this real estate game where we have to live in -and pay interest on - an expensive shitbox.

You're going to end up moving. Better find a city you can live with. I hear Dallas and Charlotte are nice. Maybe Syracuse?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What did you do? Do you just settle at his point? Home prices aren’t going to get cheaper anytime soon.

Buy a fixer upper $100-150k below what I can afford and then make it the way I want.

This is what we did.

You borrow more duh, expect to pay 10-15% above Budget

We’re renting and waiting for a market crash. And if that doesn’t happen before a job opportunity in a cheaper city, we’ll move. We’re too old and we work too hard to play this real estate game where we have to live in -and pay interest on - an expensive shitbox.

Anonymous wrote:What did you do? Do you just settle at his point? Home prices aren’t going to get cheaper anytime soon.

Buy a fixer upper $100-150k below what I can afford and then make it the way I want.

I made a must have list and compromised on other points.

I got the best location and a brand-new build. But my place is tiny.

Every day I wake up happy with the decision I made. You have to figure out what you CAN'T live without and what you are willing to live with until you can't.

What did you do? Do you just settle at his point? Home prices aren’t going to get cheaper anytime soon.