Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go east of the river.

Renovated townhouses can be had there in the low $300s. It's not the greatest area but it's also not nearly as bad as its reputation. It's also very conveniently located if you work downtown and is a short Uber from nightlife spots.

With trump presidency I would be VERY skeptical of Anacostia or PG gentrification. A lot of middle class Feds are losing their jobs and the city has lost its cool with Obama departure. Look at someplace like capital heights. Close in easy commute but terrible investment

Feds aren't moving to Anacostia. That's really a dumb comment. You do realize that people have jobs here other than the feds right? Lots of lawyers, doctors, contractors, lobbyists, political folks, nonprofits.

You clearly have not seen the development happening in Prince George's. You would be shocked at the government contracting and medical industry going there. You are very short sighted and clearly have not been here very long.

I am a little older than you, born in 83, but I sympathize. Let me tell you how I was able to eventually buy in a similar situation.

I have no support from parents and graduated with 60k in student loans. For about 5 yrs I had a job where I made 45k so after loan payments and rent, there wasn't much left. But there was some left because I didn't pay as much as I could afford for rent--I lived in a tiny studio and never ate take-out or at restaurants or take luxurious vacations so I could save. Then I got a job where I made about 70K, then I married and added about 60k more to HHI through DH. We didn't have a wedding by the way, mostly so we could save. We continued to live extremely frugally and aggressively paid off my loans (putting as much as we could toward paying down principle) in addition to putting some money away every month. I took a job with a student loan repayment option that, combined with my own payments, allowed me to pay off student loans entirely about around 10 yrs out from school in addition to having about 100k saved that we put toward a small, unrenovated and unremarkable home inside the beltway.

I admit it's pretty frustrating to have lived so frugally for so long in order to buy a home that's not at all impressive or wonderful, but it's not terrible either, and it offers a decent commute; I look as it as an investment and a first step.

Anonymous wrote:just wanted to say that it's ok to go in with less than 20%. You will pay PMi, but for me, it was about equivalent to rent (a little higher).

NASA FCU does no-PMI loans under 20%, and Wells Fargo will let you forego PMI for a slightly higher rate. Personally I'd just go with the PMI since it's deductible and even though the payments with PMI are slightly higher, it gets discharged in 10 years so long term it's cheaper.

I couldn't make it through the 10 pages of bickering, but just wanted to say that it's ok to go in with less than 20%. You will pay PMi, but for me, it was about equivalent to rent (a little higher). If you want to buy now, see if there's a way. If you don't, live your life and buy when you want to. We had about 7% down when we bought 7 years ago and I think we have about $200k equity now.

Born in 81. DH and I were both lucky and good savers.

Both graduated with no debt and had savings (full scholarships undergraduate and fellowship that paid for graduate). We worked summers during school so we could save up more money. Parents gifted us 30k total as wedding gift and we had a cheap wedding (2k total). We saved for two years after marriage and at almost 26, we saved for a 20% downpayment (115k) (combined income in 2006 was 150k). We lost 100k when we sold the town home so that we could move closer to work but by then we saved up 250k. We bought a 900k home when I was 29 in 2010 and we still live in it now. We have a 15 year mortgage and only owe 450k right now.

Born in 1980 here.

Our combo was privilege (50%), luck (30%), hard work (10%) willingness to buy a shitty house in a shitty neighborhood (10%)

Privilege - neither of us had student loans. Me, rich parents. Him, community college and state school and pell grants.

Work - We busted our asses for two years after college - we each worked a part time job on top of our regular jobs, total income still less than $75k (2002-2004). Saved up enough to put 5% down (luck) on an 'as is' $250k house in a terrible neighborhood (gunshots at night 1-2x/month)

We did 80-15-5 loan. Worked like crazy the next 5 years to pay off the 15% loan that would have ballooned otherwise. Meanwhile we each took turns getting a masters.

Now - two kids later, the neighborhood is turning (though not the school), and we owe $150k on a a house worth $400k (luck).

Anonymous wrote:If it hasn't already been said -- stop watching House Hunters and seeing what $150K can buy you in Dallas.

My actual advice is not to feel that buying is something you have to do right now. I kind of wish we hadn't been pressured (by parents and society) to buy before we really had a feel for things. We lost money on our first place but our second has appreciated nicely. There's just not judging when is the best time so don't even try. Back in '95 I had a coworker tell me to invest in S. Arlington and I don't think S. Arlington has had that moment even 22 years later. (S. Arlingtonians, feel free to prove me wrong.)

We bought in South Arlington in 2009 for low 500's, similar houses are selling for over $700,000 now. South Arlington has gone up but I don't think we've peaked. I had neighbors who bought a SFH in our neighborhood in early 2000's for around $250,000. They sold in 2015 for over $650,000. But then in 2016, we had a number of tear downs of similar houses with 1.2 million and up new houses replacing them, which we had not seen before. There are still a bunch of older homes in that $600,000 price range on lots that are large and flat enough for tear downs to be profitable for developers or even individuals looking to build custom. Who knows. Glad we got in, but I think there's still opportunity here.

Folks buying i Germantown and beyond be careful. Homes close in are appreciating at clip; I have friends who bought in manassas in 2009 which can't sell for ANY profit 8 years later. They may even take a loss and bring money to closing.

It's very tale of two cities. Make sure you buy in right city.

Millennial here. DH and I have a combined HHI of $130k. He's been in the military for 12 years, so we were able to use a VA loan. My dad also died and left me with our downpayment. Otherwise, we'd be looking to move to a much lower COL place (houses in my hometown go for ~$125k).

Born in 1975, bought first house in 2003. We didn't have undergrad loans but I was still in graduate school and DH had $100K in law school loans.

At the time, interest rates were 6.8%, so our $550K house on what was then the fringes of Capitol Hill had a higher monthly payment than it would now. Also, it was a shithole, needed a new roof, new brickwork, new windows, didn't have AC just window units, etc. We lived with the problems and fixed them one by one over 13 years. It was 10 years before we had AC. It was burglarized three times in the first few years. Now it's worth 1.4M.


So, 1990er, that's the recipe. Do what your predecessors did. By a fixer upper in a marginal neighborhood and do the work as you have the money. We didn't get to buy turn key homes in hip areas. We made our homes turn key and our neighborhoods hip.

If it hasn't already been said -- stop watching House Hunters and seeing what $150K can buy you in Dallas.

My actual advice is not to feel that buying is something you have to do right now. I kind of wish we hadn't been pressured (by parents and society) to buy before we really had a feel for things. We lost money on our first place but our second has appreciated nicely. There's just not judging when is the best time so don't even try. Back in '95 I had a coworker tell me to invest in S. Arlington and I don't think S. Arlington has had that moment even 22 years later. (S. Arlingtonians, feel free to prove me wrong.)

Born in 88. Went to a top law school, married a classmate, and we both got biglaw jobs. We lived extremely frugally for 3 yrs to pay off our student loans and save for a downpayment. Both of us cashed out stocks we had as well. Managed to buy a house in Columbia Heights for 750K, which increased in value by nearly 100k in 2 yrs.

I was born in 1990, and bought my "starter home" townhouse in MoCo 3 months ago for ~$250k. This post is not to pat myself on the back, but to try to provide encouragement from a different perspective that it is possible .

- I had no parental financial support whatsoever. In fact, I'm a 1st gen American from a low-SES background whose parents have been struggling financially my entire life. I help them and my siblings out when I can.
- I still have around $40k in student loan debt from undergrad and my Master's that I'm trying to diligently pay off.
- I'm single, so no advantages of a dual income. My salary is just under $80k. I was not able to save much until I received my last two promotions (and didn't have the advantage of living at home after college since my parents live out of state). I did have roommates though.
- I compromised on location, and live a bit further out (Gaithersburg/Germantown). I have to make more of an effort to have a social life now, but I'm managing all right.
- I went through the DC NACA program, which I actually found out about through DCUM when I was looking up first-time homebuyer programs (although it's not just for first-time homebuyers). NACA's no downpayment, no closing costs, no PMI, and below-market interest rate loan helped TREMENDOUSLY. I had some savings, but would have otherwise done FHA or a 5% down Credit Union mortgage. And no, the program isn't just for "low-income minorities." The requirements were annoying, but worth it. I was able to buy down the interest rate to ~2% with the seller's contribution and the savings I didn't have to spend on a down payment, and my PITI and HOA fee are just below $1300. I'm very, very grateful.
- My friends in my age range who have bought houses have also gone through first-time homebuyer programs. They're out there!

I won't pretend to be an expert on real estate, but the latter has been my experience. I also agree with PP's suggestions to watch the market closely and not rush until you feel ready. Save slowly and steadily and the time will come.

This forum topic is so relatable. Even though I am young (born in '94), I was fortunate enough to have enough in scholarships where I only took out $7k in student loans. My bf has $30k plus. Neither one of us has any parent support (between junkie parents and low income parents) but we're pushing through. We're both recent grads but make up towards $90k between the two of us after taxes. I have never been the to want to travel or do anything extravagant except own a home - it's always been my dream more than a wedding, or really anything else. It is a hard goal that we're working towards currently but it is comforting knowing we're not alone in the struggle.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buy a house in north college park. The houses are cheap now but they will be going up because the area is on the metro and is undergoing redevelopment . It's convenient to everything and the purple line will be going in soon. You can get a house for 250k now .

Hello!
Opportunities are always available .

The price and location will be a high percentage of appreciation here and cheap to get in now.