Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think 2x income is overly conservative here. FWIW I have an HHI of $125k (also expected to go up, but not too dramatically), have been renting a couple years, and am now looking to buy in the $275-400k range in MD. (We are savers and have over 20% down but want to be cautious about monthly payments at our income level.) 2x income is just...not a thing at $125k here. I am interested to hear people say money will go further in a year or two, do you really think prices will fall more than appreciation and interest rates will rise?

OP have you considered Frederick County if you work in Rockville? You can get more for your $ there.

OP here. We've looked at homes in southern Frederick County and couldn't be happier. The Urbana area has some beautiful townhomes that would fit the top-end of our budget. Also, they have stellar schools.

Though I'm curious to find out where most folks like us live ($175k-$185k HHI), and if their in so-so areas, desirable or undesirable communities. Urbana is at the top of our list choice wise.

The commute from Frederick to Rockville is a major waste of time unless you love sitting in traffic. Or if you have extensive telework options. Parts of Silver Spring, Rockville and Kensington should fit your budget.

As others have said, don’t buy before your GF has a job lined up and her income is definite.

That said, we bought a 375K house on a salary that was roughly 150K, only 5% down so roughly a 358K mortgage. We currently earn about 190K. We were told that each 100K that you borrow amounts to about $660 in payments (give or take - varies based on specific interest rate, local taxes, etc - but a reasonable rule of thumb). On our current salary, we could comfortably afford to spend another $1300 on our mortgage had we borrowed 200K more than we did. Buuuut, you really have to consider your big picture finances. Although we do have student loans and are paying $1100/month on them, we don’t pay for daycare, have a car note, or carry any consumer debt. Basically, we haven’t pre-committed/pre-spent significant chunks of our income every month, which is what would have enabled us to spend more on a house. If you have any of those types of set expenses/debt, you’ve already decided how to spend your money, and I wouldn’t recommend stretching to buy a 500k+ home.

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the above poster. Hold off on buying for now and rent. Your money will go a lot further one year from now.

Not if interest rates go up. OP is a low cash buyer. Horrible position to be in with rising rates.

Also, I bought my first home in the DC area at age 22 with my college boyfriend. The house was in Vienna Woods, SFH, interest rate 7.25%, 3% down, on a 130k combined income. We sold that house for 650k. We are now 41 years old and have a PITI of 2,400/mo on a home worth 1.2M. All this due to combining resources early and taking a risk. It is pretty amazing, now 19 year later to be sitting on 900k in equity, high income and low housing costs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, Urbana in Frederick County is a very nice place to live. Schools are top-notch. A PP mentioned traffic nightmare on 270. That's true but because you would commute to Rockville, it would be 30min on average and that's not bad. My sister lives in Urbana and commutes to Gaithersburg/Shady Grove every morning.
If you want to be a little bit closer, you should consider looking in Clarksburg as well.

We live in a $650k home on a $170k income. We are very comfortable with it. We stretched to buy a house in a neighborhood that we really love.
We are risk takers and have been rewarded more often than not. But I wouldn't necessarily recommend you do the same.

Not OP but how much of a down payment did you make? What was the original amount of your mortgage?

20% down. Mortgage is $520k.

550k

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, Urbana in Frederick County is a very nice place to live. Schools are top-notch. A PP mentioned traffic nightmare on 270. That's true but because you would commute to Rockville, it would be 30min on average and that's not bad. My sister lives in Urbana and commutes to Gaithersburg/Shady Grove every morning.
If you want to be a little bit closer, you should consider looking in Clarksburg as well.

We live in a $650k home on a $170k income. We are very comfortable with it. We stretched to buy a house in a neighborhood that we really love.
We are risk takers and have been rewarded more often than not. But I wouldn't necessarily recommend you do the same.

Not OP but how much of a down payment did you make? What was the original amount of your mortgage?

Incorrect--it would be an hour each way. Please don't buy. Rent for at least a year.

Do. Not. Buy.

wait... you are hoping GF can find a job that pays as well? You should not be buying anything now. If she is moving with you, why is she a girlfriend and not a wife yet? I would never, ever, never move for a guy who didn't put a ring on it. If I were you I would count on her coming here, seeing how stressful life is and ditching you asap.

In the past I would have recommended a town-home in Clarksburg, but not if you are staying there for kids' HS. Town home in Olney?!

Please do not buy until your GF has a job and one that she will stay in for awhile. You do not know where her job will be and that will greatly affect where you buy.

Anonymous wrote:OP, Urbana in Frederick County is a very nice place to live. Schools are top-notch. A PP mentioned traffic nightmare on 270. That's true but because you would commute to Rockville, it would be 30min on average and that's not bad. My sister lives in Urbana and commutes to Gaithersburg/Shady Grove every morning.
If you want to be a little bit closer, you should consider looking in Clarksburg as well.

We live in a $650k home on a $170k income. We are very comfortable with it. We stretched to buy a house in a neighborhood that we really love.
We are risk takers and have been rewarded more often than not. But I wouldn't necessarily recommend you do the same.

Not OP but how much of a down payment did you make? What was the original amount of your mortgage?

OP, Urbana in Frederick County is a very nice place to live. Schools are top-notch. A PP mentioned traffic nightmare on 270. That's true but because you would commute to Rockville, it would be 30min on average and that's not bad. My sister lives in Urbana and commutes to Gaithersburg/Shady Grove every morning.
If you want to be a little bit closer, you should consider looking in Clarksburg as well.

We live in a $650k home on a $170k income. We are very comfortable with it. We stretched to buy a house in a neighborhood that we really love.
We are risk takers and have been rewarded more often than not. But I wouldn't necessarily recommend you do the same.

Anonymous wrote:So you make 125k (pp) and you are targeting homes around $350k. You are putting diwn 20% (about 70k)....so your mortgage on a 350k house would be 350-70 =280k. And 280k just happens to be between 2 and 2.5 times your income. SURPRISE! That's what I suggested tO OP....THE MORTGAGE should be 2 to 2.5 times income....not the purchase price.

Gotcha, my mistake. New at this.

Anonymous wrote:Rent. Save. Wait for the recession. Get married. Then buy a home where your mortgage is not mire than 2 to 2.5 times your income.

+100. Take it from someone who made this mistake, don’t buy until you’re married. Also, you don’t know this area at all. Rent until you find which neighborhood you like best. Crazy to buy in a place you dont know.

Do not buy a house in Frederick County or even way upper Montgomery county if you’re working in Rockville. The drive down 270 daily will be in living nightmare. I would stick to looking in Rockville, Silver Spring, Kensington and possibly Olney.