Anonymous
Post 11/23/2020 13:34     Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:I have lived in Arlington for 15 years, mostly as a renter. I bought a condo a couple of years ago because that’s what I can afford and I wanted to stay in Arlington for the commute and because my kids are in school here. I’m in my mid 40s. I’m a single mom. Income of $170k. Even if I sell this condo in a few years and break even or make a small profit and am able to roll that money into a down payment on a larger home, I will never be able to afford the monthly payment on a larger home because my income isn’t going up. I’m maxed out as a GS15. So my choices are live in a condo forever, change jobs, or move further out, right? There is no property ladder for me.


Yes, live in condo forever, change jobs to afford Arlington house, or move further out. You've maxed out your options in Arlington. You can move out, but your kids will have to change schools. These are the choices you'll have to make. That's life in this area.
Anonymous
Post 11/23/2020 12:07     Subject: Re:I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
so----
you picked a job with a low salary ceiling
you chose to have a baby
you chose to have a baby with a so-so husband or boyfriend
you chose to not stick with said baby daddy
you are choosing to target one of the most expensive areas in the metro


You need to make better decisions or accept your reality because it is all due to you or lack of there
Anonymous
Post 11/23/2020 11:48     Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:
Let’s say we can add 20% more housing. It will still not meet demand. And therefore we will still have high prices.

Supply, demand.


The jobs need to be more spread out then, both at the national and regional level. Move more federal jobs to Fairfax, Gaithersburg, Frederick, and Fort Meade. The schools in Gambrills, Odenton, Crofton, Arnold, Severna Park, Davidsonville, Edgewater, Urbana, and almost all of Howard County are much more desirable than the vast majority of schools in Arlington as well. There’s lots of amenities in this region besides DC: Frederick, Annapolis, Baltimore, and Columbia. Some of these places are near MARCs and the metro as well, so if one spouse works in one place and the other works in DC, they’d still have easy access to it.
Anonymous
Post 11/23/2020 11:23     Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This thread has hit the wall. OP has many options but chooses not to take them. There isn't much point in further discussion.


Agent here. I had a perfectly good single family home open today that OP could easily afford. It is in a good school pyramid and walkable. The woman who submitted the first offer on it is a government lawyer with two adopted kids that look like they are maybe 6 and 10. She has a condo that she sold and has been renting back while she nails down a house.

Our deadline is tomorrow and she will likely get it. So it can be done. Rather than spinning her tale of woe on DCUM, this woman affirmatively did what was needed.

Her children will have to share a bedroom but I doubt OP would consider such a radical idea!


Right. She can't have EXACTLY what she wants EXACTLY where she wants it with EXACTLY the commute she wants. Whatever man. When I bought my house I had big dreams too! But then I realized I couldn't afford a four-story rowhouse in Dupont Circle. So I bought where I could afford and made it work. This is not a "poor people can't afford housing" story or a "the middle class is being shafted!" story, though those things may be true, this is a Wahhhhh! I can't have what I want story. I don't have sympathy for that.


I bet she wouldn't want to buy a fixer either since she is a single mom whose time is more important than anyone else's.

We bought a fixer in Bethesda in 2005 and it's appreciated so much since then. Best financial decision we've ever made.
Anonymous
Post 11/23/2020 11:21     Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:I love this person speaking like in global cities the average commute is just 20 minutes and everyone is singing a tune on the Metro while they jaunt to work.

Last I checked, the average commute time in the global city Paris was something like an 65 minutes, London 60 mins... basically the same as DC. Although at least in Paris they have completely banished poor people to the far hellish suburbs.

When I lived in SouthEast Asia, my commute sometimes was THREE HOURS! Yes, that is real.


+ 1

That poster has no clue what they are talking about. OP wouldn't even have her small condo in any of those cities.
Anonymous
Post 11/23/2020 11:18     Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:And I will never be able to afford a Lamborghini and make do with my 12 year old Honda that is running just fine. I will also never be able to afford to go on a safari in Africa, so, we visit the National Zoo and make due with a week at the beach.

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime you find
You get what you need


This is OP. I hear this point. I hear that posters are saying I sound entitled. And you’re right. I suppose I
AM feeling entitled. I think a successful lawyer who has been practicing for 20 years should be able to afford a small SFH in the DC with a commute of 45 minutes or less door to door and good schools.


You are a maxed out government lawyer. You are not a successful lawyer.


So, this is not a criticism, but that is exactly what I was thinking, LOL. I am also a government worker so I think I can say that.


This is OP. To the extent that your point is that I can change jobs to make more money, that’s true. I have an Ivy League law school degree and 20 years of prestigious jobs. But I stand by my point that one should be able to choose government service and still be able to afford a SFH with a commute of less than 45 minutes and good schools without family money and without a spouse. I am a government lawyer because I believe in what I do.


Ah no.

You chose the gov’t job and knew the salary limitations going into that. You can’t complain about that later. As are the other choices you made to get to this point.

And housing costs are supply/demand. A whole lot of people want exactly what you want and there are limited options.

Stop whining and take responsibility for your situation. You have options if you want to change it and none of the options are perfect. That’s life.

TL;DR: you can’t have it all.


100%

This is insanity. I'm becoming convinced that OP is a troll because no one is this dumb.
Anonymous
Post 11/23/2020 11:15     Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
11:14 again. Household income when we sold, about $220K. Virtually no equity out of townhouse because we bought in '05.
Anonymous
Post 11/23/2020 11:14     Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
OMG, OP, cry me a river. I sold my 2 br, 2ba townhouse in Fairlington a few years ago for about $410K -- great neighborhood, great neighbors, good schools. Decent commute on 395 or express bus to pentagon. Get over yourself. Those same townhouses are now going in the mid $500s, but if you want a supportive neighborhood in Arlington, there you go. Turned around and bought a slightly larger 3 br 2 ba shitshack in N Arlington with 1950s stylings -- you do what you have to do.
Anonymous
Post 11/23/2020 10:51     Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What about this one? It's pretty much the same price as condos and a 10-minute walk to Ballston metro:
https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/835-N-Buchanan-St-22203/home/11246781


This is OP. I can’t afford this house. I am just priced out. I would be very open to moving, but but it gets harder and harder to move after you have kids in school and of my friends and their friends and my support network are here.


You do what the rest of us do when in this predicament--move farther out or try to get a job making more money. I'd love to live in a mansion with a dozen luxury cars and a megayacht. But that ain't reality.
Anonymous
Post 11/23/2020 10:01     Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
p.s. The market dictates pricing, not the shitshack owners.


The shitshack owners are the ones being NIMBYs and protesting against workforce housing, and even enough non-workforce housing from being built because they are playing the supply vs demand game. The thing is, it’s gotten to a very unhealthy point where the supply is significantly lower than the demand. If a woman as wealthy as OP, who makes 50% above the region median can only afford a condo in an average school district, that means the 50% below her can’t even afford that. If you keep pushing the working-class further and further away, who do you expect to support your privileged lifestyles? Do DCUMers seriously think working-class people will come to Arlington and Bethesda from Upper Marlboro to work a minimum wage job, when there’s plenty of those jobs where they live? Discovery, Inc helped revitalize Silver Spring from white-flight, but now that the “appreciate my house above what is reasonable” gentrification crowd have ruined it and the surrounding desirable areas, they fled SS for Tennessee. Other tech firms have been leaving for Frederick as well. You have to consider that a significant portion of white-collar jobs in DC are NOT federal jobs, there’s also a significant amount of white-collar corporate jobs, and they’re starting to leave even though we’re not at the point of San Francisco yet. That is a bad sign.


Only afford a condo? No. She can afford a townhouse or a small SFH. But the neighborhood may not impress her friends.

There are still condos under $200K in Arlington County, despite all the hype.

What neighborhoods though? I make twice as much money as OP and when I was looking two years ago there were very few SFH or townhouses under $800k and I lost all of the ones I bid on to people with 50% cash or who were willing to waive all contingencies.
Anonymous
Post 11/23/2020 09:38     Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
p.s. The market dictates pricing, not the shitshack owners.


The shitshack owners are the ones being NIMBYs and protesting against workforce housing, and even enough non-workforce housing from being built because they are playing the supply vs demand game. The thing is, it’s gotten to a very unhealthy point where the supply is significantly lower than the demand. If a woman as wealthy as OP, who makes 50% above the region median can only afford a condo in an average school district, that means the 50% below her can’t even afford that. If you keep pushing the working-class further and further away, who do you expect to support your privileged lifestyles? Do DCUMers seriously think working-class people will come to Arlington and Bethesda from Upper Marlboro to work a minimum wage job, when there’s plenty of those jobs where they live? Discovery, Inc helped revitalize Silver Spring from white-flight, but now that the “appreciate my house above what is reasonable” gentrification crowd have ruined it and the surrounding desirable areas, they fled SS for Tennessee. Other tech firms have been leaving for Frederick as well. You have to consider that a significant portion of white-collar jobs in DC are NOT federal jobs, there’s also a significant amount of white-collar corporate jobs, and they’re starting to leave even though we’re not at the point of San Francisco yet. That is a bad sign.


Citation about the owners protesting?

Let’s say we can add 20% more housing. It will still not meet demand. And therefore we will still have high prices.

Supply, demand.
Anonymous
Post 11/23/2020 09:37     Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
p.s. The market dictates pricing, not the shitshack owners.


The shitshack owners are the ones being NIMBYs and protesting against workforce housing, and even enough non-workforce housing from being built because they are playing the supply vs demand game. The thing is, it’s gotten to a very unhealthy point where the supply is significantly lower than the demand. If a woman as wealthy as OP, who makes 50% above the region median can only afford a condo in an average school district, that means the 50% below her can’t even afford that. If you keep pushing the working-class further and further away, who do you expect to support your privileged lifestyles? Do DCUMers seriously think working-class people will come to Arlington and Bethesda from Upper Marlboro to work a minimum wage job, when there’s plenty of those jobs where they live? Discovery, Inc helped revitalize Silver Spring from white-flight, but now that the “appreciate my house above what is reasonable” gentrification crowd have ruined it and the surrounding desirable areas, they fled SS for Tennessee. Other tech firms have been leaving for Frederick as well. You have to consider that a significant portion of white-collar jobs in DC are NOT federal jobs, there’s also a significant amount of white-collar corporate jobs, and they’re starting to leave even though we’re not at the point of San Francisco yet. That is a bad sign.


Only afford a condo? No. She can afford a townhouse or a small SFH. But the neighborhood may not impress her friends.

There are still condos under $200K in Arlington County, despite all the hype.
Anonymous
Post 11/23/2020 09:33     Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/1036-S-Edison-St-22204/home/11265381

Under 500k SFH


I’m guessing this is not north enough for OP.


I guess. I think the entire basement converted to apt is not to code. But to be honest a single person could easily buy that house 5 percent down and get a “roommate” to take over basement that is full apartment. With low property taxes and no HOA that single person could almost live for free and sell in ten years and have a lot of equity.

But ain’t fancy or new enough HGTC crowd
Anonymous
Post 11/23/2020 09:30     Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/1036-S-Edison-St-22204/home/11265381

Under 500k SFH


I’m guessing this is not north enough for OP.
Anonymous
Post 11/23/2020 09:27     Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:
p.s. The market dictates pricing, not the shitshack owners.


The shitshack owners are the ones being NIMBYs and protesting against workforce housing, and even enough non-workforce housing from being built because they are playing the supply vs demand game. The thing is, it’s gotten to a very unhealthy point where the supply is significantly lower than the demand. If a woman as wealthy as OP, who makes 50% above the region median can only afford a condo in an average school district, that means the 50% below her can’t even afford that. If you keep pushing the working-class further and further away, who do you expect to support your privileged lifestyles? Do DCUMers seriously think working-class people will come to Arlington and Bethesda from Upper Marlboro to work a minimum wage job, when there’s plenty of those jobs where they live? Discovery, Inc helped revitalize Silver Spring from white-flight, but now that the “appreciate my house above what is reasonable” gentrification crowd have ruined it and the surrounding desirable areas, they fled SS for Tennessee. Other tech firms have been leaving for Frederick as well. You have to consider that a significant portion of white-collar jobs in DC are NOT federal jobs, there’s also a significant amount of white-collar corporate jobs, and they’re starting to leave even though we’re not at the point of San Francisco yet. That is a bad sign.