I kick myself everyday for not allowing my aunt to loan me $10K to buy a condo in Shirlington for $93K in 2000. She bought it and I paid her rent. At 23 making less than $30K/year, $10K sounded like a LOT to pay back. Boy, was I dumb. She sold it 3 years later for $215K - damn, that could have been a NICE downpayment on a lovely home at 2003 prices. Oh, well - I'm still glad we bought our small TH in 2003 and were able to sell for a profit.

I also miss our $1500/month mortgage payment. Had I known what this past year would have brought us, we should have stayed put in our TH, pocketed the almost $900 extra we are paying in mortgage now per month and moved ourselves into an area that would have been closer to both our current jobs. My husband now has almost an hour commute when his commute from our TH to his previous job was 15-20 minutes.

Oh, well, I also don't know that we could find a neighborhood that has all the amenities we love about our current one closer to both of our jobs (mine in in South Fairfax, his is in Stafford County).

Anonymous wrote:Well, OP, if it makes you feel any better, I am 31 and my husband is 30 and we are SO NOWHERE NEAR buying a house in DC. If we could find what we wanted for under $350, we could probably do it, but like that is going to happen!

OP here. I completely understand! It is frustrating to realize that what I can afford would buy me a mansion back home, but I can't find anything here! Oh well.

At least I feel a bit better now that apparently everyone bought their first home for 200K or under and I know that isn't going to happen for me

When I bought in 1996 I could not believe how expensive things were. My brothers were older than me and their mortgage was less than my rent.

My dad told me that everything seems expensive when you are buying. He said just buy something that is good for you, don't compare yourself to others. He also said in 20 years your mortgage will be less than rent. Guess what - he was right - again!

Graduated college when I was 23, I worked when I went to college. Bought a cheap car, moved home (paid rent there) and lived there 18 months until all my student loans were paid off. Moved to a friends house and rented a room until my car was paid off. At 26 I moved in with my boyfriend (now husband) and lived in an apartment that gave cops free rent (if you get the idea).

Never went out and saved every single cent until I had enough money for a down payment on our dream home ($200K) in the exburbs because we couldn't afford anything closer in. Put 10% down and borrowed 10% more to avoid PMI which I paid off in 5 years.

When we moved out of our apartment goodwill wouldn't event take our furniture.

We eloped at 28 so we not to waste a bunch of money on a party and bought a bedroom set, family room set, kitchen table and TV. The rest of the house was emply for at least 5 years minus the crib set we bought 3 years later.

Spouse and I bought a Mount Pleasant rowhouse when we were 29 and 28.

35. Waiting to buy a SFH rather than a condo.

Anonymous wrote:OP - None of you are helping with my feelings of inadequacy ha ha. I am 29 and DH is 33. Granted, I am not sure what I could find for under 200K

I was 29, 4 years into my career. I had downpayment help form my parents, which I quickly repaid, but I wouldn't have needed it if I'd been remotely responsible. I bought for $250,000, but that was 11 years ago - sold three years later for $400,000. I miss 2004!

Bought a $200k townhouse at 24...sold it for $470k and bought a $1.1M house at 29.

Worked 5 years after graduation in Baltimore. Moved to DC for a job at 27 and at 30 bought my first house. I was single. Didn't get married until 37 and my new spouse moved from a rental into my house. We built our long-term house 4 years later.

29 and 27, SFH in Alexandria.

27 in Arlington. Totally lucked out.

35

DH and I are both 38 with a toddler, no house yet. $150K down payment earning pennies of interest a year while we look for a place that would motivate us leave our rental. To be fair, we would probably have bought earlier if we didn't cherish fantasies of leaving the DC area.

Well, OP, if it makes you feel any better, I am 31 and my husband is 30 and we are SO NOWHERE NEAR buying a house in DC. If we could find what we wanted for under $350, we could probably do it, but like that is going to happen!

Anonymous wrote:I was 31 and DH was 33.

(this was '04, near the top of the boom, so we are still there)