Anonymous wrote:

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.

It's Arlington. Nothing to write home about.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not computing. How much equity do you have in your condo? My stats are identical to yours -- single parent, maxed out GS-15, and I own a townhouse which is bigger than my condo was and I have my own outdoor space. How much can you pull together for a downpayment? Also, you will stop paying the condo fee so you roll that into your mortgage amount.

You are right, you won't get a SFH in most parts of Arlington, but you can certainly get more space and stay in the area.

Maybe OP pays spousal support? Or has large debt?

Anonymous wrote:This is not computing. How much equity do you have in your condo? My stats are identical to yours -- single parent, maxed out GS-15, and I own a townhouse which is bigger than my condo was and I have my own outdoor space. How much can you pull together for a downpayment? Also, you will stop paying the condo fee so you roll that into your mortgage amount.

You are right, you won't get a SFH in most parts of Arlington, but you can certainly get more space and stay in the area.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Not when you buy in an already appreciated area. If you had bought in an area that had a lot of potential for growth, yes, you would have had more of an opportunity for appreciation. But you wanted to live in Arlington.

She's mid-40s, she probably bought for good schools and good commute 10 years ago, when her kids were young. She might have even bought 15 years ago when everyone said condos were a great investment, not everyone was part of the Big Short and knew it was a bubble. Her problem is that SFH and condo appreciation have diverged since 2008. Condos don't appreciate anymore, and COVID probably was even worse.

She could have bought in Petworth or H street and seen mad appreciation, but then she would have been gambling on good charter school lotteries versus home appreciation, and could still be in a bind by moving before her home appreciated because schools don't work out.

You are building equity in your condo, regardless, and as long as you are paying less in PITI and condo fees than you would in rent, you are coming out ahead (though do the math, the place we were renting had such high fees that the INTEREST payment along + HOA fee was higher than our rent -- it only made sense for our landlord since they had bought it in the 80s). The PP suggesting you rent a home is not a bad one; maybe just rent a house for the summer when kids are home more and being outside is nicer? I can see not wanting to move your kids or increase your commute; we both work downtown and have Fed jobs so while have more money not Arlington money, so we lived in a rental until our 40s with 2 kids and only just bought our first home in Arlington, and its some crummy tear down but works for us.

Anonymous wrote:Focus on getting a man while you still can.

Anonymous wrote:You make 170k a year. You are literally rich and you’re crying poor. Go away.

Anonymous wrote:Why do condos depreciate so much in DC area? Is it a regional thing, is it a quest for new build condos, is it overbuilding?

My old state they hold up in value really well. I think it is NIMBY so very very hard to build so new construction is rare. Also they tax new construction heavy. So older ones much more in demand. My old town has not build a condo complex since 2003. None are in works. So old condos are not competing new ones and less supply

It seems to screw new condo buyers here