Anonymous
Post 08/12/2025 09:53     Subject: How does a single person buy a house around here
We have a 1.5M house in bethesda for our three kids. I can’t imagine wanting that as a single person! There is endless upkeep and expenses. This year we had to replace both the hvac and the water heater! We’ve had the house 14 years and have also had to replace the roof, the patio, large portions of the fence, all the appliances (the dishwasher, laundry machine and fridge have all been replaced twice!), all the toilets, the shower heads, etc etc. plus the cleaning and yard work and dealing mouse holes and crap like that. Put your money in the market instead. If we had put our down payment in the market 14 years ago, the earnings would have far outpaced the appreciation of our home.
Anonymous
Post 08/12/2025 09:16     Subject: How does a single person buy a house around here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:You buy a townhouse. The SFH was an artifice of the particulars of the 20th century.

SFHs in much of the US is reaching the end of its useful life. Will be very expensive to keep those homes in functioning order for the next 20-30 years.


The end of useful life person is back. SFH are here to stay and most people want to live in one.


Most of Gen Z will never own a SFH if they desire to live within 20 miles of a major American city. Their kids will be raised in multifamily housing.


Most Gen Z will be living in suburbs just like everyone else. They'll buy the houses of previous generations. Rinse and repeat.


Even if they don't have children?


You don't spend any time in the suburbs do you? Most Gen Zs will live in the suburbs just like most Americans live in suburbs. The percentage who are young single urban people is and has always been pretty small. And yes, quite a few will own SFHs.
Anonymous
Post 08/12/2025 08:10     Subject: How does a single person buy a house around here
Anonymous wrote:You have a great income. If you want a SFH, this one in Arlington is well below your budget and is still in decent shape. For $875K, you get a small 3BR, 2BR home.

https://redf.in/8iIkPk

lol, at $350K the OP must be something like a lawyer, doctor, executive, etc. Could you really see someone that important living in that shack?
Anonymous
Post 08/11/2025 23:43     Subject: How does a single person buy a house around here
You don't? We're dual income at that level and would never buy at that price
Anonymous
Post 08/11/2025 23:21     Subject: How does a single person buy a house around here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’m 31, 350k job, I’m already past the age of average marriage and first born child and don’t run into too many other people my age with this income. Statistically in the top 1-2% income for my age bracket.

Still I feel I cannot afford a decent house around here. Take home pay is 16k a month after 401k and a 1.5M house runs 10k a month at least.

How are people my age buying homes when almost nobody earns my income?


I am married, but my spouse and I saved a ton before we had kids / bought a house. We had no car, didn't eat out, no tv or streaming, only cell was work cell, etc. Our goal was to live in a particular are and we knew we needed a large downpayment so we would feel comfortable buying a home there. We didn't take a vacation unless we were using points from business travel.

Before I lived with my now spouse I always lived with roommates, even when I made a good salary because I saved and invested my salary and knew one day I wanted to buy a home.

I have many friends who live large. They drive fancy cars, take fancy vacations, always go out, rent insane apartments, etc. They live alone, don't have roommates, etc. Then they complain they can't afford to buy.

If you're single and have no kids why do you need a $1.5 million house. I have a sibling who is single and looked at SFH and decided to buy a condo. She lived with roommates until they bought in their 30s. This is in Boston/Cambridge MA so it is different as condos have gone up way in value. House maintenance can be annoying, so you can also look at townhomes or row houses. You could also look for a home with a rentable basement to offset your mortgage.

If you're determined, buy a smaller cheaper home that you can renovate in an area that you like. Then you have the opportunity to grow equity and sell if you need something bigger in future.


+1 I could have written this post. The key is to live frugally and buy a house before you have kids. If you're used to living large before kids, then you'll definitely have difficulty saving once you have kids.



+1. Saved when single and bought 3 bedroom rowhouse when I moved to DC and got 2 roommates to pay the mortgage. I continued to save and while living there, bought another rowhouse.

Then got married and gutted 2nd rowhouse and renovated it and moved in. We are renting the 1st rowhouse.

Both moves above was one of my best real estate moves.
Anonymous
Post 08/11/2025 23:14     Subject: How does a single person buy a house around here
Anonymous wrote:You have a great income. If you want a SFH, this one in Arlington is well below your budget and is still in decent shape. For $875K, you get a small 3BR, 2BR home.

https://redf.in/8iIkPk

Is that a manufactured home or a sticks & bricks?
Anonymous
Post 08/11/2025 21:49     Subject: How does a single person buy a house around here
You have a great income. If you want a SFH, this one in Arlington is well below your budget and is still in decent shape. For $875K, you get a small 3BR, 2BR home.

https://redf.in/8iIkPk
Anonymous
Post 08/11/2025 21:37     Subject: How does a single person buy a house around here
Anonymous wrote:Or you could do what my friend did. At 28 he searched for house he would like to live in when married with kids. He was single. he only searched on houses with tenants in place. Longer term tenants. He bought a place and did not get married till almost 38. Guess what he moved into wifes one bedroom apt, they had a kid, and after kid born told tenant not renewing. They them moved in and by then the tenant had paid off his mortgage. And he locked in home prices of 12 years earlier. He moved in 2003 to a house he bought in 1992. The same can be done today .

The time he purchased in 1992 is probably worth 5x to 8x today what he paid for it. I doubt it would be as simple.
Anonymous
Post 08/11/2025 20:54     Subject: How does a single person buy a house around here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:You can’t live on $6k a month for just you after you’ve paid for housing? What are you spending all that money on?


+1. It's really easy to be very spendy in DC -- people drop hundreds on meals, concert tickets, sporting events, drinks, ubers, manicures, hair appointments, clothes, etc. without a second thought. It all adds up. I have no problem if someone who is single and making $350K wants to live the good life on entertainment, but at that income, they can't have it all so if they want the $1.5 million house, they need to cut expenses.


I agree with you, but I truly don't understand how people can't connect the dots between spending so much on unnecessary stuff and not saving enough to buy a house.
Anonymous
Post 08/11/2025 20:52     Subject: How does a single person buy a house around here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’m 31, 350k job, I’m already past the age of average marriage and first born child and don’t run into too many other people my age with this income. Statistically in the top 1-2% income for my age bracket.

Still I feel I cannot afford a decent house around here. Take home pay is 16k a month after 401k and a 1.5M house runs 10k a month at least.

How are people my age buying homes when almost nobody earns my income?


I am married, but my spouse and I saved a ton before we had kids / bought a house. We had no car, didn't eat out, no tv or streaming, only cell was work cell, etc. Our goal was to live in a particular are and we knew we needed a large downpayment so we would feel comfortable buying a home there. We didn't take a vacation unless we were using points from business travel.

Before I lived with my now spouse I always lived with roommates, even when I made a good salary because I saved and invested my salary and knew one day I wanted to buy a home.

I have many friends who live large. They drive fancy cars, take fancy vacations, always go out, rent insane apartments, etc. They live alone, don't have roommates, etc. Then they complain they can't afford to buy.

If you're single and have no kids why do you need a $1.5 million house. I have a sibling who is single and looked at SFH and decided to buy a condo. She lived with roommates until they bought in their 30s. This is in Boston/Cambridge MA so it is different as condos have gone up way in value. House maintenance can be annoying, so you can also look at townhomes or row houses. You could also look for a home with a rentable basement to offset your mortgage.

If you're determined, buy a smaller cheaper home that you can renovate in an area that you like. Then you have the opportunity to grow equity and sell if you need something bigger in future.


+1 I could have written this post. The key is to live frugally and buy a house before you have kids. If you're used to living large before kids, then you'll definitely have difficulty saving once you have kids.
Anonymous
Post 08/11/2025 17:36     Subject: How does a single person buy a house around here
Or you could do what my friend did. At 28 he searched for house he would like to live in when married with kids. He was single. he only searched on houses with tenants in place. Longer term tenants. He bought a place and did not get married till almost 38. Guess what he moved into wifes one bedroom apt, they had a kid, and after kid born told tenant not renewing. They them moved in and by then the tenant had paid off his mortgage. And he locked in home prices of 12 years earlier. He moved in 2003 to a house he bought in 1992. The same can be done today .
Anonymous
Post 08/11/2025 17:36     Subject: How does a single person buy a house around here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:You buy a townhouse. The SFH was an artifice of the particulars of the 20th century.

SFHs in much of the US is reaching the end of its useful life. Will be very expensive to keep those homes in functioning order for the next 20-30 years.


The end of useful life person is back. SFH are here to stay and most people want to live in one.


Most of Gen Z will never own a SFH if they desire to live within 20 miles of a major American city. Their kids will be raised in multifamily housing.


Many people will literally refuse to have children altogether if they cannot find a SFH to live in. More than 80% of homeowners live in SFHs. This is why birthrates are collapsing, SFHs are being replaced by apartments and THs due to greedy developers and overly permissive zoning laws


OP said they live around DC. While DC has SFH inventory it’s pretty common to purchase a row home in Goergetown, DuPont, Capital Hill, etc. and many of those owners have kids.

Anonymous
Post 08/11/2025 17:33     Subject: How does a single person buy a house around here
Anonymous wrote:You can’t live on $6k a month for just you after you’ve paid for housing? What are you spending all that money on?


+1. It's really easy to be very spendy in DC -- people drop hundreds on meals, concert tickets, sporting events, drinks, ubers, manicures, hair appointments, clothes, etc. without a second thought. It all adds up. I have no problem if someone who is single and making $350K wants to live the good life on entertainment, but at that income, they can't have it all so if they want the $1.5 million house, they need to cut expenses.
Anonymous
Post 08/11/2025 17:14     Subject: How does a single person buy a house around here
You can’t live on $6k a month for just you after you’ve paid for housing? What are you spending all that money on?
Anonymous
Post 08/11/2025 17:10     Subject: How does a single person buy a house around here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:You buy a townhouse. The SFH was an artifice of the particulars of the 20th century.

SFHs in much of the US is reaching the end of its useful life. Will be very expensive to keep those homes in functioning order for the next 20-30 years.


The end of useful life person is back. SFH are here to stay and most people want to live in one.


Most of Gen Z will never own a SFH if they desire to live within 20 miles of a major American city. Their kids will be raised in multifamily housing.


Most Gen Z will be living in suburbs just like everyone else. They'll buy the houses of previous generations. Rinse and repeat.


Even if they don't have children?