Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I don't understand this thread bc I've never believed I could have everything I wanted unless I was supremely wealthy. I am not. I live in a neighborhood DCUM thinks is shitty but I do not care. I love my home and neighbors and most importantly--I am not house poor.

I think a lot of people are stuck in the past and don’t understand that real estate is expensive in any desirable city in the United States.

DCUM is full of posts calling DC lame and undesirable.

And people think they have to live in a shit shack in Bethesda. If you really want a bigger house, you can get a new build in silver spring or wheaton for the same price. Stop thinking the schools are so bad.

Anonymous wrote:I guess I don't understand this thread bc I've never believed I could have everything I wanted unless I was supremely wealthy. I am not. I live in a neighborhood DCUM thinks is shitty but I do not care. I love my home and neighbors and most importantly--I am not house poor.

I think a lot of people are stuck in the past and don’t understand that real estate is expensive in any desirable city in the United States.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We kept renting and socking away money. It will either be a down payment on a place someday or somewhere else, or it will boost our retirement savings. In the meantime, we live in an area with a school that works for our kids and an easy commute. I'm willing to compromise, but only so much.

Part of the reason people settle is because the rentals are usually woefully outdated, poorly maintained and still very expensive. If you have been able to find a rental that you like more than what's for sale, with an affordable price, then hold on tight.

Yup. Around here it's extremely unlikely that the rent on a place is going to be a lot less than the mortgage would be for the same situation. So why not actually benefit from the remarkable appreciation homes around here typically enjoy while living in a shit shack, if you're going to be living in one either way?

This. Seems like the rental options are 1) something old/outdated or 2) overpriced “luxury” rental

Anonymous wrote:I guess I don't understand this thread bc I've never believed I could have everything I wanted unless I was supremely wealthy. I am not. I live in a neighborhood DCUM thinks is shitty but I do not care. I love my home and neighbors and most importantly--I am not house poor.

I think most of us just want value. If I work my tail off to make $300,000 a year but that can only buy me a fixer upper, I’m going to be bitter about that. So I can live elsewhere where I can afford a house that I enjoy. Some people don’t care about their house, some people do.

I guess I don't understand this thread bc I've never believed I could have everything I wanted unless I was supremely wealthy. I am not. I live in a neighborhood DCUM thinks is shitty but I do not care. I love my home and neighbors and most importantly--I am not house poor.

Anonymous wrote:I had three choices: cute house in schools I didn't trust, or crappy houses with good schools, or mostly-decent houses with decent schools that I had to really stretch to afford.

I picked the third option. It's stressful sometimes, buying at the top of your range. My income hasn't really increased enough in the last 8 years to be entirely comfortable. But I like my neighborhood and our schools, and the house, while needing work, is very livable. But there's a pretty good chance the next owner will tear it down, so I have to weigh any improvements against that fact. (plus the fact that I have no money, lol.)

Ugh, this is the problem. As someone upthread said, I work too hard and am too old to feel strapped, especially to live in a just OK house. I'm just not willing to do it.

I had three choices: cute house in schools I didn't trust, or crappy houses with good schools, or mostly-decent houses with decent schools that I had to really stretch to afford.

I picked the third option. It's stressful sometimes, buying at the top of your range. My income hasn't really increased enough in the last 8 years to be entirely comfortable. But I like my neighborhood and our schools, and the house, while needing work, is very livable. But there's a pretty good chance the next owner will tear it down, so I have to weigh any improvements against that fact. (plus the fact that I have no money, lol.)

Anonymous wrote:Five Bedrooms, three baths, 4k square feet in Syracuse for $234,900, bet you cant get it for 210K

https://www.redfin.com/NY/Syracuse/321-Highland-Ave-13203/home/92420230

I'm from Syracuse and would love to move back! The schools in that particular neighborhood aren't great but there are some really good ones with equally low priced real estate. If I ever find a telecommute job, I'm moving back.

Five Bedrooms, three baths, 4k square feet in Syracuse for $234,900, bet you cant get it for 210K

https://www.redfin.com/NY/Syracuse/321-Highland-Ave-13203/home/92420230

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in the same boat OP. Unfortunately, my DH and I dont agree on a lot

He doesnt care about commute, my hard line is commute under 45 minutes at rush hour including daycare pickup and dropoff
He cares about schools and I think things can swing either way in the 5years plus before he enters K
I want turn key he sees "potential" -but neither of us are handy and he cant do basic tasks at home regularly so I dont see big projects getting done DIY

My biggest complaint with the market right now is that people are trying to sell houses for 50-100K more with no updates or changes from when they bought in 2015. Find another sucker because I am not paying more for a house you have worn down without improving. If you put a new roof, new appliances, updated bathroom and kitchens, etc. - maybe 50K but not 100 or 125K increase. We are looking in PG, Howard, AA county areas.

Precisely.

I find it funny that you don't want to accept a higher price PP but your demands list practically ensures you're going to have to cough up $100K over what your husband would be willing to settle for.

Turn-key and a commute under 45 mins at rush hour including daycare and pick-up is going to be tough find for under $700K anywhere in this area. Though you might have luck in the PG/Howard County areas.

Also, I am not putting money into something I am not happy with in the holistic sense. My husband cares more about what the world sees, I could care less. Im not signing any papers for a home that doesn't add to our life balance. Yes, it is possible in PG/HoCo. Im not from DC although my husband may be transferred to DC area within the his agency. And our budget is like 350K HAHAHAHA 700K hahahahahahahahahaha So yes we are living in two different worlds.

The problem is that houses have been touted as an investment so everyone EXPECTS a return and will usually count on taking the profit into their next home purchase, effectively negating the need for a DP. The realtor comp bull is part of the problem. People are like well the house down the street sold for 350k so im going to say mine is worth 360K.

Salaries are not climbing at the same rate as housing inflation. That is an issue - even it isnt for you in particular.

As far as my commute with daycare pickup/dropoff. Im outside the beltway in HoCo. I have a 25-30 min commute with traffic without daycare. Daycare is on the way to and from home. I would prefer it be near our house but I digress. It adds maybe 10 minutes and in the summer it drops to 35ish. I wont do more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you. Salaries aren’t going up to compensate for the housing and it can’t go up forever. Home ownership isn’t the investment it used to be.

It really does go on forever. Things get more expensive. Forever. Use google. Look at historical housing prices.

We've lived through the worst housing crash in history, and it was just a blip in this area. The only thing that would make it stop going on, forever, is major instability in western civilization, like a war on our soil, at which point I don't think snatching up a great deal on a house will be your biggest concern.

Skipped the chapter on the depression? Aware there’s entire political party that wants to destroy the federal government?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We kept renting and socking away money. It will either be a down payment on a place someday or somewhere else, or it will boost our retirement savings. In the meantime, we live in an area with a school that works for our kids and an easy commute. I'm willing to compromise, but only so much.

Part of the reason people settle is because the rentals are usually woefully outdated, poorly maintained and still very expensive. If you have been able to find a rental that you like more than what's for sale, with an affordable price, then hold on tight.

Yup. Around here it's extremely unlikely that the rent on a place is going to be a lot less than the mortgage would be for the same situation. So why not actually benefit from the remarkable appreciation homes around here typically enjoy while living in a shit shack, if you're going to be living in one either way?

Not PP but we pay $2500 per month for a 1350 square foot apartment with two bedrooms, two baths, and a den (with a window and closet and door, so could be a third bedroom, but we mainly use it as a guestroom / den), zoned for Murch/Deal/Wilson. These places exist, they just aren't the fancy new buildings is the hot neighborhoods. We're holding on tight like PP.

https://www.apartments.com/washington-dc/2-bedrooms-2-bathrooms-under-2500/?bb=_n1si6gp1H0xxsvhC

There's exactly one listing under $2500 west of the park, and it's 750 SF. Not sure how they get 2BR and 2BA in that!

Maybe you've been there a long time or it's a total dump but that's not at all typical.

$2,500 WTOP in D/W? Guarantee the PP is living in a walk-up (or one with a single elevator from the 50s) with coin-operated laundry in the basement, parquet floors from the 70s, a kitchen that has linoleum, building controlled central A/C + heat, and a horrible facade.

Find cheap options, get cheap living.

We moved in in 2017 and the apartment was completely renovated right when we moved in - brand new appliances! But yes, the laundry is not in the unit (but it takes credit cards and not coins) and the floors are parquet. It's not perfect, but for that price, we're good! These types of places pop up on Craigslist and the go fast, but they exist!

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you. Salaries aren’t going up to compensate for the housing and it can’t go up forever. Home ownership isn’t the investment it used to be.

It really does go on forever. Things get more expensive. Forever. Use google. Look at historical housing prices.

We've lived through the worst housing crash in history, and it was just a blip in this area. The only thing that would make it stop going on, forever, is major instability in western civilization, like a war on our soil, at which point I don't think snatching up a great deal on a house will be your biggest concern.