Anonymous
11/21/2020 21:13
Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
How about a TH?
How much equity/cash do you have for a downpayment?
How much do you pay for mortgage + condo fees?
How much equity/cash do you have for a downpayment?
How much do you pay for mortgage + condo fees?
Anonymous
11/21/2020 19:47
Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
DC Metro area population has doubled since 1980. It is no surprise that certain neighborhoods around NW DC have gotten more wealthy as the number of wealthy has expanded greatly with the growth in the area. Also, Arlington was not a 'hood 25 years ago.
It's no surprise we may see a little more shift in neighborhoods around here. Compare our growth to the NY metro, where the population has only gone up about 25% over the same time, Boston metro about 30%, Philadelphia 25%. I go back to the town I grew up in in NJ and houses are selling for only 20% more than they did in the late 1980s, and population is lower than it was 20 years ago.
There is plenty of opportunity to trade up. You just might have to move over a few towns to get it done.
It's no surprise we may see a little more shift in neighborhoods around here. Compare our growth to the NY metro, where the population has only gone up about 25% over the same time, Boston metro about 30%, Philadelphia 25%. I go back to the town I grew up in in NJ and houses are selling for only 20% more than they did in the late 1980s, and population is lower than it was 20 years ago.
There is plenty of opportunity to trade up. You just might have to move over a few towns to get it done.
Anonymous
11/21/2020 19:22
Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Responses to several questions:
1) the condo feels small. It’s 800 square feet. We are on top of each other. I want a yard. I wanted no maintenance and no yard when I bought it, but covid has made me see the benefits of having more space and more of our own space. Also our condo fees have gone up precipitously and it’s painful paying those every month.
2) Zillow’s calculator may say I can afford that home, but I certainly wouldn’t be comfortable doing it, and my financial advisor would say that’s too much for me to spend on a house. No debt. One child still in daycare, which is a major expense.
3) I don’t care what others think about me living in a condo. That’s not what this is about. Or about me living in Arlington versus somewhere else. I realize that’s important to some folks on DCUM but I picked Arlington because I had already been living here for a decade before I bought and because of the commute. I looked in Burke and Springfield but couldn’t actually make the commute timing work out to make drop off AND pick up and be in the office for 8.5 hours each day. So Manasass is theoretically fine with me, and I might even like it better than Arlington, but I need to live closer to work than that.
4) I get it that I either need to move to a different area or stay in this condo or find more money. Or at least I get it now. I am, I think, expressing surprise that there will be trading up this condo for a larger house in a couple of years, like what I once imagined and like people suggested when I bought the condo. Because it hasn’t appreciated that much and houses have. And because my salary has plateaued (which I knew it would). When I bought the condo, everyone (friends, family, realtor) said things like, “this is great! And if you want something bigger when the kids get older, you can sell the condo and use that for a down payment on a house.” I didn’t think it through and realize I would never be able to afford the house.
You can trade up. I did the exact same thing! Just not in Arlington. Or, look in S. Arlington if you want to stay so badly. Or maybe a townhouse with a yard. So many options besides just throwing up your hands and thinking it’s unfair and you should be entitled to some Arlington property ladder.
Look, I lived a decade in Arlington myself and thought I’d never move. Turns out I’d never move BACK to Arlington now that I left. The SFHs are way too crammed together for my taste and I feel like a lot of things are actually more convenient outside of Arlington. Just giving you another perspective. We all have to make tradeoffs.
Anonymous
11/21/2020 19:11
Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
* there will be no trading up, I mean
Anonymous
11/21/2020 19:09
Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
This is OP. Responses to several questions:
1) the condo feels small. It’s 800 square feet. We are on top of each other. I want a yard. I wanted no maintenance and no yard when I bought it, but covid has made me see the benefits of having more space and more of our own space. Also our condo fees have gone up precipitously and it’s painful paying those every month.
2) Zillow’s calculator may say I can afford that home, but I certainly wouldn’t be comfortable doing it, and my financial advisor would say that’s too much for me to spend on a house. No debt. One child still in daycare, which is a major expense.
3) I don’t care what others think about me living in a condo. That’s not what this is about. Or about me living in Arlington versus somewhere else. I realize that’s important to some folks on DCUM but I picked Arlington because I had already been living here for a decade before I bought and because of the commute. I looked in Burke and Springfield but couldn’t actually make the commute timing work out to make drop off AND pick up and be in the office for 8.5 hours each day. So Manasass is theoretically fine with me, and I might even like it better than Arlington, but I need to live closer to work than that.
4) I get it that I either need to move to a different area or stay in this condo or find more money. Or at least I get it now. I am, I think, expressing surprise that there will be trading up this condo for a larger house in a couple of years, like what I once imagined and like people suggested when I bought the condo. Because it hasn’t appreciated that much and houses have. And because my salary has plateaued (which I knew it would). When I bought the condo, everyone (friends, family, realtor) said things like, “this is great! And if you want something bigger when the kids get older, you can sell the condo and use that for a down payment on a house.” I didn’t think it through and realize I would never be able to afford the house.
1) the condo feels small. It’s 800 square feet. We are on top of each other. I want a yard. I wanted no maintenance and no yard when I bought it, but covid has made me see the benefits of having more space and more of our own space. Also our condo fees have gone up precipitously and it’s painful paying those every month.
2) Zillow’s calculator may say I can afford that home, but I certainly wouldn’t be comfortable doing it, and my financial advisor would say that’s too much for me to spend on a house. No debt. One child still in daycare, which is a major expense.
3) I don’t care what others think about me living in a condo. That’s not what this is about. Or about me living in Arlington versus somewhere else. I realize that’s important to some folks on DCUM but I picked Arlington because I had already been living here for a decade before I bought and because of the commute. I looked in Burke and Springfield but couldn’t actually make the commute timing work out to make drop off AND pick up and be in the office for 8.5 hours each day. So Manasass is theoretically fine with me, and I might even like it better than Arlington, but I need to live closer to work than that.
4) I get it that I either need to move to a different area or stay in this condo or find more money. Or at least I get it now. I am, I think, expressing surprise that there will be trading up this condo for a larger house in a couple of years, like what I once imagined and like people suggested when I bought the condo. Because it hasn’t appreciated that much and houses have. And because my salary has plateaued (which I knew it would). When I bought the condo, everyone (friends, family, realtor) said things like, “this is great! And if you want something bigger when the kids get older, you can sell the condo and use that for a down payment on a house.” I didn’t think it through and realize I would never be able to afford the house.
Anonymous
11/21/2020 17:21
Subject: Re:I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We couldn’t afford to buy in Fairfax so we moved to Manassas and found a community we love with great neighbors. I k ow it seems a disappointment not to live in Arlington but I am sure you can find a wonderful place!
Where on earth did you find a community you love with great neighbors in Manassas?
Jfc
Plus one. People are such gross snobs here. I know plenty of nice folks who live there.
Anonymous
11/21/2020 15:36
Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Are you dating? You might meet someone and join incomes. They you will be able to afford a SFH.
Are you telling OP to be a gold-digger?
Do you even know what that phrase means? PP isn’t telling her to try to snag a rich man. Just any man who has a job.
I would argue the advice against telling OP to find a man specifically for this purpose. In theory, yes, but later in life committed relationships like this can (not always, I know) be hard and you could end up in legitimate financial trouble, for a number of reasons.
Normally, I would agree, but this is something she clearly values highly; based on this, it may be a worthwhile option for achieving what she's aspiring for. She may be miserable, but at least she'd finally be miserable from the comfort of her house in Arlington.
Anonymous
11/21/2020 15:35
Subject: Re:I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We couldn’t afford to buy in Fairfax so we moved to Manassas and found a community we love with great neighbors. I k ow it seems a disappointment not to live in Arlington but I am sure you can find a wonderful place!
Where on earth did you find a community you love with great neighbors in Manassas?
Jfc
Anonymous
11/21/2020 15:35
Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: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.
Nobody (who wasn’t try to sell a condo) has ever said condos were a good investment.
Maybe you are too young to remember in early 2000s when property was eye bleeding appreciating and you had to buy SOMETHING or be PRICED OUT FOREVER. we resisted buying b/c we could only afford a condo and we thought it was a bubble, but everyone thought we were crazy and foolish. In the end SFH did okay through the bust but condos didn’t.
No, I’m older than you. Or at least bought before you.
Maybe you foolishly thought condos were a good investment but that’s your own ignorance. No one (who wasn’t selling a condo) claimed they were a “good investment”. Condos are just a stepping stone as you wait for incomes to rise.
Tale as old as time.
Condos increased 50% in 3 years, people were worried they would be left behind like OP.
We bought after the bust, but there was a lot pressure from friends and family as to why we continued to rent rather than get a condo.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jul-27-fi-condobust27-story.html
We bought in late 90s after watching what happened to housing prices in the mid 90s. Condos just don’t hold their value like SFHs do. That is not a new concept.
And building equity by paying down your mortgage is certainly better than renting. But don’t look for condos alone as an investment on the “property ladder” that OP references. That also requires salary increases and significant equity increases. Which don’t happen often for condos.
Anonymous
11/21/2020 15:35
Subject: Re:I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Why would you want to? Arlington is fine, but their are several areas around these parts that are aesthetically nicer, calmer and just flat out better.
Anonymous
11/21/2020 15:33
Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Are you dating? You might meet someone and join incomes. They you will be able to afford a SFH.
Are you telling OP to be a gold-digger?
Do you even know what that phrase means? PP isn’t telling her to try to snag a rich man. Just any man who has a job.
I would argue the advice against telling OP to find a man specifically for this purpose. In theory, yes, but later in life committed relationships like this can (not always, I know) be hard and you could end up in legitimate financial trouble, for a number of reasons.
Anonymous
11/21/2020 15:27
Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Are you dating? You might meet someone and join incomes. They you will be able to afford a SFH.
Are you telling OP to be a gold-digger?
Do you even know what that phrase means? PP isn’t telling her to try to snag a rich man. Just any man who has a job.
Anonymous
11/21/2020 15:26
Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:Are you dating? You might meet someone and join incomes. They you will be able to afford a SFH.
Are you telling OP to be a gold-digger?
Anonymous
11/21/2020 15:22
Subject: I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Are you dating? You might meet someone and join incomes. They you will be able to afford a SFH.
Anonymous
11/21/2020 15:17
Subject: Re:I will never be able to afford a house in Arlington
Anonymous wrote:We couldn’t afford to buy in Fairfax so we moved to Manassas and found a community we love with great neighbors. I k ow it seems a disappointment not to live in Arlington but I am sure you can find a wonderful place!
Where on earth did you find a community you love with great neighbors in Manassas?