Anonymous wrote:This area is massively overpriced compared to the value of living here. Close to jobs? Sure. Although the current gutting of the Federal government makes that upside less appealing.

Otherwise, paying over a million dollars to live in a falling down dump in an overcrowded swamp full of extremely unpleasant, competitive strivers? No thanks! I’d rather rent!

People who post like this have serious skill issues. The DC area is massive and has many different neighborhoods, amenities, cultures, geographic differences. If you hate it so much it's probably a you thing.

Anonymous wrote:Some of the reports in this thread are wild. My first mortgage was $3000 PITI on a $120K income, and it was very affordable, and I saved a lot even with retirement maxed out.

Most of the apartments in this area start at $2500/month and up, and many people pay that with five figure incomes.

Groceries, college, childcare, etc... have become significantly more expensive. A family of four may easily spend $1200-1500 a month on groceries alone. Some of this absolutely depends on household six.

Renters are not on the hook for expensive home repairs. But also rental costs are a huge issue for a number of people. That people can pay it and not go literally broke does not make it affordable.

This area is massively overpriced compared to the value of living here. Close to jobs? Sure. Although the current gutting of the Federal government makes that upside less appealing.

Otherwise, paying over a million dollars to live in a falling down dump in an overcrowded swamp full of extremely unpleasant, competitive strivers? No thanks! I’d rather rent!

Some of the reports in this thread are wild. My first mortgage was $3000 PITI on a $120K income, and it was very affordable, and I saved a lot even with retirement maxed out.

Most of the apartments in this area start at $2500/month and up, and many people pay that with five figure incomes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No way! Our income is btwn 300-350. We pay $2800 monthly. It’s so nice to have the money for home repairs and updates. We can easily afford everything we want to do and save.

So you have a $300k mortgage. Do you live in the DC area? Did you buy 25 years ago? Ideally everyone should have the lowest mortgage possible but these numbers are not normal for thus area.

If you bought in DC (lower property taxes especially if the home sold for a ton more than previously) around five years ago and had 20% down with a sub 3% rate you could have bought a house around a $750k.

We have $300k HHI, and we bought last year at 7% rate. Our mortgage payment is $5000. It’s tight but we are able to max our 401ks and we have a healthy emergency fund, and head start on college savings from our previous home’s equity. We lucked into an excellent school district, have very short commutes and have one kid, so it will be fine.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t, but I’m also not from one of those UMC DCUM families who are underwriting all sorts of things.
One neighbor, after having trouble finding a new job, went to work for his mom; another neighbor was just gifted a new addition with screened porch from their inlaws because they felt cramped after baby #3.
So if you’re from one of these, you’re fine. If you’re like me, where family on either side does not or actually cannot help with housing, childcare/education expenses, or employment in any way, even in a rough patch, don’t do it. We’re HHI $300k, totally on our own, two kids, mortgage of $600k, and have peace of mind financially - it’s completely managable.

Just know that you are in an extremely frugal minority. Do a search on Redfin for $1 million dollar SFHs in North Arlington, McLean, Vienna, Falls Church City and anyplace in MoCo zoned for the “W Schools” and BCC. You will pull up only a handful of homes. I can guarantee you that the average family who is buying these $1 million dollar 1,500 sq ft homes that need a lot of work is not a partner at a law firm. A $300,000 HHI would be the norm for a home like this.

By your frugal logic, people with HHIs of $300,000 should be buying SFHs in Cheverly, Woodbridge, Manassas, and Wheaton…that is, places where you can still find SFHs for $600,000. I can promise you the average family in these areas is not pulling in $300,000 a year. You would feel very out of place sending your kid to Kennedy or Wheaton HSs making $300,000.

I’m a different poster. This is interesting because we make $380k with my partner set to get a promotion soon. I am one of those frugal people and I was considering Woodbridge. Our incomes will go up especially my partner’s income. I guess for me I’m nervous about making a big leap. We’ve been looking at homes in the $800-900k range. I thought Woodbridge would be okay (Lake Ridge area) but now I wonder if we’d be out of place there.

Good God. You dont live in Woodbridge on 400k

No. We have HHI of 300k, and our piti is 3700 going up each year with taxes and higher insurance costs, as well as normal repairs, yard care that I can no longer do myself, usually an appliance or two that needs to be replaced every year.

Also, how much DP do you have? I’m guessing you are looking at homes around 1-1.2 mil? Think hard about the college thing. If you are living in a neighborhood of 1.2 mil houses and good public schools. Your kids’ friends are likely to be going off to private colleges costing more than 125k for 4 years, and your kids might feel resentful if they do work hard and do great in high school but are only allowed to choose CC or state schools. You might plan to cash flow it, but unexpected things happen. Lots of people think their income streams are secure until they aren’t.

I know a lot of amazing kids who got into great schools. Some of them can’t go because of finances. Don’t think that you are going to get a great deal on your kids college because your kid is awesome. Many schools look at DMV families like an ATM and just try to get the most out of them. Even if you land in somewhere in the middle, you will likely need more money for them than you think.

Anonymous wrote:No way! Our income is btwn 300-350. We pay $2800 monthly. It’s so nice to have the money for home repairs and updates. We can easily afford everything we want to do and save.

So you have a $300k mortgage. Do you live in the DC area? Did you buy 25 years ago? Ideally everyone should have the lowest mortgage possible but these numbers are not normal for thus area.

No way! Our income is btwn 300-350. We pay $2800 monthly. It’s so nice to have the money for home repairs and updates. We can easily afford everything we want to do and save.

Anonymous wrote:No way. We earn 425k and it’s tight with 4000 PITI.

Oh come on, that isn't anything close to tight. I make less than half you do with 3000 PITI and i barely notice it as a monthly expense. I also max my retirement and other savings vehicles. I still take multiple international vacations a year and have plenty left over.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No way. We earn 425k and it’s tight with 4000 PITI.

How is it tight? You probably have $18k coming in monthly if you max out 401k. You could probably fully fund college and still have money left over. Do you have 6 kids?

Closer to 17K. We live in a HCOL zip code and have 3 kids. Kids activities, day care, therapies, camps, and other misc expenses add up fast. Kids are currently in public but saving to be able to pay for private in a few years. If I had it to do all over again I would have had 4-5 kids but lived in a lower cost of living area outside of the DMV and lived on a lower income.

Got it. You’re terrible with money.

Anonymous wrote:No way. We earn 425k and it’s tight with 4000 PITI.

Do you travel to Europe 2x a year or something?
We are at 500k 6k PITI with two kids (who were in private until HS) is no big deal.
We also had the au pair/nanny thing and maxed out retirement/529.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No way. We earn 425k and it’s tight with 4000 PITI.

How is it tight? You probably have $18k coming in monthly if you max out 401k. You could probably fully fund college and still have money left over. Do you have 6 kids?

Closer to 17K. We live in a HCOL zip code and have 3 kids. Kids activities, day care, therapies, camps, and other misc expenses add up fast. Kids are currently in public but saving to be able to pay for private in a few years. If I had it to do all over again I would have had 4-5 kids but lived in a lower cost of living area outside of the DMV and lived on a lower income.

Anonymous wrote:No way. We earn 425k and it’s tight with 4000 PITI.

How is it tight? You probably have $18k coming in monthly if you max out 401k. You could probably fully fund college and still have money left over. Do you have 6 kids?