Questions about income before moving to Columbus, OH (Dublin, Grove City: condos, home) - Ohio - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

Supergrrl7 · 09-20-2015, 09:27 PM

There are a number of very good public school districts in the Columbus area. Depending on your willingness to rent, buy a condo or buy a modest house, you can easily find a home in a good district. I would suggest you look at Grandview, Dublin (wide variety of housing available), New Albany (some apartments and condos), Worthington (wide variety available if you don't want Old Worthington proper), and Olentangy (a good variety available bc the geographic area is large).

If your income is $60,000 a year, I would strongly suggest renting until you know for sure where you want to be. The housing market in desirable areas is really hot this year and buying before you move would likely be difficult.

Abtraveler · 09-21-2015, 04:20 AM

Very useful replies! Thanks everyone!

Supergrrl7, I thought about buying exactly because the value of a mortgage sometimes is lower than the rent. We have some savings that could be used in a first-buyer program, for example, and I'd be more comfortable with the monthly income (which will not be that high) paying less for the house.

Information about the market is very important as well! This is something that people should feel and internet research alone is not always enough (in real state websites, I mean).

Have you or some other commenter had the experience of rent-before-owning the house? I found a site with this kind of offer and it seems interesting.

Supergrrl7 · 09-21-2015, 06:58 AM

If you have never owned a home, you may not realize all the related expenses that come with home ownership. A new roof can run about $10,000. New appliances between$300-900. A new furnace is maybe $3,000-$5,000. A visit from the plumber for the most basic leak costs at least $180. Since we have owned our home, I don't think there has been a single month where we did not have some kind of house-related expense of at least $200 and some are quite a bit more. For example, we just replaced our washing machine $800, had a leaky sink sprayer fixed $180 and will soon need a new lawn mower because our old one that has already been repaired once no longer has functional self-propelled action. I miss the old days of just calling our landlord when things broke.

One way to limit unexpected expenses would be to buy a condo because your condo assessment usually covers outside repairs like landscaping, roofs etc.

Abtraveler · 09-21-2015, 07:12 AM

Wow, Supergrrl7, that is really a issue to concern about! We keep looking only to the value in the websites and forget about all the expenses that come from an ownership... Specially because we would buy an previously used house.

You are quite right! Condo definitely seens to be the best alternative for a while.

Thanks for opening my eyes

I will discuss it again with my husband, because he is not really sure that a condo would be good. I'll tell him this information!

Jbeechuk · 09-21-2015, 08:31 AM

One other thing, Abtraveler, about school districts here. Columbus is weird about how city boundaries are plotted. You can live in Dublin or Hilliard, but your kids could go to Columbus City schools, depending on where you are in that city. And vice-versa. You could live in Columbus, yet your kids could go to Dublin or Hilliard schools. So make sure you find out exactly what school system you will be in...it's not always in the city you reside in. Columbus is weird like that.

Jbeechuk · 09-21-2015, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abtraveler

Wow, Supergrrl7, that is really a issue to concern about! We keep looking only to the value in the websites and forget about all the expenses that come from an ownership... Specially because we would buy an previously used house.

You are quite right! Condo definitely seens to be the best alternative for a while.

Thanks for opening my eyes

I will discuss it again with my husband, because he is not really sure that a condo would be good. I'll tell him this information!

We sold our house a year ago and moved into a condo. And it works great for us. But condos are not for everyone. Your kids won't have much yard to play in, and they typically wander out in the street, so you gotta be careful. You do have restrictions on what you can or can't do, but we like that. Keeps all the rif-raff out. Be aware, the more amenities you want, (clubhouse, pool, gym, etc.,) the more your HOA monthy fees are. And they will go up a little bit each year. We love ours, as it's perfect for us.

Abtraveler · 09-21-2015, 10:10 AM

Jbeechuk, this is a huge problem! I have heard about it, so I am trying to contact realtors in advance. From websites it is not easy to find this information! I definitely will need help in searching the right location for the best schools for us!

And this is so important, that my husband and I priorize the location over the kind of house. I mean, if we have to sacrifice and have a not-so-good house, but can get the kids the best school, we will.

I am convinced that a condo will be what fits for us as well! We'll have to adapt, since we live in a family house, currently. The kids had never lived in a condo, but I grew up in one! Maybe that will help...

Your opinions were really useful! Thanks a lot!

Jbeechuk · 09-21-2015, 11:22 AM

Abtraveler, if you go the condo route, there are other things you also have to research, such as reserve studies, that show how healthy the condo association is. That is important, as it avoids "special assessments". That's when the condo association realizes it needs new roofs, and they need $1 Million, but only have $300k in the bank. Uh-oh. They then can legally force everyone to fork over $10k immediately to make up for the shortage. This is extreme, but it does happen in older, poorly run condos. So do your homework!

Abtraveler · 09-21-2015, 01:34 PM

That can really be a huge problem! Where can I find this sort of information? By asking to the landlord? To other owners?

By the way... I just knew that my net income may be as low as $3,000!!! Is it still possible to live in Columbus with this amount of money????

Jbeechuk · 09-21-2015, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abtraveler

That can really be a huge problem! Where can I find this sort of information? By asking to the landlord? To other owners?

By the way... I just knew that my net income may be as low as $3,000!!! Is it still possible to live in Columbus with this amount of money????

$3000 month? A paycheck? A year?

Rule of thumb is no more than 3X your annual household income for a mortgage. So if you want a 250k house, your should be making at least $80-85k a year.

Condos don't have landlords. They are run by the condo association, and sometimes a property management company. Your realtor can help you with that info. Are you coming to Columbus to house search at anytime? I don't know where you live now, but how will you have time to come here and look over places that might interest you? I would go to the neighborhood that interests you and ask some people who live there if they are happy and if there are any problems that they know of. Our condo has a concierge that works at our clubhouse. She assists new and prospective owners at our condo.