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"Sacramento might not be the best place in the world, but it's certainly better than Irving."
In a lot of ways, it's probably true. Sacramento is basically Austin, with a really good university in UC Davis, has an NBA team, and is the lead of the metro while Irving is a suburb of Dallas. He didn't say DFW as a whole is worse than Sacramento, just in Irving vs Sacramento, Sacramento wins.
$150k homes are either dilapidated or in bad neighborhoods.
This is all relative.
Of course, if your baseline is Turtle Creek Boulevard (which is in the Dallas version of Beverly Hills / Bel Air) or your life revolves around the "next upcoming town" in the northern sea of gated masterplanned communities then $150k homes are either dilapidated or in bad neighborhoods.
An acquaintance of mine bought a house in Hamilton Park a few years ago for <$90k. It's now around $150k, a nice ranch house with a decent size back yard and a pool. All in good repair.
A few days ago I suggested that someone who wants to be close to Watermark should check out this neighborhood and of course, like clock-work, came the warnings that this is not a safe neighborhood.
Yes, you won't find a new house in the "in" neighborhoods in Colin County for $150k but if you read this board, please understand that there's a group of very well off posters (like ESD or TurtleCreek80, both 1%ers) who probably have no clue about what it's like to live on $50k/year and who would not be caught dead in a $150k house.
To me it seems that this board is generally biased towards the holy grail of new houses in top school district neighborhoods (which weren't $150k even back in 1998 when I moved here). Everything that doesn't fit this description is immediately dismissed as "scary, unsafe".
Of course, if your baseline is Turtle Creek Boulevard (which is in the Dallas version of Beverly Hills / Bel Air) or your life revolves around the "next upcoming town" in the northern sea of gated masterplanned communities then $150k homes are either dilapidated or in bad neighborhoods.
An acquaintance of mine bought a house in Hamilton Park a few years ago for <$90k. It's now around $150k, a nice ranch house with a decent size back yard and a pool. All in good repair.
A few days ago I suggested that someone who wants to be close to Watermark should check out this neighborhood and of course, like clock-work, came the warnings that this is not a safe neighborhood.
Yes, you won't find a new house in the "in" neighborhoods in Colin County for $150k but if you read this board, please understand that there's a group of very well off posters (like ESD or TurtleCreek80, both 1%ers) who probably have no clue about what it's like to live on $50k/year and who would not be caught dead in a $150k house.
To me it seems that this board is generally biased towards the holy grail of new houses in top school district neighborhoods (which weren't $150k even back in 1998 when I moved here). Everything that doesn't fit this description is immediately dismissed as "scary, unsafe".
Thanks for all the judgemental projecting.
1. I bought my first place for right around $150k back when I made $75k a year. Single greatest financial mistake of my life. Not insurmountable, but it was a financial stretch - I too had student loans, car payment, an expensive commute, etc and greatly underestimated how much money maintance would cost. So as someone who bought in the same price range that OP is considering when I had 50% more income....I think I'm qualified to give advice to OP. In the end it worked out because my income started to skyrocket as my career progressed which is why I said more info is needed about OP's prospects here to know if he will be able to buy a home or not. Most people making $50k won't qualify to buy a $150k home because of their DTI ratios, credit scores, etc.
2. I actually looked at the $150k homes OP linked to earlier in the thread. Look at them and tell me if you cannot visibly see that the majority are NOT in good condition- I'm not talking about Formica countertops instead of Calcutta Gold, I'm talking huge cracks in the foundation/ brickwork/driveway, half-remodeled bathrooms mixing fixtures, clearly damaged floors and 20 year old carpet that needs replacing for sanitary reasons, etc. The few houses that look promising will be snatched up by cash investors because cash flow is great on these kinds of rental properties.
3. You're right. I wouldn't live in Hamilton Park. The emergency vet is in that area and I find it sketchy as hell late at night. Would not feel safe walking my dog up the block at 11pm. A quick google indicates my gut is correct - several murders in that small area plus known drug issues.
Last edited by TurtleCreek80; 11-03-2016 at 05:48 PM..
1. I bought my first place for right around $150k back when I made $75k a year. Single greatest financial mistake of my life. Not insurmountable, but it was a financial stretch - I too had student loans, car payment, an expensive commute, etc and greatly underestimated how much money maintance would cost. So as someone who bought in the same price range that OP is considering when I had 50% more income....I think I'm qualified to give advice to OP. In the end it worked out because my income started to skyrocket as my career progressed which is why I said more info is needed about OP's prospects here to know if he will be able to buy a home or not. Most people making $50k won't qualify to buy a $150k home because of their DTI ratios, credit scores, etc.
2. I actually looked at the $150k homes OP linked to earlier in the thread. Look at them and tell me if you cannot visibly see that the majority are NOT in good condition- I'm not talking about Formica countertops instead of Calcutta Gold, I'm talking huge cracks in the foundation/ brickwork/driveway, half-remodeled bathrooms mixing fixtures, clearly damaged floors and 20 year old carpet that needs replacing for sanitary reasons, etc. The few houses that look promising will be snatched up by cash investors because cash flow is great on these kinds of rental properties.
3. You're right. I wouldn't live in Hamilton Park. The emergency vet is in that area and I find it sketchy as hell late at night. Would not feel safe walking my dog up the block at 11pm. A quick google indicates my gut is correct - several murders in that small area plus known drug issues.
A $150K home with a $75K salary is a financial stretch? That doesn't leave me feeling good for the future. Then again, I want something that was built in the 90s or newer and has a modern interior. Just less maintenance that way.
I've been looking all over the metroplex for homes in the $150K range. Most need a lot of work.
I don't think DFW is a sub-200K market any more, unless you are willing to do some work. Cash buyers are coming in and buying up these homes to flip.
Very, very true. Anything $150k or less these days is either in a bad neighborhood or is a fixer-upper.
The first house that my husband and I bought was a $110k Little Forest Hills MONEY PIT!!! We simply did not have the disposable income to upgrade the electrical wiring, redo the plumbing, and keep up the gigantic mature trees all over the property. Fortunately, we were able to sell for more than we paid and get out from under the house before it broke us financially. That is the ONLY older home I will ever own until I win the lottery!
A $150K home with a $75K salary is a financial stretch? That doesn't leave me feeling good for the future.
It is a stretch when you have this combo of other financial stuff going on:
-interest rates in the 6% range
-PMI because you didn't put 20% down
-$8k-ish of unplanned repairs during first 2 years there
-student loans
-car payment
All while saving for retirement and building an emergency fund.
Yup, would not do that again. Would have just socked away money in savings and stocks until I got married and kept renting.
In a lot of ways, it's probably true. Sacramento is basically Austin, with a really good university in UC Davis, has an NBA team, and is the lead of the metro while Irving is a suburb of Dallas. He didn't say DFW as a whole is worse than Sacramento, just in Irving vs Sacramento, Sacramento wins.
But you cant call Irving simply a suburb, yet give Sacramento credit for UC Davis, which is not in Sacramento.
Aside from the Kings, Sacramento has no sports teams. In Irving, you are fairly close to the Cowboys (who actually practiced and played games in Irving for a long time), Rangers, Stars, and Mavericks. No sports teams are even half as close for those in Sacramento, except for Kings.
From Irving, you are close to one of the largest airports in the country with direct access flights to anywhere.
Housing is still affordable in Valley Ranch and Las Colinas, where public schools are still good.
Sure, there are some benefits of living in Sacramento, but I would never consider moving there from Irving. Evem within California, there are so many cities that Id rather live in. I actually spent about 10 years in California, and DFW is a much preferable place for me to live.
Ok, first off, I wasn't expecting 6 pages of replies in a day. Thanks for the info. Some things I should really clear up ...
I'm not looking to buy the second I get out there. What if I hate the area? What if I get offered a job elsewhere in the city making more? What if I move within the company to a different state?
I kind of lied in the initial post. I have 10k in debt, 10k in the bank, and 30k in the 401(k). I didn't realize I could take some out for a first time home purchase, so technically I have a little more than the 10k. I didn't think it was relevant to the move so left it out initially.
I also am not aiming for a 150k home, 175k home, whatever. I'm aiming for 'if I stay here and enjoy it and make some friends and the job is well and I meet a girl and everything is great ... then maybe in 3-5 years when I have X saved up I'll look for homes that cost 5X'
I tried looking around, it's too complicated to do from afar. There's the two park cities where homes cost 3 million, then 5 miles away I can get one for 200k. There's new homes in certain areas 30 miles away from Irving for 300k, and there are 3500 square foot homes for 400k in other areas.
I don't want to reveal too much about my company or job. It's on Freedom Boulevard. Freedom Parkway? Left the dang address at the office ... Freedom something. In Irvine. I would prefer to live within 5 miles. Barring that, I'd prefer to live within 6 miles. Barring that .. you get the point.
I don't like big city living. I've lived in LA, Fremont, San Jose, Pleasanton, Sacramento .. I want to live on a quiet street with a ranch house that's 5 miles from work and doesn't have 30 minutes of traffic to get there.
I could probably push for more money. I don't know. They seem to really like me. I would be the only person in the office doing my work, with a team consisting of one person in Georgia, one person in Virginia, and one person in Iowa. We would get to routinely meet for work (paid rental cars and hotels, etc.) which is a (hard to measure, and small) bonus in terms of less food costs, less gas, less wear and tear on car, etc.
Also, I didn't see anybody mention the fact I can rent out ... like, what am I missing? I currently pay $650 for rent inside a house with 4 roommates. If my mortage in the future is $1,200 ish, and I rent out a room to just one person, for just $500-$600, I'm basically paying the exact same as I am now except I'm a homeowner ... right? And if I'm in the home at that point with a locked-in mortgage and not paying the ridiculous rising rent prices, then I start to see the benefits of no income tax ... right?
So 250k is a 920 mortgage with 3500 property taxes, we'll just say 300 a month which is a 1220 mortgage ... I rent out one room for 600 and my mortgage is the exact same as my current rent, and I've covered property taxes
All good points. One catch though - that $259k house is going to have a $6900 tax bill once it sells. The current tax rolls are well below market value (pretty common in non new-construction neighborhoods in TX), but once it sells the appraisal district will re-set the taxable value to the sales price. That's another $300/mo above your estimates. Plus PMI if you put down less than 20% and also need to budget about $100/mo in home insurance. So your $1220 mortgage estimate is now close to $1700/mo range with all PITI components included.
Be VERY careful about borrowing from 401k. If you were to be laid off/ fired or if you resign, many 401k's require loans to be fully paid back within 60 days of termination.
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