Young married graduate relocating to NoVA within a year

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by pgtvatitans

Honestly it doesn't matter how much people make. The amount of debt they have versus how much they make is much more important. Salary alone isn't going to tell you how much you can afford. I guarantee you a lender is going to look at much more than that, so the OP needs to consider that when thinking about how affordable places like that really are because if they have a certain amount of debt, it will change their price point.

Based on the info we have from the OP so far, we may indeed be assuming that they and their spouse have little to no debt. Even in that fortunate scenario, they may qualify for a 2BR condo or an older, super-slim TH in Old Town Alexandria.

[GoPokes15]

Thanks to everyone who has given feedback so far, Old Town Alexandria sounds like an option I need to research more. Our total DTI is pretty low, and having been a former mortgage loan officer, I can't see any issues there. We do have two vehicles as there is not any true form of public transportation to speak of that is worth using. I'd like to consolidate to one car if possible but doesn't sound like that would really be a viable option and currently commute for about 25-30 minutes each way to work now. I do love driving my car so I'm not opposed to driving, especially if it's the opposite direction of the heavy traffic flow. We're very used to newer construction subdivisions aka "cookie cutter" fabrication, but we definitely love and prefer historical buildings and the charm of original architecture. We don't like maintaining a yard but have 3 small dogs (under 25 lbs. each) so would need the ability to walk them, so that's my only concern with a town home, but of course I'm not very familiar with the town homes. Any further recommendations are appreciated.

[stpickrell]

Fredericksburg would accord OP a VRE-based commute, provided their job isn't full of Lumbergh wanna-bes that'll ask OP to work until 9pm on a random whim. There is a VRE stop right on the Quantico base.

$500k would get you pretty much your pick of things ... including roomy, very historic places.