Anyone Here BUY by Age 30? Single-Income? How? (McLean, Fairfax: apartment complexes, renters)

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by Jill2

Teachers don't get 10 weeks off in the summer, most are normally there through the month of June. Ok so now one thinks well heck that is still 7 to 8 weeks before labor day, wrong only the kids come back the Tuesday after Labor Day, teachers report back to work in August! So your grand 10 weeks has just been reduced to about 6. And you have to take into account that over summer break teachers will be taking required continuing education courses, lets not forget the classes the county expects one to sign up for over the summer break when they are introducing a new computer program, or a new way to take attendance, or a new reading program,...etc.

Actually, to be fair, my last day in the building was June 19. My first day back in the building will be August 31. That is a 72 day stretch...about 10 weeks. I am taking a class, but it is not the same as being at work all week.

[ZakAttack]

Originally Posted by tgbwc

Actually, to be fair, my last day in the building was June 19. My first day back in the building will be August 31. That is a 72 day stretch...about 10 weeks. I am taking a class, but it is not the same as being at work all week.

I thought my 6 weeks off a year was good, but then you just had to go ahead and rub it in.

[Jill2]

Originally Posted by tgbwc

Actually, to be fair, my last day in the building was June 19. My first day back in the building will be August 31. That is a 72 day stretch...about 10 weeks. I am taking a class, but it is not the same as being at work all week.

That is fantastic!!! To be fair I must admit I never taught in FCPS, just sharing my experience of where I worked. I only taught in elementary schools, not sure if you do, and it seems like it always takes us forever to clear out our classrooms for the summer cleaning. Hmmm maybe FCPS is the place to teach! 10 weeks off sounds superb!

Enjoy your well deserved summer break!

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by Jill2

That is fantastic!!! To be fair I must admit I never taught in FCPS, just sharing my experience of where I worked. I only taught in elementary schools, not sure if you do, and it seems like it always takes us forever to clear out our classrooms for the summer cleaning. Hmmm maybe FCPS is the place to teach! 10 weeks off sounds superb!

Enjoy your well deserved summer break!

Yes, both my wife and I teach in elementary schools for FCPS. The last day, the students are only in school for about 2 hours. Most people have their rooms pretty much packed up by the end of that day so that on the next day we just have to go in and get checked out by the admin.

I don't want this thread to get too far off the mark, but my summer break is going well! Thanks!

[frogbiscuit]

Since I started teaching three years ago I have always worked a second job in the summer, mostly for play money. The other thing that I didn't read here was that most school districts give you very minimal tuition assistance. Every company that I have ever worked for had much better TA than I get from the school district.

[porterjw]

I think you're looking for some pretty expensive places. I'm 27 and make a lil' over 70K + 18k in benefits from the miliary. I am using the VA home loan to buy my first home. I'm trying to find a home under 300K. A 250k house would have a monthly payment of about 1400 plus another 200 for taxes. You would also have utilities to pay for as well as save money for unexpected expenses. You should consider looking for a place well under the 300k+ you quoted earlier, due to the actual cost required to own a home.

[novahousehunter]

There's a lot of time between 22 and 30.

I bought a fairly pricey SFH at 31, and I think the main factors were getting steady raises at work and really saving during my 20s.

I always lived with roommates, and probably paid 1/3 of what a lot of my friends did in rent (and made more friends!)

I drove paid-off, beater cars that were fine for commuting, good on gas, and never made a car payment.

If those alone saved me 1K/month, for 10 years post college, that's about 120K saved over what the nice car/nice apt lifestyle of my peers.

Now I obviously pay a lot more in "rent" but am more comfortable doing so because it is the dream house and it is my own mortgage, not someone else's.

That said, it shouldn't all be about saving. Everyone has to decide what the long term goals are, and balance them against the lifestyle they want now.

[homeowner35]

Yes, I did. You have to learn to crawl before you walk. Why dont you by a condo and then upgrade in about 7 to 10 years. You are really young. Take your time and enjoy life. A house is a lot of work to maintain and you are long way from being able to afford that home on your salary. It will come in time.

[seiketsu]

Old thread but let me add my experience. I bought my first condo (one bedroom in Reston) when I was 23 and single, working for the man on a GS-8 salary. It was the smallest, least fancy unit in the best (for me) neighborhood I could afford, and my mortgage ended up being only slightly more than my rent at the time. I lived there for several years and then moved away from the DC area. I kept the condo as a rental although it meant a negative cash flow. In the years since, the condo fees have risen, my taxes have increased, and the monthly cost of the condo far exceeds the rent of a similarly sized apartment in, say, Dupont Circle. I probably would have come out ahead had I just socked away my cash in a high-yield savings account.

When I moved back to the area, I wanted to live closer to DC. I couldn't afford to buy the type of place I wanted and didn't want to lose money by selling in a down market, so I decided to continue renting out my condo and live in a rental myself. It's not an ideal situation -- carrying a condo with a negative cash flow cuts into my own rent budget -- but it allows me to have (some of) my cake and eat (some of) it too. I get the financial "benefits" of home ownership (which, in my opinion, are REALLY overrated) while living in a much nicer place than I could afford to own.

Moral of the story? Buying a condo in the DC area can be done under the age of 30 on a government salary. Buying the place of your dreams? Less likely. You have to balance the tradeoffs and decide if you want to be a homeowner above all else. I bought into the whole, you MUST own something, anything, or you're STUPID spiel. Personally, I wish I had skipped the purchase and poured my money into living in a luxury, hotel-like highrise. Renting isn't a waste of money -- it can buy you a nice lifestyle with minimal responsibilities. Enjoy your 20s!

[akorosdc]

Originally Posted by seiketsu

Renting isn't a waste of money -- it can buy you a nice lifestyle with minimal responsibilities. Enjoy your 20s!

Ditto. I honestly don't understand the preoccupation with buying, especially in a market where it's often cheaper to rent than pay a mortgage (plus any repairs, upkeep, taxes, fees, etc). Sure, it's nice to own your own place and have that "it's mine" feeling, but for now I'd rather spend my money on things like travel. Not to mention the ability to move around whenever I feel like it without having to worry about what will happen to my current residence. There's plenty of time to sink funds into real estate later on.