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What do you guys consider a starter home? sq ft, Price, number of rooms etc. I'm in NC and i'm not quite sure what people are considering a starter home.
"Starter" house means whatever house you can afford when you're starting out. At least, that's what it means to me. The "starter" homes back where I used to live in CA had 500K price tags :/
Somebody said it perfectly, a starter home is a house that you can afford when you are relatively young and are still paying off student debt. A price point is difficult to say because there are huge differences in price all over the country. Here in Minnesota it would be around $150k give or take a little.... depending on the area where you buy, it would be smaller or a little larger. Our older houses here in St Paul or Mpls tend to be smaller. For this money however, one can find a decent town house.... so like many things in Real Estate - it depends :-) But usually a cheaper home and thus smaller ...
I was going to say "affordable to the median under 30 home buyer in the area."
Where I live (Wilmette, Illinois) there are no buyers under 30 at all. The median first-time SFH buyer is mid to late 30s and has moved up from the city where they either owned or rented a condo.
Where I live (Wilmette, Illinois) there are no buyers under 30 at all. The median first-time SFH buyer is mid to late 30s and has moved up from the city where they either owned or rented a condo.
Wouldn't a starter home then be a condo, in this instance?
And the starter "home" be that SFH for the one in the mid-30s? Perhaps a redefinition of what we mean by starter home.
Are there really a lot of markets where an additional 10% will get you another 5-10 years worth of being happy with a house? Couldn't you just put that 10% into upgrades?
It seems that in most markets where 300K is a starter home, going to more beds/ baths/ a finished basement (which is really what would keep someone there longer, right?) is at least 30-50% more cost. I'd think the difference would be 320K to 450K, no 320 to 350.
It's not just upgrades. It's location and style of the house.
$30k less for us would have gotten us something about 5 miles further west or south. That 5 miles would be another 15 minutes each way during rush hour.
$30k less would have gotten us a ranch-style house or a smaller tri-level when we highly preferred a 2-story house with a basement.
The house we ended with actually did have a finished basement and was 2.5 baths instead of 2 like most of the others we saw. We compromised on lot size (about 1/10th acre vs 1/5-1/4 acre) to get what we wanted. Would I have liked a bigger yard? Sure. But it means less yard work for me and less watering while still enough space for games of bags or horse shoes and to have a puppy.
and once again, that will depend on your market. It may work where you live, but for many people, they will not be saving any money by renting, because rents are the same or more than a mortgage. Buying a starter home, building some equity and then moving up the property ladder is a very sound strategy in many cases.
I just saw a home listed that seemed decent sized for the year , and it was listed as a starter home .. but it had no interior photos on the listing .
So I'm guessing they were using it as a nicer way of saying "fixer" home .
I just saw a home listed that seemed decent sized for the year , and it was listed as a starter home .. but it had no interior photos on the listing .
So I'm guessing they were using it as a nicer way of saying "fixer" home .
Not necessarily.
One of my mom's neighbors refused to allow interior pictures of his house online. 3 bed/2 bath ranch around 1400 square feet, so I'd consider it in the starter home range. The house is immaculate. He listed in February with two summer time photos of his house. He sold it in just a few days.
Nope, just someone who is single with a kid, works for a non-profit so doesn't earn a huge salary, and lives in a half million dollar house that I never, ever could have afforded without the equity that came from the two previous homes I've owned.
And because I have a kid, being tied down is exactly what I wanted. I live in a great neighborhood with great schools in a city where not all the schools are great but because of where I live, my son is guaranteed a spot at one of the best rated high schools in the entire state. I'm not going anywhere.
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