Boston on $140k salary and family of four? (Cambridge, Newton: to rent, mortgage)

[farans]

I would be working close to South Station. Within walking distance of it. House budget would be 20% down up to 100k and then finance the rest. Would love to have to pay no more than $2000/mnth on house payments/taxes. Doable?

[zaphod001]

Think about West Roxbury or Roslindale on the Needham commuter rail line. (West Roxbury feels less urban.)

[miu]

Originally Posted by farans

Boston on $140k salary and family of four?

Many families in the Boston area are able to raise a family of four with a combined income of less than $140K a year. So theoretically, the answer is yes to your question.

A lot depends on how sensible and frugal a lifestyle you live, and some on luck in finding the right house for the right price. You should start by keeping a detailed diary of your family's expenses, then analyzing what expenditures are absolutely necessary to your quality of life and what expenses you can trim.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by farans

I would be working close to South Station. Within walking distance of it. House budget would be 20% down up to 100k and then finance the rest. Would love to have to pay no more than $2000/mnth on house payments/taxes. Doable?

I think it's doable if you look for real estate south or southwest of Boston. You can find a house for $400,00. It may not be as nice as what you could get in the Chicago suburbs, but you could certainly find a solid town with decent schools.

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by farans

I would be working close to South Station. Within walking distance of it. House budget would be 20% down up to 100k and then finance the rest. Would love to have to pay no more than $2000/mnth on house payments/taxes. Doable?

I would look at Canton - I think that would be a good place. Natick would be second on my list. Both are on commuter rail lines and a 30-45 min ride in. Plus, they have very easy driving access to Boston and other amenities in the area.

[shamrock847]

I've lived in both the Chicago and Boston areas. Which area of Chicago/suburbs are you coming from? Depending on what area you are used to, you may not find Boston to be that much more expensive.

Since you are willing to consider up to an hour train ride, you will definitely be able to find houses in your price range. Are you considering townhouses or just single family houses? If you are looking at townhouses you will have more options closer to the city or possibly be able to get something newer/nicer than a single family for the same price.

With $100k down on a $400k house, it's going to be tough to get your mortgage, taxes and insurance below $2000/mo although you may get close. It can be a challenge to find a decent rental house for under $2000 around Boston.

On $140k you should be able to spend more than that if you choose, especially with only one car. You might look at places priced a little higher just to get a feel of what your options are.

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by farans

I would be working close to South Station. Within walking distance of it. House budget would be 20% down up to 100k and then finance the rest. Would love to have to pay no more than $2000/mnth on house payments/taxes. Doable?

100k down, 300k mortgage - 30 yr. fixed, @4.5% and 6k a year in property taxes totals to roughly $2020/month

So, basically it looks like you are staring at a housing price-range of around 400k depending upon interest rates and specific property taxes.

[Aliooop]

Have you looked at zillow to see what the house prices are like? They almost always list the past year's property taxes too so you know roughly what it would be in the future. I suggest looking at the mbta web site to see what towns the commuter rail stops in and how long the commute is, then search zillow for the right size house and lot you want and see what the prices are.

Btw, I saw Natick mentioned a couple of times here. Just be advised the place is like one giant and ridiculous shopping plaza. There are multiple malls all right near each other as well as other shopping complexes mixed in. If you're going to live in Natick, make sure you're away from all that craziness.

[proudestmonkey]

Originally Posted by farans

I would be working close to South Station. Within walking distance of it. House budget would be 20% down up to 100k and then finance the rest. Would love to have to pay no more than $2000/mnth on house payments/taxes. Doable?

Completely doable. Your situation is somewhat similar to ours. I would take a look at the south shore and commuting in on the red line if you're working at south station. Look at Milton, Quincy, Weymouth, Braintree, Scituate even, though it is farther out, the commuter rail is there now. A friend of mine just bought a gorgeous house for her family of four at just over $400k. My husband takes the bus to the red line. He used to work near south station but even now that he doesn't work directly off of the red line it's not a bad commute. And there's also the commuter rail from the south shore which comes in to south station.

Many of the posts on this website steer people toward the suburbs that are the "best of the best", but not everyone can afford Newton, Brookline and the like. There are many nice towns that are a manageable commute from outside of the city that are more affordable, family focused and have decent schools, so don't let other posters make you feel like sending your kids to Braintree schools vs. Newton is horrible- the Braintree schools are good schools- MA schools are some of the best in the country. And this is coming from a private school teacher.

Good luck with your search. I have no doubt that you will find something that works for you.

[miu]

Originally Posted by farans

I would be working close to South Station. Within walking distance of it. House budget would be 20% down up to 100k and then finance the rest. Would love to have to pay no more than $2000/mnth on house payments/taxes. Doable?

I strongly suggest you checking out all the areas mentioned in this thread in person, BUT... renting first for at least a year. All of these places will have houses available to rent. Why rush into a home purchase? If you find that you like another area better, it will not be easy to quickly sell the first home in order to switch locations. It's still more of a buyers market than a sellers in MA.