okay, i'm just floored (Arlington: rent, health insurance, mortgage)

[msRB311]

Maybe in 20 years it will be worth 5 million

[Remy11]

Originally Posted by Jimbo21

full disclosure, i live in arlington and i was certain that i overpaid for my house 6 years ago. guess i was wrong. crappy thing is that i can't upgrade in my own town, it makes no sense. lexington is my likely destination.

Jimbo,
Does Arlington not allow home remodels at all or is it more that it involves a ton of red tape to attempt a remodel, let alone get the approval?

[simplexsimon]

Do people have a problem with $1.4m with this house in particular or how expensive houses are all over? It's all relative...if a family wants to live as close to the city as possible but have a SFH, a yard, and a town with good schools, what are their options and prices?

I know of at least two family of fours that are living in the Seaport and sending kids to Catholic school as they refuse to move to the burbs.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by simplexsimon

Do people have a problem with $1.4m with this house in particular or how expensive houses are all over? It's all relative...if a family wants to live as close to the city as possible but have a SFH, a yard, and a town with good schools, what are their options and prices?

I know of at least two family of fours that are living in the Seaport and sending kids to Catholic school as they refuse to move to the burbs.

I think people don't often think in real dollars. This house went up in value a lot since 1999, but in real dollars its somewhere between 2.5-3x what it was in 1999, which is a far cry from the 4.5x it looks like on paper.

Same with wages. People bemoan the $15/hr sub shop (or whatever) person... but that's, in real dollars, what I was getting (more or less) working crappy jobs in the late 80s.

Sure, prices are nuts, but Boston has really boomed over the last 30 years since this was last sold, and this is an absolutely fantastic location, IMO.

[simplexsimon]

Originally Posted by timberline742

I think people don't often think in real dollars. This house went up in value a lot since 1999, but in real dollars its somewhere between 2.5-3x what it was in 1999, which is a far cry from the 4.5x it looks like on paper.

Same with wages. People bemoan the $15/hr sub shop (or whatever) person... but that's, in real dollars, what I was getting (more or less) working crappy jobs in the late 80s.

Sure, prices are nuts, but Boston has really boomed over the last 30 years since this was last sold, and this is an absolutely fantastic location, IMO.

Yep, and although that amount of real return is still incredible, it assumes the prior owners put in $0 over the years.

[BosYuppie]

Something that I think adds a lot of appeal is the fact that thanks to GrubHub/UberEats etc, a house in this part of Arlington can easily order delivery from any of the amazing restaurants in Cambridge/Somerville.

[thinkingotherthings]

Originally Posted by skeddy

meh...couples are pulling in $300-400K a year these days. If you are and it's where you want to live, I say go for it.

Sad thing is in the Greater Boston area 300-400k HHI isn't even that much money. Especially if you have childcare expenses and are a first-time home buyer in this market, in my opinion 1.4M is out of budget for a 300k income (assuming 20% down payment). 400k you could maybe swing it, but you're looking at a PITI of ~8k which is on the far end of comfortable.

Maybe if both spouses are highly confident that their incomes will never go down then 8k/mo becomes an easier pill to swallow. But it gives basically no breathing room for either spouse to end up in an even slightly lower paying job in the future.

Then again, with how much money the Fed has printed over the past couple years, maybe incomes only go up from here as the dollar's purchasing power continues to sink..

[simplexsimon]

Originally Posted by thinkingotherthings

Sad thing is in the Greater Boston area 300-400k HHI isn't even that much money. Especially if you have childcare expenses and are a first-time home buyer in this market, in my opinion 1.4M is out of budget for a 300k income (assuming 20% down payment). 400k you could maybe swing it, but you're looking at a PITI of ~8k which is on the far end of comfortable.

Maybe if both spouses are highly confident that their incomes will never go down then 8k/mo becomes an easier pill to swallow. But it gives basically no breathing room for either spouse to end up in an even slightly lower paying job in the future.

Then again, with how much money the Fed has printed over the past couple years, maybe incomes only go up from here as the dollar's purchasing power continues to sink..

For this house in particular, the down payment was 30%. You think $8k/month in PITI is tight for a household on $300k? What's your math here? We must have different spending habits.

[Jimbo21]

Originally Posted by Remy11

Jimbo,
Does Arlington not allow home remodels at all or is it more that it involves a ton of red tape to attempt a remodel, let alone get the approval?

i've had basic work done on my house, and there are always gut renos and expansions going on when you drive around. it must be easy enough to do these.

[Jimbo21]

Originally Posted by simplexsimon

For this house in particular, the down payment was 30%. You think $8k/month in PITI is tight for a household on $300k? What's your math here? We must have different spending habits.

not addressed to me, but thought i'd chime in. our household income is something like $360k. our piti is about $3200. i would be rather uncomfortable going up to $8k. doesn't leave enough leeway for investing (maxing out a 401k, $1800/month in 529 plans, and taxable investing), child care (which cost me $3k/month back when my kids were little), and general flexibility. we can run our house, rather comfortably, on only one income. i'm thinking of retiring at 50something. $8k/month piti would cost me and my family a hell of a lot of comfort and security. just my $0.02. others will obviously have a different view.