Affordable Single Family Home- Northern VA (Fairfax: middle-class, short sales, foreclosures)

[Yankeesfan]

Poochie, you won't find anything respectable for that price, and frankly I'm going to second what lchoro said, that $225,000 is too high for your salary.

[FindingZen]

Poochie1050, I'll admit that I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek with my references. I apologize if I happened to offend you. <slaps own hand: Bad moderator, bad!>

I guess by now you understand the point I was trying to make. While I may have exaggerated a bit, the sad fact is that many people do commute from most of those far-flung areas to the DC metro in order to afford a single family home at the price point that you're looking for. It frustrates me as well as I am starting to tire of apartment neighbors who blast and bounce around like their floors and ceilings are made from Fort Knox-worthy material. I'm sorry to say that you're going to have to adjust your expectations if you want to live in Fairfax County.

[austindoxie1972]

Poochie --
I think you're right to wait a bit. In 2004, I was living in Texas, making about $50,000 a year. I bought a totally renovated house for $125,000 and let me tell you...even with a higher salary than you're making now and a lower-cost house than those available in this area, I still thought it was a stretch at times.

You're smart to reach out to others and get some advice. And I think it's great that you're looking and remain flexible with your search. All the best!

[mojo_1979]

Originally Posted by lchoro

You can't afford to get into a $225K mortgage on a 40K annual income. You'll spend more than 1/2 your gross monthly income on the mortgage interest, real estate taxes, PMI, HOA fees, etc. before you pay the utilities, maintenance, and your other living expenses.

We're going to have to assume that she has a 20% downpayment ($45,000). Otherwise you are absolutely correct. Without a downpayment, top-tier credit will still result in mortgage payments of $1375 per month on a 30-year fixed. That is 41% of gross pay right there and that doesn't even include taxes, insurance, HOA, or maintenance.

So please, tell us you do have a 20% downpayment! If any broker is trying to steer you to anything other than a 30-year fixed mortgage then they are trying to take advantage of you. Interest rates will most likely never be lower than they are now (hence an ARM makes no sense), and prices are going to continue to fall (hence and interest-only loan makes no sense).

With all that being said, now is a horrible time to buy your first home. Look at it like this, the price of homes are falling because they are unaffordable to most people. So what happens if interest rates go up...? If rates go up, homes become even more unaffordable and prices will drop even further (and faster).

Wait a year, keep saving a bigger downpayment and watch prices continue to fall.

[mojo_1979]

Originally Posted by ACWhite

And, I don't believe prices will come down a lot more on good houses in good neighborhoods anywhere close to DC.

Which realtor gave you that kool-aid ???

[5stones]

I too agree that 225k is way too much for a 40k a year budget. you will be extremely house poor and living pay check to pay check. I'd go for a condo. look hard and find one with utilites included in the HOA. and look for one with reasonable HOA around 250 per month.

Being a single female and buying a SFH house that is way out of your budget is just trouble waitng to happen. (as the above poster mentioned...taxes & insurance and PMI etc....)The maintence on older homes is tremendous and upkeep. All the things you never though of add up...lawn care, painting, heat and ac units, electrical I could go on an on.... I think you will be in way over your head.
MY sis in law bouth a house in MD 2 years ago and she makes well over 200k but the time to do maintence and up keep is killing her. in hte 2 years she lived there she already has had to....replace the Dishwasher, replace the AC, replace the H2O heater, big ticket items that all were in good working condition when she bought the house but at 20 years old.....

[ariadel]

Now, you've given us no idea of your square footage/bathroom/bedroom preference, however no matter what, at your price range, a townhouse is probably a better idea. Heck, a townhouse is the limit of what is possible, in this county. Now in Prince William (specifically in Manassas), you can get a SFH for that price, however that area is not considered a better one at this point in time, property values are dropping more rapidly there than anywhere else, and I'm not sure how transportation would work.

It looks like you can get an older (but still in decent shape) condo in Herndon for about 150ish if you don't mind 1 - 1.5 bath.

Do you plan on having a roommate? I make about what you make, have a 15% downpayment prepared, and I'm not planning on spending over 190 with a roomate. Other living expenses and taxes around here can be pretty expensive.

[Teebyrd86]

Charlottesville has a commuter train to D.C. everyday.. check it out maybe this will spread your options out a little further!! Good luck! too bad you work in D.C. Roanoke valley is such a nicer area (where I reside now). $225k would get you a nice 3-4bd in a great neighborhood here! Just one problem=JOBS! Best of luck to you in pursueing your American Dream!! Everyone should be able to have this oppourtunity as a hard working American.. Nova is just so overpriced ;-)

Originally Posted by Poochie1050

Hi All,

All of you have given me great advice, and I'll consider all that you have said. Those of you who have suggested that I consider other locations: West Virginia, western Maryland, Baltimore....there's only one small problem, I work in the D.C. area and I don't have a car. So, getting to n' fro would be a compute nightmare, not to mention the compute time.

I've only been looking a month now, so I'll hang in here a little longer even if it's futile and perhaps unrealistic. I'm not in any rush or under pressure to move from where I am. I just wanted to get something of my own, and I figured the market was ready for me. I guess I figured wrong. Sorry.

Poochie1050

[goozer]

Originally Posted by 5stones

I too agree that 225k is way too much for a 40k a year budget. you will be extremely house poor and living pay check to pay check. I'd go for a condo. look hard and find one with utilites included in the HOA. and look for one with reasonable HOA around 250 per month.

I'll go ahead and jump on the bandwagon that a $40k salary is not enough to afford a $225k mortage. The old rule of thumb is that you should not take on a mortgage that is more than three times your gross annual salary ($120k in your case). Unfortunately, during the recent housing price runup, some banks were giving out huge mortgages to people (7 to 10 times their annual salary) on the theory that even though the mortgage might be unaffordable and you might default on your payments, housing prices were skyrocketing up so high that the bank could always recoup all of its money in foreclosure. This is a big part of the problem that millions of americans now find themselves in as banks foreclose and homeowners don't have enough equity to refinance or pay their huge mortgage loans.

Sadly, you simply cannot afford to buy a single family house in a nice neighborhood in the suburbs of Washington DC with your salary. Home prices have too far outpaced the ability of people of modest means to afford to buy. Thirty years ago, someone in your position could have managed to buy a small house not too far from DC. But not anymore.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by Teebyrd86

Charlottesville has a commuter train to D.C. everyday.. check it out maybe this will spread your options out a little further!! Good luck! too bad you work in D.C. Roanoke valley is such a nicer area (where I reside now). $225k would get you a nice 3-4bd in a great neighborhood here! Just one problem=JOBS! Best of luck to you in pursueing your American Dream!! Everyone should be able to have this oppourtunity as a hard working American.. Nova is just so overpriced ;-)

Where did you find your info about a commuter train from Charlottesville to DC? I know that Amtrak stops in Charlottesville. However, when I checked Amtrak's website I saw that only one train a day passes through and it takes about 3 hours to get to and from DC.