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I want to know the answer to this: All these people keep posting it is cheaper to own than rent. Where do you people live???? Seriously....DC is absurd. I pay $2500 for a 2bd/2ba, nothing special apartment. A crappy townhome would be $3000 or more. Even factoring in the LARGE D/P required and tax deduction/principal reduction-still nothing good. And for $3K a month-the TH isn't nice-very low end. You need $3500 or more for anything nice.
Western PA is notorious for its inexpensive housing stock.
My son got a 3 br house with his mortgage being half the cost of a 2 br apartment.
I want to know the answer to this: All these people keep posting it is cheaper to own than rent. Where do you people live???? Seriously....DC is absurd. I pay $2500 for a 2bd/2ba, nothing special apartment. A crappy townhome would be $3000 or more. Even factoring in the LARGE D/P required and tax deduction/principal reduction-still nothing good. And for $3K a month-the TH isn't nice-very low end. You need $3500 or more for anything nice.
It depends on where you're looking.
I live in a 2100 sq ft sfh in the northern part of Silver Spring. My payment is just over $3000 a month - including property taxes. (I got a loan modification recently.)
Closer to the city, the COL goes up dramatically. Plus, if you can only live in an upscale suburb, then you'll obviously be paying a premium for that.
Last edited by BigCityDreamer; 02-18-2014 at 08:41 AM..
Western PA is notorious for its inexpensive housing stock.
My son got a 3 br house with his mortgage being half the cost of a 2 br apartment.
Very true -- and out here, for the most part, renting is the way to go. You can't buy in a nice neighborhood for what you could rent for.
We bought in what we thought was an up and coming neighborhood. We were wrong. Since we didn't have kids it didn't really impact us, and our little area is pretty quiet, thanks to dead ends and one ways that don't really get you out of the neighborhood easily. A few blocks over -- not so much.
However -- I wanted to address maintenance costs. I've put maybe 30K into this house. Over almost 30 years. We haven't done a major remodel, just small ones -- because to do a major one -- well we'd have to lose a bedroom and 2 beds one baths sell around here, one bed, one baths don't -- and yes -- we have them and I know how long they stay on the market.
We're capable of doing a lot, and we know our limits and when to hire. This year -- we're getting a new roof, and doing more tree work -- about another 10k.... still -- with that it adds 100 bucks a month. That's not a lot.
I know someone who is a major house updater -- she puts in new kitchen and bath things, new vanity, new sinks new faucets, new appliances redoes the flooring -- she does this when she feels they look tired.... about every 5 years. She says they do this for resale value, but they've lived there for a long time and are not interested in selling.
She's an avid watcher of HGTV.... and hmmmm... know what they suggest? Yep.
Western PA is notorious for its inexpensive housing stock.
My son got a 3 br house with his mortgage being half the cost of a 2 br apartment.
our friends moved out to pottsville. great, affordable little town but i think i would rather stick pins in my eyes than be restricted to living in a nothing to do town like that.
Everything that doesn't raise property value more than it would go up due to market conditions is a cost. What I call "maintenance" is what would LOWER the resale value if not done. And it can be a considerable cost. If you rented, and it wasn't done, you'd just move to a rental in better condition. And the money would still be in savings for you. I think a lot of "affordable homes" get sold to people who stretch to just make the payments that stave off foreclosure. As a result, it makes a real strain to keep their property from deteriorating.
our friends moved out to pottsville. great, affordable little town but i think i would rather stick pins in my eyes than be restricted to living in a nothing to do town like that.
Okay....
you DO know that Pottsville is not in western PA, right?
I am talking about Pittsburgh and the metro area.
Renting has an out-clause. Just move. If you are absolutely certain that there will never be an event in your life that will make you want an out-clause, then buy. If you're sure there will never be a divorce, a local economic downturn, a career change, an illness or accident, then buy.
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Seriously....DC is absurd. I pay $2500 for a 2bd/2ba, nothing special apartment. A crappy townhome would be $3000 or more. Even factoring in the LARGE D/P required and tax deduction/principal reduction-still nothing good. And for $3K a month-the TH isn't nice-very low end. You need $3500 or more for anything nice.
