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Since I just moved from Raleigh after living there for 32 years, I want to caution you that you will NOT find a nice townhome in a safe area for $90-100K. A nice two bedroom townhome in a safe area of Raleigh will run $150K +. We had a townhome off from Six Forks in a decent area, though the townhouse itself wasn't anything that special, several years ago. They are selling for $125K+ now.
I wouldn't buy yet, I'd rent an apartment instead if you need to get out on your own. Otherwise, search the job market in the areas you are interested in and search the real estate market, too. Make sure you know the neighborhoods you will feel comfortable living in and search accordingly. Don't just search Raleigh and price because that doesn't give you the whole picture.
Not sure what your job is in "IT" but in the companies I've worked for it was the most mobile profession. We have tons working remotely so they pull in a decent salary and like kings in low COL areas.
Since I just moved from Raleigh after living there for 32 years, I want to caution you that you will NOT find a nice townhome in a safe area for $90-100K. A nice two bedroom townhome in a safe area of Raleigh will run $150K +. We had a townhome off from Six Forks in a decent area, though the townhouse itself wasn't anything that special, several years ago. They are selling for $125K+ now.
I wouldn't buy yet, I'd rent an apartment instead if you need to get out on your own. Otherwise, search the job market in the areas you are interested in and search the real estate market, too. Make sure you know the neighborhoods you will feel comfortable living in and search accordingly. Don't just search Raleigh and price because that doesn't give you the whole picture.
^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^ I am living in the Raleigh outskirts and if I saw a townhouse for anything under $125K right now, I'd immediately be leery of it. New construction townhomes near me mostly start in the low 200s.... And I am quite a ways from the city proper. (Granted, I do think new townhomes here are overpriced right now in most instances.)
Lots of statistics on Raleigh real estate available on line are outdated. The real estate market has taken a huge leap in just the last year (and one year ago it was considered flaming hot). Any stats before 2015 are going to be very off as far as home prices.
Since I just moved from Raleigh after living there for 32 years, I want to caution you that you will NOT find a nice townhome in a safe area for $90-100K. A nice two bedroom townhome in a safe area of Raleigh will run $150K +. We had a townhome off from Six Forks in a decent area, though the townhouse itself wasn't anything that special, several years ago. They are selling for $125K+ now.
I wouldn't buy yet, I'd rent an apartment instead if you need to get out on your own. Otherwise, search the job market in the areas you are interested in and search the real estate market, too. Make sure you know the neighborhoods you will feel comfortable living in and search accordingly. Don't just search Raleigh and price because that doesn't give you the whole picture.
Renting here would be stupid. We have very few newer rentals. My city just recently had its first new apartment complex open...in thirty years. 1 BRs start in the $800 range. There are some older complexes with 1 BR starting around $700, but they are extremely dated. Otherwise, the market is mostly SFHs ($$$) and trailers, and almost all by word of mouth or the newspaper. Even with a low DP and PMI + PITI, I could easily get a 2 BR townhome around here for $300-$400/month less than renting a similar unit.
You can find cheaper, but then you're looking at studio/efficiency units, or going very rural.
This is an example unit of what I saw in Raleigh. I haven't been there in five years or so and have only been for various events. This seems to be nicer than most in this range. At my current salary, I wouldn't feel comfortable going over $150k or so, but I wouldn't be moving for a lateral salary move unless I was out of work or something. I'm not saying this is common or that it won't move quick, but it's obviously not doable.
Keep in mind that I'm in extreme northeast TN, about an hour from Mitchell County, NC and about 90 minutes from Asheville. We are two hours from Knoxville (nearest Costco, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's etc.), a little over four from Nashville, little over three to Charlotte, and five to Raleigh/Atlanta/Cincinnati. I got used to a certain level of suburban comfort in Indianapolis that is just unavailable in this area. I doubt I'd ever go back and live in Indianapolis, but I'd like to be able to recreate that affluent, suburban lifestyle, and you can't do that in an isolated, poor area like this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dandelion Garden
You pretty much answered your own question in the OP, saying that your area is in decline and you'd rather live elsewhere. Buying a house in a place you really don't want to stay longer-term is usually a bad idea no matter what your reasons are.
I bought in a small town (about 18k population), but my town and my personal wants were completely different than yours. The town is economically stable, a college town which is also the county seat and within commuting distance of the state capitol. We're around the crossing of multiple major interstates, so distribution centers for major online retailers have popped up like dandelions over the last decade (including Amazon). I don't see the slow but steady growth around here ending anytime soon.
But the hugest factor of all is that I WANTED to live in a small town. I cannot stand cities, even smaller ones. I grew up on a very isolated 200 acre farm and will always be a rural/small town girl at heart. If you're the opposite, don't try to shove yourself into a lifestyle that just doesn't fit you. That's a recipe for a lot of unhappiness.
There is a college town anchored by a fairly large regional state university about a half hour away. There is also a Christian liberal arts college right outside the city limits, but for all practical purposes, it might as well be in the city. This gives the town more diversity and vibrancy than the other places around here.
If I were to buy around here, it would be there. The downtown is going through revitalization - it seems as if there is a new restaurant, brewery, or other business opening every month. It has the area's only healthy mall, the best housing stock, etc., but it's far from booming. Chattanooga and Knoxville still have a lot more going on.
One of the things that hurts this area is there really isn't much of an interstate crossroads or thru-traffic. We do get some coming mostly southbound from I-81 (that terminates at I-40 about 70 miles south and there is nothing of note between the two points), but I-26 terminates at the VA line, less than ten miles from where it crosses I-81. Virtually all the I-26 is local traffic between two cities. The I-81/I-26 intersection was supposed to be used for a Costco and other retail development, but all parties pulled back and it's nothing but leveled dirt at this point. What a waste.
At the end of the day, only Johnson City has a slight natural population increase (births>deaths), and all the other counties are declining. My town had a median age somewhere in the mid 40s. For someone who is 30 and single, it is a stultifying place to be.
I don't want to be too far from family, which is why I'm considering Raleigh/Nashville/Charlotte/Atlanta and SC, but at the same, don't know if I want to go as large as Indy. I'd rather be somewhere like Knoxville/Chattanooga/Greenville, SC, but still unsure of the job market in those places. I don't want to go north due to the weather. I'm probably going to be out of the Tri-Cities by the time I'm 35, don't see myself ever coming back, and want the next move to be somewhere I can reasonably be for ten years.
Last edited by Serious Conversation; 04-07-2017 at 06:43 AM..
I'd go to Charlotte or Raleigh-Durham or Nashville or Atlanta. Raleigh might have a slight edge for IT jobs, but not a ton. Maybe Raleigh gets a slight nod for more IT jobs.
Your threads have indicated so much trepidation about buying in the Tri Cities that it seems like it will be an anxiety ridden decision for you no matter what.
I'd go to Charlotte or Raleigh-Durham or Nashville or Atlanta. Raleigh might have a slight edge for IT jobs, but not a ton. Maybe Raleigh gets a slight nod for more IT jobs.
Your threads have indicated so much trepidation about buying in the Tri Cities that it seems like it will be an anxiety ridden decision for you no matter what.
Part of the trepidation comes from what happened to me back in 2013. I moved from here to Des Moines, IA, in 2012 for a better paying job. I hated Des Moines with a passion, but at the time, I was 26 and the only place I lived outside of this area (southwest VA) on my own was in upstate South Carolina. That's not the culture shock Des Moines was.
I came back at the end of 2012 and took a temporary job for $12/hr. The goal was to move to one of these other Southern cities in a few months, but I was never able to land anything decent. I was let go from the temp job, then had a string of temp jobs, each paying less than the last with none of them offering benefits of any kind. I started shooting off resumes all over the place, and that's when I landed in Indianapolis.
I was probably just a couple of months from having to file Chapter 7 by the time I left here in early 2014. I lost my ass financially that year, and with the economy being what it is, I could easily see that happening again if my current job is gone.
Buying anywhere is about confidence that the job will last and that the buyer will want to remain...
balanced against a strong enough market for confidence the property can later be sold...
without a lot of drama or delay or discounting.
If you don't have those things, all of them, renting is the answer.
Buying anywhere is about confidence that the job will last and that the buyer will want to remain...
balanced against a strong enough market for confidence the property can later be sold...
without a lot of drama or delay or discounting.
If you don't have those things, all of them, renting is the answer.
OP, you also have to consider transaction costs-- if you are buying with a low down payment, I would assume that you're looking at FHA which has an upfront cost of 1.75% (not inclusive of the down payment)-- plus ongoing mortgage insurance. Additionally, what happens if you relocate and you can't sell your property for 6 months-- or more? Plus there's significant costs when you sell-- commission, often sellers are asked to pay 3% towards the seller's closing costs, title insurance, etc.
Using $100K as your purchase/selling price, you'd be looking at a minimum $8K (between the upfront 1.75% and the 6% commission on the backend)-- and that ignores all other costs, taxes, title, insurance, repairs, transfers, etc-- and a more realistic figure of $12-$18K (including kickback to the seller, appraisal fees, inspection fees, etc)-- and again this ignores if you get a job elsewhere and have to pay for a vacant property-- or if you have to replace a roof or more.
That $300-$400 "savings" per month will take 3-4 years before you "break even", if not more-- as you're not certain you want to stay AND you'll have a hard time selling if you go, it might not be a great idea to 'tie yourself down' with a home, regardless of the short term savings.
Part of the trepidation comes from what happened to me back in 2013. I moved from here to Des Moines, IA, in 2012 for a better paying job. I hated Des Moines with a passion, but at the time, I was 26 and the only place I lived outside of this area (southwest VA) on my own was in upstate South Carolina. That's not the culture shock Des Moines was.
I came back at the end of 2012 and took a temporary job for $12/hr. The goal was to move to one of these other Southern cities in a few months, but I was never able to land anything decent. I was let go from the temp job, then had a string of temp jobs, each paying less than the last with none of them offering benefits of any kind. I started shooting off resumes all over the place, and that's when I landed in Indianapolis.
I was probably just a couple of months from having to file Chapter 7 by the time I left here in early 2014. I lost my ass financially that year, and with the economy being what it is, I could easily see that happening again if my current job is gone.
Your situation is kinda/sorta like my own. I was struggling at a $15/hr job in Minneapolis (home is Chicago.) I got an opportunity to move to Raleigh for a job. It was worth it. Money was real tight for awhile after my move, but, it was well worth it in the end. Its hard to go broke getting raises.
OP, you also have to consider transaction costs-- if you are buying with a low down payment, I would assume that you're looking at FHA which has an upfront cost of 1.75% (not inclusive of the down payment)-- plus ongoing mortgage insurance. Additionally, what happens if you relocate and you can't sell your property for 6 months-- or more? Plus there's significant costs when you sell-- commission, often sellers are asked to pay 3% towards the seller's closing costs, title insurance, etc.
Using $100K as your purchase/selling price, you'd be looking at a minimum $8K (between the upfront 1.75% and the 6% commission on the backend)-- and that ignores all other costs, taxes, title, insurance, repairs, transfers, etc-- and a more realistic figure of $12-$18K (including kickback to the seller, appraisal fees, inspection fees, etc)-- and again this ignores if you get a job elsewhere and have to pay for a vacant property-- or if you have to replace a roof or more.
That $300-$400 "savings" per month will take 3-4 years before you "break even", if not more-- as you're not certain you want to stay AND you'll have a hard time selling if you go, it might not be a great idea to 'tie yourself down' with a home, regardless of the short term savings.
None of this is happening immediately. I recently paid off the negative equity and sold my car, and bought an older car in cash. That's going to help DTI. I've also paid off about $12,000 in credit card debt since last September, though it was roughly half of my own money and half from an insurance policy my grandparents had on me and they cashed it in.
I need to get my own cash reserves rebuilt after this car situation, but the car was costing me $489/month and went on for a little over two more years. I wanted to get out from under that ASAP.
You can do a 3% conventional now. I will probably be putting down 10% on a $100k home. I will be paying PMI, but will probably not do FHA. In this area, there are many places that are essentially low density suburban that would be viable and would also qualify for a USDA rural development loan.
I'm not saying you won't "take a bath" selling quickly, but I'm also not of the mind that renting something is going to be the right answer in this area in the near term. The rental stock here is generally old and crappy, with the exception of a handful of new units, which are fairly high priced due to higher demand and limited supply. While the housing stock for sale isn't that great either, it is, by and large, in better shape than rental stock.
As a renter, the landlord is just going to pass the property taxes and whatever his own costs are on to you, especially at the higher end in this area where it's a tight market. Property taxes in this area are negligible - probably around $60/month in the price range I'm looking at. Insurance is right around there too. $120-$150/month in insurance and property taxes won't break me.
My last rental was a bad experience. The units opened up into a common area, so you could smell other tenants' cooking and animal odors. The AC didn't work well, so it was running all the time and my power bill was over $200/month in summer. I had no authority to call out on my own service tech to get a second opinion or replace the unit. The stove was original from the 70s. I still paid all my utilities, except trash. Monthly, it was nearly double what similarly built units for sold for at a 10% DP + PITI, not including PMI.
I am not opposed to renting the right property at the right price, but it needs to be closer to a sweet spot than I've seen recently.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JONOV
Your situation is kinda/sorta like my own. I was struggling at a $15/hr job in Minneapolis (home is Chicago.) I got an opportunity to move to Raleigh for a job. It was worth it. Money was real tight for awhile after my move, but, it was well worth it in the end. Its hard to go broke getting raises.
Things sucked the first year I moved to Indy. Things ended up OK, but it was tight. I don't think I'll be here forever, but I'm not going to move for a lateral salary or title move unless I feel like my job is in jeopardy. I have done four multi-state moves since 2012. A move around this general area is nowhere near as stressful. I have the nerve for one more big move in me for a bit, but if I do move, I want it to be because it's some place I want to be, in an area I like, rather than having to move to a dart on the map because I got a job there.
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