Home Prices

[Amiens]

Hey guys, don't knock the older houses -- they have a lot of charm and I'd take that over a new one any day!

I wasn't knocking it I was just pointing out that was the cheapest thing one can afford here in Seattle. If you want to buy new in Seattle- you have to purchase an existing home, and then bulldoze it, and then drop the $500K for building the home.

We would have bought a 1300 sq ft starter home, but Matt really wanted to upgrade to something nice as we have lived in a couple of certifiable dumps the past 7 years. Looks like we will be in our new home for at least 10 years to make up for lost time, at least that is the plan.

Crystal

[Amiens]

Jennifer- Don't forget that we have some financing options not available to the general public!

Jenn

My dad is retired military, and they are lucky, but my father has earned every single one of his privileges of being military- the zero-down VA loans.

Crystal

[Amiens]

I'm just going to ask it. How the heck do you guys Qualify for loans like that as resident spouses? We qualified for 300k when his starting sallary was 125k. Sure, we had a high debt load (that we have greatly reduced now) but besides qualifying for the loan...how on God's earth do you pay the mortgage (250k or 165k) as a resident's spouse? We never could have done it.


:!
kris

This is precisely why we didn't buy anything in Seattle. 1- we knew we would only be here for 3 years max, and thought we would break even. When we lived in Denver, at the start of medical school Matt tried to get his parents to go in with him on a condo, but they said no. They are now kicking themselves for that decision. There was a med student the year before Matt's class who bought and built a home at the start of medical school. When he graduated he sold the home, and took the equity and paid off his student loans.

The only way we are able to get the home we did in Boise is 1- we set a limit-- didn't want to be a dawter's wife, 2- Matt's parents are our mortgage lender. We have this insane goal to pay off the house in 6-10 years, although the contract states it's a 30 yr repayment at 5% interest. 8)

Crystal

[Amiens]

If we had bought at the start of medical school or residency I think we would have gotten 1300 sq ft, 3 bedroom, 2 bath.

When trying to decide what to buy for our first home out of residency- we really needed something with at least 4 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms and 2500 sq ft. We are having a third in December, and down the road will definitely have a 4th with the possibility of a 5th child. We wanted to buy something that would grow with us over the next 6 years. I am sick of moving, and grew up moving all of my life- USMC Brat. When I got married I thought we would be done moving- nope in 7 years we have lived in 5 different places. The deal was if we could find something that could grow with us, was in our price range (250-340K), and a great deal. I admit we are out of the norm for a first time home. We aren't extravagant people and here we bought a huge house (3775 sq ft). Good thing for us we love the neighborhood, the church, and area that I don't think we will be moving any time soon. When we do move in the future, it will be our last home to something with farmland-- Matt grew up on a farm and I long for a quieter/simpler life.

Crystal

Hey guys, don't knock the older houses -- they have a lot of charm and I'd take that over a new one any day!

I wasn't knocking it I was just pointing out that was the cheapest thing one can afford here in Seattle. If you want to buy new in Seattle- you have to purchase an existing home, and then bulldoze it, and then drop the $500K for building the home.

We would have bought a 1300 sq ft starter home, but Matt really wanted to upgrade to something nice as we have lived in a couple of certifiable dumps the past 7 years. Looks like we will be in our new home for at least 10 years to make up for lost time, at least that is the plan.

Crystal

I know -- but some people like old houses. Like me. I would prefer an older home to a new one. I think our '20s brick bungalow was sturdier than our current house and sturdier than a lot of the new builds, too.

[Amiens]

I like the charm of older homes, but unfortunately what we wanted we couldn't afford in Boise or we would've had to put a lot of work into it fixing it up--- something which Matt says he has no energy for--- he says "I need to fix my life and sleep deprivation before I go fixing up a house."

Crystal

Smart man! Too bad some of that wisdom hasn't worn off on me!

Having everything new is a real plus.

[Amiens]

Our new house is about 5 years old. So we are hoping all the kinks that come with a new home have been worked out, yet at the same time we have a couple of things that we want to change out in the kitchen. We see it as the best of both worlds right now.

Crystal

Yep, California prices are out of control. One year ago we paid 311K for a 1048 sq ft 2 bed/1 ba near the ghetto but close to the hospital.
Lucky for us the prices continue to skyrocket and comparable houses on our street are selling for $400K! For 2bd/1 bath!
In one year we have made more money on our home than DH's salary.
It's ridiculous, since we are certainly NOT in a desirable area like San Francisco. We have an interest only mortgage and had help from parents on a 20% downpayment. I hated doing the interest only - it's soo risky, but there's no way we could afford anything else. We can't even afford what we have now.
Essentially we are banking on the fact that the demand for housing here continues to increase thus we will make enough equity on our home for the risk to payoff. Keep your fingers crossed!
And our mortgage payments are less than what we would be paying to rent a comparable house in the neighborhood.

[PrincessFiona]

Lori,



kris

Speaking of California house prices...I read an article recently about San Diego housing and besides the fact that everyone was bidding prices into the stratosphere, buyers had to basically give sellers "resumes" and pictures of family and such to try and get them to accept their offer.

That is crazy....

[DCJenn]

I think I've mentioned that when my brother and SIL bought their house, there were something like 5 other offers and the only reason they took my brother's offer was because my SIL wrote a very funny "Ode to the knotty pine bar" which made the lady laugh and cry and pick them. Seriously. In DC there are typically NO inspection clauses, no waiting to think, and you have to sign an "escalation clause" to your contract which states how far over the asking price you are willing to go.

We got lucky because we paid for our own inspection, gave the sellers their asking price, agreed to their settlement date and the house hasn't fallen apart yet.

My friend's husband made an offer on a house in Logan Circle (a 'changing' neighborhood at the time) and it went for $80,000 over the asking price. My brother's friends just bought in their neighborhood for almost $100,000 over the asking price. People write contracts on the front lawns and present them the moment the house goes on the market. And half the time the signs don't even get put up and there's a buyer.

My parent's house just sold for their asking price. and four other people wanted to write contracts but the contract had ratified.

Traffic sucks so much that more and more people are dumping the 'burbs and moving closer in which is making the city hear up even more. It's just nuts.

Jenn

[SuzySunshine]

Matt, my BIL just bought a "condo" in LaJolla, very close (might as well be) San Diego. The reason I say "condo" is that it is a tiny two bedroom two bath apartment. The owners of the building basically kicked all of the renters out, remodeled the entire place and then put them on the market. They were gone two days after listing. My BIL only got the one he wanted b/c he was lucky. He never would tell us how much he spent but we suspect it was close to $400K.

The "resume" thing in true in LA, too. My cousin & her husband wrote letters to each person they extended offers to telling a bit about themselves and what they loved about the house and why they wanted to raise their family there. She said that many buyers won't even look at offers unless there is 20% down IN CASH (and they were looking at $500K houses).

Sheer craziness. After all that they ended up w/a 1200 sq foot bungalow that is adorable, but not half-a-million-dollars adorable (in my opinon).

[Cumberland]

Just wondering, why do the sellers care if they get 20% down in cash from the buyer if the bank is going to write them a check on closing day?