Quarter Mil' Y'all!

Damn straight! That's what the bank gave me! Actually, I could have gotten more, but as it stands with our down payment money and what we'd like our payments to be each month, we're FHA approved to spend $250k with only 5% down at 4.5%APR. For those not in the know, that's pretty damned sweet given that I have a semi-crappy credit score. (you couldn't get a 4.5 unless you were Warren Buffet at one point) That said, while 250k will get you something really rather nice in places like NC, OH, WV, etc. It's not a whole lot around here. If you remember back before the market went to hell, Shorty paid something like 350k for a 1000sqft cape cod in Falls Church.

The good news for Erin and I is that we're looking further out, which means more for our money.

Still, it's great news for us since we're through with throwing our money away each month renting.

You can get a lot of land and a home in Kentucky that are nice.

New car...new house...someone having an (early?) midlife crisis? 

it makes it sound like a lot of money.

not picking on you but this is what got the entire u.s economy up side down.

impulse418 wrote: What are the property taxes on a 250k house there?

Depends on where you buy. Montgomery County, MD where we are looking is a bit weird. While they assess land and house and tax based on that, they're a little wonky with their assessments based on the locality. I'd pay between three and four thousand if I bought a house for that price IN Germantown, but if I buy in Boyds (right next door) it can be as low as 2500.

pntbl freak wrote: New car...new house...someone having an (early?) midlife crisis?

Not at all. It's called "being an adult and having to buy things to live and get to work to be able to buy the things you need to live and get to work.

oldpbnoob wrote: We also watch "Trading Up" and some of the other shows on HGTV etc. where people are looking for houses and they are paying like $700k for some house that would sell for $60k here in Ohio. It's truly insane. I never understood how people could afford something like that.

It's pretty tough actually. There's a reason I'm 32 and just now getting a mortgage. Honestly, nowhere is the disparity between the "norm" for the US and the "elite" so readily visible than in centers of population. One of the issues around here is that DC has just grown so much so quickly that all the commutable areas have been developed. Shorty lives on .14 Acres in a 1000sqft cape-cod and paid $350k for it because it is inside the beltway where there isn't any more land to develop. Even now, Northern Virginia residents are out of land to build and are starting to butt up against national parks and battlefields. It's gotten so bad that Wal-Mart petitioned to actually build a super-center on the battlefield at Manassas. Employers, knowing the cost of living around here, pay more so that they can attract viable candidates. In turn, that means there's more money going around which jacks up the price even more. Add in the fact that there are tiny little lots with decrepit houses on them going for 200-500k depending on the area which people buy, tear down, and then build million dollar homes on, and you get the picture of why people can ask so much for so little.

Lightningbolt wrote: not picking on you but this is what got the entire u.s economy up side down.

No, actually it isn't. Banks and Brokers allowing "Liar's Loans" to go through (Mortgages without verifying employment or salary) in a mad dash to rack up commissions is what put us in this mess. Of course, that all springs from the deregulation of the banking industry during the Reagan era.

Skillet42565 wrote: My family paid around 100 thousand for our place, which was 110 acres, and there was already a house on the land, which we renovated.

Yeah... cheapest lot I've found here is 86K for 1 Acre.

When I was graduating from college, I was offered a job in New York City... $70,000 a year back in 94, which sounded like a TON but, once I figured in the cost of living... It would have been like making $30,000 in Ohio...

That's almost 4 times what I paid for my house.

RoboCop wrote: I definitely want to live in an area where a $200,000 house is darn good house. I can't believe the price tags they put on these houses up north. Just doesn't seem worth the price.

I think there are 4 houses left in Vancouver that are less than $1 Million.

choopie911 wrote: stratoaxe wrote: You can get an incredibly nice home on quite a bit of acreage here in Texas for 250K. My buddy just bought a 4 bed 2 bath fixer upper (not in bad shape at all, basically an unfinished new home) on 4 acres for 50K and sunk about 10K into finishing it. Texas cost of living is why I stay here ;) Holy crap, that's insane. I just picked up a flyer for apartments that came in the mail the other day. 1 Bedroom, 577 square feet. $385,500.

That's about what it'll run you in DC, in an area where you won't get shot just for coming outside that is.

choopie911 wrote: RoboCop wrote: I definitely want to live in an area where a $200,000 house is darn good house. I can't believe the price tags they put on these houses up north. Just doesn't seem worth the price. I think there are 4 houses left in Vancouver that are less than $1 Million.

Thats insane. I mean I heard that its expensive our there but thats extreme.