Budget for 500k house

amother

Wed, Mar 27 2024, 10:15 pm

Yeah I totally hear that!! Mortgage would be about $1k more than our current rent, and we’ll need homeowners insurance etc. I keep thinking we should just make the jump but don’t want to be irresponsible!

amother

Daphne

Wed, Mar 27 2024, 10:30 pm

I would speak to a financial advisor and really crunch the numbers-you don’t want to be “house poor” without any breathing room in your budget.
I also don’t think u should settle for a cheaper house in a neighborhood that you don’t like/isn’t as safe. Rather rent where you’re happy if u can’t make this house work budget wise.
We bought in Baltimore in the past few years, BH are happy with the purchase and..I will say-there are so so many expenses u need to account for once ur a homeowner, make sure you have that set aside. We had a critical $2000 repair within days of moving in for example.
Hatzlacha!!!

amother

DarkMagenta

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 8:40 am

I think you should do it. Speak to Sam Rosenblatt. Many of the schools are generous with tuition breaks for people making this type of salary and there are other ways to crunch numbers to make it work until your salaries go up. The housing market is awful and young families can’t be expected to rent forever.

amother

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 9:10 am

amother DarkMagenta wrote:

Thanks for this info. Who’s Sam Rosenblatt? And can you share more about what you mean about crunching numbers to make it work?

lamplighter

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 9:30 am

Here's the catch with waiting a few years. Yes in a few years you will be making more but the prices will go up as well (and possibly interest rates too). You may not actually come out ahead by waiting longer.
I know a few people who did that and regretted it. Instead of buying a house that was $450k the waited a few years until they were making more money but then houses were $650k.

amother

Caramel

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 9:43 am

amother Daphne wrote:

I think it's time we all accept that safety issues happen even outside of the park heights area. Yes, you may see more of a diverse population nearby, but that mean less safe. There's a false sense of security people seem to have.

There are other pros and cons to living in the park heights area, but I really don't think safety is a realistic difference.

amother

Tuberose

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 9:47 am

amother Caramel wrote:

Disagree slightly.
I think some people are naive about safety in the county (or lack of) but I still think in general it’s safer than living closer to the plaza for example.

amother

Tuberose

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 9:52 am

lamplighter wrote:

This this this. This is the reason why I suggest just buying if you won’t consider cheaper areas. Get it now even if you’ll be poorer now. I’m one of those people but can’t justify making the purchase since I actually own a house (it’s just too small for us so we’re going to have to add on at some point…). But if I was renting I would. Just get one in the low 500s not a 700.

And yeah contact sam rosenblatt to discuss loans. He’s not who we used but he has a good reputation.

amother

Chocolate

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 10:55 am

Quote:

It’s either that or settle for one of the houses in like the Menlo/Glen area.

Not sure why that is settling. I live not too far from there. The houses on Menlo (between park heights and reisterstown road) usually sell crazy fast, before they hit the market. They are very sought after. The only one that I knew that sat and sat and eventually was pulled off the market was an over priced one that was priced at 600k.

amother

Chocolate

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 10:56 am

amother OP wrote:

$1k more a month is a lot--Do you have $1k now left over after each month?
Also taxes.

amother

Brunette

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 10:58 am

I thought prices were supposed to fall since realtors commissions changed. Who knows? There are expensive and cheaper houses on the city and the county. You’d be surprised where the boundaries are.

amother

Chocolate

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 11:00 am

amother Caramel wrote:

This!!! Look at the beazer event this week. Cars are getting stolen in the county too.

I have a friend that used to work at Northwestern. She said the kids told her they prefer to do crime in the county as the city people are more vigilant of their surroundings and the county people complacent and less alert.

amother

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 11:38 am

amother Chocolate wrote:

Ugh yes this has been a consideration too :/ so much crime now in the county too. It makes me want to move out of Baltimore, but realistically, Baltimore is a great fit for our family

amother

Tuberose

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 11:55 am

amother Chocolate wrote:

Quote:

It’s either that or settle for one of the houses in like the Menlo/Glen area.

Oooh sorry I did NOT mean it like that. I meant settling for the OP because it sounds like she really really wants a different area.
Didn’t meant at all to insult the area or the people living there. Honestly I think it’s smarter to buy a big house there and not be in so much debt than to owe a ton of money on a more expensive house elsewhere.
But it doesn’t sound like that’s the area the OP wants.

amother

Tuberose

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 11:57 am

amother Brunette wrote:

I thought prices were supposed to fall since realtors commissions changed. Who knows? There are expensive and cheaper houses on the city and the county. You’d be surprised where the boundaries are.

I don’t think that will be the case here. I don’t think housing prices are going to fall. Too much of a demand.