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What makes more sense - reguarding buying a house



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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Oct 10 2021, 8:06 pm
What do you think makes more sense -

1- buy a house in the center of the neighborhood (not totally in center, more towards the outside, but close enough in that there are lots of families and other kids for my kids to play with with...) If we do that, we can at most afford a house that's 1,800- 2,000 sqft (including the basement)

2 - buy a house literally all the way at the edge of the neighborhood. In which case we could afford to buy a two family bec it's cheaper there. With rental income, we would be paying a few hundred less a month then buying the single family house (rent is expensive in our area, and we could easily get $2,500 for it) The part we would live in would also probably be around be around 2,000 sqft. But there aren't so many Jewish families there - there are a few but it's more spread out, and it's not very likely to grow. If we walk 5-10 minutes though there are lots of shuls and families with kids....

Our oldest is 9 now

Both of the houses I'm assuming we would likely outgrow in 5-10 yrs (although maybe I'm wrong? Anyone living in that size can weigh in on how many kids that would take?). House prices don't seem to be rising here.

Would we be better off in the two family now, so a much bigger mortgage is being paid off; in which case would we have more money for a bigger house, not as far out, faster? It will also end up being cheaper for us (as long as it's rented, which I know is not always a sure thing) Or since a lot of it is just interest being paid in the beginning, it isn't worth it, and rather we live where the kids would have more friends, and figure out how to buy something bigger when it gets to that?

If neither plan works/is realistic in the long run, we could move more OOT, we are just hesitate bec we have a really good support here for our SN child - a good school, good therapists.. and etc and it's not so likely we'd have such a good set up elsewhere. Plus we both have good jobs here....
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Goldie613




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Oct 11 2021, 12:02 am
Some questions to consider -

Is either option in your current neighborhood, or are you looking at starting over no matter what?

How far away is the shul you want to go to from both options? Yes, there may be shuls close by with both places, but have you checked out those shuls to see how far away the one is that your family would feel most comfortable in?

What is your current Shabbos set up? If the kids now can just walk themselves across the street for playdates, will they still be able to do something similar with both options? Do any of your kids have friends they could walk to on Shabbos from one option but not from another? Will you only be able to let them walk themselves with the closer one, but with the further out home you will have to bring them back and forth? And do you mind either way?

I think it's probably only an issue on Shabbos, since you are talking relatively short distances - they'll probably be dealing with the same schools, sleepovers, etc anyway, so I think the only real issue might be how they deal with the Shabbos piece. That being said, if they tend to always hang out with the next door neighbors (or you and your husband do, for that matter), then it's a completely different discussion.

Sorry if I'm adding more to your confusion than helping Hug
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amother
Mintcream


 

Post Mon, Oct 11 2021, 6:59 am
I would go out, which I’m personally doing now. If it’s a growing community it will expand till there especially if the Jews started going there.
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amother
Bronze


 

Post Mon, Oct 11 2021, 7:04 am
Where do you like now? If you are in the center now, the kids already have access to their friends all day every day and would have a very hard time adjusting to the outer area.
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amother
DarkRed


 

Post Mon, Oct 11 2021, 7:09 am
Outer area. That's what we did, no regrets. Income from your house is important and one day you can use that rental space for yourself.
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cupcake123




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Oct 11 2021, 7:27 am
I would just keep the following in mind: a home is not an investment (or at least a good one)
I'm going to be the lone voice and say if you can afford it, go in the center (especially you wrote the other part of town in not likely to grow)
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lamplighter




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Oct 11 2021, 9:11 am
If there isn't a chance for it to grow, buy smaller in the center. Kids being able to be independent is huge. Especially if they already are.
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amother
Sienna


 

Post Mon, Oct 11 2021, 9:18 am
We moved further out and took a gamble. We paid 300k for a 2300 sf house. Now that house is worth 500k 8 years later and 3 new shuls opened in the area and most of my block is frum.

We got lucky but it doesn't always happen that way. If the area hadn't gone frum I think we would have eventually sold and moved to the center of things.

Living in the center of the frum community is a huge deal and worth the money in my opinion. If you don't think the area will grow then it's not worth it.
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Oct 11 2021, 9:22 am
You sound confident that the area isn't going to grow and that either way you'll have to move in a few years, so I'd say center. I live only a few blocks from where all the other frum families are but they all live close to each other so the kids consider it a shlep to come visit us. Those few blocks don't have families we know so you need an adult to take kids back and forth to their friends. My kids can't join walking groups to or from school or weekend activities. It's very, very limiting.

Of course every area is different and if you'd feel comfortable sending your kids to their friends then maybe there's more to think about. In my city I can't wait to move to a friendlier place... been waiting for 10 years, the closer options are no longer available.
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