I live in a historic city and there are almost no new builds in the city limits. Tons in the suburbs outside the city if that is your thing. In the city, 300,000 will get you an amazingly updated 3-4 bedroom house from the 1920s in a still up and coming neighborhood.
400,000 will get you a 3 bed 2 bath not as updated but still nice 1920s house in an awesome neighborhood walking distance to groceries, restaurants, and shops.
So I live in one of the lower price real estate suburbs in my area. We have a 3bed 1bth 1400sq house that cost 115k.
I couldn't find anything in our district for over 250k. So this is what that would get you in my immediate area.
I went to the district I went to HS in(across the bay from us-15min drive) to get the higher priced homes.
This is 400k
And this mansion is right on the lake and would cost 1.7M I couldn't get a good front view of the house, but I think this view gives a better picture. You can just see the lake in the top left corner.
Eta: I forgot to mention that although our property value may be lower, our taxes are insanely high. We pay 4600/yr for our small house and lot.
emejay as far as I know, SF does not include basement. Sometimes listings will state the basement is finished for an additional amount of square footage, if there is heating and facilities. I have a HUGE attic, like 350 SF that is not in the houses dimensions because it's not livable space.
+1 for this. Our attic and basement aren't included in our square footage since they are not livable space. Neither is finished.
Oh yes...lets talk real estate because we spent ALL day yesterday and some today house hunting, and I want to cry.
Housing values are predicted to jump 37% between the 2013 and 2017 assessments.
Here's an example of a hot area: 2/2, 2162ft for $575k. And that's after a price cut! And we have zero oceans to view, no Carson or Mrs. Hughes included: www.zillow.com/homedetails/41125972_zpid
The housing market there is insaine. A good friend recently sold her house in a couple of weeks for over asking and then it took a while before she found something decent that was affordable. A lot of the suburbs have great options though! Hope fully something turns up for you soon.
Our current house was built in 1992, 3700sq ft, 4 bed room, 2.5 baths, bonus room, on an acre on a quiet street in the middle of our city. We paid around $300,000 and put $60,000 of updates into it when we bought it to upgrade master bath, kitchen, floors and take out a wall.
The majority of homes in my area are under 200k, usually about ~2000sq ft or less. We paid 160 for ours. It's 1875sq ft, builders grade materials, 10 years old. We finished the basement and put in new flooring, painted the whole house and updated appliances and we've added about 25k in value.
In my area 300K could get you a very nice large house (~3000 sq feet, probably 4 bedrooms 3+ bath, mostly updated)
We have lots of lakes around us. 300k could also get you a decent lake home. <2000 sq ft, probably not updated.
400K would definitely get bigger homes with more property and updates.
1million... I don't think there are any around us unless they are on a lake. Probably would be >5000 sq ft and gorgeous.
Post by canadiansciencegeek on May 23, 2016 0:20:39 GMT -5
Wow at the differences in house prices! We bought our 1000 sq ft bungalow with finished basement, 4 bedrooms (2 in basement), 3 bathrooms, for $430. Built in the 50s but upgraded since.
$300 would get you a fixer upper, or a decent if small house in a crappy neighborhood.
$1 million would get you a super fancy new 2 story with a view.
I love Richmond! DH and I briefly considered moving there
I honestly really like it here. It was super fun in my mid-twenties and it has enough family friendly stuff to enjoy now as well. Love the art and food scene and the reasonable cost of living. Main downside is schools. Public schools aren't great and are essentially segregated, private schools are insanely expensive.
My dad lived in Arlington and now Alexandria. I really like where he's lived. Arlington was a super cool scene, Alexandria seems more family friendly.
Post by southernpeach89 on May 23, 2016 9:12:08 GMT -5
Our area has a fairly low cost of living, we paid $190k for 2300 sqft and quickly running out of space. My parent's house has a little more than 3000 sqft and omg if I had their storage and closet space....I would fill up that house in a heart beat lol.
Love those Richmond houses, ntaylor989! I've snooped around there on Zillow before. It's been about two decades since I've been there, but I remember loving it as a kid.
I'm in a Midwest city.
Our house was bought for 235k; IF it was fully updated (it's still mostly stuck in the 80s, though we've updated some things before baby happened), it would probably command 280k, because we only have a 2-car garage. It's rare for a 2-car in our hood to pop the 3 mark.
SQ: 2724 above ground; finished basement puts it at 3400ish 4 bed, 2.75 bath (two full, two half) 2 car garage less than a football field from the lake!
Taxes last year $4700 - and they're going to automatically go up 7% because the state assessor is doing blanket punishment on the city, because it thinks the western suburbs have been under-assessed for awhile. Yay. This is significantly cheaper than the new build neighborhood we moved from, where the same priced home commanded over $6k in taxes.
Not updated beyond painting and some tile upgrade in one bathroom, and our DIY dining room makeover. I'll throw up some homes in my area in a moment.
For fun I looked in the city and for 300k $ you can get a 485 Sq ft 1 bed 1 bath.
Part of the reason we left LA. At one point we lived in a 400 sq ft apartment on the beach for $2700 a month.
Most of the time we lived inland in about 750 sq ft for $2500. In Utah we were able to buy a house twice that size for almost half the monthly cost. Win.
eta: which is also why we can afford to be in France right now. Your lifestyle changes so much when you're not putting all your monies towards housing!
Okay, this is in my neighborhood but farther from the lake and smaller lot by 1k sq ft, going for $295k. I personally think it's optimistic, because it's a 2-car garage (you need 3 to get above 300k the past two years). BUT it's completely updated, including the basement. 3003 sq ft (I believe this includes basement, you can do that as long as it's finished) Built 1993 (I'm 1983, one of the first in the neighborhood) 4 bed, 3 bath sprinkler system Close to busy 4-lane road
I'd happily swap this kitchen with ours, though I dislike not seeing into the living room, so I'd need to knock down a wall.
For ~400k, I'm going to out myself because I'm lazy. If you're going to stalk me, I grew up as a Civil War reenactor and know how to use a gun AND an artillery saber. So. Yeah. I'll also fling poo-filled cloth diapers at you. The ones sitting in the wet bag for two days. You're welcome.
6 bed, 5 bath, almost 5,000 sq ft (basement included) 2 car garage Upgraded-ish, probably would fail the HGTV aesthetic Taxes $8200 (different/better school district from us)
Also in that neighborhood for the same price is another ranch that is 1500 sq ft smaller but probably be considered more updated at first glance, because the woodwork is painted white and the walls are an airy neutral shade compared to the golden oak and beige in the other house. Why am I even mentioning it?
Just this lead photo in the listing, an $8 bottle of wine:
Part of the reason we left LA. At one point we lived in a 400 sq ft apartment on the beach for $2700 a month.
Most of the time we lived inland in about 750 sq ft for $2500. In Utah we were able to buy a house twice that size for almost half the monthly cost. Win.
eta: which is also why we can afford to be in France right now. Your lifestyle changes so much when you're not putting all your monies towards housing!
This is SO incredibly true!!! Our entire lifestyle shifted when we moved from NJ to TX, due to the COL. Things that seemed impossible for us in NJ (having nice cars, taking trips, getting a hot tub, buying a boat...) are now things that we can actually save up for, and buy one day.
txshep, this is exactly why MH moved back home from Seattle. He realized if he ever wanted to build or own a home, he had to move. I'll sometimes watch LILI2 just to be horrified at the prices. Beautiful area, but DNW. I miss the old HGTV show of "What You Get for the Money" that picks a price and bops around the country as well as "Biggest Band for Your Buck".
My friend works in NYC but recently bought a house in NJ. She said it was like getting a raise. They went from a two-bedroom in Brooklyn to two-story house for significantly less a month. Commute is a little longer, all train, so it basically just meant getting up 15/20 minutes earlier. And now they can buy "adult" furniture.
Holy shit at some the prices in this thread. H and I bought our house 5 years ago. We paid $94,000 for 1500 sq feet(not including the basement, which is unfinished but very clean and dry so lots of potential). Yes..94k. We live 4 blocks from Lake Michigan in an open-concept ranch: 3-bedroom, 2-bath, with an attached 2-car garage on 1/4 acre. The home was built in 1969, so it's an older home but it was built well and we haven't had any major issues. Our taxes are considered high (because we live within city limits in close proximity to the lake) and are $2,400 per year. Ya'll need to move to Wisc.
Holy shit at some the prices in this thread. H and I bought our house 5 years ago. We paid $94,000 for 1500 sq feet(not including the basement, which is unfinished but very clean and dry so lots of potential). Yes..94k. We live 4 blocks from Lake Michigan in an open-concept ranch: 3-bedroom, 2-bath, with an attached 2-car garage on 1/4 acre. The home was built in 1969, so it's an older home but it was built well and we haven't had any major issues. Our taxes are considered high (because we live within city limits in close proximity to the lake) and are $2,400 per year. Ya'll need to move to Wisc.
Part of the reason we left LA. At one point we lived in a 400 sq ft apartment on the beach for $2700 a month.
Most of the time we lived inland in about 750 sq ft for $2500. In Utah we were able to buy a house twice that size for almost half the monthly cost. Win.
eta: which is also why we can afford to be in France right now. Your lifestyle changes so much when you're not putting all your monies towards housing!
This is SO incredibly true!!! Our entire lifestyle shifted when we moved from NJ to TX, due to the COL. Things that seemed impossible for us in NJ (having nice cars, taking trips, getting a hot tub, buying a boat...) are now things that we can actually save up for, and buy one day.
On a much smaller scale, this is also the reason why I commute an hour to work. To some of my city living friends it's absolutely ridiculous, but hen I have a full backyard, view of the mountains, can walk to the river, and paid a reasonable price for my house.
Holy shit at some the prices in this thread. H and I bought our house 5 years ago. We paid $94,000 for 1500 sq feet(not including the basement, which is unfinished but very clean and dry so lots of potential). Yes..94k. We live 4 blocks from Lake Michigan in an open-concept ranch: 3-bedroom, 2-bath, with an attached 2-car garage on 1/4 acre. The home was built in 1969, so it's an older home but it was built well and we haven't had any major issues. Our taxes are considered high (because we live within city limits in close proximity to the lake) and are $2,400 per year. Ya'll need to move to Wisc.
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