Taking Q's about inability to afford this house on biglaw Forum

[First Offense]

That kitchen makes me weep. TCR is to move to the burbs and get a 3k square foot place for the same price. And enjoy that lovely DC traffic.

[Tanicius]

http://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/190 ... me/9877092

You ready to cry? This is what I'm getting on a PI salary. Moving away from the Bay was in hindsight a smart choice.

--LinkRemoved--

[chuckbass]

That kitchen makes me weep. TCR is to move to the burbs and get a 3k square foot place for the same price. And enjoy that lovely DC traffic.

You'd have to go to some pretty shitty "burbs" to get a 3k square foot place for 400k something tbh.

[First Offense]

Yeah I was curious after and started looking at housing prices around there. I'm going to be a renter for the rest of my life.

[scoobysnax]

you planning on having any babies DF? school district a consideration in this purchase?

I'm not sending my kids to DC public schools.

Some MoCo and Fairfax public schools are solid, but still much worse than private.

Some MoCo and Fairfax schools are better than/on par with private

[bjsesq]

530 fucking grand for that?

Same exact price for this house:

http://www.homes.com/property/118-w-spy ... 009961561/

[ymmv]

Damn. You can get a pretty dope luxury condo in Center City Philly for that price.

[Danger Zone]

Damn. You can get a pretty dope luxury condo in Center City Philly for that price.

A better home in a better city? DF you should jump on this

[Tanicius]

530 fucking grand for that?

Same exact price for this house:

http://www.homes.com/property/118-w-spy ... 009961561/

That seems insanely overpriced for a fairly average house out in the boonies. The housing market must really have come back already, cause I'd have figured that for 200, maybe 300k at the most.

[kcam1991]

Would you advise anyone of buying a home or condo straight out of law school?

[bjsesq]

530 fucking grand for that?

Same exact price for this house:

http://www.homes.com/property/118-w-spy ... 009961561/

That seems insanely overpriced for a fairly average house out in the boonies. The housing market must really have come back already, cause I'd have figured that for 200, maybe 300k at the most.

Yes and no. Sioux Falls is certainly boonies compared to DC, but with the burbs surrounding it, it's roughly 200-250k range. Wages are pretty high because of how insanely low corporate taxes and stuff are here.

[ymmv]

Would you advise anyone of buying a home or condo straight out of law school?

That will absolutely depend on your individual personal and financial situation. Job, debt-level, amount in savings, family, etc.

For the vast majority of TLSers I imagine the answer is "no."

[Tanicius]

530 fucking grand for that?

Same exact price for this house:

http://www.homes.com/property/118-w-spy ... 009961561/

That seems insanely overpriced for a fairly average house out in the boonies. The housing market must really have come back already, cause I'd have figured that for 200, maybe 300k at the most.

Yes and no. Sioux Falls is certainly boonies compared to DC, but with the burbs surrounding it, it's roughly 200-250k range. Wages are pretty high because of how insanely low corporate taxes and stuff are here.

No I know location is key. An old, only moderately-in-shape townhouse in St. Paul will run over a million, easy. But those houses you see in the suburbs aren't as expensive as their size leads on. I could probably find a dozen suburb houses in my hometown 45 minutes out from the Twin Cities that are about that same size and cost almost half as much. I'd also figure that the Twin Cities-area prices are going to be more expensive than any city or suburban area in South Dakota, and likewise the Chicago area is going to beat the Twin Cities by a metric.

[chuckbass]

you planning on having any babies DF? school district a consideration in this purchase?

I'm not sending my kids to DC public schools.

Some MoCo and Fairfax public schools are solid, but still much worse than private.

Some MoCo and Fairfax schools are better than/on par with private

I was gonna say this but didn't want to get into a debate about schools. TCR is to move to Bethesda and have kids attend BCC if you want to be as close to DC but not pay for school.

[bjsesq]

530 fucking grand for that?

Same exact price for this house:

http://www.homes.com/property/118-w-spy ... 009961561/

That seems insanely overpriced for a fairly average house out in the boonies. The housing market must really have come back already, cause I'd have figured that for 200, maybe 300k at the most.

Yes and no. Sioux Falls is certainly boonies compared to DC, but with the burbs surrounding it, it's roughly 200-250k range. Wages are pretty high because of how insanely low corporate taxes and stuff are here.

No I know location is key. An old, only moderately-in-shape townhouse in St. Paul will run over a million, easy. But those houses you see in the suburbs aren't as expensive as their size leads on. I could probably find a dozen suburb houses in my hometown 45 minutes out from the Twin Cities that are about that same size and cost almost half as much. I'd also figure that the Twin Cities-area prices are going to be more expensive than any city or suburban area in South Dakota, and likewise the Chicago area is going to beat the Twin Cities by a metric.

iirc, the burbs to the south and southwest are the obscenely expensive ones, right? Eden Prarie, Edina, Prior Lake, Shakopee, Eagan, Apple Valley, etc?

[Tanicius]

iirc, the burbs to the south and southwest are the obscenely expensive ones, right? Eden Prarie, Edina, Prior Lake, Shakopee, Eagan, Apple Valley, etc?

Yeah, there's lots of expensive housing. I mean more in your average suburb 30+ minutes out from the Cities, like the I-94 corridor, Michelle Bachmann's white picket fence American paradise. You can get a house like you found in that ad for 200k.

[abl]

Wait, I'm confused. Assuming it's in a good area of DC (I don't really know the city), it looks pretty awesome -- and affordable on a biglaw salary. Right?

[TheSpanishMain]

Wait, I'm confused. Assuming it's in a good area of DC (I don't really know the city), it looks pretty awesome -- and affordable on a biglaw salary. Right?

Half a million dollars for a two bed, one bath is "awesome"?

[jbagelboy]

Wait, I'm confused. Assuming it's in a good area of DC (I don't really know the city), it looks pretty awesome -- and affordable on a biglaw salary. Right?

Half a million dollars for a two bed, one bath is "awesome"?

yea, I think DF's pt is that for all the glamour & glitz of the biglaw paycheck hype you can't even buy a tiny house within a reasonable vicinity of work cause CoL is so high in the market paying locales (NY/SF/DC)

then again DF has a lot of loans, most professionals on six fig salary can afford down-payment & 30-yr mortgage on a half mil home

[FSK]

Wait, I'm confused. Assuming it's in a good area of DC (I don't really know the city), it looks pretty awesome -- and affordable on a biglaw salary. Right?

Half a million dollars for a two bed, one bath is "awesome"?

yea, I think DF's pt is that for all the glamour & glitz of the biglaw paycheck hype you can't even buy a tiny house within a reasonable vicinity of work cause CoL is so high in the market paying locales (NY/SF/DC)

then again DF has a lot of loans, most professionals on six fig salary can afford down-payment & 30-yr mortgage on a half mil home

Also, Shaw isn't great.

[chuckbass]

I'm always surprised how people really underestimate COL in DC.

[abl]

Wait, I'm confused. Assuming it's in a good area of DC (I don't really know the city), it looks pretty awesome -- and affordable on a biglaw salary. Right?

Half a million dollars for a two bed, one bath is "awesome"?

Sure. That'd be a steal in Palo Alto (or a complete ripoff in Chicago). It's all relative. But if I was tied to living in a high COL city, I think I could be pretty thrilled with a place like that.

[ymmv]

Wait, I'm confused. Assuming it's in a good area of DC (I don't really know the city), it looks pretty awesome -- and affordable on a biglaw salary. Right?

Half a million dollars for a two bed, one bath is "awesome"?

Sure. That'd be a steal in Palo Alto (or a complete ripoff in Chicago). It's all relative. But if I was tied to living in a high COL city, I think I could be pretty thrilled with a place like that.

Yeah this really seems more like a "fuck DC COL" thread than a "fuck biglaw" thread.

[09042014]

It's ugly as fuck.

[NYSprague]

It's ugly as fuck.

Thank God. I thought you liked it.

What down payment are they looking for, from a big law associate? You can probably get preferred lending from a firm client.