Towns within 495 with nice walkable downtowns and good schools

[bricka]

Originally Posted by Bunny123456

The areas we are considering aren’t really commutable, there are few if any sidewalks, and pretty much anything of interest is a minimum of 7 miles away.

> 7 miles from anything of interest

i assume this is outside of 495?

[thinkingotherthings]

Originally Posted by id77

Unfortunately this market isn't kind to buyers with low risk tolerances. Sellers want a buyer who is able to close without drama or risk of backing out over something later. If you have everything discussed and buttoned up with your lender before making the offer, paired with the fact your window of job-loss-causing-closing-to-fall-through window is only ~30 days, the risk really should be quite low.

We played the low-risk game for a bit and it got us a string of rejected offers. We then waived our mortgage and inspection contingencies, still fully planning to leverage a mortgage when we bought, and eventually came out on top.

Hmm. It's not just a 30-day window risk; if either of us were to lose our job I don't think we'd even want to close on the house until that person got a new job, and we could be sure that the new salary can support the mortgage. But, it is a low risk that either of us would lose our job. Maybe we need to think about waiving the mortgage contingency then..

Out of curiosity what town did you buy in? And congrats on getting a house.

Originally Posted by Bunny123456

I really don’t want to offend anyone but being someone who grew up and lived most of my life in more of a city / lively suburb environment, to come to a decision like this was a process. The areas we are considering aren’t really commutable, there are few if any sidewalks, and pretty much anything of interest is a minimum of 7 miles away. Not saying it’s good or bad but certainly something that wouldn’t have been my first choice if other areas were in the least bit affordable.

We also went back and forth on this a lot. I had made a thread on this forum, you might find some of the comments people offered there useful: https://www.city-data.com/forum/mass...-suburban.html

[msRB311]

This house is nice:

https://www.redfin.com/MA/Duxbury/47.../home/69072520

but it sold for 425k in 2013 and is now 1.4 million. A ranch that was apparently 'renovated and expanded'. If they get what they're asking for 975k is quite a profit to make in 9 years.

[id77]

Originally Posted by thinkingotherthings

Hmm. It's not just a 30-day window risk; if either of us were to lose our job I don't think we'd even want to close on the house until that person got a new job, and we could be sure that the new salary can support the mortgage. But, it is a low risk that either of us would lose our job. Maybe we need to think about waiving the mortgage contingency then..

Out of curiosity what town did you buy in? And congrats on getting a house.

Is your concern that you could be one year into the mortgage and one of you loses your job and can't make the payment? Three years? Ten? At some point you have to draw a line in the sand and accept that there's always going to be some level of uncertainty when making a commitment as large (and long-term) as purchasing a property.

Underwriting verified we had at least one year worth of reserves. That cushion gives you a significant window of time to recover and regain that second income.

As for the last question, Boston. We also viewed (and occasionally put an offer in on) properties in Brookline, Newton, Lexington, and Belmont.

[thinkingotherthings]

Originally Posted by id77

Is your concern that you could be one year into the mortgage and one of you loses your job and can't make the payment? Three years? Ten? At some point you have to draw a line in the sand and accept that there's always going to be some level of uncertainty when making a commitment as large (and long-term) as purchasing a property.

Underwriting verified we had at least one year worth of reserves. That cushion gives you a significant window of time to recover and regain that second income.

As for the last question, Boston. We also viewed (and occasionally put an offer in on) properties in Brookline, Newton, Lexington, and Belmont.

I retract my point, I suppose the risk is just the closing window. We do understand that purchasing a decent house in the Greater Boston area does bind us to maintain our current incomes, or at least something pretty close to them, and that is something we accept.

Do you have kids and if so are you planning to send them to charter/exam or private school?

[id77]

Originally Posted by thinkingotherthings

I retract my point, I suppose the risk is just the closing window. We do understand that purchasing a decent house in the Greater Boston area does bind us to maintain our current incomes, or at least something pretty close to them, and that is something we accept.

Do you have kids and if so are you planning to send them to charter/exam or private school?

One child (preschool aged), and we're going to give BPS a chance.