First time homebuyers... is this possible? Where to look? Townhome vs. House?

[jillybean720]

We bought our home in Sterling for a good $30k less than either of the homes you posted. Our monthly payment is close to $2k. That is mortgage, interest, PMI, insurance, and taxes.

We did buy our first home (townhouse) before we were married; we were engaged. But, if it ever came down to it, I could have afforded the monthly payments on my own. We intentionally purchased for significantly less than "they" said we could afford. We did the same with our current SFH, as we could have easily gotten a loan for $500k+. We didn't want to be "house poor." Don't forget there's a lot that comes with owning a home other than the mortgage + escrow. There are usually more utilities than when renting (depending on the type of rental you're coming from), and you don't want to blow your savings on the down payment and have nothing left for when your a/c unit craps out in July, your hot water heater starts leaking less than 6 months after you moved in, you need new windows because you can feel cold drafts when you're sitting on your living room couch, you have to repair the siding after a freak derecho...ask me how I know all these things happen :P

And please don't put yourself in a position to have to commute from Leesburg to Alexandria. I understand the lure of more affordable homes further out; our first home was in Woodbridge. I commuted from Woodbridge to Fairfax, Chantilly, and Herndon. My husband commuted from Woodbridge to Forestville, MD. There is a reason we decided to move even though we were so underwater on our townhouse that we still aren't able to sell it and take a monthly loss on it as a rental because the rent doesn't cover the mortgage...

[scottfs]

Regarding the TH vs SFH question, what exactly would the advantage of a TH be over a SFH for a first time homeowner? Sure, the usual like less yard maintenance, but I would imagine that to be a plus for anyone.

When my wife and I bought, we were in the range of either generally newer, updated THs, or older, less updated SFHs. At the time my wife favored the nicer looking shiny new updated stuff, but I ended up convincing her to go for a SFH and I think we've done better for it. The SFH values seem to have done better at least in my area. Plus we got the fantastic learning experience of building sweat equity and its great to look back and say "We built that" rather than "We bought that".

But that isn't the path for all and it sounds like you have a ton of change coming up and it sounds to me like you have too many unknowns to be seriously thinking about buying a house - just the impression that I get.

[krystsyde]

My wife and I make about what you make, except we have 4 boys. Everything you mentioned seemed good, except do not commute to Alexandria, if so it's better to buy in Centreville, Chantilly, Herndon, or Reston.

[SophieDaphne]

Thank you everyone, for your sound advice!
I think we'll probably ending up waiting for at least the new two years. I will have a two-year contract at my job and so it seems like a good idea to stay put and work and save as much as we can until then... (although we'll be so old D and I think I do agree with most of what was said in here so far Thanks guys!

[stpickrell]

Foxridge is where the Mayor lives, it's a great neighborhood. Basically any neighborhood of single-family homes in Leesburg is going to be fine to great.

Not sure why you'd take a job in Alexandria if you live in Leesburg and can take a job w/ equal pay in Leesburg.

If you're planning to have a kid or two sooner rather than later, a SFH is (all else being equal) preferable, especially if that's what you grew up in and will subconsciously prefer. You may want to rent for a couple years to figure out what you want, what's important, etc.

I'd look in the area around Valley View Drive if being able to walk places is of any importance to you, but it's not of importance to everyone. You might be able to get something in the area of Wildman/North but it'd be a little more expensive.

[Mnseca]

I think Leesburg to Alexandria is too difficult. I would not attempt it. The house looks nice, but that's cheap even for Leesburg. Is there something wrong with it not shown in the pictures? If you do buy, make sure you get a really thorough inspection - nothing worse than nasty surprises after you've paid. I know.

I don't think it's so bad to buy a home with the boyfriend, as long as you buy as two non-related people would invest in property - equal and on paper. Both on the mortgage, both on the title. Don't do anything where one of you is not named but pays anyway - that's a recipe for disaster even if you don't break up. Also, don't make the mistake of dividing up expenses so that one person pays for the home and the other pays living expenses - it ends up very unfair for the person not on the title. Even if you get married later, whatever happened before marriage doesn't count, so either get married before buying or buy as carefully as you would if you didn't know each other.

[Cardiff Kook]

I drove Leesburg to Alexandria for about a week before I decided I was going to go crazy doing that every day. I then took the commuter bus from leesburg to Rosslyn and took metro to Alexandria.....it was still a long and expensive commute....then I moved to Arlington (before I left the DC area)

[SophieDaphne]

I actually used to commute from Leesburg to Alexandria when I was in school... the way that my hours were, I usually beat the traffic (working overnight/super early). I guess I don't know what it's like otherwise, haha.

[stpickrell]

Good point, $350k is a tad low even for Leesburg. The place may just have all 1980s stuff and barely been touched since it was built, it may be priced low so as to attract a bidding war ... find out the deal.

$400k is the more usual entry point for 70s/80s vintage SFHs inside the Bypass in Leesburg, with the exception of those pipestem houses off of Harrison on streets named for VA counties.