My son and his wife have begun searching for a home. They were in Winchester on Sunday, and weren't impressed. Part of the problem is the real estate agent his wife is working with has found out how gullible she is, and is trying to convince them to buy a new home at a price that's really a stretch for them ($290K).

They are looking for a single family home on no more than 1/3 acre. At least 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a garage (detached is fine). He wants city water and sewer and prefers gas heat - definitely not electric heat. They also need to be reasonably close to good childcare. Here's the catch - he wants to stay at or below $250K.

Can anybody suggest an area where he might be able to find such an animal? Or, can anybody suggest a real estate agent who will work with young, first-time buyers to identify such an animal and financing that they can afford?

Thanx in advance for your kind suggestions.

There's a tremendous amount of new home construction
going on in South Berkeley (WV) County....I believe that
some of the homes in Inwood on Route 51 East may fall
into his price range. Since the installation of sewer lines
is what's fueling all of this development, that isn't a problem.
Natural gas is. We have a propane tank that we use for
hot water and to supplement our heat pumps. There are
also new developments going up in the Bunker Hill area
which is about 2-3 miles south of Inwood. Have him stop
by a Food Lion or Sheetz and pick-up one of the local
real estate guides...as far as child care goes, there is
some available at local churches as well as a few private
enterprises in Inwood and off of Tablers Station Road.

Good Luck.

Can he wait 12-18 mos. before buying? I think it might be worthwhile to do so. (That's what I'm doing.)

He has been living in his mother-in-law's basement for more than 2 years now. He'd like to get out of there ASAP, but he's also got a good head on his shoulders. If he HAS to, he can stay put, but the longer they stay there, the more MIL runs his family.

Greencastle, PA.

DH and I bought our home here one year ago.

We have an 8-year-old 3 BR rancher, unfinished basement, 1 bath (but could easily be split into two) on 1/3 acre. Total cost: $100,000ish. Granted, it needed cosmetic work when we moved in, but still...

Recently a home in our neighborhood sold that was the same size as ours, but they partially finished the basement and added a bathroom. So it was 4BR, 2 Bath... on same size lot. I don't know how much they got for it, but they were asking $165,000ish.

Depending on where you live in the township, you can get city water/sewage or well and septic. We have well water but city sewage.

Personally, I think Greencastle is a very nice town. Close to H-town, but not TOO close. Nice feel of community. Lovely area. Low crime. Safe. Friendly people.

Give it a look-see.

ICK!! Yeah -- he needs out of there.

Would he be willing to rent for awhile? I've read two recent analyses, one by The Economist and the other by the Washington Post, that indicate the difference between home payments and rents in the mid-Atlantic region has never been larger (with the rents being the lower of the two). That strongly suggests that now is the time to rent instead of buy. And renting would allow him to wait out the housing bubble until there is a buying opportunity.

Most people don't appreciate the benefits of renting. Everyone talks about how homebuying enables the owner to accrue equity and enjoy the interest rate deduction, but interest rates are extremely low right now (so, smaller deduction) while house prices are ridiculously high (hence, it costs a lot to buy that asset--and home prices do wax and wane like any other asset). Meanwhile, renters don't have to worry about property taxes, home repairs, structure insurance, the long-term condition of the neighborhood, and (sometimes) utilities. There's a lot to be said for avoiding those headaches, especially if the renter is young or has a new family.

I've suggested Greencastle to him several times, and since her stepbrother even lives there, thought it might be an attractive option to him. Unfortunately, he can't get over the thought that we tip cows up here in PA. He'd rather have his teeth pulled than go to Greencastle, and would face even worse to keep from coming to our house in the boonies.

I've also mentioned to him about renting, but his dad has convinced him that he may as well flush the money if he rents. Of course, his dad is also trying to convince him that he can get decent, safe housing for that price in Arlington, VA! That's 'cause dad lives in Northwest DC and thinks that anyplace that the Metro doesn't go to is godforsaken country (No wonder I divorced the fool!). Fortunately, my son got his dad's ability for math, and some common sense - I'm not sure if I can claim that attribute or not.

I think 5car has the right idea.He needs to get the free real estate books at the convienence stores and check out the different areas.
Also,even if he only rents for a few months before finding a house to buy,it'll still get him out of the basement!
Sometimes you just have pay for your privacy and sanity.

He won't find it in Winchester, unless he gives up city water/sewer and goes further out.

I'm afraid he won't give up the city water/sewer. He has some idea that the treated city water is healthier than well water. When he comes to visit, he brings a bottle of purified water for the kids so they don't "get anything".

The only thing I can see that city water does for a person is the fluoride in the water for teeth. Once you've had well water, city water is NASTY!

And he told me that he went to the child care people and checked on the ones nearest to the areas he was interested in and found all kinds of complaints, infractions, and one child molester. I don't think he'll even think about Winchester anymore.

Would he consider buying a trailer and puitting it on a rented lot in the city? Much less than $250K.

Hancock area is cheaper than H-town.

Water issue is easily solved by a water cooler and bottled water from someplace like Green Springs (delivered!) for drinking/cooking.


Greencastle ain't bad -- maybe he needs to grow-up and be a bit more practical and not so emotional before buying.

I agree with you wholeheartedly, but mom has only been able to "push" so far before he totally tunes her out and listens to dad. Dad would have him living in a ghetto in Arlington if he had his way, so I think I'll just bide my time. I figure he will get searching and realize that his options aren't as numerous as he thinks. Then, he should become more reasonable.

In the meantime, I'm just kindof gathering information and feeding it to him. I'm trying to be as objective as possible and give him all of the information, but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't prefer he live somewhere closer to me than Northern VA.

Tell him he'll have to look at older homes if wants a 3br for $250g. In our area I think Winchester is the nicest place to live, but if he's unhappy there look in Charles Town, Shepherdstown, or Martinsburg in W Va. Search the internet too.

Has he looked into Berryville, Va or North Frederick County Va? I would suggest he look for another agent to work with in Va. There are tons of new Dan Ryan homes being built in that area which are affordable for a young couple (150k-250k).

Greencastle would be my second suggestion. In fact, the wife and I plan on selling our home here in Pikeside, Wv in two years and buying a home in Greencastle. Good schools, no traffic, lowest taxes in Pa, and cheap housing what more can you ask for.

Maugansville, Md area would be my third suggestion. There seems to be alot of new homes being built in northern Hagerstown and from what I've gathered they are running from the 150's up to 300's which isn't bad for that area.

If he wants to move into WV I can only suggest the Falling Waters/Marlowe area. To be frank, I have regretted moving to the Martinsburg area from Hagerstown. Traffic is bad due to the fact that all the stores and restaurants are located in the same spot, insurance here is almost doubled what we paid in Md, the DMV is a nightmare, water and sewage are two seperate entities, you have to get your car inspected every year and schools get little funding in WV compared to Va, Pa, or Md.

I guess it really depends on what he is looking for. If he wants great schools Winchester and Frederick County in Virginia are the best, or if he'll have to commute into DC Martinsburg and Charles Town might be the more ideal option because of commuter rail.

Although if I had to do it all over again I'd live somewhere in Fairfax County or Alexandria, it's a little more expensive, but it would be nice to be closer to the city.

He has mentioned Frederick County, VA, and I didn't even mention Berryville to him because a friend of hubby's just sold a tiny cabin there for $300K - I just assumed it was out of his price range. Another bricklayer buddy lives near there, and he told us Sunday night that prices average around $290K.

Personally, I think the first thing one-young-son needs to do is sit his bride down and explain to her that an older home or fixer-upper is just as good as a new home, and is possibly a better buy. She's used to the best, and on their salaries (about $87K combined), it's just not going to happen. Especially when child care runs almost $2K a month!

Boy, I'm glad I'm an old fart - it was so much easier to pay to live when I was his age!

Guess I had it easy -- I was by far not used to the best, and the wife had been through some hard times as well, but was a bit more well off than my family. We appreciated that we could even afford a 99+ year old fixer-upper with a tiny yard in-town just because we could call it ours . And believe me, it needed fixing. We saved every penny we could, spent vacations and weekends working on the house. New siding, new paint, cleaning up the yard, etc. Same thing with house #2, only it needed even MORE work than #1, but had more potential.


Sweat equity ain't a bad thing -- unless you are above such stuff...

I don't think son feels he is above that - the house we lived in in Fairfax City was a fixer-upper, and it was just him and me for a lot of the time we were there.

He says his wife is concerned that if they get a fixer-upper, he won't keep up with his "honey-do" list. I can agree there is some validity to that concern, and he doesn't deal with pestering (you guys will read "nag" here) well. But I think he might surprise her - when he's interested in doing a project, he doesn't stop until it's done. Now, it's a whole 'nuther story if he's not......

I can tell her now that he's not very interested in mowing grass or shoveling snow, but he's just going to have to get happy in the same pants he gets mad in. Of course, if I wanted to seal my status as "monster-in-law" I could suggest that keeping up with her "honey-do" list (cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.) would help free up son's time to work on his "honey-do" list. That would go over big, I'm sure.

My wife would have a fit if you suggested that the things you put on the wife's honey-do list are anything but JOINT RESPONSIBILITIES! Don't you know: these days there's no such thing as "women's work".

I love that saying! Can I use that?

Yes, I know that, and I subscribe to it strongly. My mother used to tell us "Who was your slave this time last year?", and I basically used the same philosophy on him.

But she doesn't do anything but play with the kids and shop. He does the "guy things" and the housework, and the bookwork. I think she should carry some of the load, and I suppose that if they get a house, she'll be doing the snow shovelling and grass cutting until the boys get big enough, 'cause he won't!

S'man, sure you can use that saying - I got it from an old boss.

The big question is... Where do they work, or want to work for that matter?

Commuting times are usually a major factor in deciding where to live.

-

What developments are they attracted to... treeless, new developments, or established areas? are they urbanites?

Talked to One-Young-Son this afternoon; passed on all of the good advice y'all gave me. His response was "Inwood, Kearneysville? Where is that?" He's hopeless.

I then told him that if he liked Fairfax so much, why didn't he buy something in the old neighborhood since it was running around $250K. Boy was THAT a shock - he says houses in my old neighborhood (frame houses built in 1954) are now going for $400K!

I'm still glad I left there, but I bought the place in '86 for $115K, sold it in '97 for $155K. I can't wrap my mind around the thought that somebody is paying $400K for those houses now. Unbelievable.

Anyhow, thanx for all your good suggestions! It's up to him now.

Remember: no one down here is paying $400,000 for the old frame houses. They're paying for the lots underneath 'em.

It's one messed-up market....

Tom, you're right, you pay for the ground underneath it. But $400K for 1/3 acre in Fairfax City is way too much! I'm sitting on almost 9 acres that I bought in 2000 for $125K. I can always find a place to put the car, and my neighbors are at least an acre away from my house. IMO, where I live now is worth $400K.