My Fate Is In Your Hands
OK – I want anybody who reads this (whether you know me or not) to pipe in with your opinion in the comments section below. I’m completely frazzled.
I looked at a condo in Somerville yesterday (my first time seeing it):
Positives: walking distance to Porter Square subway, countless restaurants/shops in immediate area, 10-minute walk to work, new bathroom and new-ish kitchen, not on ground floor, largest space of all units I’ve seen, corner unit, quiet side street, includes parking (which I’d rent out or use for guests), best price.
Negatives: exterior is ass-ugly, some minor improvements needed (replace carpet, paint) to make interior charming, no view, building went condo two years ago and prices haven’t gone up (they’ve not gone down, though).
I also looked at a property I saw last weekend in Cambridge:
positives: midway between Central and Harvard Square subway stops, restaurants in immediate area, 15 minute walk to work, entire interior is brand new, corner unit, Cambridge address is more desirable than Somerville (for resale value)
negatives: condos are tiny (but well appointed), prices are higher (there are numerous units available), occupancy won’t be until June 2007, only units I can afford are ground/basement, there is a long mazelike hallway leading to the condo units.
Obviously this has got me thinking (and stressing). Between the two, I’m leaning toward the Somerville property since it’s larger and I can “gay” it up to make it charming with a little paint and new flooring. But in my thought process, I’m asking myself the following questions:
1 – What are the risks here? The real estate market is settling…could this go down in value? Will things be even cheaper next year, as some predict? I suspect this unit is at the lower end of the spectrum for affordability and wouldn’t go much lower. I think it’s the mid-priced and luxury places that are going to drop a lot.
2 – Buying the condo will result in me spending approximately $300 more per month in living expenses. Am I ready to sacrifice enjoying the fun things (travel, clothes, living downtown etc….) that I only started getting to enjoy less than two years ago?
3 – Or would it be wiser to continue renting and stashing that $300 into savings/investments so that I can afford to buy an even nicer place in the future?
4 – My long-term goal is a long-term relationship with somebody. If that person comes along in the next year or so and we decide to move-in together, will this have been a wise investment? If I sell in less than two years I’d be stuck with capital gains taxes. If I sell after two years, it could be tough to coordinate selling my place, selling his place and finding a new property we can both move into at the same time. If I’m renting (and my current lease is month-to-month) it would be easy to transition into a new place.
5 – Since the units in the Somerville building haven’t seemed to have gone up in the past two years (when the building went from apartments to condos), will they likely not go up in two or so years when I’d likely sell again?
So, EVERYBODY, please click on the comments button below and guide me. I’m too overwhelmed to make a logical decision.
15 Comments
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i will be first….not that you havent heard this from me before. I am TOTALLY pro-owning a place….I cant imagine throwing money at a landlord so he can do all the traveling/shopping/etc that you could still be doing when you find the RIGHT property. You are right to worry about the housing market because prices are going down SLOWLY. However, even in a soft market if you do general ‘gay sprucing up’ you will get return on your money.
It seems to me that neither of these units has bowled you over (who wants to wait til next JUNE?). Keep looking…you have only looked for two weeks now? Get yourself a GOOD realtor…tell them specifically what you want….and have them contact you when they find something you like. Remember..the realtor works for YOU.
Dude, that’s a lot of stuff to think about…I don’t know what to tell you. I still say that if you’re not COMPLETELY in love with the place, then don’t do it. I have this theory when it comes to apartment hunting…you can see tons of places that are livable, but when you see ‘the one’ you’ll KNOW it.
First off, having rented for years and now bought houses several times (owned 2 at once for a few months!) I can tell you that you shouldn’t buy anything unless you really love (or at least seriously like/are drawn to) it – unless you’re doing it for speculation/flipping, which you are not. This is going to be your home and you need to be happy living there. Next, I think if you are really in a state of flux, not quite sure what the next year or two has in store, enjoying your life with the lack of responsibilities & changes ownership would bring, have the goal of living with someone in the not-too-distant future and bearing in mind that you really need to live in something at least 5 years, even condos, to make if financially profitable to sell (if you sell in less you will generally lose, given closing costs, blah blah), especially since this is no long a strong market PERHAPS you should wait a bit. Between the two places I’d say definitely the Somerville. While the Cambridge could potentially have a higher resale (though that’s hardly certain) it wouldn’t be enough to offset the negatives, and the main point is it sounds like you’d be happier living in the Som. condo, and that’s the most important thing. You’re not going to be sitting out on a lawn chair looking at the outside of the building. The fix-up is minor & cosmetic, that’s nothing. Having a new bath & relatively new kitchen is by far the most important things you can get in a buying anything, and will save you the most money in the long run. Living on the ground/basement level in that area esp. would SUCK. Also, I’m not sure what you have to agree to but if the occupancy is not until next June are you at a point where you’d want to commit, not be able to live there, and then find yourself regretting it if suddenly you’re being swept off to live in Gay Paree w/ your new French boyfriend?
I think the main thing is don’t do anything you’re not completely sure of. Condos will always be there. If you just LOVE the Somerville one & the potential life there, then maybe go for it.
When buying a house it’s not that you don’t have to settle for less than perfect, you do, but in my experience you “know” it when you’ve found the place you want.
Agreed with all the points above. Is Somerville condo livable/doable? Yes I belive it would be. Do you want to live in it is the real question?
If not dont do it. Wait and that Cambridge place sounds nice but out of your price range and you have so much time on that one. You can easily wait and live in the North End till you find something better. No rush its all up to you, when its right its right.
Somerville is hardly an undesirable address these days. It’s been upscaling for years. People who are smart, many of them in Academia, move there because it’s still just barely affordable unlike Cambridge and Watertown. So, people are constantly looking for places in Somerville–YOU looked in Somerville, don’t forget–because whatever happens to the housing market (and I’m looking to put my house in Roslindale up for sale next spring in the middle of what’s predicted to be the bottom of the market) Somerville is always going to be a better price for people looking for shelter than Cambridge.
The unit sounds far more comfortable and desirable than the one in Cambridge, view or no view.
As to the man thing, I think you should remove that from the list of considerations. It’s just too unpredictable. I think the agenda is about Karl Finds a Home that will build equity and stop him from giving money to a landlord and getting only shelter instead of shelter PLUS equity in return.
I think you know I hope you find THE man and soon. You’re a real catch, and it WILL happen (from my mouth to god’s ears!). But if you take all the “what ifs” attendant upon finding this man, and factor in all the possible complications of his own living situation in conjunction with yours–you’ll never buy ANYTHING. And that’s not good.
And this weekend, you might find something else that has little or no baggage attached–these two units are not the only condos on the market.
Well, Karl, you know I loved living in that building (amazing coincidence!). I am also pro-ownership because I have been paying my money into someone else’s pocket for far, far too long. But I wouldn’t say buy it unless you really want to commit to something. It doesn’t have to be twenty years, of course, but it will probably have to be a few.
Heya Karl –
I’m in a similar place (though a bit farther back on the curve) – haven’t fully read the blog piece and comments (but will), but, fer chrissakes, if you want an architecty-buddy to go along on some of these tire-kicking expeditions, I’m a total real estate (among other things ) voyeur – and a selling-agent’s worst nightmare . Porter Sq. area of Slummerville is about as good as it gets, but I’m not a big fan generally, of either Cambridge or Somerville, really…at least until one gets to the upper end of the market. For myself, I think the current slump is still building – lots of people whose ARMs haven’t gone up yet but are about to are going to end up foreclosed-on, etc., and the rhetoric in the press (including in the building-trades press) is unformly glum or very fake-pollyannaish “it’ll be fine” with no hard facts backing that up – methinks we have a way to fall…so, take your time and don’t settle for something bad, as you probably WILL be saddled with it for at least the next four or five years if you don’t want to lose money (this is what happened with condos the last time – they take a long time to rebound once they fall…).
For myself, I’m looking at Dorchester and, of all places, Providence first…
Oh, forgot to add – based on what you say, I’d go for the better space in (Porter Sq. area, anyway – there/Davis is the ONLY part of Slummerville I’d even conceive of living in – the rest is just either too innately ugly or too innately inconvenient [there are some very nice parts of Winter Hill, but try getting there w/o a car…]) Somerville over crappy space in Cambridge – again, you’re looking to LIVE in this place, not flip it, right? I think your chances of making money on resale on this thing are going to be about nil for the next few years (though fine in the long run, both places), so make sure you really LIKE the space. Favorite old adage: never buy the best of a bad stock!
I concur with all above, but am not as hawkish about buying in this market. If you save for a year or so, build up more money for a down payment (and, hopefully, have a bigger income to impress the banks), you’ll be more attractive when things truly fall apart, banks will LOOOOOVE people buying with some cash in hand.
Without having seen the particular unit in Somerville I can’t say for sure, but I have a pretty good idea it’s not a place you would want to look at everytime you come home or bring someone over, regardless of space. The Cambridge one seems as convenient for work and more convenient for play, even if it is smaller. I know that when I lived there getting into town at night and home again to Davis was a bitch. Winter Hill, ironically, is much easier and cheaper by cab, and there’s a T line supposed to go there sometime, so it’s proabably the most attractive from an investment pov.
For me, (as of said umpteen times before), I’d give Dorchester another look and find someplace to fall in love with. Or, wait a while until you either do find that place or find something that’s a good investment.
Long story short, if you absolutely must, go for the Cambridge one, in my humble opinion.
AWWWW – I love my friends. This kind of feedback is EXACTLY what I’m looking for.
Based on my own reservations/instincts, and the comments of so many of you, it seems that a) these two properties are not the properties for me, and b) this may not be the best time to buy.
But other readers should pipe in (whether you agree or disagree).
Wait.
What Dave in Chicago (2) says.
I may not be the best advisor in this arena, but you asked.
Living in Tennessee, it completely blows me away hearing the costs of living and prices, both selling and buying for property in your area. I purchased a new home, 1200 square feet 3 bedrooms, two full baths, with a year builders warranty last year in a great older neighborhood for $94,000. So you can understand my being overwhelmed.
I will try to offer advice from my perspective as a homeowner.
If you are not completely in love and do not have that “this is the one” click on either property, WAIT.
I waited a year with a good real estste agent to find my house. I was very particular with my needs and desires and would not budge.
Another thing to think about regardless if you are buying new or existing property is the additional monies you will spend when you do acquire a new home. I think we all under estimate what we will spend on a “new ” home. This past year I have spent over $10, 000 on what I considered must have upgrades.
Not knowing a lot about the Somerville area, but reading your comments, it sounds as if it may be a “growing” nieghborhood and therefor resale value may improve.
I think the most importnat advice anyone can give you at this point is not to rush, or make yourself feel that way. You are not in a rush. You want to find a place that you can feel like you are at home in, regardless what the future may hold. Security and comfort with your decision has to be paramount.
As I have stated, I do not know a lot about you (other than your blog which allows me to live vicariously through- Thank you very much) but I hope my comments helped.
I think it may make sense to keep renting, but that there is also something to be said for getting out of the crappy-neighbor situation and into something more quasi-permanent. Things to consider:
* How much does the current apt suck now that there’s the noisy neighbor – will you want out in the next few months anyway, even if it means moving to a new rental?
* Will there be a possibility of your renting out a condo should you buy one you love, and then end up meeting the man of your dreams just a year or two down the line?
* What’s the trade-off in terms of costs around searching, buying, and later selling vs the benefits of building equity?
I do consider Somerville, especially that area right by Porter, to be heading up. There’s a certain magic-zone quality to it because both Davis and Porter are quick walks, Harvard isn’t far, and a lot of buses and the commuter rail go through there. I think that area has staying power, in that a condo bought there today would be very unlikely to go down, if it’s at the lower-end. I also agree that lower-end, first-time-condo type properties in general are not likely to experience a burst price bubble remotely like what the higher-price properties will experience.
My friend j (blogs.law.harvard.edu/jkbaumga) recently bought a condo in Somerville using similar logic to above. So if you want that perspective, I’m sure she’d be happy to share her experience. Also, her buyers’ agent was pretty awesome.
All that said, there’s a lot to be said for renting IF you are pretty confident that you’ll be changing situations anyway in the next 2ish years. Which, since you’re awesome, and some lovely guy ought to be snapping you up any time now, isn’t necessarily a bad bet. 😀