Uncle Obama wants to give us $8,000 to get into a house. Well that's great except if we don't find one we really love for a price we really like then we aren't going to get into a house. We just don't want to get into something that's either over our head or in a bad location that we won't want to stay in for at least 3-5 years.
So that's where we are now. If we don't find a place to buy, we'll just continue to rent, but we'll probably move into DC. It's kinda been a dream of ours to live in the city for a while.
I'll try to keep you posted but it looks like if we don't find something by the end of September then we will keep renting. We know it looks like a waste of money but being somewhere you don't enjoy or paying all of our income on mortgage and condo fees so we have no money for a real life isn't an option. At least with renting you don't have to pay for the washing machine when it breaks!
What do you think? Should we buy a condo somewhere in Virginia or rent in DC and float around for a few years?
Also, about the places we found... It comes down to really two things. Location and cost. The one we found right near Old Town are in a great location but obviously the cost is higher than what we want to pay. Then the other one which is quite a ways outside of Alexandria but it's $50,000 less!
See, we would be happy with living in the cheaper one because there is room for improvement but we aren't sure if it would be easily sellable later. But the one near Old Town wouldn't be too hard to sell (we think...) but getting into it might be tight.
I'm rambling now (mostly because I'm typing this while I'm watching a movie and I'm getting distracted) but what I'm trying to say is that if we don't get a deal on a place we love in a location we feel safe with then we aren't buying. Even though there is an $8,000 bonus on the line, that shouldn't be the only reason to buy a place. That's like joining the military just for an $8,000 bonus. It's something you will spend years attached to and you need be sure you will enjoy it and feel safe.
