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The Pride of Ownership
September 29, 2005
For the three of you keeping tabs on the going-ons here at the Sagalyn apartmenthold, you’ll no doubt remember a while ago when I posted that we were house hunting. If your noggin works a bit better than my own, you may also remember that Boston is the most expensive city in the US to live (scroll down a bit for the article, I’m too damn lazy today to link it… but what do you want? You’ve got a flippin picture!). There was a bit of arguing and whatnot. But the short and skinny of it is it’s EXPENSIVE to buy a house here. Especially if you’re going from renting, like us, to buying.
Want proof? That beautiful house pictured at left is in Southborough, MA which is 28 miles from Boston and a roughly 45 minute driving commute. It’s listed by the agent as “Rare Opportunity! Lovely lot in quiet neighborhood” and “in need of major rehab. Priced to sell” It’s walking distance to the commuter rail (45 minute ride into Boston, not much different than driving) and from the looks of it on google maps, the agent is right, it’s almost on top of the train tracks.
The price of all this convenience? And the wonderful Beverly Hillbillies’ first home’s price? $299,000! “Priced to sell!” Indeed!
“In need of major rehab” is the opperative phrase here. It’s the understatement of the decade up there with Pets.com’s earning forecasts and Michael Brown’s instence that he did nothing wrong in handling FEMA’s response to Katrina.
Dont’ believe me? Take a look.
Is there something wrong here? This is almost 30 miles from Boston. It’s MUCH closer to Worcester (where 300k actually buys you something you could live in), New England’s third largest city, than Boston and the house is a complete and utter shithole. It looks like it fell off the backlot of some bad Hollywood horror movie. And it’s 300k. 300k! All the while, I’m surprised it hasn’t been condemned.
And while I’m ranting about the state of the real estate market around Boston, does someone mind telling me what “pride in ownership shows” means? It’s the new buzz word in every agent’s vocabulary. Pride of ownership shows in the newer contemporary colonial cape.
Oh yah? It must have been the pride of ownership that hasn’t updated the house since 1960. Or the pride of ownersip that decided to add that jacuzzi in that huge screened in porch with the dining room table in it that is only accessible from the bathroom off the master bedroom. Or was it the pride of ownership that drove the owners to cover their whole 1/4 acre flat lot with stones?
Oh, real estate market it’s on. It’s so on. You’re goin’ down, beeotch!
MetroDad says:
September 29th, 2005 at 12:54 pm
Good luck, my friend. Hope you kick the market’s ass. Seems like this week, all the papers are talking about the high cost of housing in NY, Boston and SF. I read in yesterday’s paper that 28% of all apartments in Manhattan now cost over $1 mil. Twenty-eight fucking percent! Holy crap! Kick that beeotch’s ass!
Matt says:
September 29th, 2005 at 1:02 pm
Pride of ownership. I think I only used that phrase once and it was when my cash and prizes had an extremely good showing with an ex-girlfriend.
Good luck with the house hunting.
jennifer says:
September 29th, 2005 at 2:03 pm
Wow. Times like these make me greatful for living in GA. Where my husband and I purchased a lovely home in a really nice neighborhood for only $120,000. It needs small amounts of updating in a room or two that was painted in the mid 90’s when teal and pink were all the rage, but mostly it’s a very nice house that I love in the best schoool system in town. Good luck to you and the family. I hope you find a wonderful home with a great deal
Mark says:
September 29th, 2005 at 2:29 pm
We are getting major sticker shock here in Phoenix too. The area where I’ve spent my whole life has gone up about 50% in a year, to where it’s a similar situation as yours — 300k just to get into something, much less anything that you’d really WANT to be in. Ick.
Neal Patrick says:
September 29th, 2005 at 4:36 pm
Lots of luck - my first purchase was in Worcester, since it was the only place we could afford. That and I could have easier access to my heroin dealer. Seriously, there are some pretty good parts of Worcester (close to Millbury), and the prices are cheaper than Southborough. Don’t plan on send your kid to the public schools, though.
I’d be worried when the listing says it in need of major rehab. Usually the words, “Needs a little TLC” translate to “Just burn this place down and start from scratch”. In the case of your house I’ll bet it’s built on an ancient Indian burial ground.
Eric Sagalyn says:
September 29th, 2005 at 7:05 pm
Yah, dude… we’re looking in Worcester. Believe me, I know. There are actually lots of nice sections of Worcester. And there are two very good elementry schools. After that, it’s up for grabs!
anon says:
September 30th, 2005 at 2:39 am
Ouchie. Mpls isn’t quite that expensive yet, though I suppose it may get there soon. Most of the public schools are decent, and we have open enrollment, so if you live near a school you don’t like, you can pick a new one, though you may have to arrange transportation (I’m not sure).
What can you get for 450k-500k there?
anon says:
September 30th, 2005 at 2:43 am
Oh yeah, I wish you well on the house hunt. If you’re feeling a bit out-priced for your market, be sure to overlook easily remedied decorating flaws, like paint, or tacky panelling on walls, or dropped ceilings in kitchens, etc etc etc. You shave off some of the price if you buy something that isn’t ‘turn-key’.
Maybe you know all of this already, I dunno.
Either way, good luck!
Andrew Teman says:
September 30th, 2005 at 9:09 am
To add insult to injury, you picked Southborough…which has in recent years I believe, actually beat out Weston, Wellesley, and other such towns with the highest median home price in the state. Southbourough is a beautiful town, but pricewise, it is very similar to buying in Newton of Brookline for instance.
Marlboro, Westborough, and Northboro…though similarly expensive, might be good alternatives.
Matthew says:
October 2nd, 2005 at 11:16 am
Wow, those owners really knew how to put the “antique” in Antique Colonial.
Good luck, man! I had to move 600 miles to buy a house I could afford in a place I liked. You’ll figure it out, no doubt.
Eric says:
October 4th, 2005 at 10:12 am
Man,
I feel your pain.. I’m in Jamaica Plain, and I feel the real estate market’s big middle finger hovering over all middle-income (even borderline upper-mid-income) families wanting to find a nice place to hang their hat and call home anywhere close to their work, friends, etc.. I can’t wait until the market completely crashes, and screws over all these developers buying up 3 families to create 2 bedroom condos for 350+.. (and if you want something with 3 bedrooms, add another 50k). In other words, this real estate market has turned me into a bitter, bitter renter. Thanks, Boston..
Estate Home Phoenix Real says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Home Style Words in Real Estate Ads – More Explanations
Whether you’re buying or selling, reading real estate ads can be confusing. Here are explanations of more style terms used in real estate ads.