How much money was your first house?
Incoming FT IB analyst here. Starting at a large MM in a lower-cost city with an $80k base salary. I’m a first generation finance guy coming from a very middle class background (parents are more senior in their careers and make a combined ~$200k annually). To those w similar (or even different) backgrounds, how much did you buy your first house at? Wondering what kind of financial / lifestyle parameters I’ll have down the line assuming my career trajectory stays roughly constant / goes as expected. Thanks!
200k is more than middle class.
The illusion that 200k is middle class is hysterical
And $200k being rich is peak Reddit. It’s all perspective, I guess.
Edit: meant to reply to @Roger Sterling, but point stands. I'd wager this site skews heavily towards the northeast / west coast / chicagoland suburbs where housing can be pretty nuts (as someone looking to buy in this market it's fucking insane).
Work in a product group at a BB in what most would call a T3 city.
I can from a blue collar, probably slightly upper middle class background. All in my parents made probably something like $120-130k combined.
I bought my townhouse when I was 22 for $185k in 2017. I don’t regret the decision once. Could probably sell it for $240k today.
You will probably get preapproved for a huge mtg. Don’t take the bait. Live within your means and don’t over extend yourself.
Charlotte?
"upper-income households had incomes greater than $145,500."
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/07/23/are-you-in-the-america…;
Never owned a house or condo. Wish I had though, moved around too much and rented throughout the years. If I go back to my old town (LA) I would have to shell out more than 400-500 K even for a very basic home.
The average cost of a home in LA county is now more than 700K. Which is a joke.
Especially for the shitty building quality.
My uncle passed away due to Covid recently, he was based out of LA. His place is a run-down wooden construct that could qualify as "a shed" with a broken fence around it. If you saw the kitchen or bathroom you would not want to use it, it was that poorly built.
His estate is trying to sell it for 1.35M $US (you are basically paying for the land and would have to build a new house on it).
I really don't know how normal/young people in Southern California would ever be able to buy a home.
200k being considered middle class is peak WSO.
I live in a LCOL area, and first house is around 270k. 10 minutes from downtown.
$1.65m, Manhattan.
Put money down as an MBA-Ass2
I mean, OP probably has college educated parents who have worked corporate 9-5s for the last 30 years. They are doing fine/well, but definitely not upper class. At least not in the social sense.
Caveat that I have a pretty similar background so am biased. But I definitely consider my own family middle class, not upper class.
Edit: I'm aware that this is not some type of median or mean, but I still think it's middle class in the sense of who you're surrounded by, what kind of life you have, what neighborhood you're in, who you relate to, etc.
I paid $386k for my first house
What even are these comments. Are you people all living in the middle of the country? $200K for a combined family income on the coasts is not a lot of money, by any stretch of imagination when dilapidated tear-down real estate is $500K or more.
I'd say urban areas, more than coasts broadly. (Though of course urban areas on the coast are typically more expensive than other urban areas.) Just a pet peeve of mine lol when people say coasts they usually just mean wealthy urban centers (which, admittedly, are mostly on the coasts)
Sure, but this is WSO. Investment banks aren't headquartered out of non-urban centers, and COVID is driving real estate prices through the roof further and further out of urban centers anyway.
I can totally believe that $200k is considered middle class depending on where you live. Especially if that's what OP's parents make now, and not what they were making during OP's entire childhood (~25 years ago they very well could've made closer to $100k combined assuming 3% increase in comp each year).
My current place (1st time owning) was ~$650k at time of purchase after 3 years in IB and 1 in PE. Budgeted only on my base and ascribed 0 credit to bonuses.
MBA Associate at a top MM in a VERY low COL city.
First time buyer, just went in on an updated, 3 bed 2.5 bath home, 1900 square feet, in the top school district, for 405k. Two blocks from a park with tennis courts. A few more to a body of water. I'm paying just over 2k all in (taxes, insurance, etc. included).
While long term IB is the goal, even if I last just a few more years I am counting stacks each month with so much flexibility.
Used to live in LA/NYC and can't even fathom going back.
While I certainly could have spent a lot more, I really think the marginal utility is minimal until you reach that "wow" stage of home. At least in my city, 400k vs. 700k is not that big of a gap.
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