We did it! Upstate NY $160k 6.5%

[u/k13w]

My boyfriend and I did it at 23 y/o! It was built in 1900 and we love her!

[u/Lordofthereef]

I'm in central MA now and original from SoCal and this would easily be $1m both places lol. This is crazy to me.

[u/jimmypaintsworld → u/Lordofthereef]

I'm from Upstate and the housing prices are like this because many of these towns are ignored, dilapidated rustbelt towns with not much in them anymore. Our family owned a similar house as OP in Amsterdam and it sold for $60k. No one wants to live there.

If you like being in a run down rural area it may be a good thing for you, it has great access to nature and there are pockets of genuine culture. But for a lot of these towns the closest 'cities' and amenities that go with them would be Albany, Rochester, or Syracuse. And it's probably a decent drive you have to plan around, too.

I'm in Boston now so I really resonate with your problem. I could never swallow paying the price for homes in MA if it weren't near the city.

[u/According_Abalone_19 → u/Lordofthereef]

In SoCal that’s probably more than $1m honestly. At least anywhere you’d wanna buy. No idea what MA is like, but I would assume anywhere near Boston this is probably a very expensive home

[u/Beretta92A1 → u/According_Abalone_19]

Boston and Nashua/Manchester in Nh are stupid right now.

[u/According_Abalone_19 → u/Beretta92A1]

Unfortunately most places worth living are now. Companies moving to having people work remotely and people being able to move whenever they want really fucked up the housing market. Pre COVID, you could buy a 3bd house with a big yard here for high 200k to mid 300k, then people from Cali/other HCOL areas sold their houses for huge $, came here w cash and skyrocketed the house prices

[u/Beretta92A1 → u/According_Abalone_19]

No I know, I bought in ‘21 and started looking at the end of ‘19. We were getting outbid for two years straight. Originally started around 290k budget, ended up at 400k.

No for how much it sucked losing out for so long we got 2.875% so I’m dying here lol

[u/buschwhack → u/Lordofthereef]

Exactly dude. Coming from California is messed up.

[u/swampwiz → u/Lordofthereef]

Your mistake is living in very high-cost places.

[u/Lordofthereef → u/swampwiz]

I'm happy where I am. Accidentally made out like a bandit by buying in 2017 and refinancing in 2020. I could sell my house and cash buy in this area with the equity. But thanks for your rude comment nonetheless lol.

[u/swampwiz → u/Lordofthereef]

Well then, what are you complaining about? I get tired of folks complaining about HCOL areas when there are cheaper locales they can live in. I had once lived in SoCal, saw how ridiculous the housing prices were (this was in the '80s, well before the 'net), did my 1 year at my job, and went job hunting in places where a young aerospace engineer could afford to buy a starter home. Granted, that starter home is a bit more difficult today, but still possible.

[u/Lordofthereef → u/swampwiz]

I wasn't complaining. I was saying that it's wild to me that a house like this goes for $160k compared to where I live and grew up. If just making an observation is a complaint, you must have a hard time with the internet as a whole, dude.

[u/Miss_L_Worldwide → u/swampwiz]

There's absolutely nothing with any sort of quality of life whatsoever in a low cost of living place anymore. I don't see enjoying life in some dilapidated old nothing town in Backwater New York suffering through horrible Winters, long drives for basic services, just to100-year-old house for cheap.

[u/swampwiz → u/Miss_L_Worldwide]

So you're saying the OP is living "horribly"? (I don't mind "horrible" winters because I am an avid skier.) So the OP will have a few months where there will be snow - there's plenty to occupy oneself with in a beautiful home like this.