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I live in Seattle. I have an engineer’s salary. I cannot presently afford a condo, let alone a house. By the time I have enough for the down payment, I will aga

I live in Seattle. I have an engineer’s salary. I cannot presently afford a condo, let alone a house. By the time I have enough for the down payment, I will again not be able to afford a home.

01100011 5y ago
You need an engineer's salary combined with another engineer's salary or very productive equity compensation. You're basically competing with folks who have both an engineer's salary(or two) combined with equity from their previous house.
- randycupertino 5y ago
  Don't forget the Bank of Mom and Dad!
- jshen 5y ago
  Nope. If you make ~200k a year, you can afford an $800k place, and I can easily find nice places in Seattle for that amount.
quaesitor 5y ago
Nice excuse. Only works if you want to make 20% down instead of 3%[0] [0] https://www.knowyouroptions.com/buy-overview/affordable-mortgage-options/3-down-payment-mortgage-for-first-time-homebuyers https://www.knowyouroptions.com/buy-overview/affordable-mort...
- kristjansson 5y ago
  > Funding from those programs often can be combined with financial gifts from your family and friends to reduce your out-of-pocket costs to buy a home. I mean, I get the point of saying that (funding from F&F doesn’t disqualify the applicant), but man does it feel like a quasi-government agency is suggesting needy borrowers should just ask their parents for money.
- t-writescode 5y ago
  Well, I tried to put 5% down; but, then I realized how much higher above asking things were selling for; and how people skip out on things like inspections. But I still want inspections, so I ask for them. This puts me down on the list of desireable buyers. I went into a place that was selling for around 300k. I was going to offer as much as 325. I was also willing to go 5k above what the place would appraise for. This matters because you can't get a loan for above a place is worth. The place sold for nearly 375k. If it appraised for 325, the buyer is on the hook for an *additional* 50k that they have to pay in cash at time of signing. You can't just not have lots of spare money in this market.
  - jshen 5y ago
    You aren’t making a typical engineering salary if you can’t afford a $500k place.
    - t-writescode 5y ago
      I make 150k / year. I'm an SDE 2. The problem isn't the monthly payment, the problem is the down payment. And you've said in several places how engineers make 200k+ after 5 years. Maybe in total compensation and only in FAANG; but there are a loooot of engineering companies in Washington and the Seattle area that aren't getting hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock that's increased 5-10 fold in the last 2 years.
      - jshen 5y ago
        It’s not just the FAANG companies. You should really check out your worth on the job market. Why dismiss someone telling you that you should easily be able to get paid more? Why the victim mentality?
      - comp_throw7 5y ago
        What exactly is the problem with a downpayment on a 350k (or, heck, 500k) unit? Obviously there are exceptional circumstances, e.g. you're supporting multiple people on your salary alone, which might make it difficult to save up 70-100k quickly. But if you're single, your annual after-tax take-home is ~95k, assuming you max out your 401k contribution, and ~110k, assuming you don't contribute at all. Saving 50% of that does not even require living particularly frugally. That gets you to the top-end of the required down payment in 2 years.
jshen 5y ago
I call bullshit unless you are entry level. The average engineer at a big company with 5 years experience is probably making >$200k all in. I can easily find 2bd 2bath condos and townhomes in Seattle for ~$800k.
- t-writescode 5y ago
  There are lots of engineers in the Seattle area that do not work for Google, Facebook, Amazon or Microsoft. I make about 150k / year. I have 10 years experience. Were I a senior, it'd be 180k. Still not much more. It's also the most I've made at any job I've ever worked. My previous company, I was one of the highest paid employees at 115k. Forgive me, but I think you need to check your privilege when you speak about regular matters for people like millenials trying to buy houses. And I can't imagine a place on the planet where 800 thousand dollars is a reasonable price for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath. In the Work-From-Home days, 2 bed, 2 bath is decidedly a 1-person household (the other room is an office), *maybe* a married couple that get along well. edit: typo
  - jshen 5y ago
    You are underpaid. You should look for other jobs to fix that. Also, at 150k you should be able to afford a place that is 500k or more. I bought my first place when I was making 115 and it cost 400k with much higher interest rates than today. Those are just facts, and it’s a fact that the average tech salary is sufficient to buy a place in Seattle. Privilege? I grew up very poor, no one in my immediate family has finished high school, let alone college. I enlisted in the army and did a tour in a war to pay for my college. I was in a similar boat to you and the others complaining when I was early in my career and I’m trying to help with some perspective and experience. You can complain about the cost of housing, complain about whatever privilege you think I have, but it won’t help you get to a better place. I’m offering advice to help get you all to a better place because I faced the same challenges and overcame them.
    - t-writescode 5y ago
      I make over 1.5x the median income in King County. Further, my company makes an effort to operate on the 50th percentile in engineering companies for our positions, so LOTS of people are "underpaid" according to you. And I can afford a 500k place. I cannot afford the down payment and the surprise assessment tax, etc.

I live in Seattle. I have an engineer’s salary. I cannot presently afford a condo, let alone a house. By the time I have enough for the down payment, I will again not be able to afford a home.

01100011 5y ago

You need an engineer's salary combined with another engineer's salary or very productive equity compensation. You're basically competing with folks who have both an engineer's salary(or two) combined with equity from their previous house.

randycupertino 5y ago
Don't forget the Bank of Mom and Dad!
jshen 5y ago
Nope. If you make ~200k a year, you can afford an $800k place, and I can easily find nice places in Seattle for that amount.

quaesitor 5y ago

Nice excuse. Only works if you want to make 20% down instead of 3%[0] [0] https://www.knowyouroptions.com/buy-overview/affordable-mortgage-options/3-down-payment-mortgage-for-first-time-homebuyers https://www.knowyouroptions.com/buy-overview/affordable-mort...

kristjansson 5y ago
> Funding from those programs often can be combined with financial gifts from your family and friends to reduce your out-of-pocket costs to buy a home. I mean, I get the point of saying that (funding from F&F doesn’t disqualify the applicant), but man does it feel like a quasi-government agency is suggesting needy borrowers should just ask their parents for money.
t-writescode 5y ago
Well, I tried to put 5% down; but, then I realized how much higher above asking things were selling for; and how people skip out on things like inspections. But I still want inspections, so I ask for them. This puts me down on the list of desireable buyers. I went into a place that was selling for around 300k. I was going to offer as much as 325. I was also willing to go 5k above what the place would appraise for. This matters because you can't get a loan for above a place is worth. The place sold for nearly 375k. If it appraised for 325, the buyer is on the hook for an *additional* 50k that they have to pay in cash at time of signing. You can't just not have lots of spare money in this market.
- jshen 5y ago
  You aren’t making a typical engineering salary if you can’t afford a $500k place.
  - t-writescode 5y ago
    I make 150k / year. I'm an SDE 2. The problem isn't the monthly payment, the problem is the down payment. And you've said in several places how engineers make 200k+ after 5 years. Maybe in total compensation and only in FAANG; but there are a loooot of engineering companies in Washington and the Seattle area that aren't getting hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock that's increased 5-10 fold in the last 2 years.
    - jshen 5y ago
      It’s not just the FAANG companies. You should really check out your worth on the job market. Why dismiss someone telling you that you should easily be able to get paid more? Why the victim mentality?
    - comp_throw7 5y ago
      What exactly is the problem with a downpayment on a 350k (or, heck, 500k) unit? Obviously there are exceptional circumstances, e.g. you're supporting multiple people on your salary alone, which might make it difficult to save up 70-100k quickly. But if you're single, your annual after-tax take-home is ~95k, assuming you max out your 401k contribution, and ~110k, assuming you don't contribute at all. Saving 50% of that does not even require living particularly frugally. That gets you to the top-end of the required down payment in 2 years.

jshen 5y ago

I call bullshit unless you are entry level. The average engineer at a big company with 5 years experience is probably making >$200k all in. I can easily find 2bd 2bath condos and townhomes in Seattle for ~$800k.

t-writescode 5y ago
There are lots of engineers in the Seattle area that do not work for Google, Facebook, Amazon or Microsoft. I make about 150k / year. I have 10 years experience. Were I a senior, it'd be 180k. Still not much more. It's also the most I've made at any job I've ever worked. My previous company, I was one of the highest paid employees at 115k. Forgive me, but I think you need to check your privilege when you speak about regular matters for people like millenials trying to buy houses. And I can't imagine a place on the planet where 800 thousand dollars is a reasonable price for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath. In the Work-From-Home days, 2 bed, 2 bath is decidedly a 1-person household (the other room is an office), *maybe* a married couple that get along well. edit: typo
- jshen 5y ago
  You are underpaid. You should look for other jobs to fix that. Also, at 150k you should be able to afford a place that is 500k or more. I bought my first place when I was making 115 and it cost 400k with much higher interest rates than today. Those are just facts, and it’s a fact that the average tech salary is sufficient to buy a place in Seattle. Privilege? I grew up very poor, no one in my immediate family has finished high school, let alone college. I enlisted in the army and did a tour in a war to pay for my college. I was in a similar boat to you and the others complaining when I was early in my career and I’m trying to help with some perspective and experience. You can complain about the cost of housing, complain about whatever privilege you think I have, but it won’t help you get to a better place. I’m offering advice to help get you all to a better place because I faced the same challenges and overcame them.
  - t-writescode 5y ago
    I make over 1.5x the median income in King County. Further, my company makes an effort to operate on the 50th percentile in engineering companies for our positions, so LOTS of people are "underpaid" according to you. And I can afford a 500k place. I cannot afford the down payment and the surprise assessment tax, etc.