If you want something more modern than the castle I last found, how about this contemporary gem?
Same price—$250K—for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in Statesboro, Georgia (about an hour west of Savannah). Very pretty home. 1500 square feet and feels very spacious inside (although the outside almost looks like an architectural drawing and a bit stark):
The thing I love about finding homes like this for $250K is because I live in the DC metro area and local prices near me are insane. You could maybe get a small condo for that price but it won’t be an easy commute.
Real estate prices are crazy everywhere though because ten years ago, this same exact home sold for $85,000.
Anyway, let’s take a look inside.
The living room is expansive, with a vaulted ceiling and floor-to-ceiling windows/sliding doors looking out on a beautiful patio:
The kitchen isn’t too shabby, either. The cabinets and counters look new.
My favorite part of this house, however, is the patio. A small pond is visible through the trees & brush:
The pergola is a nice touch — it’ll let you divert the light just enough so you could have either sun or shade. The summers in Georgia are quite intense so this is more than a cosmetic bonus.
Side view:
How much would something like this cost to live in? $1500/month?
It depends on how much you can put down as a down payment and how good your credit score is (because that determines interest rate) but let’s assume 3% down for first-time home buyers (around $7500) plus closing costs (around $7,000?). So maybe $15k for the closing plus $1500/month if you can get an interest rate of 3%? Not bad. Granted, that doesn’t include utilities, maintenance, repairs, moving costs, and any of the other things that go along with home ownership but you’re lucky if you can get a 1 bedroom apartment for $1500 in DC.
Like, here’s a 2 bedroom, 1 bath condo in Rockville for about the same price:
Now, if it were a buyer’s market, you might be able to get the the seller to chip in towards closing costs. No doubt those are hefty. There may be some cases where banks can offer “no money down” making it easier to buy (and there are programs for veterans and rural areas and more, so do your research if you’re seriously looking).
The most helpful thing to do if you are thinking about buying a home is to get prequalified. Fill out an application for a loan at your favorite bank before you even set your sights on a particular place because then you can plan. You’ll want to know how much you can afford, how much you’ll have to pay at the closing, and how much the monthly payment will be. There’s too much mystery around the home buying process so getting the numbers up front makes it easier to dream AND plan.
Anyhoo, back to dreaming. See the full listing for this place at https://www.trulia.com/p/ga/statesboro/400-wilburn-cir-statesboro-ga-30458--2030605841