Please help me consider this buy and hold deal
Hello,
I'm new here on this site. My husband and I are considering a townhouse purchase in Washington, DC. The price of the 3 bedroom townhouse, which comes with 2 parking spots (and has no affiliated HOAs) is the price of most 1 bedroom condos in the area. Its within walking distance of 3 metro stops which is valuable to city dwellers. We anticipate covering the mortgage and taxes and coming out even or with no more than $200 per month in excess earned. I would not buy the property with the expectation of cash flow. My hope is that the property will continue to gain value because of the multiple bedrooms, small fenced yard and parking, as well as proximity to public transportation in an area filling in with high rises.
So my big question mark is whether to proceed, given that this house is directly across the street from a low-income housing development. As in many parts of DC, there are extremely high cost properties directly next door to low income properties, but I have no idea how to anticipate whether we would be able to rent it out. There are condos for sale with similar square footage on the adjacent streets within 0.2-0.3 mile away for double the price and luxury high rises, high end gyms, restaurants, bars, and yoga studios, all within a few minutes walking. There are also projects in the pipeline for additional high rises (condos and rentals) that are either under construction or breaking ground soon.
Does anyone have thoughts on whether this is a good idea to move forward? I should add that this would be paid for out of savings, the house is newer construction (1994), and its not a giveaway price as in some markets in the US.
We hope to make a decision 11/23 so any input quickly is appreciated! (I have probably broken a cardinal rule of this site by posting the same question in the 'starting out' forum as well. I apologize for the double post- wasn't sure where it would be seen).