Can you buy a house for less than 100k where you are?

[gumball37]

I'm in rural Pennsylvania (USA). I bought our house this past summer (August) for $70k. 4 bed, 2 full baths, play room, dining room, and office/gaming area for my teen off of the living room. Has a large yard and garage. Here you just go to the local school district (catchment if you will).

I had a frozen pipe which is costing me 4k to fix and redo kitchen. Put about 2500 into random things for maintenance and aesthetics. 5400 for new carpet. I estimate another 20-25k for more updates in the next few years.

It seems most of the posts I read on here are about palaces 300k and up. So I was just curious.

No, couldn't even buy a studio flat for that. A three bed semi with a garage, a decent drive and a back garden would be between £650,000 and over a million, depending on the road. A two bed flat is upwards of £430k (I would like to downsize to a 2 bed flat in same area, ground floor with parking in pleasant surroundings, so am familiar with prices and what you get for your money).

It's hard for young people starting out.

Where I am, a suburb on the West Coast of the USA your house could easily be more than $2 million.

Yes, you can get 2 bed flats or terraces near me for less than 100k. Derby/Nottingham area.

Don't you have to pay a lot of tax ( yearly) on top of this though?
I remember looking at properties in the US out of curiosity and was surprised to see the price of my house (north of England) could buy a flat in New York but I then read about the sort of tax I would have to pay on top of this and it made it completely unaffordable. Or does it depend on states?

No the least expensive 1 bed flat here is around £700,000

That would be the equivalent of $139,000 Australian, where I am. I doubt that you could buy any home in this country for that money. I'm in the suburbs of Brisbane and the median price here for a normal family home, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, is around $900,000. That's US $ 650,000. and UK £ 470,000 .

The cheapest property in my area in NZ is £350k and you would be lucky to pay that. A house like you describe is probably around £700k

£80-100k would get you a three bed ex-council terrace in my small town in not the best area. A newer built three bed would be £220-300k. A brand new four bed starts at £385k (no 3 beds available to compare)

About 6-700k for something your size. You can have a 1 bed flat in need of full refurbishment for offers over 85k though.

Yes, but it would be a small 1/2 bed flat in the grottier area of town

Yes, but you might not like the neighbourhood.

Ha no. But you could buy a garage.

Yes.
It's likely to be a terraced house. Howe er it will be nicely presented.
Ds was lost out on a fabulous end of terrace last year for £90,000. I wouldnt have minded it for my self. It had a back and side garden and a large reception room.

Oh wow. I am so sorry.

If you get sick tomorrow how much is it going to cost you in medical bills? Even with insurance that doesn’t cover the bill. Medical insurance is way more expensive than our National Insurance for a family. I can walk into any hospital in the country and get treated free at source. Whereas you have to go to the right hospital otherwise your insurance won’t pay.

Housing stock in U.K. is expensive in many areas due to land being limited thus a high price, average house is £280k

No need to be sorry though as we won’t lose the house paying healthcare bills

A house, no chance. You might get a tiny flat in bad condition.

The cheapest property here is £220K for a 2 bedroom property with a local occupancy. Next cheapest is £280K for a 2 bed terrace on the main road (route for the quarry lorries on their way to the motorway). After that it jumps to £395K for 3 beds with a garden. I had no idea..... I guess my kids won't be living here.

House across the road is up for $1.5 million.
Apartments start at $400,000 for a studio.
DD2 is house hunting and looking outer suburbs for $600,000. Her boy friend is a carpenter and happy to do work. They can’t find anything.
They might have to emigrate to your neck of the woods.

Wow! I have a hankering for small town America after random tv shows and it would be much less cramped than where I live now...

I'd probably be crippled by medical bills though!

@gumball37 give us some context though....is there much employment where you are? What are the salaries?
Is your land agricultural, are there big taxes or upkeep costs?
Why is it so cheap where you are?

Hell no. An average family home is creeping to £400k around here. A few 3 bed semi's in my small area are now going for £500k due to location.

No, in my town and surrounding villages and the next towns along a one bed flat is 200k.

If i do a property search of 40 miles there are some 1 bed flats turning up at 120k.

Where I am (rural France) 80000€ would get a house but it would need work. Tradesmen cost 400€/day because of ridiculously high NI 70%.

Yes you could get a small mid terrace for under 100k. Would be fairly grotty, but not in need of 25k.

I'm also American, living in Britain. I like living rurally, I live rurally now, but not sure about rural PA!

It wouldn't buy anything in south west. Not even a park home.

It does maybe put some context to cost though. Yes we get NHS so medical care is free (except we pay through taxes) but mortgage costs are high. So perhaps in US housing costs are less which leaves money for medical insurance?

Housing costs in UK are ridiculous. My current house is worth £400k and there's no way we could afford this on our current salaries. Luckily we bought years ago. Our house is a small 3 bed detached property & no separate living space to work.

Where I live (SE, within easy commuting distance of London) you could just about get a one bed or studio flat for £100k. There's more available if you'd consider shared ownership.
But, tbh, I'd rather live within commuting distance of London, than in rural USA. I quite like the fact that I can access health care for my family without worrying about how I'm going to pay for it, and that I can send my son to school without worrying that he's going to get shot by a classmate.