As a real live DC (NE) nikka born and bred from Gault Place, I agree 1 million percent that $2500 will only get you a studio or jr 1 bedroom West of the River. East of the River on the other hand
and I’m from EOR. I work down by Nats park and them shyts is going up like erector sets
you got one bedrooms going for $4500 over there
I make good money but even my six figure azz couldn’t afford a home in SE, SW and NE and I tired. Went through the Gr8ter Wash Urban League program and DC Gov’t still only gave me $8k
Now a former coworker of mines she only made $54k and got $85k from DC
that’s how that shyt works in DC... So I expanded my search and went through the MD first time home buyer program. MD ended up giving me like $26k for down payment and closing. That shyt helped a whole lot. My good credit allowed me to do a conventional loan which allowed me to prepay my PMI which wasn’t crazy expensive. I ended up buying a townhome in Annapolis (7 min from Downtown Annapolis) with a garage and private elevator
I recently did a refi, now my mortgage is $1,360. The goal is to stay in it another year then rent it out and move closer to the city.