Expensive Markets: How to Get In Without Going Broke??!

[Serena Appiah]

Hi, I'm a newbie here! Hubby and I own our current single family home in Silver Spring, MD which is part of the Washington DC Metro area. We also own a townhouse rental for 15 years in Hagerstown, MD, which is my original hometown 1.5 hours away where my mom still lives. 

I'm a little discouraged with trying to find affordable properties here in Montgomery County and surrounding areas. I've considered venturing into Baltimore County. But I was hoping to find a property that is no more than 30 minutes away from my home because here is my strategy:

Buy a fixer upper that I can take my time in fixing up while using the content for my do-it-yourself YouTube channel. Once fixed up and "staged" it will be like office space for me to use for when I need to film content or work on projects. Therefore, it has to be close to home, somewhere I can pop in and out of when I need to film projects.

But the closer I am to home, the more expensive (like $350K to $450K). I've got about $75K available to put down. But even with that amount, I feel I am priced out of this market and it may require me to go further out, which means commuting long distances multiple days per week when I need to do work at the property.

What's the solution here in an expensive market? Pay more (larger mortgage) for proximity, or commute longer distances (smaller mortgage)?

Thanks!

Serena