From an RV to a condo near Washington: What was best for their growing family?

Mehmet Ari Botani and Tara Zerya Botani both grew up in Turkey, where they faced a long-standing culture of discrimination as children of Kurdish descent. When they met in college, they bonded over a shared dream: to raise a family in the United States.

“Growing up in the Kurdish community, I didn’t feel like I belonged because you always had to learn at least two languages ​​and be a part of two cultures,” said Botani, 33. “Our biggest accomplishment is that we were both able to come to the United States and are now American citizens.”

The two men, who had remained friends during their studies, moved separately to the United States on work visas about eight years ago: she to Colorado; he to New Jersey. But they stayed in touch and eventually became a long-distance couple.

After getting engaged in 2019, they rented an apartment in Washington, D.C., where Ms. Botani found a job at a hotel and Mr. Botani bought a pizzeria with a business partner. But when the pandemic hit, she lost her job and he had to sell the restaurant.

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“We got married in April 2020 and I started taking an online computer course so I could work remotely,” Botani said. “Mehmet joined a mobile car rental company with another business partner and we decided it was the right time to have a baby because we could all be together.”

In 2021, with property prices rising, Ms Botani pregnant and the future uncertain, the couple sold everything, bought a campervan and spent months exploring their new country. They had no idea where they would end up.

“We traveled to Connecticut, New Jersey, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Boston, Toronto and Montreal in the RV, and we had both been to California before,” Botani said. “Everywhere we went, I looked at houses on Zillow, but none of them really appealed to us. We couldn’t see ourselves living there.”

They returned to the Washington area and settled into an Airbnb in northern Virginia for a few months, just as their son was due. They felt comfortable there and enjoyed the access to free events and museums.

“There are a lot of opportunities in the Washington, D.C., area and there’s more diversity there,” Botani said. “We especially like Northern Virginia because our first apartment when we got married was in Arlington.”

Shortly before their RV adventure, the Botanis had consulted with a lender and secured a $550,000 home loan. But when they resumed their home search in 2023, higher interest rates and their vehicle payments reduced their loan to $470,000.

They reconnected with Loretta Gray, a real estate agent with Long & Foster Real Estate in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, who had helped them search for a home earlier in the pandemic. “In 2021, we were looking at a townhouse or condo in Washington, D.C., or a townhouse in Virginia,” Gray said. “But in 2023, mortgage rates and prices were higher, so they ended up choosing a condo in Virginia.”

After two years on the road, the prospect of a two-story home with high ceilings was appealing. They also wanted a move-in ready home so they could focus on their work and new son.

They considered waiting for mortgage rates to drop, but ultimately decided to go ahead and buy in Alexandria. “We were worried there would be so much pent-up demand later that prices would go up,” Gray said. “They can always refinance or sell later.”

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