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Old 11-14-2011, 11:13 AM
 
Location: NJ
1,495 posts, read 5,034,820 times
Reputation: 957

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Quote:
Originally Posted by usedtobeanyer View Post
Yeah, I was going to say that. Not to be a jerk or anything but how much is the OP making? I bought a $350k house on a $100k salary and we are getting by. Is the OP making less than $50k?

With interest rates as low as they are, a $150k house should be really affordable. Assuming a $15k down payment, your monthly payment, before PMI and taxes and insurance, would be $644/month.


After seven years of teaching and a master's degree I make 53k in the public schools and after all the deductions of taxes, mandatory union fees, health deductions, pensions, savings, etc. I'm left with a take home pay of $3500 a month. I think I will also change my exemption to 2 to have more each pay period.

I did get a prequalification from Wells Fargo and they said it was upto 200k. When I read the paper it said that I have to have a net income of $4400 monthly but it was based on gross income and not all the deductions I have to have taken out by public school. We do have 20k saved, but I don't want to give it all as a down payment because we need an emergency fund.

So we figured out that many houses after you add the mortgage, property taxes, PMI, and homeowner's insurance it adds up to about $1600 a month and that doesn't include utilities (which I"m trying to figure out how much that would add up to a month), one car payment at $380, car insurance at 130, school loan 150 , food, gas $200 , etc. It all adds up to just a bit over the monthly income and It would be nice to have a bit of extra at the end of the month for emergencies.

We're working hard now sending resumes everywhere so my husband can find a job. If anyone knows any work at high maximum security hospitals or facilities or knows about the cremation field (yes he has a certification to cremate people, but no one is hiring) I would greatly appreciate it. Those are his two specialties


Both of us came from very poor upbringings so buying a house for us is a very confusing process.
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Old 11-14-2011, 12:12 PM
 
1,787 posts, read 5,731,532 times
Reputation: 1301
You don't have to come from poor upbringings for the home-buying process to be confusing. That process is confusing to most of us. Here are a couple of links that may help you and show you how you were prequalified:

The back-end ratio reflects your new mortgage payment, plus all recurring debt. Affordable Home - How Much Home Can I Afford? - How Much to Spend on Home

Buying a Home/U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)


Quote:
Originally Posted by Raven1976 View Post
After seven years of teaching and a master's degree I make 53k in the public schools and after all the deductions of taxes, mandatory union fees, health deductions, pensions, savings, etc. I'm left with a take home pay of $3500 a month. I think I will also change my exemption to 2 to have more each pay period.

I did get a prequalification from Wells Fargo and they said it was upto 200k. When I read the paper it said that I have to have a net income of $4400 monthly but it was based on gross income and not all the deductions I have to have taken out by public school. We do have 20k saved, but I don't want to give it all as a down payment because we need an emergency fund.

So we figured out that many houses after you add the mortgage, property taxes, PMI, and homeowner's insurance it adds up to about $1600 a month and that doesn't include utilities (which I"m trying to figure out how much that would add up to a month), one car payment at $380, car insurance at 130, school loan 150 , food, gas $200 , etc. It all adds up to just a bit over the monthly income and It would be nice to have a bit of extra at the end of the month for emergencies.

We're working hard now sending resumes everywhere so my husband can find a job. If anyone knows any work at high maximum security hospitals or facilities or knows about the cremation field (yes he has a certification to cremate people, but no one is hiring) I would greatly appreciate it. Those are his two specialties


Both of us came from very poor upbringings so buying a house for us is a very confusing process.
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Old 11-14-2011, 12:16 PM
 
Location: NJ
31,771 posts, read 40,520,678 times
Reputation: 24590
if it is sad and disheartening that a teacher cant afford a 150k house, which professions would it be happy and heartening for the practioners to not be able to afford a 150k home?
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Old 11-14-2011, 12:17 PM
 
Location: southern california
61,289 posts, read 87,163,795 times
Reputation: 55550
the real issue is he is unemployed my wife and i both needed jobs for us to get our 1st home.
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Old 11-14-2011, 12:55 PM
 
Location: NJ
17,574 posts, read 46,018,222 times
Reputation: 16271
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raven1976 View Post
After seven years of teaching and a master's degree I make 53k in the public schools and after all the deductions of taxes, mandatory union fees, health deductions, pensions, savings, etc. I'm left with a take home pay of $3500 a month. I think I will also change my exemption to 2 to have more each pay period.

I did get a prequalification from Wells Fargo and they said it was upto 200k. When I read the paper it said that I have to have a net income of $4400 monthly but it was based on gross income and not all the deductions I have to have taken out by public school. We do have 20k saved, but I don't want to give it all as a down payment because we need an emergency fund.

So we figured out that many houses after you add the mortgage, property taxes, PMI, and homeowner's insurance it adds up to about $1600 a month and that doesn't include utilities (which I"m trying to figure out how much that would add up to a month), one car payment at $380, car insurance at 130, school loan 150 , food, gas $200 , etc. It all adds up to just a bit over the monthly income and It would be nice to have a bit of extra at the end of the month for emergencies.

We're working hard now sending resumes everywhere so my husband can find a job. If anyone knows any work at high maximum security hospitals or facilities or knows about the cremation field (yes he has a certification to cremate people, but no one is hiring) I would greatly appreciate it. Those are his two specialties


Both of us came from very poor upbringings so buying a house for us is a very confusing process.
How much do you pay today in rent?
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Old 11-14-2011, 01:38 PM
 
Location: NJ
1,495 posts, read 5,034,820 times
Reputation: 957
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainNJ View Post
if it is sad and disheartening that a teacher cant afford a 150k house, which professions would it be happy and heartening for the practioners to not be able to afford a 150k home?
It's sad that anyone that works hard and is middle class can't buy something so essential as a house. It doesn't have to be fancy.
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Old 11-14-2011, 01:42 PM
 
Location: NJ
1,495 posts, read 5,034,820 times
Reputation: 957
It's such a coincidence that I was browsing through yahoo and saw this article....so I'm not the only one feeling like this. Only difference is this person was spending on a lot of unnecessary things

First Person: My $50,000 Salary Felt Like Minimum Wage | Work + Money - Yahoo! Shine
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Old 11-14-2011, 02:03 PM
 
Location: New Jersey
2,257 posts, read 5,170,198 times
Reputation: 1876
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raven1976 View Post
After seven years of teaching and a master's degree I make 53k in the public schools and after all the deductions of taxes, mandatory union fees, health deductions, pensions, savings, etc. I'm left with a take home pay of $3500 a month. I think I will also change my exemption to 2 to have more each pay period.

I did get a prequalification from Wells Fargo and they said it was upto 200k. When I read the paper it said that I have to have a net income of $4400 monthly but it was based on gross income and not all the deductions I have to have taken out by public school. We do have 20k saved, but I don't want to give it all as a down payment because we need an emergency fund.

So we figured out that many houses after you add the mortgage, property taxes, PMI, and homeowner's insurance it adds up to about $1600 a month and that doesn't include utilities (which I"m trying to figure out how much that would add up to a month), one car payment at $380, car insurance at 130, school loan 150 , food, gas $200 , etc. It all adds up to just a bit over the monthly income and It would be nice to have a bit of extra at the end of the month for emergencies.

We're working hard now sending resumes everywhere so my husband can find a job. If anyone knows any work at high maximum security hospitals or facilities or knows about the cremation field (yes he has a certification to cremate people, but no one is hiring) I would greatly appreciate it. Those are his two specialties


Both of us came from very poor upbringings so buying a house for us is a very confusing process.
with 20k in savings, if i were you, i would not be looking to buy a house for a couple more years.

a house is a nice to have asset provided one can afford it. there is absolutely no reason one should own a house to be happy or have a normal life. what is important is having enough savings for emergency and a healthy cushion every month; maxing out your 401k/IRA. what is important is having a peaceful and stressfree life. if buying a house has a potential to make your life worse, why do it?
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Old 11-14-2011, 02:11 PM
 
Location: NJ
328 posts, read 1,046,325 times
Reputation: 172
After 11 years as a corporate research scientist, I made only a few thousand more than that. All I could afford was a condo for well under $100,000. It sucks but I'm not sure what Christie has to do with it. I moved up here during the Christie Todd years.
Do you need to stay in NJ? Back in 1995, my kindergarten teacher (I wasn't in kindergarten then obviously) was making $95,000 just across the Delaware.
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Old 11-14-2011, 02:47 PM
 
1,319 posts, read 4,238,309 times
Reputation: 822
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lady Rahrah View Post
Dissolution of tenor? How about sopranos and contraltos? (Sorry, couldn't resist, I know that you mean tenure)
Thanks for catching it. I make ton of spelling and grammar mistakes, although I think I'm not too bad for someone who immigrated at age of 13
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