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I've been trying to do the mortgage calculators and it's asking me how much debt I have.
Should I include child care costs? Insurance costs? any monthly recurring costs? Or just pure debt like car payments, etc?
Our income is in the 150k/year gross range but I am able to put a large down payment on a house - we could put down at least 150-200k and still have some money left over. I'm just worried.
I tried to figure out all my recurring costs, which doesn't include gas, tolls, food, etc. Am I supposed to include that in my mortgage calculator?
We have two car loans which one is ending Dec 2013 - that's around 1000 then the other that won't end for a bit is $600.
Daycare is 1500 a month
Life and disability insurances are around 500 a month
Car insurance is around $260
Home owners and other insurances around $100 a month?
Should I calculate our monthly Verizon bill and utilities as well into the mix? Verizon is in the $140 range and PSEG? No clue. Maybe $200 a month average?
My husband plays hockey 3 seasons and that's $300 a season.
We don't have any credit card debt or any other debt really - we pay his parents $500 a month for a loan we took fro them.
Putting down what we pay per month is so scary.
Is the 600k range too much for us?
We live in a condo right now that we would have to sell. We pay $420 a month for our monthly Condo Fee. I feel like house is too much for us now and I want to buy down but need to get an idea of what we can 'afford'. Before we had our son, it was do-able, but the cost of having a kid is insane. I'm not sure if we would have a second one but you never know.
I know, I should just talk to a financial advisor, but just trying to get a feel right now....
PS anyone have any good financial advisors in the Hoboken area?
Don't rely on the mortgage calculators. Your instincts are right about thinking about all the different expenses in your life. But there is no shortcut to going through the important step of making your own budget. You can go to a financial advisor, but s/he will need to start by gathering all that info from you anyway. Include everything (savings too!) in your budget to get a real understanding of what fits for you, or what things you need to adjust.
I've been trying to do the mortgage calculators and it's asking me how much debt I have.
Should I include child care costs? Insurance costs? any monthly recurring costs? Or just pure debt like car payments, etc?
Our income is in the 150k/year gross range but I am able to put a large down payment on a house - we could put down at least 150-200k and still have some money left over. I'm just worried.
I tried to figure out all my recurring costs, which doesn't include gas, tolls, food, etc. Am I supposed to include that in my mortgage calculator?
We have two car loans which one is ending Dec 2013 - that's around 1000 then the other that won't end for a bit is $600.
Daycare is 1500 a month
Life and disability insurances are around 500 a month
Car insurance is around $260
Home owners and other insurances around $100 a month?
Should I calculate our monthly Verizon bill and utilities as well into the mix? Verizon is in the $140 range and PSEG? No clue. Maybe $200 a month average?
My husband plays hockey 3 seasons and that's $300 a season.
We don't have any credit card debt or any other debt really - we pay his parents $500 a month for a loan we took fro them.
Putting down what we pay per month is so scary.
Is the 600k range too much for us?
We live in a condo right now that we would have to sell. We pay $420 a month for our monthly Condo Fee. I feel like house is too much for us now and I want to buy down but need to get an idea of what we can 'afford'. Before we had our son, it was do-able, but the cost of having a kid is insane. I'm not sure if we would have a second one but you never know.
I know, I should just talk to a financial advisor, but just trying to get a feel right now....
PS anyone have any good financial advisors in the Hoboken area?
Thanks.
holy crap, i know i'm not helpful but $1600 for cars?!? wow. i've never paid more than $250/mo, LOL.
ok i'll add more - right now from my calcs w/o mortgage/rent you come out at $60K in expenditures (will go down once cars are paid off). that puts your income around 90K. do you save for retirement or college? if so, add those in. realistically (not including savings) you should be looking at a mortgage in the low/mid, maybe high 200's.
I'm in the same boat. Currently renting and looking to buy my first home. From a real estate agent standpoint, I feel like they try to minimize the added expenses that comes with buying a home (to make the sale and not scare away potential buyers) but it's definitely something to consider. When considering how much more my housing costs will be, in addition to calculating the obvious difference between my current rent and what my future total housing payment will be (PITI), I'm also taking into consideration an added expenses that will come with moving (higher commuting cost/higher utility bill/etc). It's going to be different for every person so you should sit down and make a spreadsheet with any/all future expenses you think will come with buying. I don't think it's as easy as allocating a certain % to housing.
I just contacted my accountant (new for me this year) and asked him if he could help me figure this out. I'm scared now that I finally put down what I pay for things! I don't know how to create a budget - but I think my accountant and/or a financial advisor will help me. I worry about a financial advisor b/c I feel like they will just want me to 'invest' with them ie, give them money vs what's best for me. Just a fear I have dealing with them.
PS the 1k was for a 2 year 0% financing deal. Done Dec 2013 then it's pay outright. Yeah, we have spent wayyy wayy too much money lately.
I hate to say it but we have very expensive habits and our income does NOT support this. I need to get my ass in gear and talk to DH about our expenditures. I'm now car pooling to work so my gas/wear and tear is cut down by at least 30-40% of whatever it is.
I'm kinda freaking out right now. For some reason DH doesn't seem as concerned. I have some money in savings from my family, but I feel like we are just wasting it away. I want to keep that for my son's college money and/or a rainy day.
We do NOT have to have that beautiful 5 bedroom 700k home. I think maybe staying in the low 500-600 is more reasonable and I STILL worry that's too much!
My friend wants to sell me his house in Berkeley Heights and he says it appraised at 440k a few years ago. I have to take a look at the house (4 bed, 2 bath - NO garage) to see if we like it, and if we do, then we have to figure out what's fair to pay and how much a new garage would be, IF we can build on on the lot).
I really like Berkeley Heights and if I can convince DH about this house (if we like it) we can slowly make it our own by renovating - and how much are those costs!).
PS I work in East Orange and he works by Exchange Place in Jersey City and we have a 2 year old son.
I just contacted my accountant (new for me this year) and asked him if he could help me figure this out. I'm scared now that I finally put down what I pay for things! I don't know how to create a budget - but I think my accountant and/or a financial advisor will help me. I worry about a financial advisor b/c I feel like they will just want me to 'invest' with them ie, give them money vs what's best for me. Just a fear I have dealing with them.
PS the 1k was for a 2 year 0% financing deal. Done Dec 2013 then it's pay outright. Yeah, we have spent wayyy wayy too much money lately.
I hate to say it but we have very expensive habits and our income does NOT support this. I need to get my ass in gear and talk to DH about our expenditures. I'm now car pooling to work so my gas/wear and tear is cut down by at least 30-40% of whatever it is.
I'm kinda freaking out right now. For some reason DH doesn't seem as concerned. I have some money in savings from my family, but I feel like we are just wasting it away. I want to keep that for my son's college money and/or a rainy day.
We do NOT have to have that beautiful 5 bedroom 700k home. I think maybe staying in the low 500-600 is more reasonable and I STILL worry that's too much!
My friend wants to sell me his house in Berkeley Heights and he says it appraised at 440k a few years ago. I have to take a look at the house (4 bed, 2 bath - NO garage) to see if we like it, and if we do, then we have to figure out what's fair to pay and how much a new garage would be, IF we can build on on the lot).
I really like Berkeley Heights and if I can convince DH about this house (if we like it) we can slowly make it our own by renovating - and how much are those costs!).
PS I work in East Orange and he works by Exchange Place in Jersey City and we have a 2 year old son.
you sound very level headed and I'm sure with a good accountant's feedback, you should be fine. best of luck!
quick question, when you say I can afford $200k in mortgage that means with my $200k or whatever down in addition? So like $400k house? Sorry such a newbie.
quick question, when you say I can afford $200k in mortgage that means with my $200k or whatever down in addition? So like $400k house? Sorry such a newbie.
i mean $200K (or more) mortgage - so if you add your down payment of $200K it comes to $400K.
ducmonster, you say that you've never created a budget, but before you go about trying to calculate how much you can afford, I think you need to figure out
1) how much your family has been spending each month for the past year
2) how much of that is recurring (e.g. the $1000 car payment will end at the end of the year, so don't include that)
By spending I mean, go find every single check you guys wrote (to pay loans, HOA fees, credit card bills, daycare, ATM withdraws if you are heavy cash spender, etc. so that each dollar spent is only counted once).
Now, (1) and (2) will give you an idea of your upper and middle range monthly spending. Compare that to your monthly take home pay after taxes. If you are comfortable with how the numbers look, then you can afford a house that has a similar mortgage to your current + HOA fees. If you think your monthly spending looks way too high, then like you stated, you need to cut your spending. One way is to lower your mortgage (downsize). But until you calculate your actual monthly cash flow, it's really hard for anyone, including yourself, to see what you can afford.
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