Where to live (Location and budget info included) (2015, renting)
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Pooling of wealth between family members is a factor probably.
Also, my parents owned three houses and were paying off three mortgages on an income that was about what you are making. Not to mention they put two kids through college.
They are not American born though. They didn't spend money on things typical Americans do and I do believe they had some family wealth.
That was also some time ago. I'm not really sure how they did it. I'll be sure to ask them someday.
One of my bosses also was telling me that he has a household income of ~200K and that their house is nearly paid and that they could essentially live on one income. I don't know. You have to do the math.
I would rent till first kid is born and invest the money in liquid assets. With the kids you will need minimum 500k budget for a decent house in NJ. There is a lot of money and time spent when you own. Furniture, blinds, maintenance, landscaping and surprises like flooded basement, roof replacement takes good amount of money.
I would rent till first kid is born and invest the money in liquid assets. With the kids you will need minimum 500k budget for a decent house in NJ. There is a lot of money and time spent when you own. Furniture, blinds, maintenance, landscaping and surprises like flooded basement, roof replacement takes good amount of money.
I hear ya.
What do you mean by requiring a 500k budget with kids though?
First, talk to a good lender. He can give you a good idea of how much of a house you can afford, and estimate your monthly payment. Figure out your house holding and maintenance expenses, taxes, etc and decide if you are comfortable paying that every month. If you are, than you know the MAX price of a house you can and want to afford.
Having the number, you can start your house search. Talk to a good realtor familiar with the area of interest, he should be able to help you find the best town for your taste.
So which is it. Mortgage 2.5x income or PITI under 28% of gross, because that is a massive difference. Seems like there are different 'rules' wherever you look.
You do realize it is very easy to game the PITI under 28% rule. You can simply adjust your mortgage type (10,15,30yrs or ARM) and beat the 28% threshold. It's very hard to game the 2.5x of income.
I would rent till first kid is born and invest the money in liquid assets. With the kids you will need minimum 500k budget for a decent house in NJ. There is a lot of money and time spent when you own. Furniture, blinds, maintenance, landscaping and surprises like flooded basement, roof replacement takes good amount of money.
And you also have to budget extra for the kid/(s). You have to have money for delivery, increased health insurance costs, medical emergencies, etc.
More I look more discouraged I become. It really is ridiculous to live here unless you want to live in a dump.
if a nice house at a reasonable price in a good neighborhood is what you want... I don't think NJ has it, at least not in my neck of the woods. It has a lot of other stuff to offer though; I like it here.
if a nice house at a reasonable price in a good neighborhood is what you want... I don't think NJ has it, at least not in my neck of the woods. It has a lot of other stuff to offer; I like it here.
Yea, that's the painful realization I have come to. Not in my neck of the woods either.
We used to live in Northern NJ. We wanted to start a family so started looking a buying a home. Like many have mentioned a good home, in a safe area, with good schools, and enough room to grow into will cost you $500k on the low side and the taxes are just crazy. We ended up rethinking everything that was important to us, made some career changes and decided to move to south jersey. We found an amazing forever home about 2.5x our income or 21-22% of our monthly gross.
Unfortunately up there you'll likely have to give up something.. I strongly suggest building a tight budget and talking to a financial planner before pulling the trigger.
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