Best area for our budget

[JJ09990]

This is feeling like the reality check I needed. Credit karma quoted max "affordability" at 717k. Lending tree ranged from 460-630k. I seriously thought 350-400 was playing it safe!

Guess I will start to rethink older homes and consider richardson.

[Rumble]

Originally Posted by JJ09990

This is feeling like the reality check I needed. Credit karma quoted max "affordability" at 717k. Lending tree ranged from 460-630k. I seriously thought 350-400 was playing it safe!

Guess I will start to rethink older homes and consider richardson.

Your budget of $350k-$400k is fine assuming you don't have much other recurring debt. At a 30 year fixed with decent interest rate, including taxes and insurance, that puts you in payments of $2,500-$2,900 a month.

Now finding a home for that in this market will be much more difficult. I second other opinions of east Richardson... 75082 specifically.

[clickbear]

There will be options with good schools. Individuals dispute the differences in LHHS, Pearce, and Richardson HS, but if you are a parent involved in helping your children be successful all of those schools can help in preparation for being college bound IMO.

My two cents, make sure you still have an emergency fund intact before putting down the down payment. I've read some articles on individuals being in a "hurry up and move" mode as they are racing interest rates and using their emergency fund. That is a big risk and moving can be stressful enough. Doing it by using the emergency fund for a down payment or using it as a bidding war chip it is asking for disaster.

If you are considering 400k for your budget without an escrow account setup you will probably need approx. $85k for 20% down that should include all mortgage & closing costs.

[unknown00]

Originally Posted by Dad0118

Just my two cents but if your gross is 11.5k a month, seems your budget is a bit on the steep side.

Originally Posted by Rumble

Your budget of $350k-$400k is fine assuming you don't have much other recurring debt. At a 30 year fixed with decent interest rate, including taxes and insurance, that puts you in payments of $2,500-$2,900 a month.

i guess everyone has their own opinions, $11k+ gross income $400k house should be easy

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by clickbear

Just make sure you run the numbers including tax at the PURCHASE price and insurance. Considering tapping the breaks if you're between 25-30% of your monthly expenses, depending on your financial situation.

If you are looking for a 4 bedroom you will have better luck with Richardson with your price point. 4 bedrooms seem to be few and far between in Lake Highlands, especially through the Lake Highlands Junior High route unless it is undesirable area or lower performing elementary. If you are willing to put kids through the Forest Meadow JH route (do some thorough research), you will find more sq footage and more bedrooms available.

I've always heard that school referred to as "Forest Ghetto."

[MurphyPl1]

Originally Posted by JJ09990

Thanks but I have friends moving Out of east plano because of school issues. Should have mentioned that commute is not that big a deal for me. How is Wylie, Sachse, rockwall, or Allen? Just do not want to move out west of the airport. Any other suggestions besides PISD?

Seriously? I'm actually stunned someone would move out of PISD into Wylie for schools. I know easily 2 dozen people who have moved either from one home to another within east Richardson, east Plano, Parker and Murphy into another home in the east cluster. I know of no one who has moved from the east cluster to Wylie but 2 in the last 7 months who moved from Murphy/WISD to Murphy/PISD.

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by MurphyPl1

Seriously? I'm actually stunned someone would move out of PISD into Wylie for schools. I know easily 2 dozen people who have moved either from one home to another within east Richardson, east Plano, Parker and Murphy into another home in the east cluster. I know of no one who has moved from the east cluster to Wylie but 2 in the last 7 months who moved from Murphy/WISD to Murphy/PISD.

In the 3 years I've lived in Wylie, I've had the opportunity to interact with a lot of folk living out here, you would be surprised at the number of people living in Wylie now who either grew up in Plano or had lived there at some point earlier. To a man they all expressed no desire to move back to Plano. Maybe they were saying all this to make themselves feel better about being in Wylie, I don't know. Special scorn seemed reserved for Plano East which has been called "ghetto"...I suspect the reasons for this were not academics related. I'll leave it at that.