Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There are merits to your argument. However, it is not always feasible. Sometimes you have to take the risk. Unfortunately, it does not get easier as you get older especially when you are single.
I do not want the OP to buy something just because it is cheap. I want the OP to look at it as an investment in his or her future. This individual saved this money. It was not given to the person. This shows he/she has what it takes to make it work.
I plan to stretch myself in a couple of years. I have no choice. Mortgage companies have relaxed the requirements to buy a home. I will not proceed until I am debt free and I have 1 year of projected living expenses saved but I am going for the best I can buy.
It is just not going to get better. I do not anticipate the market will soften anytime soon because of the cost of rent.
Lol! I confused threads. Sorry OP. My response pertains to another OP. However, my response to Metro is still applicable. Lol!
As an escrow officer who routinely goes through lender closing packets and sees people's applications with their personal balance sheets I am amazed how much debt people are in even with good incomes AND they still need PMI. I think you are asking for trouble not having 20% down.
You're employing a fallacy in your argument to justify overspending- "everybody is doing it" - that's just not true. Across the country, on a fairly consistent basis, 30% of the people rent, 30% own their homes free & clear & 30% have a mortgage. Of those with a mortgage, the balances & terms vary widely. you can't point to the current "median" home price & assume that "everyone" in that city has a $3k monthly housing nut, because they absolutely do not. Some bought their homes 25 years ago & have five years left on a tiny mortgage, some put half down & others bought at half the current price.
There's no malice or ill-will attached to advising new homeowners to look at the bottom of the range that they can "afford", quite the contrary. Having lived with a huge mortgage & a tiny one, having lost a job when two were needed to cover the monthly nut, having "life happen" when it wasn't convenient, I can say based on my own experience that buying less gives you a lot more enjoyable life. A huge mortgage means your employer "owns" you & frequently today, employers aren't "nice" people.
Spending every nickel that comes in as fast as it comes in is a pretty stressful lifestyle. And the O.P. doesn't *have* to live that way - they have a great combined income & a couple years of living "lean" could make the next thirty years a hundred times more comfortable & enjoyable. The number one cause of marital strife is finances - why take on a mortgage that is guaranteed to be overwhelming if you don't have to? It's a whole different animal if you make half as much & really don't have any other choice, but the O.P. does have a choice.
Smartest statement on here, "a huge mortgage means your employer owns you" exactly Zippyman, people love the rat race apparently.
My feeling is that you will be approvhinked. And you'll regret it.
You're stretched too thin.
Especially if, God forbid, one of you becomes ill and cannot work? Or loses their job? Seriously, consider rethinking this based on only one income. Why do I say that? Because that's what we did, and 5 weeks after we bought a new house, I was out of work on disability with no money coming in for 18 months. That would have been financial ruin if we had bought what we were approved for.
This is why private disability insurance is just as important as life insurance. And no, I'm not an agent.
OP those are some high taxes - I'm assuming this is in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut or California. I will be hesitate for the same reason posted above. What happens if one of you becomes disabled and you have to survive on one salary?
Obviously, a single person would buy a house based on their income. A couple (married or not) buy a house considering two incomes and when all of a sudden they are forced to live on half their normal income, there will be problems.
Obviously, a single person would buy a house based on their income. A couple (married or not) buy a house considering two incomes and when all of a sudden they are forced to live on half their normal income, there will be problems.
the point is there are no guarantees in life. A single person could lose their job and have 0% of their income. But they still buy houses and sign leases because it's part of living. A two income couple can choose to live based on both incomes in the same manner. Yes, it's a risk someone will lose a job, but there is no such thing as a risk-free life. And in many locations, a nice house with decent amenities needs both of those incomes and two working people can reasonably decide they want the decent house, not some crappy pit in a lousy neighborhood if they tried to buy at half their budget.
Obviously, a single person would buy a house based on their income. A couple (married or not) buy a house considering two incomes and when all of a sudden they are forced to live on half their normal income, there will be problems.
Can't a single person lose half their income just as easily as someone's spouse?
Can't a single person lose half their income just as easily as someone's spouse?
Yes obviously it goes either way. That's why everybody should have disability insurance so if you become disabled or sick and can't work you can receive up to 60% of your income for anywhere from 2 years to age 67. Like I said I am not an agent but I do work in the business and have come to realize disability insurance is just as important as life insurance. Some large companies offer it, even pay for it but if yours doesn't I would check into it with an agent in your area.
Social Security disability is not easy to get and they won't pay for short term disability (to the best of my knowledge).
We all have car insurance, some of us have life insurance to protect our loved ones if we die but how many here actually have disability insurance to protect them and their loved ones if they become disabled and unable to work? Do you have enough in the bank to pay all your bills for at least 6 months?
Anyway, like I said I am not an agent and I am not trying to drum up business. Just passing on a suggestion.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
