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Thanks for all the input. I should mention that the car payment is for 2 cars, not just one, and we have no children. We are considering paying off one of them with the 8,000 dollar tax credit so its out of the way. So with our current car payments does it seem reasonable to be looking at houses in the 400-450 range?
Thanks for all the input. I should mention that the car payment is for 2 cars, not just one, and we have no children. We are considering paying off one of them with the 8,000 dollar tax credit so its out of the way. So with our current car payments does it seem reasonable to be looking at houses in the 400-450 range?
what about in the future? can you afford to live on one salary or pay an additional $1K a month for childcare? things to factor in.
i won't give my opinion on the amount of house because it's probably not what you want to hear, LOL.
You should be looking around $500K, the mortgage payment will be reasonable based on your income, at 20% down on 500K purchase you still have $20K in the bank, 10K of that will be for closing costs. If you wanted more money in the bank after purchase, then negotiate something in the high $400Ks.
why should he be looking around 500k?
To the OP: spend as little as you can. you can buy a very nice house 3-4 bedroom house in a nice nieghborhood for $300,000-350,000 these days. dont be afraid to lowball.
you are in a great position by having $121,000 in cash for a down payment.
If I was you, I would be looking at houses listed around 350 and I would be throwing in offers 10-15% under list price.
you got no kids, there is absolutely no reason to spend $500,000 on a house. You can buy a 3 bedroom house in almost any area of NJ for less then 350 at this point.
Thanks for all the input. I should mention that the car payment is for 2 cars, not just one, and we have no children. We are considering paying off one of them with the 8,000 dollar tax credit so its out of the way. So with our current car payments does it seem reasonable to be looking at houses in the 400-450 range?
Depends on how much are you prepared to spend each month on the house ? That range will have you spending 3k/month on mortgage payments. Keep in mind that if you plan to stay there for a while, the place needs periodic maintenance.
I think it's a waste for a young couple (guessing based on your handle) with no kids to be eating Ramen noodles every night and not saving anything for retirement, so that you can live in a big house, but it's really up to you.
Where are you looking? In most of North Jersey you can't even find a 2 bedroom townhouse for 350K, and any 4 bedroom house for that money is probably on a flood plain or something.
One thing I have seen, however, is that bi-levels seem to be the most inexpensive homes out there, probably because most people don't want them. You can get a lot of square footage for the money if you go for that style home. good luck.
Where are you looking? In most of North Jersey you can't even find a 2 bedroom townhouse for 350K, and any 4 bedroom house for that money is probably on a flood plain or something.
One thing I have seen, however, is that bi-levels seem to be the most inexpensive homes out there, probably because most people don't want them. You can get a lot of square footage for the money if you go for that style home. good luck.
Not sure where you're referring to, but Nutley, Bloomfield and Belleville have plenty of places under 350k. South Orange and Maplewood have town houses and half duplexes in that range, as well as some (very small) houses.
The taxes in essex county are crazy. This house is listed for 339K in nutley with 8K+ taxes!
Not to insult anyone, but this isn't the type of house you think of when the family is bringing in 140K+ The truth is, most people that bought in yrs ago can't afford to buy the house they own now at today's prices. This trend is going to bring in wealthier people into any given area that currently has lower average household incomes.
Your debt-to-income ratio should be no more than 33%. This means that when you add your monthly mortgage, taxes, homeowners ins., flood ins., etc. it should not be more than 33% of your GROSS monthly income. Your debt-to-income ratio including the above and ALL other consumer debt should be no more than 38% of your Gross Monthly Income. This is what most banks use when qualifying you for a mortgage.
Additionally, I agree with the other posters that you should put down 20% and that you should have at least 6 months of cushion in the bank after you account for your closing costs, moving costs and home repairs that you may want to do before moving in and a little extra for repairs that may arise.
There are websites that can help you calculate "how much house you can afford". I believe that the average property tax in NJ is $7000. This is a middle number to use if you want to try one of these calculators.
The taxes in essex county are crazy. This house is listed for 339K in nutley with 8K+ taxes!
Not to insult anyone, but this isn't the type of house you think of when the family is bringing in 140K+ The truth is, most people that bought in yrs ago can't afford to buy the house they own now at today's prices. This trend is going to bring in wealthier people into any given area that currently has lower average household incomes.
Right, I agree, and it basically means that your choices are either to be house-poor, or to choose a very humble housing option.
Thankfully, both my wife and I are quite content to go with the latter (because we "only" have an income in similar range to the OP, sans the car debt)
My salary is 80k , i have 15k in my saving.I paid off my car loan.And i am looking home around Freehold,manaplan.. can you please suggest me how much worth house can i buy???
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