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My hubby wants to stay in SW FL...but I am not quite sure on it because of the house prices here. I think that if we bought a house here, my hubby would have to continue to work 50+ hours a week...and I don't want that to go on because I would like our children to have more time with their father.
Anyway, here's our data (as much as I will give online ).
I make about $39K. My hubby, WITHOUT overtime, makes about $45K. So that's about $84K. (he does make more, but that's with lots of overtime, and I would like to see if we can do it without overtime).
We only have one credit card...payment is about $140 a month. I have a student loan of $234 a month. We own both of our cars BUT do forsee within the next two years, maybe sooner, having to get rid of one of the cars being as it has over 100K miles on it and it about 10 years old. We have two children, and would love to have one more.........but I don't see how that's possible living here.
My credit is good. His...I am not sure. He had bad credit back in the day-loans went into collection, always late on a mortgage on his first house. Never went into foreclosure though. We sold the house and paid off every loan. This was October of 2004. Going on 3 years now, and he doesn't have anything in his name (shares his name on my credit card)....but he doesn't have any debt anymore.
I don't want to be house poor. I don't want hubby to be working overtime when I know that if we moved elsewhere, he wouldn't.
How much money for a house should we not go over? Taxes are high here and hurricane/flood insurance.....
If those numbers were my household I would not look for a mortgage of more than $130K. I am sure that a lender would be happy to give you more, but you have to be able to pay your bills AND buy food.
It is very wise of you not to include overtime into your scenario. Overtime can go away with no warning.
There are builders in Charlotte county who offer homes in that price range.
For $300k your principal payment alone is $834. Add PMI, property tax, homeowners, and interest you are looking at a pretty hefty house payment. Added to the $374/month in other loans plus utilities, gas, groceries, etc. that puts it pretty tight. I would be more than uncomfortable in that situation.
I would say your maximum mortgage in consideration of both incomes should be around $250 K, plus whatever you are putting down, plus about $5 K in closing costs.
Location: Danbury CT covering all of Fairfield County
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Closing costs in my area range anywhere from 3-6% of the purchase price, depending on the type of finacing you choose. When you write up your offer, your agent should suggest including language saying seller to pay $5000 towards closing costs.
I take a slightly different approach. mrshvo, think about your current rent payment. Is it a "comfortable" amount for you? You mentioned your husband working more hours than you'd like. Does this mean your current monthly payment is higher than what you want?
I'd start with determining what you're "comfortable" with for a monthly payment. Then interview a few realtors and mortgage lenders and find one of each you'd like to work with. Then see if there's a home out there that you like and that fits into your budget.
As a realtor, I feel that home ownership is a great way to build equity. However there are times when renting is actually the better choice. Depending on your local real estate market, if you're needing 100% financing, that means you can't be buying into a market that's still heading south. And even when it's leveled off you need to try to buy a home below market value.
I do know that Florida has extremely high taxes and homeowners insurance. If you would end up in a part of the country where the housing market is a little more robust and home values are a little less over inflated and taxes/insurance cost are lower, then purchasing now might be a really wise choice.
Just something to think about. I'd hate to see you get burned.
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We wouldn't want to have to put down much
