Would love some input from this group on how my wife and I should go about purchasing our first home in the Portland, OR area. We have a general idea of where we need to be, but would love some reassurance (I promise I read the Wiki, but am also looking for specific advice for our situation).
Income-
$140,000/year (income has gone up 25% in the last 6 months)
Current Savings- $23,000
Debt-
1x Car Loan $22K @ 2.74% - $480/month (Paid off $60K in student loans and 1x used ’09 Honda Civic)
Expenses-
Rent- $2,100
Avg. Monthly Expenses- $1,800 (groceries, restaurants, bills, gas, etc)
Including Car Loan = Total Monthly is $4,750-$5,000ish
Our current rate of savings is $2,500/month or $30K/year
Retirement-
401K @ $50K - I contribute 10%, Company matches 4% of salary (fully utilize the match)
403b @ 13K - Contributes 9%
Kids are a few years out (we are 26/27).
We’ve discussed a home in the $350K range - This would be a newer/nicer house with 3 bedroom/2 bath in our area in a decent neighborhood.
Our goal was 20% down on a house to avoid PMI, but this would be $70K + $15K of closing costs. This would take 2.5-3.0 years at our current savings rate. Not very long, but also not soon…
What is your suggestion on how we should approach our situation? 10% down and pay PMI, with the benefit of not “throwing rent money away” for years (I know, I know- flexibility, no house maintenance, etc.)? Pay higher rent for a few years and wait for 20%?
Thank you for your time.
Submitted March 26, 2017 at 12:19PM by throwaheyhey111 http://ift.tt/2o6Bn6e
