I recently started looking at houses. When I first started, I thought my budget was going to be around $180k. I settled on that simply because it was going to come with an all-in mortgage and escrow payment of around $1000, which is about what I'm paying monthly for rent.
As I started looking at houses in the area with a realtor, I was not finding anything that I liked in that price range that didn't need a significant amount of work or was in a less than desirable location. I started looking at houses more around the $230k - $250k range.
I make $80,000 a year and have about $570 a month in debt payments. My net monthly income is around $4600 after taxes, 401k contributions, etc. My budget consists of about $2300 a month which includes current housing expenses, so I feel like I can afford the $1300 - $1400 mortgage that a house in the price range will be, but looking at that number scares me. I'm not sure if it should scare me or I'm just getting the first-time homebuyer jitters.
My girlfriend of almost three years will be living with me and is willing to contribute, but she is currently laid off due to COVID. She currently makes around $24k a year after taxes at the job she is furloughed from, but she would have to find new employment in the area we move.
Submitted July 08, 2020 at 06:38PM by SettledInCatan https://ift.tt/31X6G9R
