Looking to buy a house how pricey of a house can I afford?
November 24, 2008 · Print This Article
Marty asked:
I work 40 hours a week at 10 bucks an hour… My girlfriend makes about the same thing… I have a half of a semester left in college and she has a year and 1/2 to go. Is buying a house a realistic possibility right now?
Kansieo.com
I work 40 hours a week at 10 bucks an hour… My girlfriend makes about the same thing… I have a half of a semester left in college and she has a year and 1/2 to go. Is buying a house a realistic possibility right now?
Kansieo.com
Josh Dunaway has been a certfied Realtor in the suburban Chicagoland area for over 20 years. Aside from starting his own real estate company, he also owns a mortgage company as well.
Consider waiting until you have made a solid commitment, i.e. marriage. Otherwise, if you purchase and break up, then one of you may want the house, the other may not want you to have the house, and your life goes on hold while you duke it out.
A lender will look at how long you have held your jobs, in addition to your salary, and the chances that you will keep that job or one that continues to pay you for 30 years.
They’ll especially look at your bill paying history.
Your combined income is $41600, that is low but there are government programs out there for low income families.
These programs vary by state and have lots of conditions - i.e. take a home buyers class, 2-3X more paperwork to fill compared to other home buyers, etc…
Wait a few more years when things get easier, you don’t want to make the worst financial mistake of your life before getting a degree.
A blemish on your FICO score may cost you a job offer. Employers are now checking credit history for a guage on how reliable and responsible you are for the job.
Well because I don’t have information such as how much of your earnings go to living expenses, college loans, and other loan commitments, I cannot give you an exact number.
What you should do is figure out your monthly income and subtract expenses. From here determine how much of your remaining income you want to save. The rest should go towards your mortgage.
You can go on mortgage loan websites and type in your maximum desired payment each month, and from there they will give you competitive APR’s and term schedules.
I know my answer was kinda of lack-luster but the answer is tailored to your preferences, and I obvious don’t know you. My BEST ADVICE, is to buy a home regardless. Instead of paying rent each month, which is lost forever. You can pay mortgage payments, which you build equity. Someday when you want to move, you will have a reversion cash flow. Something that renting doesn’t offer.
good luck!!!!
It is probably enough. You should have 20 to 25 percent of the full price of the place you would like to buy on hand if you are going for a loan to buy the house with. Otherwise it isn’t as realistic.
PITI should be no more than 20-25% of your take home pay. allot depends on your interest rate. A good rule of thumb to follow. In Additon remember that when you first start out there are allot of growing pains to work through in a relationship. Its your first house i suggest go small learn to balance a home and your finances and go bigger later. Relationships are so hard dont make financial burden one of your problems……best of luck to you.
If you are paying rent you are paying someone else’s mortgage anyway. However, you would call your lender or banker to get pre-approved for the home loan to know what your top dollar will be, then have a Realtor help you find your home.
Realtor
No not un-realistic at all ! With a combined income of 3200.00 per month…figure…as in before taxes. You can figure that most house payments will come too about one third your combined income…. your payment should be somewhere around $166.00 or $165.00 per month ( Actually its about $106.60 per month and probably closer to the 166.00 figure after including taxes ), with the interest rate of around 6 or 7 %! Unless you can borrow your $$ from a credit Union. If you can do that ,,, then your int. will be lower … usually !!! But do your homework, on it, and try to get your loan thru a finance co. or a good reputable Credit Union…. you’ll be glad you did.
We purchased our home in 1996 ( May of 1996 ) we put a large down on it,,,and that lowered our monthly payment. Then a little over a year ago (In March of 2006) We paid it off. Now we only owe our utilities, and property taxes… and that’s it. We cut up all our credit cards, after paying each of them off. and we have managed to stay out of dept. We are going into retirement looking pretty good.
If you two are young, and just about out of college and don’t have 3 or 5 kids, and you have good credit,,,,then now is the time to think about buying. Then as the kids enter the equation, you’ll be in a better position to either add on, and do some low equity re-modeling projects,,, like a nursery,,,, etc. or sell it, make a profit and put your profit as a down on a bigger property…. you can’t go wrong in buying and selling at today’s prices…and with your up coming graduations, and a degree under your belt….. AND: Good Luck to ya……
check out the calculators at I’d reccomend not buying a house with a GF though. Start saving now, Get through school, get a better job, get married, Then go for it!!
Buying a foreclosure home can be a great way to save, since it’s often possible to buy these valuable properties for prices way below their actual market value. In fact, you can often find savings ranging anywhere from 10 to 50%.