4 months emergency account only?

[Anonymous]

OP here--we have a large down payment (combination of procceeds from our current house, inheritance from deceased parent, and help from family) and are buying a house in one of the less expensive (not the least expensive) areas of the DC metropolitan area.

[Anonymous]

NP here. I used to have an emergency fund....it was 6 months salary. I figured I would use it if my fed contracting job got into trouble. Over the year (20 years with one company), I built up to the max vacation hours....so when things got bad, I was able to use vacation instead of emergency fund (2 months of vacation used over 8 months).

That was good because the emergency fund went to covering 9K out of pocket medical expenses for cancer treatment over the last three years.

Now, if something bad happens, I assume I can qualify for disability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NEVER spend more than twice your after tax yearly income on housing. If the house price doesn't fit this rule don't buy it. Sticking to this rule is a cornerstone of building wealth.

Seriously? I make $170k and after tax even less. Where can I buy a house for that?! I think the under 30% is a better rule.

I think this poster must live in one of those places on hgtv where you can buy a five bedroom house with hardwoods and granite for three hundred thou.

Yup.
This rule would be difficult to follow for the DC-area middle class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are under contract for a house that needs some upgrades (not cosmetic). After inspection we requested that the sellers make those updates and they have declined. If we did it ourselves it would seriously cut into our emergency savings (problem is that this house was the top of our budget and is a bit of a stretch anyway). There are some other minor things that the house would need that we'd need to do too. We may end up with only about 4 months worth of expenses in savings and due to the new mortage and the fact that we hope to have a second kid and a bunch of other issues, we will have a very hard time building that savings back up again (assuming we continue to save for retirement etc). WWYD?

define need...are you talking faulty wiring? mold in basement? Chimney cracked?If it's a true need, your mortgage company won't release the funds

[Anonymous]

These issues relate to the fact that the property is on a hill--issues relating to retaining walls and fencing. the mortgage company would still relase funds but this stuff needs to get done for child safety in the yard.