Is this too much to spend on a house?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Current HHI is about $350k, will be up to $400k within the next five years. No kids. Would it be crazy to spend $1.4M on our dream house? HOA fee would be $1000/mo. Selling our current place would give us enough for the 20% down payment.

I think I know the answer is that it’s unaffordable, but would value perspectives/input.

What are the taxes? What is your PITI? If you want kids you can easily spend A LOT on childcare. We have two and spend $100K between a FT nanny and pre-school (one goes in the morning and the other goes in the afternoon).

[Anonymous]

The fact that you are planning to buy a house partly on future income increases which you think are guaranteed and you used the term dream house makes me think you should wait until you have a little more maturity.

[Anonymous]

I'll be the loan dissenter- I feel like its a lot. Yeah, you could technically afford it, but it wouldnt leave much cushion for savings, fun, and fact of life changes.

[Anonymous]

I think HOA fees are also supposed to increase regularly. I remember reading about the after the condo collapse in Miami last year. I think you need to be prepared to pay more than $1,000 if big improvements are needed and that sort of thing. I would see if there is any information about how much the HOA can be increased each year or in a 5- or 10-year period in the contract.

Bottom line, a high HOA on top of a high mortgage could squeeze you if/when you have kids or if/when your circumstances change. A high HOA could also make the condo harder to sell.

[Anonymous]

that's a big hoa. is it a condo or a townhouse? you could do it but you would be relatively house poor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The fact that you are planning to buy a house partly on future income increases which you think are guaranteed and you used the term dream house makes me think you should wait until you have a little more maturity.

The fact that you don’t understand lock-step pay increases makes me think you should wait to post a purely ad hominem, no-value-added comment until you have a little more maturity. Also, not having children doesn’t mean a couple is in their 20s or 30s. But thanks for weighing in with your sage advice - I’m sure OP will be thrilled you graced him or her with your brilliance.