How much to invest in buying a house?

[Anonymous]

Would you buy a house based on incomes of both spouses or of one spouse? Given the uncertainty of jobs and how expensive housing is, we wonder if it's better to go for a smaller house with a good school district rather than a larger house where both of us will be under pressure to work off longer years to pay off the mortgage loan. How do you strategize?

[Anonymous]

I'd figure out how much your combined income would be if one of you took a pay cut for some reason. Then punch that number into CNN Money's "How Much Home Can You Afford" tool. Take the result and punch it into Redfin.com. Poke around a bit and see if you find any houses in that range you could be happy with. If so, buy in that range. If not, re-assess regarding whether you want to be more aggressive.

[Anonymous]

We wanted to be able to live on one income. We both work, but as of right now, neither of us is collecting a paycheck (both feds). The smaller mortgage feels much better. All the extra money is for the fun stuff. I'd rather have experiences than a mcmansion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We wanted to be able to live on one income. We both work, but as of right now, neither of us is collecting a paycheck (both feds). The smaller mortgage feels much better. All the extra money is for the fun stuff. I'd rather have experiences than a mcmansion.

I'll also add, we have good Fairfax County schools.