Making 150k with mortgage of 550k?

[Anonymous]

You should be fine. We had a $500K mortgage for 5 years on a $175K income and that was with a 4.35% rate so the payment was much higher than what you're likely looking at.
We were fine and saved $30K/year the entire time.

As previous posters on here mentioned, people on DCUM are insanely frugal and shouldn't be looked to as any realistic standard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here-
Our Gross Take home pay is 12,500.
We have been putting 2,000 a month away in retirement, so it is hard to calculate net because we are going to no longer put so much in retirement and switch to putting the money into a house.
Our current rent is 2150 a month.
Afterschool care is 900 a month (we will be saving 500 dollars a month going from daycare to aftercare this school year for the youngest). We don't need summer care because of family in the area watch our kids.
The Mortgage will be 2700 a month, with taxes and insurance just under 3500 a month.
It would be safer to continue renting but we feel if we are ever going to own a house this is the time. We aren't willing to buy a starter house further out and commute. We can envision growing old in this house. We will have 50,000 left in an emergency fund once we purchase the house.

I think this is a bad decision. No one will loan you money to retire. House, college and some other stuff, you can get a loan. Your contribution to your retirement is 100% tax deductible, but your mortgage is not 100% tax deductible.

I would try to find a retirement calculator that will let you input how much you have in retirement now and how much you think you'll be able to save after you buy the house per month and see what the numbers look like. It sounds like you have a good emergency fund, and if you saved a lot for retirement when you were young, you can get away with saving less now. But run some calcuators.

[Anonymous]

OP, I think that's far too much debt for your income level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We earn 80K more than you, and would NOT do it, even with wiggle room.

.

+1

[Anonymous]

$12,500 is your gross take home, not net, right? Assuming you reduce your retirement contributions, what is your net?

[Anonymous]

This is crazy. We make 200k and our mortgage is 320. We are comfortable but the margin is not that large. I would never do it.

[Anonymous]

We live comfortably on $170K and a $560K mortgage in close-in Bethesda, but our rate is low ($3K PITI). We max out 401K, save 20% of our net income and still have money for good food, family vacations, enrichment activities for kids, camps, etc. We don't feel strapped or overextended. But we could never afford private schools, expensive cars, European vacations, major home projects, or other extras. We do think about money more than I'd like, but mostly we're at peace. It really depends on your priorities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is crazy. We make 200k and our mortgage is 320. We are comfortable but the margin is not that large. I would never do it.

Come on, you have to admit you are super conservative with how much you are taking on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is crazy. We make 200k and our mortgage is 320. We are comfortable but the margin is not that large. I would never do it.

Why do you even have a mortgage? Wouldn't it be much cheaper to just save up 5 years before buying a home? I would think of the mortgage isn't at least 2x your annual income it's not worth having to pay that type of interest.

[Anonymous]

OP, we are a dual fed family making about $170k/year. We took out a mortgage of $411k ($550k sale price) so we could live off one salary if necessary and so we could have experiences. Decide what is important to you and build a budget based on those things. See what that leaves for a housing budget and go from there.

I also second the suggestion to look at a retirement calculator. We save about $35k a year between TSP, Roth, Stocks, and 529. We also save for house renovations/repairs and vacations. If you can do everything you need/want to and still afford the house then go for it. But have an honest conversation about what you want besides a big, new house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can afford it. Ignore the frugal police here. Your mortgage would be pretty normal around here for your income level. If the payment amount fits into your budget,that's all you need to worry about. Different stroke for different folks.

We got a mortgage for $580K 10 years ago when our income was $160K. It was fine, we never felt stretched.

[Anonymous]

I make almost twice your salary and stuck with a $400k mortgage. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I had a mortgage more than three times my salary.what happens if one of you gets fired or develops a serious health issue?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can afford it. Ignore the frugal police here. Your mortgage would be pretty normal around here for your income level. If the payment amount fits into your budget,that's all you need to worry about. Different stroke for different folks.

Ignore the "frugal police" at your own peril.

These threads amaze me. Someone asks "Can I afford X?" Some people say no, others say yes and some of those always say that people on DCUM are *extremely* frugal. I'm calling BS. There is a reason why pretty much all financial advisors and gurus say don't take a mortgage more than 3x your salary. That's not even being frugal. That's just being NOT STUPID. Sure technically the OP can afford the monthly payment, but there won't be much left. She will be house poor.

OP, my ire isn't directed at you. It's at the people who think anyone not living paycheck to paycheck must be the "frugal police".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should be fine. We had a $500K mortgage for 5 years on a $175K income and that was with a 4.35% rate so the payment was much higher than what you're likely looking at.
We were fine and saved $30K/year the entire time.

As previous posters on here mentioned, people on DCUM are insanely frugal and shouldn't be looked to as any realistic standard.

That is because most of them make $65K