If you are house poor, do you regret it?

[Anonymous]

Considering wiping out our entire savings and taking on a hefty mortgage for shorter commute and excellent schools. We are still in our 30s and high income. Taking on a seven figure mortgage just seems daunting. I feel it is the right move to be able to eat dinner with dad and have him take kids to soccer. Seems worth it. I know we can have good schools and longer commute but DH doesn’t want to add 1 min to his commute. We currently live in our starter home in Alexandria.

[Anonymous]

You need to be so, so careful about this. What percentage of your gross income are you talking about in mortgage + property taxes?

Your budget needs to include approximately 7.5% of the purchase price per year for home repairs/improvements. You can only delay any costly repairs for so long, and they will still cost you. A more expensive house usually means more expensive construction and more expensive repairs.

Also, can you afford a new car if you need it? Will you ever go on vacation? What about kids to summer camps? What if one of you loses a job? What if you have to take a leave of absence to care for an elderly parent?

You have a high income, so maybe you can float yourself on savings if you need to, but consider whether money stress might not outweigh the other benefits.

[Anonymous]

We did it and regretted it. We sold the house a few years later. Much happier without the huge mortgage hanging over our head.

[Anonymous]

It’s just about how you define quality of life. I HATE being in the car and it’s stresses me such that it literally impacts my mental and physical health. We opted to stretch our budget and move close in so we have a commute less than 20 minutes. I have no regrets and our income has increased since then, so the lean years are already becoming a memory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Considering wiping out our entire savings and taking on a hefty mortgage for shorter commute and excellent schools. We are still in our 30s and high income. Taking on a seven figure mortgage just seems daunting. I feel it is the right move to be able to eat dinner with dad and have him take kids to soccer. Seems worth it. I know we can have good schools and longer commute but DH doesn’t want to add 1 min to his commute. We currently live in our starter home in Alexandria.

I lived this way for 7 years and it was immensely stressful. I don't recommend it.

[Anonymous]

Yes, we regret it.

[Anonymous]

NP. Let’s do the numbers. We are considering exact same thing. Our combined income is $300k, and we are looking at $1.3M homes with a $1m mortgage.

We have about $400k saves up so have some emergency fund after.

But that $1M debt rattled me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. Let’s do the numbers. We are considering exact same thing. Our combined income is $300k, and we are looking at $1.3M homes with a $1m mortgage.

We have about $400k saves up so have some emergency fund after.

But that $1M debt rattled me.

PP again. Our incomes are maxed out gs15s.

[Anonymous]

We are very happy with our choice:

1. Our son with special needs had access to the best public elementary for his disabilities and is now in a special program in the public middle school near our house. There are only two such programs in the whole of MCPS.

2. My husband has a ten minute bike commute.

So we really couldn't have done any better!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did it and regretted it. We sold the house a few years later. Much happier without the huge mortgage hanging over our head.

+1. Been there, done that. No way in hell we'd ever do it again. For us, more disposable income = better quality of life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to be so, so careful about this. What percentage of your gross income are you talking about in mortgage + property taxes?

Your budget needs to include approximately 7.5% of the purchase price per year for home repairs/improvements. You can only delay any costly repairs for so long, and they will still cost you. A more expensive house usually means more expensive construction and more expensive repairs.

Also, can you afford a new car if you need it? Will you ever go on vacation? What about kids to summer camps? What if one of you loses a job? What if you have to take a leave of absence to care for an elderly parent?

You have a high income, so maybe you can float yourself on savings if you need to, but consider whether money stress might not outweigh the other benefits.

That is crazy. My million dollar house does not need anywhere near $75k in repairs/improvements every year. Wow, I am conservative in budgeting, but not that conservative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to be so, so careful about this. What percentage of your gross income are you talking about in mortgage + property taxes?

Your budget needs to include approximately 7.5% of the purchase price per year for home repairs/improvements. You can only delay any costly repairs for so long, and they will still cost you. A more expensive house usually means more expensive construction and more expensive repairs.

That is crazy. My million dollar house does not need anywhere near $75k in repairs/improvements every year. Wow, I am conservative in budgeting, but not that conservative.

Yeah, that suggested figure is wrong. The standard number is 1-2% per year.

[Anonymous]

A 7 figure mortgage is just tremendous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A 7 figure mortgage is just tremendous.

Agreed. But what can you do? We are looking at cramped townhomes or 1+hr commutes...

[Anonymous]

How many kids do you have that you need a bigger house? You're in Alexandria now--schools are not great but the commute is probably reasonable. Am I correct?

Do you really need the additional space or is it a want? Or is it "we think we deserve because we have high income"?

It sounds like a new house is going to impact your quality of life one way or another. Either DH gets a longer commute or the family is house poor and can't do anything.