Reply to Would you take a $950k mortgage on 300k salary?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I wouldn’t, but I’m also not from one of those UMC DCUM families who are underwriting all sorts of things. 
One neighbor, after having trouble finding a new job, went to work for his mom; another neighbor was just gifted a new addition with screened porch from their inlaws because they felt cramped after baby #3. 
So if you’re from one of these, you’re fine. If you’re like me, where family on either side does not or actually cannot help with housing, childcare/education expenses, or employment in any way, even in a rough patch, don’t do it. We’re HHI $300k, totally on our own, two kids, mortgage of $600k, and have peace of mind financially - it’s completely managable. [/quote]

Just know that you are in an extremely frugal minority. Do a search on Redfin for $1 million dollar SFHs in North Arlington, McLean, Vienna, Falls Church City and anyplace in MoCo zoned for the “W Schools” and BCC. You will pull up only a handful of homes. I can guarantee you that the average family who is buying these $1 million dollar 1,500 sq ft homes that need a lot of work is not a partner at a law firm. A $300,000 HHI would be the norm for a home like this.

By your frugal logic, people with HHIs of $300,000 should be buying SFHs in Cheverly, Woodbridge, Manassas, and Wheaton…that is, places where you can still find SFHs for $600,000. I can promise you the average family in these areas is not pulling in $300,000 a year. You would feel very out of place sending your kid to Kennedy or Wheaton HSs making $300,000.[/quote]

Yes, we are in the frugal minority. Why? Because, as stated and you seem to have missed, ain’t nobody going to help us if we falter. We don’t have a family safety net. That’s the whole point. Others in our income bracket can afford to be less frugal because they could be underwritten by family if they lost their house, or are already unwritten by family in a million less dramatic, invisible ways that they are usually oblivious to. Careful frugality as the only way to survive life’s crises isn’t always lurking in the back of their minds. Shoot, I have friends who moved in with family while doing a voluntary gut remodel of their dream home, which the parents also helped fund. This is amazing for them. This is the sort of support I would love to offer my kids one day. But there is not one variable of that vignette that applies to me or my spouse. So we save and spend and make choices as if we have no backup, because we don’t. It’s so out of touch that you’re criticizing me for being frugal. [/quote]

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