Are closing in a few weeks. PITI will be 16 percent of gross.

16% of gross - however, we have a 15 year mortgage.

Anonymous wrote:16% of our gross (not net) salary. We purposefully bought less house than we qualified for because we wanted to leave open the option for private school tuition, while maxing out retirement, saving for college, etc.

Of course, this percentage would slide depending upon your salary. It's much harder to spend a smaller percentage on house if your salary is on the lower side.

We were not about to give up vacations, or feel house poor, so we purposely bought a house for cash in a close in neighbhood. Our house was a fixer upper but in a fabulous, desirable area, and had great potential. In the six years we lived in our home, we've done major renovations, with cash, and can still enjoy vacations, private schools. Good for you that you bought less than what you could, more people should consider that thought. Who wants to never take a vacation?

6% of gross. Foreclosure in DC.

25% of net income.

$2200 and we take home about $8600

PITI is 14% of gross HHI. We put a large amount down (50%) to stay under 417k. 2 kids in daycare.

PITI is 6% of gross HHI. If I stay home at some point (which is a real possibility), it will be more like 28%, but we have saved for that eventuality.

PITI is 12.7% of HHI with a 15 year mortgage, bought in NW DC in 2003. It was 31% (with a 30 year mortgage) of my income when I purchased.

So many factors changed:My salary doubled, got married (now dual income), RE taxes skyrocketed, had a child so add childcare expenses. So we've been all over the place in terms of %.

OP, I recommend to buy on the low side of your purchase power, as long as that gets you safe with good school options. It's very stressful to have to watch every penny and get bowled over by unexpected expenses.

DC is going to a charter school this year so it will be nice to have expenses reduced. But, if we need to do private, then we can.

Our PITI is about 12% of our gross. We purchased in 2007, and have since refinanced and paid off the second mortgage. Initially, the PITI was closer to 20 or 25%. To answer the second part of OP's question, we have plenty left over for bills, retirement and college savings, school loans as well as a little more in misc. savings. And we don't have to scrimp in any area of life that is important to us - we eat out some, take trips, etc. But, in isolation, that's not much help to you, OP. Our gross is $250k, so if we couldn't live it up and also save aggressively with 88% of our income, we would need a spending intervention. However, if we made $100K less, things might seem tighter.

14% of gross in Fairfax County.

"*Question: How much of your gross should PITI be? What is the generally (accepted) number?"

To get a loan, the standard is that PITI should be more than 28% and total monthly payments (PITI, revolving credit, car payments and such) should be no more than 33%. I'm right around 28% and it is doable since we're no longer in daycare, but I wish it were less.

PITI - 12% of gross and 23% of net. We bought in 2009.

*Question: How much of your gross should PITI be? What is the generally (accepted) number?

Question: How much of your gross should PITI be? What is the generally excepted number?

Most people talk about it in terms of gross, because everyone's net is different. My % of net will look a lot better if my net is higher because I don't put anything in my 401k, but that doesn't mean I'm financially better off.