I got out a $625k mortgage on an $775k house on $150k base salary (with a SAHM). Rest was downpayment. We were former DINKs and saved a lot in our 20s.

Salary has since gone up and is now $180k base ($210k all-in). I expect / hope it will rise in the future (still only 33). If DW can chip in $30-40k part time we could be at $250-300k within a few years, easily.

I made the decision because we wanted to buy our forever house, and do it once and not move and take advantage of low fixed interest rates. Now we have a moderate sized house in a great, close-in school district. We'll be here 25 - 40 years I hope.

We don't live lavishly so still save $50k a year and expect that will grow in the long haul.

I wouldn't have done that if the income quoted was combined from both sources, if we had other debt, if we had childcare expenses or if I did not have a reasonable expectation of annual bonuses + salary raises and career advancement generally. So like for two government workers making $75k each on a fixed payscale yeah it would be insane. But I say this all because rules of thumb can't really provide accurate guidance for every individual situation.

It is a no brainer to take a little money off table with stocks at all time highs and tax rates low.

Anonymous wrote:putting down extra $110K ( you would only need to put down $140K to avoid PMI) seems foolish. If you are doing this because your not approved for the higher mortgage that is one thing but it seems like your just trying to get the payment into your comfort zone.

How is that foolish? They’d pay less interest in the long run.

putting down extra $110K ( you would only need to put down $140K to avoid PMI) seems foolish. If you are doing this because your not approved for the higher mortgage that is one thing but it seems like your just trying to get the payment into your comfort zone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope. Our HHI is $250k and we purchased our house at $450k. However we would rather put the extra $$ into vacations and retirement. We have a 4br townhouse for 2 adults and one child, so we have plenty of space, great school district, on the metro, so we really couldn't ask for more.

where can you get a townhouse on metro and great schools for 450?? or was this years ago?

Bought a year and a half ago less than a 10min walk to the Vienna metro. They also just redistricted our neighborhood to Thoreau for middle (instead of Jackson), high school is Oakton. Our little community has a pool as well (the three neighboring townhouse communities do not).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We financed $590 on a $700k house a couple years ago, with a PITI of about $3,200. I know interest rates have gone up since then, but no way is OP going to be paying more than 3-grand. I would think it'd be closer to $2400.

OK, well, we are in DC, have a $420k mortgage, no HOA (like most houses in DC), and have a PITI of 2500.

No taxes or insurance? Amazing.

PITI always includes insurance (that's the I) and taxes (that's the T), clever person.

I'm conservative and I think this is ok. It's really the equivalent of having a, say, 500k mortgage, right? (700 minus down payment + a little extra in taxes etc given home value)

Yes I would. You can afford it. If the house is in a great neighborhood with great schools, you'll be glad you made that choice.
My advice is to always buy the best house if you can afford it. Never settle for less when you can afford the best.
I made that mistake years ago. I was able to afford a 500k home in a great neighborhood in the suburb, but I wanted to be conservative and bought
a 300k home in a less desirable neighborhood. I totally regret this choice today. My 300k house is now only worth 340k. The 500k houses in that desirable neighborhood
are now worth 750k.

No more than $200k total.

Are all of you reading beyond the title? Half of you are suggesting a lower mortgage than OP current has, during which time she was able to accumulate a $100k emergency fund. This thread is painful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope. Our HHI is $250k and we purchased our house at $450k. However we would rather put the extra $$ into vacations and retirement. We have a 4br townhouse for 2 adults and one child, so we have plenty of space, great school district, on the metro, so we really couldn't ask for more.

where can you get a townhouse on metro and great schools for 450?? or was this years ago?

There's plenty of those if you go far out on the metro. Depends how loose you are with great schools. For example:

https://www.redfin.com/school/105161/MD/Gaithersburg/Shady-Grove-Middle-School/filter/property-type=townhouse,min-price=350k,max-price=500k,min-beds=4,include=forsale+mlsfsbo+construction+fsbo+sold-2yr,viewport=39.15772:39.10959:-77.14349:-77.1973,no-outline

Anonymous wrote:Nope. Our HHI is $250k and we purchased our house at $450k. However we would rather put the extra $$ into vacations and retirement. We have a 4br townhouse for 2 adults and one child, so we have plenty of space, great school district, on the metro, so we really couldn't ask for more.

where can you get a townhouse on metro and great schools for 450?? or was this years ago?

Nope. Our HHI is $250k and we purchased our house at $450k. However we would rather put the extra $$ into vacations and retirement. We have a 4br townhouse for 2 adults and one child, so we have plenty of space, great school district, on the metro, so we really couldn't ask for more.