Our numbers almost exactly. We had no problems, and we have two young kids. We don't like to eat or out or go to bars, though. If you spend a lot on extras you'll have a problem.

OP you will be fine.

Income will rise. House will cost the same. Done.

What exactly are PPs suggesting ? Getting a $600k house would have meant drastic compromises like a townhouse, probably an addition 10 miles to your commute, or dropping school scores by about 3-4. Those are just different ways to absorb the cost of housing, and maybe even harder to compensate for.

Did you consult a financial advisor before you bought the house?

We need to see your ACTUAL expenses, not just guesses.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's a lot - we bought $650 on a $200K combined income.

This comparison is useless.

I'm sure your answer was much more helpful.

Honestly, OP. I would be panicking as well. We have a HHI of 190,000. Our mortgage payment is 2600 per month. No way would be have gone any higher.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here...

Our net income - after taxes and after saving for retirement - is about $11,000. So our total PITI payment will be 34% of our net income.

The good news is that we don't have any other debt (no credit cards, student loan, or car payments).

Don't go out and spend money on new furniture or anything else until you are comfortable with your monthly cash flow. Are you saving for kids college? You need to. I think it's workable if your insurance and property taxes are not outrageous.

^^ I see that the $3,700 includes insurance and taxes. You should be OK.

Anonymous wrote:We weren’t comfortable with more than a $200k house on a HHI of $100,000/yr so that would be a big no from us. But we are resisting the two income trap and live in the Midwest.

Keep resisting!
We are as well (though I live in NOVA) and when I go back to work it's going to be solely to pay for my kids' college tuition. Likely every cent I make.

Anonymous wrote:OP here...

Our net income - after taxes and after saving for retirement - is about $11,000. So our total PITI payment will be 34% of our net income.

The good news is that we don't have any other debt (no credit cards, student loan, or car payments).

Don't go out and spend money on new furniture or anything else until you are comfortable with your monthly cash flow. Are you saving for kids college? You need to. I think it's workable if your insurance and property taxes are not outrageous.

Hi OP. It will be OK if you budget wisely and get a raise. You learned a lesson but things can still turn out fine. You will also get a chance to truly learn your financial values in the next few years. I had the same experience. I overbought a house once, and it ended up fine, but what I learned during those years is that we personally prefer what we have today instead: a $500k house (HHI is $250k) and giving no second thought to travel etc.

It would be more than I’d want to spend on that income and we kept our budget at an amount where we knew we could put 20% down, but it looks like you can make it work. Do you still have a decent amount of savings if something breaks in the first year? Even if it’s a newer house, you never know what kind of expenses you’ll encounter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This makes me panic. There is now way after taxes and retirement savings you still have 70% of your take home. You should not count on the pension or kids going to in state college. There are all unknowns until she actually retires and college is next year.

You must have posted here because you know this wasn’t a good move. Done deal?

Yeah I"m someone that said I think they will be okay, but have a smilar income and don't understand how they are taking home so much (and one of us is a fed too. soo much gets taken out of my fed salary it seems from the pension etc.)

That's because you have to pay different amounts towards your pension depending on how long you've been a fed.

Anonymous wrote:That's a lot - we bought $650 on a $200K combined income.

This comparison is useless.

Stick to your budget and you will make it work.

That's a lot - we bought $650 on a $200K combined income.