Originally Posted by
SPRINT100
I've always stuck with the 3 times rule. The house should not total more than 3 times your annual salary. To answer your question of when the best time is, I'd say when you make a certain amount for at least 1.5 years then buy at that current figure. Don't get sucked in like some today who bought a house they knew they couldn't afford, but was planning on appreciation or a raise.
I don't mean to be rude, but this is wrong.
My wife and I made 150,000 last year. So does that mean I should not buy anything more than 450,000?????
If I bought a 400,000 dollar home, I would be bankrupt in 6-12 months due to the cost of utility bills. Gas is outrageous now. Homes are heated on Gas.
Look....Never, Never, Never (3 times for impact) buy a home unless you can:
1-Put 20% Down
2-Have a 15 Year mortgage
3-Get a Fixed rate mortgage
4-Able to pay it off in a few years
Number 1 is so if you get furloughed, or find the need to move you have wiggle room in your price. Without 20% equity from the start, your locked into a mortgage for a few years. If put down 10,000 dollars on a 250,000 dollar house here's what can happen. Say next year, your airline mergers, close, displaces you or whatever and you then have to move. The realtor expenses will cost you 6% which is 15,000 dollars, you then due to market trends pay for closing costs and 1,000 dollars in allowances (painting)also. You will then have to come up with 10-15000 dollars out of your pocket...JUST TO SELL YOUR HOUSE. That's scary.
Number 4 is because this industry is so wildly unstable, get that dag-on house paid off as fast as you can so you can create your own stability. Just imagine if you didn't have any debt payments to make and then you got furloughed. You could go manage a restaurant making 30,000 and do absolutely just fine. Your kids would have food on the table, be clothed and have a very normal life on that income..............if: you were debt free.
Don't let debt ruin your life like it has my siblings. They are now living in slavery working all day everyday just to barely make enough to scrap by so the bank wont foreclose on them. They bought all the house they could and now suffering until their house will sell. They bought with only a 3% downpayment and thought, buy up as much as they can. It's ruined their life now.
PROVERBS 22:7 "The debtor is slave to the lender."