Originally Posted by
Name User
I'm old enough that I saw 9/11, age 65, financial crisis, post recession oil boom, and covid. If there is anything history teaches us, it's that it will repeat itself.
My personal opinion is anything above $3k monthly PITI and >15 years is asinine. You're locking yourself into a careers worth of high payments. Note: this assumes you're the breadwinner, and your wife isn't an ER doc.
Just IMO but it's far better to life frugally in this career and, when the time comes, purchase what you want wish cash than it is to purchase on a monthly payment. That goes for anything - home, vacation condo, vehicles, boat, airplane, other toys, etc. Keep in mind, nicer things cost more to insure, maintain, and come with higher property taxes as well.
The happiest people I've known in this job owned everything they had outright without payment. I can promise you, your kids dgaf if you have a million dollar home in a wealthy zip code.
$3000 PITI will barely break 400k in most areas and that's with putting 20% down. That's at 1.5% property tax and 0.5% insurance. Florida/Flood zones? Even worse.
Granted I look at things through a Delta lens, but for us, you aren't getting squat in any of our pilot bases save Detroit for that. Crack house in the hood or a single wide on sone acreage maybe but a decent 3 bed 2 bath with non war zone schools?
Nope. Not gonna happen.