With 255k household base income in Seattle area, how much house should I target? 150k ready for down payment + no big deal stocks to vest soon. I guess I have options to take another line of credit to make a better deal with the mortgage lender. Have 2 kids, one in need of daycare. Any thoughts?
Go to the nearest bank and talk to them. You will get an idea, how much you can afford.
They will tell you how much they will lend you, not how much you can afford. A bank was willing to lend me 1.1m on a 160k salary. You'd win a dumbass award for taking on that much debt with that level of income.
Monthly payment of 4K is a good bet. Principal, Interest, HOA, property taxes - all inclusive. Based on how much down you put, you can do the math!
Your future self will thank you if you keep it under $800k or save another $100k down payment
150k goes quick : factor in closing costs. We ended up buying 200k below our budget and glad we did. Home ownership many costs.
Rule of thumb: 3x your annual salary. Although banks will say you can afford more, your future self will thank you.
Buy it now with mortgage (and possibly HELOC). Seattle area properties are rising fastest in last few years. We didn’t buy ours earlier to save more on down payment. We ended up buying %30 more comparing with 2 years ago. Once your income getting higher you can payoff your HELOC early.
It's not how much could you afford, it's how much should you afford. What is the minimum house you could be comfortable with? I plan to buy at minimum for myself and then buy other properties to rent out and get a passive income stream so I can retire early.
Sounds good!
700, based on your downpayment that's all you can afford. 20% or bust.
Do you anticipate future earnings increases? If so, I would stretch and buy a bigger house.
Banks approve mortgages based off of pay stubs and bank statements, not astral projections of the future and delusions of grandeur.
Did you read the other comments? Banks will approve a mortgage that's unrealistic. I'm saying it's fine to borrow unrealistically, as long as your income grows.
This sounds familiar. Second mortgages or any form of borrowing money for a down payment seems like it won’t end well.