I am a first time home buyer and planning to get a home, preferably townhouse in South Bay Area. But there are certain factors, which is preventing me to make a concrete decision: 1. I am a single earning member and got recently married. 2. Offices are going to open in few months, with my company is going to follow a hybrid coming to work policy. 3. Townhouse (and SFH) have lower interest rates than condo, but they are expansive than the latter. 4. I plan (or aim) to get 3b/2+b, so that no hurry to find a new home right after few years, once have kids. 5. Current market is crazy for buyers. 6. My saving is ~250K, with TC of 170K. Please suggest, what should I do? Wait, don’t wait? What type of house? What price range should I target? What percentage of monthly income should be ok for monthly mortgage?
Hi OP I just bought my first home (3br/2b) in the east bay. I am not married yet (engaged) and I’m also the main source of income for us. There will always be the wait/don’t wait conversation. It was important for me to buy property so my advice is not to wait. Even though the market is crazy, once prices go down the interest will skyrocket. My savings dedicated to home buying was 245k (not including any investments) and my base is $157k. Have you started working with a lender yet? They will help you figure out your price range. The goal is not be cash poor after you buy, so if your total savings is 250k I’d aim to use 170-200 max for your deposit. Your lender will guide you, but from my experience I’d say 850-1M is a good target for you based on my unqualified experience hehehe. I purchased a 1M home and put 170ish down ( plus additional 30k for closing costs). My mortgage is about 4k a month, my fiancé and I split 50/50. The comment above is a good point, if you are the only member contributing to your mortgage I’d look closer to 800-850. Good luck! I say buy!
Much agreed. Great post!! Thank you for the insight
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250k Saving is Cash? For a 900k townhome and 200 down. You would need to pay around 4100 per month. With TC 170k not sure if its affordable for you. May be you are looking at MorganHill/Gilroy around 700k?
250 includes some stocks as well. I have been considering Morgan Hill as well. Wanted to know, how common is it for Bay Area (say till Mountain View) based company’s employee to live in MH and commute daily to work?
40 min commute is not uncommon. With the hybrid model in place, its actually not bad.