I am down to the part where I don’t know if I can afford what I am looking for. There is a very small volume of houses. What we have found our estimate with a 105% financing program all of the estimates come out to 1500 a month with the second mortgage included. 1400ish for all mortgage mpi tax etc around 100 for the second loan.
The lender program is a 97% loan at 3.5% interest and a second mortgage for our closing costs and down payment at 4.5% interest. We could change to 95% or 97% loan and pay the closing costs ourselves and stay at a 3.5% interest.
I have 22k in the bank. 10k in our 401k we are willing to take out. My fiancé and I gross 63k a year total. Right now at our small shitty apartment we pay 850. Only 3k in debt(credit and medical bills) right now.
I am so worried on whether or not I can afford this. It really is the limiting factor right now for us and I don’t really know how to help myself feel ok with this big of a change in bills. Also not sure which way to go 105% with the 2 loans or a 97% or 95% with paying closing costs. Some are saying we should be fine but I just don’t know.
Is there anyone who can help with this? I fully admit I am not good with finances I have rented my whole life and haven’t had to make these kinds of calls as we have been ok.
Why are you in $3k of debt?
First question I’d ask myself – can you put money aside for the inevitable repairs that come with home ownership? Even if you are handy, there is work you probably don’t want to or can’t do, so you have to have funds to pay for repairs.
To give you an example, we bought a house a few years ago the got a clean bill of health from the inspectors, yet I had to drop about $20k in needed repairs into it in the last three years, and I’m looking an probably another $20k-30k over the next 2-3 years thanks to the PO’s lack of maintenance coming back to bite us in the backside.
That’s a fairly extreme example, but we have enough equity in the house if we needed to tap it to pay for the repairs (which I fortunately don’t have to). If you have a 97% mortgage you don’t have that cushion, so you have to be able to pay for the repairs another way.
Honestly, I’d stay in the apartment a bit longer and save as much money as you can. I don’t think right now is a good time to buy a starter home due to the current price levels. And if you decide to buy, are you willing to stay in that house for 10-12 years to reduce your risk of negative equity when it comes to selling?
It appears your finances (and not using your 401K) will afford a home of approximately $300K. Have you considered what other costs are needed for owning a home that you did not pay for in your rental? As an example, does this home have HOA fees, what are the annual taxes, general maintenance costs (lawn, pest, etc)? You might have enough to get in the door, but might struggle once you are an owner.
Perhaps you might start with a less expensive home purchase to start which would have lower monthly payments and give you some room to manage the other costs mentioned above.
Or you can wait a few more years to build up more savings and perhaps earn more income. You can always move to another rental if your current rental is not safe or enjoyable.
I would wait, honestly my wife and i net 87k/yr just bought a house at 295k at 3.25% payment is only $1700, no problem i make 4k/mo easy but are still having a rough time because the previous owner was negligent and the bill
You’re better off paying off your medical and CC debt first, stay in your rented apt for another year or so (that’s cheap rent!) and save up as much as you can, get a second part time job something like postmates on weekends n here n there can easily give you a extra 10k in income in a year. It is easier to earn an extra 10k than to try make cuts and save up the 10k. After saving as much as you can you’ll have a bigger down payment and emergency fund for house stuff.
Repairs add up fast even in newly bought property it can pass all inspections etc n then you find out it’s gonna be over 20k to fix the chimney.. or pipes, sewage etc
A 63k income between the two of you isn’t a lot for buying a house.
I don’t wanna be the the ahole but with the little financial info you’ve said it will be very tough for you to afford it as anything unforeseen happens n you’ll be in a big financial hole. Not to mention you also have to pay for homeowners insurance and HOA fees etc
You’re not ready to buy a house that costs this much. If you can find a less expensive house and can put down 20% or more, AND after buying the house, will have something like a few months living expenses in cash equivalents (like savings or short term CDs) you can afford to buy. You’re trying to get in over your head.