I just got preapproved for significantly more than my target price range on a house....can you say "bike room"?
...and also, no new bikes for a while?
...and also, no new bikes for a while?
Just got preapproved for a new haus
- Thread starter Sandwich
- Start date
Congrats on a lifetime of soul sucking debt!
Seriously though, what a fantastic time to be in the market. Little jealous.
Seriously though, what a fantastic time to be in the market. Little jealous.
there are like 30 homes in our pricerange in the neighborhoods and city we want to live in. It is a very good time to be in the market....we're waiting for the right home before we buy though.
I'm just debating which home is gonna fit my new hot tub the best.
I'm just debating which home is gonna fit my new hot tub the best.
When Jenn and I bought a house, we were approved for like $300k, and I was working part time at a bankruptcy clerk's office and going to school full time 
.
I don't know what kind of drugs the bank was smoking. We spent less than half of that.
Good luck with the search and finding a good place!
.I don't know what kind of drugs the bank was smoking. We spent less than half of that.
Good luck with the search and finding a good place!
+1
To be conservative I would also suggest your payment be less than 25% of your (your = you and wife if applicapable) average gross monthly income.
yeah that's not going to happen around here. There are few if any houses available for <2.5 times our combined incomes....and we live in and are looking in an area that isn't high end.
Then you are looking at too much house.
+100x
If you can't afford a house on 2.5x your annual income, you are trying to buy too much house. Sorry, but that's just how the math works out.
no, their problem is they are living in western massachusetts.
Who was it telling me that if it's too expensive to live where you work that you should commute?
The math comes down to this:
Current rent + ALL monthly commute costs = Current housing related expenses. Now factor in property taxes, maintenance costs, changes to commute costs, etc. This is how mush your current vs. future costs.
Oh, and then see what happens when you take one income out of the equation. If you or your wife lose your job, what happens? If you buy at 2.5x, then you should be able to survive on one income. If not, you are buying too much.
When my wife and I bought our house we were looking at houses that were at the 2.5 mark like we should. Man, they were dumps! What saved us was an idea my wifes parents had. They bought the house with us. We get a bigger house, we all make the payment (we pay about 50%) and when the house eventually sells we split the profit.
This allowed us to get into a bigger house in a better area, and as long as we sell AFTER the house's value goes up, we all make a little money. I know not everyone has in laws that have the means to do this, but if you do, it's not a bad idea.
This allowed us to get into a bigger house in a better area, and as long as we sell AFTER the house's value goes up, we all make a little money. I know not everyone has in laws that have the means to do this, but if you do, it's not a bad idea.
This also has a secondary benefit in the case of death. There is no death escrow (not sure on correct title there), as all are owners of the home.
This. We bought our house factoring my income alone. Do not put your self in a position of being absolutely dependent on dual incomes, especially in our current economy. Though this seems to have given my wife the impression that she can work/quit arbitrarily.
eastern MA, suburb of boston. Our pricerange is 2.5-3.33 times our incomes. We make more than 2 times the median income, yet we can't afford much more than that.
I know it's fun to run numbers and talk about living an extra hour and a half away from where we work, but that translates to a 2 hour and 15 minute commute, worse school districts, and houses that cost about the same. That's not worth the quality of life hit that losing 2.5 hours of time and sanity a day costs.
cool, now all I have to find is rich parents!
Nope. Just parents with great credit!
Actually it can be anybody. But you have to look at it and sell it as an investment.
I know... it's not an idea for everybody, but I thought I would throw it out there. You never know who will run with it. Hey, maybe Joker can invest in you and your house!
The house is owned by the family trust. I am still unsure of the details, but I do know that the house is in the name of the trust.
She can. You planned for it as evidenced above.This. We bought our house factoring my income alone. Do not put your self in a position of being absolutely dependent on dual incomes, especially in our current economy. Though this seems to have given my wife the impression that she can work/quit arbitrarily.
east side, west side, same thing. point is that geographically you're fvcked. moving an hour isn't gonna snag you a cheaper house, just a longer commute and higher blood pressure and stress levels. hence liz and i are looking at leaving jersey in the next few years.
One of us planned for it apparently.She can. You planned for it as evidenced above.
Sucker.One of us planned for it apparently.
tis true. F- Massachusetts. It's a silly place....sadly, science geek jobs are either here, san diego, or RTP in North carolina. Aside from not being 72* year round, I think we did ok in our choice of the three.
Believe me, we will live within our means. Both of us have A level credit a debt to income level below 36%. We're healthy DINKs buying our first home.
She knew where the dumb money was fer sure. She's paying for it though by having to put up with my shenanigans.
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Every day she has no job is another day you get to PIIHB.
Put an offer in on that $20 million mansion in Wellesley you posted a couple months ago.
Couldn't be more wrong.
Living in apartments within a 15 mile radius of work: 15 miles or less and a 45-60 minute commute (suburb of Boston)
Buying a house in central MA and commuting to work: 50 miles and a 55-60 minute commute
My house cost $235k....3 bed, 2 full bath, 2 car garage with a pool on 2 acres in a quiet farmland neighborhood (town = 42 sq. mi. and ~4,000 people). Find me an equivalent home within 15 miles of my work for less than $500k....
Also, as an enginerd I know I'm going to be working in a city/busy atmosphere wherever I go (for the most part).....I'd rather drive a bit further everyday and go home to nothing but the sounds of my pool filter and crickets.
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i miss not having a mortgage.
Toshi weeps for you.
You become numb to it. I can drive 30+ miles and not recall a single thing I saw on the road.
But , but you are in Hubardston! that is Really No Mans land!
Hey Sandwhich what towns are you looking at ?
There's 10 hours a week of your life you'll never get back.
You found a way to get your life back? What, did you buy a DeLorean or something?
compare that to marriage....
sorry chief, i'm calling possible BS on this. the math on your commute times is highly suspect, ESPECIALLY if the mass pike is involved. break it down for me.
-are we assuming working in the same location?
-are we assuming the same mode of transportation?
When I lived in N. Andover: Choice of commute was between 128 (standstill traffic) or backroads through 5-6 towns with boatloads of school buses (many schools on the main backroad). Either way took anywhere from 45-60 minutes with the usual traffic (typical work rush hour OR school buses).
Now that I live in Hubbardston: 35 miles on rt 2 (2 lane highway) followed by 5 miles on 495. Both far from Boston and never have traffic (ie: 70mph the whole way). Highway portion takes 30 minutes, only traffic is if/when there's an accident. Last 10 miles to work takes backroads through the very lightly populated Westford, Carlisle, Concord, Bedford. This portion takes about 20 minutes, 30 if there's any traffic.
Both driving and both working in the same location (Bedford, MA). I've been working here for just over 5 years, 3 of which were while living within 15 miles, 2 years were living between 50 and 65 miles away.
As an aside, my parents live/work closer to Boston, have about a 8-9 mile commute and each can take over an hour if traffic is bad enough.
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waltham. My wife and I both work in cambridge for now, though I'll be moving to the burlington area soon. It's 30-45minutes into cambridge by car, public trans is not a very good option where we are (hour and a half bus ride, good commuter rail options but 2.5 miles away). We could potentially move closer to littleton or that way, but you start getting into better school districts and therefore higher taxes. It doesn't necessarily compute that moving further out saves you money, as where we are looking, the next steps out are wayland, weston, sudbury, concord, acton, and eventually maynard. Maynard is the closest comparable to waltham, but that turns the wife's commute from 45 minutes to more like an hour 30. Spending any more than an hour on the road for a job that pays less than 100+k is just stupid, IMO, unless there are zero other options due to financial hardship. Waltham is the best compromise of cheap houses, boston accessibility, and proximity to the 95 belt. There's a load of potential too as we're surrounded by Lexington, Wayland, Newton, and Belmont, where buying wouldn't even be a considerable option for us (I think wayland has the best schools in MA, to the tune of 10k$ tax on a 400K house).
good luck with your new heuse.
ftfy...
His times are accurate. I have driven both routes many a times.