I know there are a bunch of calculators and crap online.
I was just curious how people on here came up with a price safe range for their first home.
It was what i felt comfortable with monthly. Also, I wanted to make sure that if either me of the woman lost our jobs, one of us could float the mortgage on our own for a few months.
Sat down with the wife and listed every recurring monthly expense we had in excel. Adding some money for entertainment, savings and misc then calculated off our monthly salaries.
Based on the property taxes in the WNY area…you can count on about $100/mo for every $10,000 you finance.
Uh… no. That would be 1500 in taxes on a 150000 house… which is WAY low.
there are so many factors and reasons as to what makes sense on a person to person basis, but basically you want something that is not more than 50% of your monthly after tax earnings or you’re asking for trouble.
That’s the baseline I used as well to determine what I wanted to pay monthly…then I looked at houses in that price range and went from there. Also tried to factor in the amount of money that I knew I was going to put into renovations and made sure that I could pay cash for that with the money I knew I would have left over each month after paying other bills.
Whatever you do, don’t go based off of what you’re approved for. I think I bought a house that was 1/3 of what I could have financed.
You misinterpreted what I’m saying…
the mortgage + escrow payment in WNY averages $100/mo for every $10,000 you finance.
edit: and $1500/mo in taxes for a $150,000 house would actually be WAY high. 
I just went with 2X my annual salary as my max I wanted to spend. Ended up getting one from family for much less but could have made a payment on that comfortably.
Ah. gotcha.
He didn’t say $1500/mo, he said $1500.
no…but he quoted me saying per month. 
IF possible without sacrificing too much try to get something with a 15-year note. You save so much money on interest with a cheaper rate and build equity way faster.
I have a 30 year mortgage…but with the extra payments I make on the principle it will be payed off in 15 years. Would this be more, less, or just as expensive as starting off with a 15 year mortgage?
it cost a lot more to pay off a 30 year in 15, vs a 15 in 15.
I got a house just the size I needed, nothing extra. This way, I can till put away 1k+ each month into my savings, and continue to have a fun time :tup:
Not really, you need to run the numbers (like everything) for your own scenario. It depends heavily on the rates you are able to get for each. There are lots of scenarios where you come out ahead by making the same 15yr payment on the 30yr mortgage, or where you save/invest the difference between the 15/30. Right now there is about a half percent difference between 15/30 year rates.
Thats exactly what i was doing when i was looking, then i found one a lot cheeper for a better deal. In turn im glad i went cheaper, because now i can build a shop in the spring no problem etc. plus expenses add up so fast, and theres always variables you don’t see coming
Like the $5k i just spent on a 6’ by 8’ bathroom because my other one was pink and getting mold 
was that a diy or what? im planning on updating a bunch on my place this summer… nothings wrecked or old, just ugly…
plans- new carpet, new tile, and a bedroom addition… if all goes to plan