I’m in the market now, I went to my bank got pre-approved. I’m looking at homes 50 k less then I was approved for. I’m looking to have less then a 2k monthly payment. I figured out how much I spend a month, added cost of living, and then kept a grand a month open and it still leaves me with money in the bank. So I can comfortably step into a very nice home and still afford my lifestyle. I don’t want buying a house to change my ways.
what you’re approved for should have nothing to do with your calculation on what you can afford. FYI, you could call the bank and ask for another 50K pre approval, does that mean you should now look for something 50K more? no.