re: Help determining how much mortgage I can afford

If you can do it, I would highly recommend looking at Duplexes or Fourplexes. You only have one opportunity to get low interest and low down payment on an investment property and that is your first house. If you buy a home not as a primary residence then you must put more down and are subject to higher interest rates. Even if you only live there a few years, you will never regret receiving mailbox money if the numbers are right from an investment perspective. I wish I would have done this when I bought my first.