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Message
Am I being too stingy with mortgage payment?
Posted on 5/26/18 at 7:22 am
Posted on 5/26/18 at 7:22 am
My family and I will be moving back to Louisiana and are house shopping a bit. This is our situation:
Late 20’s w/ 2 kids
$70k/yr before taxes (will increase after 3-ish years)
$1600/mo through GI Bill for housing while in school
No student loans/credit card payments
1 car loan under $300/mo
Roughly 6 months of income saved into high yield savings acct
Nothing yet as far as retirement, that’s next on our list
I’ve set in my mind for $1300/mo for mortgage/taxes/insurance.
Is that too low? I’d rather be too low than high obviously but wondering if I could get more house now since I plan on being in the house for the next 10-15 yrs with a growing family.
Late 20’s w/ 2 kids
$70k/yr before taxes (will increase after 3-ish years)
$1600/mo through GI Bill for housing while in school
No student loans/credit card payments
1 car loan under $300/mo
Roughly 6 months of income saved into high yield savings acct
Nothing yet as far as retirement, that’s next on our list
I’ve set in my mind for $1300/mo for mortgage/taxes/insurance.
Is that too low? I’d rather be too low than high obviously but wondering if I could get more house now since I plan on being in the house for the next 10-15 yrs with a growing family.
7
Posted on 5/26/18 at 7:43 am to TheriotAF
What part of Louisiana? If you’re in New Orleans, then probably too low to realistically find a place that’s nice enough to raise a family for the next 10-15 years.
And how long is that $1600/month guaranteed for? That’s pretty damn nice to have.
How much do you have for a down payment? If you’ve got enough for 20%, then a $1300/month mortgage with escrow is about a $275k house. 5% down is around $200k.
General rule is 30% of gross income goes towards housing but I’ve always felt that’s higher than reality. Especially if you have kids.
And how long is that $1600/month guaranteed for? That’s pretty damn nice to have.
How much do you have for a down payment? If you’ve got enough for 20%, then a $1300/month mortgage with escrow is about a $275k house. 5% down is around $200k.
General rule is 30% of gross income goes towards housing but I’ve always felt that’s higher than reality. Especially if you have kids.
Posted on 5/26/18 at 7:48 am to TheriotAF
I'd try to bank as much of the $1600 as possible and plan your long term budget without it. It'll end up being a great emergency fund.
Posted on 5/26/18 at 7:52 am to StringedInstruments
Lake Charles area.
We only have about $15k for a down payment. We will be using the VA loan so nothing down is required but I still want to throw something in there.
The $1600 is good for as long as I’m a full time student up to 36 months which I will be finished with degree before that.
We only have about $15k for a down payment. We will be using the VA loan so nothing down is required but I still want to throw something in there.
The $1600 is good for as long as I’m a full time student up to 36 months which I will be finished with degree before that.
Posted on 5/26/18 at 7:55 am to TheriotAF
quote:
I’ve set in my mind for $1300/mo for mortgage/taxes/insurance.
Is that too low? I’d rather be too low than high obviously but wondering if I could get more house now since I plan on being in the house for the next 10-15 yrs with a growing family.
Guess part of that depends on a couple of things. How much you're putting down up front and are you needing to dip into that 6 month savings to put up the down payment
Posted on 5/26/18 at 7:56 am to Powerman
No, the Savings is separate than what we’ve set aside for down payment.
Posted on 5/26/18 at 8:09 am to TheriotAF
I'm not that familiar with real estate in the area but from a quick zillow search it looks like you can get a really good house for about 250 which would be pretty close to your price point
Your payment might be about 1325 give or take with a 15K down payment in that area.
Your payment might be about 1325 give or take with a 15K down payment in that area.
Posted on 5/26/18 at 8:34 am to Powerman
Yeah, if I had the 20% down that would be perfect but I have only 15k to put down. I could dip into the other savings but don’t want to.
Edit: $250k w/ 15k down @ 5% I’m seeing payments more like $1475
Edit: $250k w/ 15k down @ 5% I’m seeing payments more like $1475
This post was edited on 5/26/18 at 8:40 am
Posted on 5/26/18 at 8:35 am to TheriotAF
quote:
We only have about $15k for a down payment. We will be using the VA loan so nothing down is required but I still want to throw something in there
If you have an opportunity to put nothing down, and have limited cash, you may want to finance 100%. $15k isn't going to affect your monthly payment that much. Plus, you're probably going to need some of that money to furnish the house.
Posted on 5/26/18 at 8:41 am to Oenophile Brah
That’s what we did with our current house we are about to sell. Since we have the little bit already saved up and all the furniture we need now I figured I would throw it into the house to get a layout/neighborhood we were excited about.
Posted on 5/26/18 at 8:48 am to TheriotAF
You should ask Dave Ramsey. VA loans are much more expensive then traditional loans.
This post was edited on 5/26/18 at 8:49 am
Posted on 5/26/18 at 9:35 am to bodsworth
If you can swing the extra 5%, you may be better off with a conventional loan. The key benefit of VA if
avoiding PMI but you pay for that benefit with a 2.15% funding fee. Shop around to see if you can actually get a better rate on the VA loan to offset the added cost.
avoiding PMI but you pay for that benefit with a 2.15% funding fee. Shop around to see if you can actually get a better rate on the VA loan to offset the added cost.
Posted on 5/26/18 at 9:47 am to TheriotAF
quote:
Yeah, if I had the 20% down that would be perfect but I have only 15k to put down. I could dip into the other savings but don’t want to.
Edit: $250k w/ 15k down @ 5% I’m seeing payments more like $1475
I was excluding PMI. Do you pay PMI on a VA loan? If so you might want to look into options at a credit union. I only put down 10 percent with no PMI
Posted on 5/26/18 at 9:56 am to Powerman
There's no PMI on VA loans. That's the primary benefit of the program for those with little or no down payment.
Posted on 5/26/18 at 1:26 pm to TorchtheFlyingTiger
We haven’t ever used the VA loan benefit, as the rates offered were never very competitive. Plenty of other lenders will do 2, 3, or 5% down if you have excellent credit. VA loans require more paperwork, too.
Posted on 5/26/18 at 5:42 pm to TorchtheFlyingTiger
If you have a disability rating of at least 10% there is no funding fee.
Posted on 5/26/18 at 6:24 pm to TheriotAF
That seems about right
Posted on 5/27/18 at 7:29 am to TheriotAF
You should be able to qualify for USAA membership, do that first.
They have a 3% down conventional with lender paid pmi and great rates.
They have a 3% down conventional with lender paid pmi and great rates.
Posted on 5/28/18 at 7:10 am to TheriotAF
quote:
Lake Charles area
What area in Lake Charles are you looking? And how big of a house you looking to buy?
Posted on 5/28/18 at 8:48 am to LC-LSU-FAN
Looking at some subdivisions in Iowa. A lot more house for your dollar there. 1700-1800 sq ft would be ideal for now.
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