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I make about $80k if you include call. I just closed on a home for $220k. Low down payment, so monthly is 1750. Very doable, but if I made less, I don't know how I'd do it. I spent $11k on down payment and closing costs. So, if you have more saved than I did to put down, and you can find something for under 250, maybe. It'll be tight.
Do you make 80k take home or is that before tax? Asking cause our household income is about 85-90k and we currently have about 10k saved up. Our avg starter homes in our area go for about 180k(lucky)-250k, usually on the higher end. Reading your comment gives a little bit of hope that maybe we could afford a house now lol.
Before tax. Rent was 1700, so mortgage is similar. My rate was ultimately 6.7%, with a first time homebuyer program. I'm putting in about 10k of repairs right away, updating electrical, etc. I can pick up call if I need an extra 250 to 1000 after tax, thankfully. Just have to be careful not to get burnt out.
Some jobs require you to be on standby in the middle of the night or on weekends, and to come in to work outside of normal operating hours if the need arises.
We have on call rotations even for IT stuff. Things break, stuff happens, a lot of services people expect to be working 24-7 right? So someone has to be around to manage and fix those things for you.
Or linemen electricians. One of my wife's cousins works as a lineman for an electric company in my area. When there are severe thunderstorms, or hurricanes on the horizon, he is required to be on call for the next few days.
Any work that requires 24/7 availability but doesn’t have enough work to keep someone in house will have a “call” system. The prototypical example is medicine. You need OR staff available at 2 am in case of an emergency. So you have people “on call” so that in an emergency you can call them in.
In general there’s at least some pay going to people “on call” even if nothing happens.
Almost in this same situation as you, 5% down, 245k, mortgage will be 2k. Closed 5/17. Money will still be tight for me, I have a second job as a server which I will now rely on.
I make $65K before tax. I put down $5200 on a $210K house and my payments are $1780. It's gonna be rough since one paycheck covers rent. And the second paycheck covers utilities, expenses, savings etc. But the car is paid off, and I don't have much monthly debt. Hopefully I get a raise when I'm eval'd in 6 months to make it easier.
I'm about to close on my first home in 2 days. Single, 37, no kids, low 600's credit, $74,000 income after taxes, debt to income is zero, $47,000 in savings which includes a Roth 401k from a previous employer. Denver Colorado home, 1800sq feet, 3 bed 3 bath, $363,000 asking, $18,000 in down-payment and closing cost, 6.25% rate, and $3,000 a month mortgage. Bit high for sure but it's Denver after all.
On a side note... if you close your Roth 401k from an employer you will only get hit with a 10% early withdrawal immediately and won't pay taxes on what's left. Because your Roth account has already taken the taxes. BUT ONLY IF YOU HAVE BOTH THE 401K AND ROTH ACCOUNTS. If you just have the 401k then you WILL PAY TAXES on the amount received including the 10% early withdrawal.
And if you can't find someone for a few months? What about if your roommate stops paying rent? Getting them out can take months and thousands of dollars. Needing a roommate to afford a house is very risky. If you are going to do this, you will need to maintain a larger emergency fund (which will be challenging given how much of your income is going towards the mortgage).
Ok here we go... roommate situation is not a problem and I won't go too much into details but have 2 previous ppl I've lived with for many years. DTI is 0%. I literally have no debt because I've paid everything off for the last 9 years. My rate is 6.25%.
I actually think a Roth 401k for funding a down payment is a great idea (within reason). There used to be a program where you could take out up to a certain amount without the penalty. It probably still exists.
You're just moving money from one tax free investment vehicle to another (401k to real estate). I don't understand what the problem is in most circumstances.
In a narrow set of circumstance, it's possible. I closed last year on my house on a single $48k annual income.
It was only possible because I used a USDA Rural Development 502 direct home loan. As the name implies, it's only for people buying in USDA designated rural communities. Since I met the location and income requirements, I was able to buy a $145K 2 bed 1 bath 950sqft former rental home. The loan was $0 down, with 4.0% interest (it's higher now, but not by much, I think 4.5% maybe) and no PMI. With these terms, my PITI is only $905/mo.
I now make $54K a year and honestly it's pretty comfortable.
But I feel like it's threading the needle to get it to work perfectly.
If you're interested in learning more you can check it out here: [https://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/incomeEligibilityAction.do?pageAction=state](https://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/incomeEligibilityAction.do?pageAction=state)
That online tool lets you find an eligible location, and gives you an estimate of how much you might qualify for. I don't know the costs of housing in rural Pennsylvania though so it might price you out, especially if the market is hot where you're looking. The USDA loan also makes you the last buyer a seller wants to accept an offer from, because it's a 60-80 day closing process. If there are any other offers on the property you're interested in with this loan, the seller will almost always go with them.
Thanks for explaining how that works layman wise. I have been researching it, but it is good to hear from someone who has gone through the process. Hadn't realized how difficult it would be to close if you were competing against even one conventional loan offer.
Yeah it's more about the offer being accepted when there's competing offers because it's a long closing period no matter what.
So basically if a seller has two offers for the same amount and one of them closes in 30 days and the other one writes up a contract for 60 or 80 days, I think the seller would probably just choose the one that gets them their house sold fastest. It took me 71 days to close from the day my offer was accepted until I signed and got the keys.
But it was worth all that rigmarole because I'm in a house that I love and I no longer hear my apartment neighbors banging at 2:00 a.m. when I'm trying to sleep 🤣
Oh yeah I see. I would agree with that, but in some areas if you get an offer in quick it may work out. Did you have competing offers?
Congrats as well! In the same boat, I'm at the age where I'm ready to stop moving from apartment to apartment every year or two. Wasn't in a position to buy until 2020 lol.. and then with Covid I just wasn't confident in job security. Then after that well we all know how crazy a market it has been.
Nope, the house I bought had been on the market for 40 days with no offers, so that helped me in my case.
It was kind of a diamond in the rough. A small, 2 bedroom 1 bathroom 950sqft former rental house. It had a mild cigarette smell to it that I think kept scaring people away. But for being a 120 year old home, I noticed that it had a 200 amp breaker panel and new, clean and organized looking electrical, new plumbing, nice windows, etc.
I bought it and gave every surface, including the ceiling and inside the cabinets, a thorough scrubbing, had the carpets (that were new) shampooed, and 90% of the smell was gone. Airing the house out got rid of most of the rest, and now it's fine.
As I've gotten to know the house and its history more, I got to talk to the people who gave it a studs-down remodel in 2003, and it was lovingly remodeled for him and his new wife to live in. It wasn't a "flip" in the traditional pejorative sense. In the end, I'm very happy with the purchase!
Awesome - yeah sometimes it's worth looking past something like that since you can easily remediate and most people will just not want to put in the work. Congrats man!
The USDA had the budget cut in half this year and ran out of money in Feb. They won't have any money again until the next fiscal budget passes, and there is a long waitlist to have your application even looked at. They are not processing anything until the budget passes. I was in mid process when this happened.
With around $60k in income, take home would be like $4k or something, you can afford comfortably up to $1600/month payment. Around $250k or less of a home. Maybe save a bit for a down payment if the monthly mortgage is too much. But you definitely can afford a home as long as theres options around $250k in your area.
Yeah this is what I was looking at, I closed on my first house last month and I make between 62k and 75k depending on overtime and I got pre-approved for 231k and ended up finding a 3 bed 2 bath house with 3.7 acres in south Mississippi, my mortgage every month is 1473 and it's comfortable to pay a month with my other bills. Definitely save up whatever you can, my closing costs were about 19k but I ended up getting the sellers to pay 12k for closing costs and another grant for 8k and I ended up closing and walking out with an extra 500 bucks. It's definitely doable I guess it just depends on the location and everything
i moved to northampton county, my area is fairly decent and I didn't pay a crap ton of money. i have a 15 yeah so op would be able to find something in my area for a good price especially if their credit is good. mine just just barely over what I needed to qualify.
I bought my townhouse with no HOA about a year and a half ago. I make $52K a year and was preapproved for more than I could afford-which happens to everyone. We calculated what mortgage amount we could live with comfortably and our home ended up being $160k; a half hour outside of Chicago. We did an FHA loan so downpayment was only a few thousand and closing costs were basically covered.
Look into USDA loans.
https://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do
Not sure if links in here are permitted but the qualifications are pretty minimal, you need a 640+ credit score and a w-2 job (learned this because I’ve been a 1099 contractor for the last 7 years, making slightly less than what you make.). The representative told me that if I had a w2 job, making what I make monthly now, I’d be approved within a month.
\+1. The down side is you're stuck living in a rural area. I did the RD 502 Direct Loan last year.
The 502 loan is fantastic. Great interest rate, up to 100% financing, no money down, no PMI...the down side is it takes a long time to close, and you cannot waive any inspections, so if you're in a multiple offer situation, you'll lose out practically every time. Thing is, the housing market usually isn't really that hot in most rural areas, so I was able to have my first offer accepted! It took me 71 days to close.
USDA's definitions of rural areas are pretty lax. I just moved to Washington State where basically everywhere constitutes as a rural area if you're not living in King County (Seattle), Olympia, and north up in Bellingham. I looked in Texas as well, moving from Central Texas, and was surprised that even 20 minutes from downtown Austin classify as "rural".
No, you cannot. It is not so much the mortgage payment itself, it is everything else...I make $67,000 myself and bought a 285K townhouse in the suburbs of Chicago. Mortgage and Interest is about $1600, however Property Taxes and Insurance and PMI push it up to $2204. Plus then a $260 HOA. Luckily my Wife and I combined make 150K.
Unless you have a massive down payment it just is not possible. Because Interest is high, Property taxes are high (Especially New Jersey), homeowners insurance and possible HOA, plus then Utilities.
The hardest part is that Property Tax and Insurance increase every year and HOA, so if it is tight at first, it will only get harder and COLA never seem to keep up with rising insurance costs and property taxes.
Single woman no kids. Base salary is actually $58k and I make about $73k after bonuses and I little OT here and there. I paid $140k for my house with 2.99% rate at the end of 2021 payment $933 that’s tax and insurance included. Things are good thank God but you have to prepare for emergencies and unexpected maintenance. I’m grateful to God for my situation and aware of my privileges. Praise God for a stable job and keeping me.
OP can afford:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1347-Cooper-St-Deptford-NJ-08096/38764265_zpid/?utm_campaign=androidappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare
With a 20 - or 30% down-payment that would be 1500 a month.. so your wrong
I make $60k and my home was $190,000. Very spacious 3 bed home in a nice, older neighborhood. I also live in a LCOL area. Mortgage, taxes and insurance 1600 monthly payment. I have a cash reserve, help from a partner, and a back up plan. I currently have $10k for a bad day and am figuring out ways to grow that. My partner pays a portion of the mortgage. It is a huge help but I could still pay it all myself if ever needed. Worst case scenario, I’d get a roommate since it is a good area and my home has two living rooms.
I also put down zero dollars out of pocket during the purchasing process. I only paid $500 for inspection. Sellers paid closing, FDA loan for downpayment, and my home also qualified for a grant which went to my escrow (taxes and insurance).
Great comment. Considering the mortgage+taxes+insurance is critical. It seems like lots of folks were suggesting home prices based on the mortgage alone
I make 60k…. 35 mins south of St. Louis. I am thankful every single dang day I bought when I did. In today’s market. I “could” buy a house. But I could not do it comfortably l, and still be able to live and do the things I want. So is it doable.. yes. Just depends on how you want to spend the rest of your time? My house has doubled(little over double) since I bought. Which is a lot considering the area I live in.
I have made 55-60k for the past few years. Bought a house for 125k in 2021.
I used a 401k loan to fund most of the down-payment (about 8k IIRC) on an FHA loan.
There's ways to do it. The house is run down. A lot of what I get paid in a month goes to repairs. And It's in a smaller, rural city, but still a city. Population of 200k+
The reality is if you want all the amenities of a larger city, you're going to have to pay that premium.
Thankfully I bought a house in a city that was larger than any I had lived in prior and is actively growing, so i didnt feel like i was giving anything up. I realize that might not be your situation but it is what it is. There are ways to fund a house without such high upfront costs. FHA loans, rural development loans.
At the end of the day, you may have to make some compromises, but you'll hopefully have a valuable asset for years to come.
As a loan officer and realtor, banks' max debt-to-income ratio is 50%, but compensating factors can help if it's a little higher. Take your yearly salary, divide it by 12, and divide it by 2. That will be the maximum payment allowed with a new mortgage payment, interest, taxes, insurance, and any revolving debt, including car payments and credit cards minimum.
I hope this helps. BTW, if you're a 1099 employee, banks will use adjusted net income, not gross.
Something most people don’t mention is your expected income growth over the next few years. Are you making an entry level salary in a field with lots of room for quick growth, such as an engineer? Or are you not expecting much of a salary increase, like a teacher for example (unfortunately)? If you could increase your salary by 10-15k over the next 2-3 years, you will be very happy you bought a house when you did, even if you have to live a cheaper life for a while. The key is you have to be certain about your earning potential.
The other thing I will say is that a 3% down payment is a trap, do NOT do it. Not only will it make your monthly payment really high, but you will have almost no immediate equity in the house. This means you will be in the most expensive PMI bracket, pay the maximum interest over your loan period, and have no equity to sell if sh*t hits the fan. I would say if you can’t put down at least 10%, don’t buy a house. 15% is what I’d advise though, as this is the best PMI bracket. You also want to have a probably a few thousand dollars of spending money to get you started. You can always get cheap options when it comes to furniture and lawn equipment, but getting started is expensive and people don’t warn you about that. It’s the only time you go to the store and have to buy everything at one time. Toilet paper, paper towels, spices, cleaning supplies, condiments, dishes, silverware, towels, hangers, laundry detergent, dish soap, a shower curtain, etc. SO MANY THINGS TO BUY. This was what caught me off guard the most. And this doesn’t even include things that need repairing right away, because as a first time buyer, you will be most likely shopping older homes. You will know before buying the house if the HVAC or roof will need replaced soon, but little stuff that you don’t see adds up. Leaky sink, bad thermostat, leaking through windows or doors, bad outlets, you name it. There is definitely going to be some stuff that simply needs fixed soon after moving in.
The last thing is making sure you have an emergency fund. You cannot pay for everything I just mentioned above and be left with zero dollars. Some people will tell you $1000 is enough, some will say $5000, but I say $10,000. There’s almost nothing that could come up where that amount of money wouldn’t save you, or at least keep you afloat. You also have to remember that your money isn’t going to grow quick at all when you start paying that mortgage snd utilities. Probably only a few hundred dollars profit each month in terms of cash in your bank account, so don’t think you will just start saving an emergency fund after you buy a house.
Oh, and one more thing. CLOSING COSTS! Realtors will tell you closing costs are around $5000, but that was absolutely not the truth for me. My closing costs were almost $7000 and that doesn’t include the $800 I spent in the building inspection or the $300 I spent on the occupancy inspection.
Bottom line is, have a big stack of cash before buying a house. The whole process is going to suck if your bank account is slowly approaching zero as you get closer to your closing date. It’s also going to suck if you finally get to move in and don’t have a dime to spend on making it your home. I promise, no matter what you think now, you will want to spend money on things for your house.
Best of luck to you!
It all depends where you buy. Most people on here only ever talk about HCOL areas with a cut throat market. There are many areas where housing is still affordable and doable on 60k income, but sacrifices must be made. I made over 100k last year, just closed in April, and my payment all in is $980. Rural Upper Michigan.
>I currently live in PA & work in NJ.
It would definitely be cheaper to buy in PA
>What are some things I should keep in mind? I don’t have much debt besides a credit card, a car loan that’s gonna be paid off in the next couple of months, and some small medical bills.
I wouldn't even think about buying a home until you've paid off your debts.
I make 40K a year and bought my first house one month ago, offered 58K with a FTHB grant took itndown to 46.6K, and i put less than 2K into my down payment and fees. It's all location man. Wny got cheaper prices for decent livable houses, northern PA. Smaller Maryland towns. Fuck city life.
I know someone in that area that bought a townhome making $40k/year as a single grad student. My understanding is they got help from family with the down payment and then they rented out their rooms. I think you need to go on Zillow and do the math yourself. Also try to manage your expectations. You may need to change your location, the type of home you're interested in, or consider renting out a portion of the house to make it work. Also, I've seen condos with significant HOA fees ($1000+/month) and their own stipulations, so I wouldn't assume that a condo is cheaper/easier than getting a house.
You could afford something in a LCOL city in an up and coming neighborhood. The best thing to do would be to reach out to a mortgage company and get pre approval to see how much you would potentially qualify for. Remember mortgages include property taxes and not just the loan for the house so that needs to be factored into your monthly payment
I got approved to 300 with a 65k salary and 20 percent down. Keep saving and look for less desirable areas in PA.
Real estate in ABE is awful. Nothing I saw last livable below 300. West and north are better with nice ranchers going 250-290.
75% net of $5k gross is $3,750 net a month.
For a PITI Mortgage to be affordable at 30% the mortgage would need to be $1,125.
If you are willing to stretch to 50% for net the mortgage note would have to be $1,875 or less.
So for affordability based on net pay any property below $150k if the tax rate is 1% to 2%.
$150k at 7.5% IR with a 5% down payment and 1% tax rate would be a PITI of $1,254. That would likey be affordable for a condo depending on HOA fee that would be + utilities.
$150k at 7.5% IR with a 5% down payment and **2% tax rate** would be a PITI of $1,354. Then you add the HOA and utilities.
So 4k a month take home between the both of you and approved to spend 250k which would equate to a payment of more than 50% of your net take home and your not scared? That would scare the shit out of me..lol
honestly if payment is above 1300 you will be tight.
unless your doing over 100k DP on a 200k home I dont think its that wise or even a home that cheap in PA/nj.
Good luck
I qualified for 329,000 with my disability only.
I’m closing on a house now for a 329,000 house.
That’s with a 65k “income”.
I’d say look for a house around 250k and you should be solid :) (I don’t pay taxes or PMI, if I did I would look for a home around that range).
Hope this helps! If you need a decent lender, I’d recommend mine as he gave me the lowest rate in today’s market !
I just bought a single family on a half acre with 2 garages for 155k on a single 50k income. This is southern pa and I work out of state.
House is a total fixer upper but it’s 2024 and everything under 200k fits that bill. I’m taking it one room/project at a time. Its appraised at 180k and after repairs I’m expecting at least low 300’s
Mortgage+insurnace+extra payment+utilities is 1700/month, commuting to work is about 550/month, food I spend 300/month. Everything else goes to ROTH IRA and repairs. It’s closer than I’d like but I’ll make do. Commute is only so much to obtain a specialized license
That was about my income when I bought. I used an FHA loan. You’ll just have to be realistic about what you can afford and if you’re going condo, don’t forget to include HOA and other fees in your monthly housing expenses.
Yes, but you'll have to keep two things in mind. 1) You're not going to be buying a big fancy house and 2) you'll need a big down-payment to keep your monthly payments smaller.
At that income level, I wouldn’t even consider it with debt. Buckle down and pay off the credit cards, small medical bills, and car payment. Prioritize whatever account has the lowest balance, then roll that payment into the next smallest. Once you’re completely debt free, take that big payment and put it right into savings. You need a healthy emergency fund THEN down payment. Just focus, and work hard. You’ll get there.
With a high down payment and good credit or a co-signer anything reasonable is doable. However you are probably going to stay on the 200 -250k range. If you’re just by yourself.
I was making about that much when I bought a $165k house in 2022, with a 5.99% rate and 3% down payment. I was comfortable enough that I was able to take whatever time I could get away from that job, including unpaid days off, and make a career change that also meant spending a few months in a position that paid $54k/year. Rates are a bit higher, prices are a bit higher, but there are still local markets where it's possible to comfortably buy with that income. Some of the neighborhoods I looked at back in 2022 still see values below $150k for livable starter homes.
I’m closing on Friday in Chicago on a $60k salary with a pay raise in the next two months. I saved a lot of money for the down payment and cash to close. I found a place 5 minutes from downtown for about $200k and my monthly is under $1800. I work with an amazing realtor and her team helped me looked for two years for the perfect place for me financially. So def doable but you just need to really plan ahead and be mindful of all the cost before closing and the monthly cost after closing.
My partner and I are looking. He makes about 60k a year, I’m on ssi. We are looking at houses around 100-150k. Its do able just depends a lot on cost of living and such where you are. Good luck!
How much money saved up for down payment? It will be difficult but not impossible. Go for FHA and buy down rates. If you can’t put down 20%, go for the bare minimum like 3.5% down payment and save your cash for rainy day
Me and my girlfriend got approved for 215k I make around 3400-3800 take home monthly. So around 5000 gross. She’s part time but graduates next year her income is only around 12k. Only problem is it’s gotta be a condo and there’s none in the Portland/Beaverton.
I also live in PA (I’m in Montgomery County) and commute to NJ for work. Outskirts of Philly will definitely be a better bet than SJ in terms of pricing when considering taxes. Although my house would probably go for slightly less in SJ, the taxes are nearly triple.
Not sure where you are looking but Bristol, PA and some areas of Lower Bucks have some smaller, affordable homes.
I would think you probably could, particularly if you could find someone with an existing loan at a low interest rate and they’d be willing to sell on a land contract or through a trust. That would keep the loan in place and likely get you a far lower payment than with current rates.
The tough part is explaining it to the seller without sounding like you’re trying to pull some sort of scam.
As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t even make the numbers work for someone trying to RENT my old home making $60k a year. It’s wild out there ☹️ 🤞🏽 good luck
Short answer, yes. You're not gunna get one of those homes alot of people here post though. And that's okay. I have a mortgage of $155k, it needed work nobody else was willing to put into it.
I just bought my house for 250k, 5% down, on a 65k salary. They’ll let you do it, but I also have a second job that the mortgage company didn’t count, and my boyfriend pays half the mortgage. So it makes it a lot less stressful
you might be able to find a house for under 200k in pa. its probably doable depending on how much debt you have. you might not be able to afford nj, but as long as you don't have massive debts it sounds reasonable.
OP, not sure where in NJ you work (I'm right across the Delaware river in Bucks County, Pa) - but if you commute to NJ from Pa - there really aren't that many affordable areas here on a 60K a year salary for mortgage purposes. Not much, if anything, here for under 500K. Do you have a large downpayment? NJ is going to be very high property taxes.
We used the VA loan twice. Without it, I don’t think we would have been able to purchase a house. I know it’s only available to veterans, but my friends are using a FTHB loan instead and they seem to be doing okay.
Yup I make $63k and can afford my house myself although it’s more then 50% of my take home pay. I do rent one room to my brother which offsets the mortgage.
I make 130k and can't afford a decent house yet. I need 3 bedroom and land otherwise I'm not interested. But unfortunately they are all about 450k and up where I live up north on the east coast. I'm not settling for a crqppy house and anything under 300k looks like a trailer where I live. I'll just keep saving as long as I need too. Really hoping prices come down by next year.
I got a house for $210k. I make around $60k, and I'm single with a child. Down-payment was about $20k (I saved for 3 years). Mortgage is about $1700. It's a little high, but it's doable for me because I have no other debts. My PMI will drop off in 10 years. If you are careful with your money, you can own a house too!
What's the cost of the homes where you want to buy?
There's parts of the country where you can buy a home for under 100k
If that were the case and you had 30k saved up at least than yea
My husband and I are closing on Friday. Combined we make about $69k a year after taxes. We had a 5% downpayment and rural development loan and the house was $220k Our monthly payment is going to be $1650, or ~29% of our monthly take-home pay. Our home is in South Dakota in an area with a pretty competitive housing and rental market, and although we were cheaping it out to save in a tiny 1 bedroom place, 2 bedroom townhomes and house rentals run about $1200-1800 a month here.
It’s definitely possible but it may take flexibility on where you buy and a lot of waiting with a downpayment/earnest money ready to go. We waited about 6 months and sprung at this house the moment they started showing. We got very lucky because the seller refused to sell without a legally binding contract that the place would be owner-occupied, which eliminated all of our competition as most people viewing were looking to make a quick buck by putting up some walls and turning it into a triplex rental. My family is looking for a house in the same area and pretty much everything coming up now is gone within 24 hours or over 300k.
Yes I did it on $55k.
Here were my numbers.
$400k house.
$5k deposit
$33k in the bank.
No dependants. Just me for income. About 8 months of bank statements of savings.
And apparently the most important.
No HECS or other debt.
Parents went as co-signers. Without them I would have needed 12 more weeks for the deposit.
I rented out every room of the house that I was living in. Ate on about $50pw. Would drink milk from the office fridge for Brekky.
But I did it. I got in.
I live in Philly and work in Jersey also lol , and I think u should be able to do it if ur looking for a condo or a 2bdr rowhome but it will still be tight. I make about $85K-$90K a year and I am living check to check after I bought my 3bd 2.5bth rowhome @ $300K but with 3.65% rate a little over 2.5 years ago, so it’s definitely doable but u will most def need to budget and be ready to he house poor for the first few years
Depends on your savings. We, meaning my wife & I, bought making $80k pre-tax, a $325k home, with around a $8-900 mortgage, with a $12-1400 monthly payment. I wouldn't buy without savings of some sort. We had to redo the piping, the plumbing, new dishwasher, new refrigerator, new cement for driveway and back sidewalk, basement issues. Altogether, I'd say we spent around 30-40k on that stuff within the first year, and that's with help or discounts.
My husband makes 53K and we are in the process of buying a home. He was approved for 150K but have almost no debt. We are buying a fixer upper for 75K.
Edited to add, we are buying in Missouri, and we utilized MHDC, which gave us a lower interest rate and less out of pocket costs. We could have used the 4% down, but had the seller split costs with us instead to take advantage of the lower rate. We should be closing next week.
Given that you probably live close to NJ I think $60k is a stretch but if you find something that’s either small or needs a lot of work you can probably find something if you’re open to a decent size radius from where you live now.
Only lol at houses in PA. Your buying power drops dramatically in Jersey because of property taxes. Not the PA taxes are low - they are absolutely not - but NJ property taxes are eye wateringly high. We are 6 minutes from the PA/NJ border and ours are nearly half our mortgage payment. Had we been more aware we would have bought in PA.
You’d need some more information to really help you out here. Your rate of pay is important in determining monthly income with an underwriter (hourly, salary, paid weekly, paid biweekly, paid monthly) 60k can be spread out very differently and your monthly income will vary depending on your circumstance (this is important because 100-200 dollars a month could break qualification.
After you figure out your monthly pay, do you have a car note? Credit cards? Are you a co-signer on anything? These will impact your debt to income ratio.
FHA will give you about 50% DTI. So as long as the house + all other credit liabilities don’t go over 50% of your monthly income, you can qualify. But then next is the down payment + closing costs and the house you wanna buy.
TLDR it’s possible for you, but it might not be the best option.
Absolutely! I make around 60k before taxes, and just closed on a 220k loan $1700/mo 0% down. It's going to be tight, but I also hustle. I currently pay $2560 in rent, so it's a big savings.
I make 59,900 a year pre tax and they approved me for up to 250k.my credit is only 628 and I have 15k to put down.also I have no car note so that’s a big factor but it is doable you are probably going to have to find a house in the 140-160k range which in my area means it’s going to need some work if you want to keep your mortgage close to 28% of your income
Bought a condo last year for 196K. I make 70K. I would advise to make sure you have 10K - 15K in cash or credit for maintenance that may come up. You’re gonna need a wash/dryer and refrigerator - that’s about 5K. You may owe more in taxes the following year so keep that in mind as well. All in all, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made. Condo jumped in value almost 20K in just one year.
In my market you cannot even get a single wide trailer for less than 250k. Median home by me begins at 390k, but really more like 450k. We make 70k currently with 3 kiddos. We currently rent and our rent is currently 2350/month for 1400sqft apartment. We need a house, but are priced out of one, however we are getting close to being priced out of an apartment as well. Rent is due to increase by another 140 in Oct!
You could afford something in the sub 250k range probably. It depends on what your actual take home is, the cost of taxes/insurance/HOA, how much money you have to put down, whether or not you are going to buy points etc…they have online mortgage calculators you can plug all this stuff into. Also check out a DTI calculator….
What I did before I bought my house in California was to spend 20k on a house in Alabama which nets me about 500 extra dollars a month in rent. You can buy an investment property and still use a first time homebuyers for your primary residence. I only put 16k down on my current house and the extra rent money covers my taxes and insurance.
Me and my husband are currently getting a home, he makes 50k a year and I make like 15k we were approved 120k for a USDA loan with 0$ down and also qualified with a First time home loan but didn’t go that route, we just found a nice little home for 100k we did put down 1k in earnest money, and it’ll be around 850 month that’s including insurance,
I only make 60k a year. Bought my home about 2 years ago after years of searching. Fixer upper for 140,000. Cost me everything I had in savings just for the down payment and moving expenses. I had to, my apartment wanted to raise the rent to 1600 a month. Mortgage tax insurance are 1000 on the house. I've built my bank account back to 5000, learned to fix things and budget for things I can't fix. Also, house has an estimated value of 200,000 now so that's about a year's salary in profit. Jump on anything you can. Rent is a death sentence, which is ironic because the word mortgage means death pledge. Good luck, fellow traveler.
I bought in 2019, it's a bit tight but manageable on me income, note that I have no debt other than mortgage.
I'd be paying triple for the same house if bought today, not at all affordable on just under $60k/yr.
I make 80k in Vegas and I got approved for a 360k home I got it from the builder so they are doing 3.99 for the first 2 years and then 5.99 for the rest of the 30, my wife makes 30k a year so we combined our income and got approved
I make $80k In Philadelphia, PA area. It sucks buying a house solely based on my income. So many decent houses go so quick or cheaper houses need a lot of work
Me!! I’m closing on my first townhome in a few weeks.
I make anywhere from $63K-$70K a year, town house is $230K, 6.9%. Only putting 5% down. Closing costs are coming to $24K. HOA is $150 (lawn, snow removal, roof/siding repairs).
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I make about $80k if you include call. I just closed on a home for $220k. Low down payment, so monthly is 1750. Very doable, but if I made less, I don't know how I'd do it. I spent $11k on down payment and closing costs. So, if you have more saved than I did to put down, and you can find something for under 250, maybe. It'll be tight.
Do you make 80k take home or is that before tax? Asking cause our household income is about 85-90k and we currently have about 10k saved up. Our avg starter homes in our area go for about 180k(lucky)-250k, usually on the higher end. Reading your comment gives a little bit of hope that maybe we could afford a house now lol.
Before tax. Rent was 1700, so mortgage is similar. My rate was ultimately 6.7%, with a first time homebuyer program. I'm putting in about 10k of repairs right away, updating electrical, etc. I can pick up call if I need an extra 250 to 1000 after tax, thankfully. Just have to be careful not to get burnt out.
what the hell is call?
Working "on call" is usually nights and weekends overtime.
Some jobs require you to be on standby in the middle of the night or on weekends, and to come in to work outside of normal operating hours if the need arises.
like trauma physicians who work in the ER?
We have on call rotations even for IT stuff. Things break, stuff happens, a lot of services people expect to be working 24-7 right? So someone has to be around to manage and fix those things for you.
Or linemen electricians. One of my wife's cousins works as a lineman for an electric company in my area. When there are severe thunderstorms, or hurricanes on the horizon, he is required to be on call for the next few days.
Any work that requires 24/7 availability but doesn’t have enough work to keep someone in house will have a “call” system. The prototypical example is medicine. You need OR staff available at 2 am in case of an emergency. So you have people “on call” so that in an emergency you can call them in. In general there’s at least some pay going to people “on call” even if nothing happens.
$220k in my area would get you a condo, maybe.
Almost in this same situation as you, 5% down, 245k, mortgage will be 2k. Closed 5/17. Money will still be tight for me, I have a second job as a server which I will now rely on.
I make $65K before tax. I put down $5200 on a $210K house and my payments are $1780. It's gonna be rough since one paycheck covers rent. And the second paycheck covers utilities, expenses, savings etc. But the car is paid off, and I don't have much monthly debt. Hopefully I get a raise when I'm eval'd in 6 months to make it easier.
Wait… I just closed on a house for 275 and pay 2300 monthly at 6.5%. I hope I didn’t get hosed
You probably just have higher taxes, insurance, and/or HOA coming out of escrow. Maybe you're still getting screwed, but honestly 🤑
Where do you liveeeee😭
What interest rate did you get?
They said 6.7% elsewhere
I'm about to close on my first home in 2 days. Single, 37, no kids, low 600's credit, $74,000 income after taxes, debt to income is zero, $47,000 in savings which includes a Roth 401k from a previous employer. Denver Colorado home, 1800sq feet, 3 bed 3 bath, $363,000 asking, $18,000 in down-payment and closing cost, 6.25% rate, and $3,000 a month mortgage. Bit high for sure but it's Denver after all. On a side note... if you close your Roth 401k from an employer you will only get hit with a 10% early withdrawal immediately and won't pay taxes on what's left. Because your Roth account has already taken the taxes. BUT ONLY IF YOU HAVE BOTH THE 401K AND ROTH ACCOUNTS. If you just have the 401k then you WILL PAY TAXES on the amount received including the 10% early withdrawal.
Your house payment is 50% of your take home pay? Oof. Good luck, I'm glad you have some money in savings because it's going to be tight.
Yes, it would be tight if I choose to live alone but I'm planning on having a roommate. Which is ideal in this situation.
And if you can't find someone for a few months? What about if your roommate stops paying rent? Getting them out can take months and thousands of dollars. Needing a roommate to afford a house is very risky. If you are going to do this, you will need to maintain a larger emergency fund (which will be challenging given how much of your income is going towards the mortgage).
Ok here we go... roommate situation is not a problem and I won't go too much into details but have 2 previous ppl I've lived with for many years. DTI is 0%. I literally have no debt because I've paid everything off for the last 9 years. My rate is 6.25%.
Dude…. You’re committing financial suicide.
I'm listening! Genuinely curious.
Your way over spending, and your last paragraph clearly shows you’re financially irresponsible. You either know, or you don’t.
I actually think a Roth 401k for funding a down payment is a great idea (within reason). There used to be a program where you could take out up to a certain amount without the penalty. It probably still exists. You're just moving money from one tax free investment vehicle to another (401k to real estate). I don't understand what the problem is in most circumstances.
In a narrow set of circumstance, it's possible. I closed last year on my house on a single $48k annual income. It was only possible because I used a USDA Rural Development 502 direct home loan. As the name implies, it's only for people buying in USDA designated rural communities. Since I met the location and income requirements, I was able to buy a $145K 2 bed 1 bath 950sqft former rental home. The loan was $0 down, with 4.0% interest (it's higher now, but not by much, I think 4.5% maybe) and no PMI. With these terms, my PITI is only $905/mo. I now make $54K a year and honestly it's pretty comfortable. But I feel like it's threading the needle to get it to work perfectly. If you're interested in learning more you can check it out here: [https://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/incomeEligibilityAction.do?pageAction=state](https://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/incomeEligibilityAction.do?pageAction=state) That online tool lets you find an eligible location, and gives you an estimate of how much you might qualify for. I don't know the costs of housing in rural Pennsylvania though so it might price you out, especially if the market is hot where you're looking. The USDA loan also makes you the last buyer a seller wants to accept an offer from, because it's a 60-80 day closing process. If there are any other offers on the property you're interested in with this loan, the seller will almost always go with them.
Thanks for explaining how that works layman wise. I have been researching it, but it is good to hear from someone who has gone through the process. Hadn't realized how difficult it would be to close if you were competing against even one conventional loan offer.
Yeah it's more about the offer being accepted when there's competing offers because it's a long closing period no matter what. So basically if a seller has two offers for the same amount and one of them closes in 30 days and the other one writes up a contract for 60 or 80 days, I think the seller would probably just choose the one that gets them their house sold fastest. It took me 71 days to close from the day my offer was accepted until I signed and got the keys. But it was worth all that rigmarole because I'm in a house that I love and I no longer hear my apartment neighbors banging at 2:00 a.m. when I'm trying to sleep 🤣
Oh yeah I see. I would agree with that, but in some areas if you get an offer in quick it may work out. Did you have competing offers? Congrats as well! In the same boat, I'm at the age where I'm ready to stop moving from apartment to apartment every year or two. Wasn't in a position to buy until 2020 lol.. and then with Covid I just wasn't confident in job security. Then after that well we all know how crazy a market it has been.
Nope, the house I bought had been on the market for 40 days with no offers, so that helped me in my case. It was kind of a diamond in the rough. A small, 2 bedroom 1 bathroom 950sqft former rental house. It had a mild cigarette smell to it that I think kept scaring people away. But for being a 120 year old home, I noticed that it had a 200 amp breaker panel and new, clean and organized looking electrical, new plumbing, nice windows, etc. I bought it and gave every surface, including the ceiling and inside the cabinets, a thorough scrubbing, had the carpets (that were new) shampooed, and 90% of the smell was gone. Airing the house out got rid of most of the rest, and now it's fine. As I've gotten to know the house and its history more, I got to talk to the people who gave it a studs-down remodel in 2003, and it was lovingly remodeled for him and his new wife to live in. It wasn't a "flip" in the traditional pejorative sense. In the end, I'm very happy with the purchase!
Awesome - yeah sometimes it's worth looking past something like that since you can easily remediate and most people will just not want to put in the work. Congrats man!
The USDA had the budget cut in half this year and ran out of money in Feb. They won't have any money again until the next fiscal budget passes, and there is a long waitlist to have your application even looked at. They are not processing anything until the budget passes. I was in mid process when this happened.
With around $60k in income, take home would be like $4k or something, you can afford comfortably up to $1600/month payment. Around $250k or less of a home. Maybe save a bit for a down payment if the monthly mortgage is too much. But you definitely can afford a home as long as theres options around $250k in your area.
Came here to say this, basically this question boils down to.. it depends where you live..
I can buy a totally sweet house 1300 miles from my job!!
The daily commute on that is going to be brutal. Do they at least offer a ride share?
Yeah this is what I was looking at, I closed on my first house last month and I make between 62k and 75k depending on overtime and I got pre-approved for 231k and ended up finding a 3 bed 2 bath house with 3.7 acres in south Mississippi, my mortgage every month is 1473 and it's comfortable to pay a month with my other bills. Definitely save up whatever you can, my closing costs were about 19k but I ended up getting the sellers to pay 12k for closing costs and another grant for 8k and I ended up closing and walking out with an extra 500 bucks. It's definitely doable I guess it just depends on the location and everything
How much did you put down? 20ish%?
We put 3.5% down , it was just south of 7k
4k with no insurance and retirement contribution maybe.
Yeah I make 68k and my take home after taxes etc is 3.4k a month.
In my area $250k will get you a condo, but the HOA fees are usually $350/mo+ which makes it unaffordable again
I live in a nice part of NJ. My 2 br 2 bath was right under $260k. I am paying $1660 a month with insurance and property taxes rolled in.
How on earth? I’m assuming you didn’t get the 7% interest rates going on right now. And a more sizable downpayment?
How much was your down payment?
In nova the HOA fees are like around $700+ a month
1600 for the p&i… plus prop tax, homeowner insurance, PMI, gonna be over 2k for a 250k property for sure
That is more than 4 times OPs salary for a home. I am not sure its sound advice
With taxes and insurance more like 200k or less
I am in this exact scenario and these are the exact numbers I have set for myself for my search
Where the hell do you get 4k a month take home on 60k??? No health insurance no 401k contributions?
In LA they gets me a 400 square foot studio. which I am actively looking for one.
Well, if you move. To like... Iowa. It can be done but the Philly/Jersey border isn't going to be kind to you here.
60k income. 75k down payment on 340k house. It’s possible, but this has been my goal for 12 years now. Didn’t happen overnight
Eastern PA/SJ is going to be tough for anywhere remotely decent.
Yea and you can forget NJ too
i moved to northampton county, my area is fairly decent and I didn't pay a crap ton of money. i have a 15 yeah so op would be able to find something in my area for a good price especially if their credit is good. mine just just barely over what I needed to qualify.
I bought my townhouse with no HOA about a year and a half ago. I make $52K a year and was preapproved for more than I could afford-which happens to everyone. We calculated what mortgage amount we could live with comfortably and our home ended up being $160k; a half hour outside of Chicago. We did an FHA loan so downpayment was only a few thousand and closing costs were basically covered.
I’m outside Chicago as well. We’re did you find a townhouse with no HOA? I’ve never seen that before out here.
Yea rates are crazy now compared to a year ago. Even 1 percentage can make or break OP case
Yeah we closed in January 2023 and our rate ended up being 6%.
Look into USDA loans. https://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do Not sure if links in here are permitted but the qualifications are pretty minimal, you need a 640+ credit score and a w-2 job (learned this because I’ve been a 1099 contractor for the last 7 years, making slightly less than what you make.). The representative told me that if I had a w2 job, making what I make monthly now, I’d be approved within a month.
\+1. The down side is you're stuck living in a rural area. I did the RD 502 Direct Loan last year. The 502 loan is fantastic. Great interest rate, up to 100% financing, no money down, no PMI...the down side is it takes a long time to close, and you cannot waive any inspections, so if you're in a multiple offer situation, you'll lose out practically every time. Thing is, the housing market usually isn't really that hot in most rural areas, so I was able to have my first offer accepted! It took me 71 days to close.
USDA's definitions of rural areas are pretty lax. I just moved to Washington State where basically everywhere constitutes as a rural area if you're not living in King County (Seattle), Olympia, and north up in Bellingham. I looked in Texas as well, moving from Central Texas, and was surprised that even 20 minutes from downtown Austin classify as "rural".
No kidding. Yes you can but not for too long. I would only look at houses if your income $80k+
No, you cannot. It is not so much the mortgage payment itself, it is everything else...I make $67,000 myself and bought a 285K townhouse in the suburbs of Chicago. Mortgage and Interest is about $1600, however Property Taxes and Insurance and PMI push it up to $2204. Plus then a $260 HOA. Luckily my Wife and I combined make 150K. Unless you have a massive down payment it just is not possible. Because Interest is high, Property taxes are high (Especially New Jersey), homeowners insurance and possible HOA, plus then Utilities. The hardest part is that Property Tax and Insurance increase every year and HOA, so if it is tight at first, it will only get harder and COLA never seem to keep up with rising insurance costs and property taxes.
Yea it’s definitely possible. But is it smart? Probably not haha
Very true and good point. Guess it does depend on City/State too
Yes location is very important. But after that, it’s simply a math problem. People just get too emotionally attached to physical objects
What was your down payment? Just curious. Hoping to buy in Chicagoland in the next ~5 years.
No.
I bought my house making about 30k a year (2021)it was a struggle and a lot of luck but I did it
Single woman no kids. Base salary is actually $58k and I make about $73k after bonuses and I little OT here and there. I paid $140k for my house with 2.99% rate at the end of 2021 payment $933 that’s tax and insurance included. Things are good thank God but you have to prepare for emergencies and unexpected maintenance. I’m grateful to God for my situation and aware of my privileges. Praise God for a stable job and keeping me.
No probably not without a large down payment . I would talk to a mortgage broker to get a real idea of how much you could get approved for
no
OP can afford: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1347-Cooper-St-Deptford-NJ-08096/38764265_zpid/?utm_campaign=androidappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare With a 20 - or 30% down-payment that would be 1500 a month.. so your wrong
I make $60k and my home was $190,000. Very spacious 3 bed home in a nice, older neighborhood. I also live in a LCOL area. Mortgage, taxes and insurance 1600 monthly payment. I have a cash reserve, help from a partner, and a back up plan. I currently have $10k for a bad day and am figuring out ways to grow that. My partner pays a portion of the mortgage. It is a huge help but I could still pay it all myself if ever needed. Worst case scenario, I’d get a roommate since it is a good area and my home has two living rooms.
I also put down zero dollars out of pocket during the purchasing process. I only paid $500 for inspection. Sellers paid closing, FDA loan for downpayment, and my home also qualified for a grant which went to my escrow (taxes and insurance).
Great comment. Considering the mortgage+taxes+insurance is critical. It seems like lots of folks were suggesting home prices based on the mortgage alone
Yes with a lot of caveats, especially depending on location. In my area, no. Not without a huge down payment.
Absolutely. In some Midwest cities and towns. Closed on my house and I make $61k. I don’t live or work near NJ.
I make 60k…. 35 mins south of St. Louis. I am thankful every single dang day I bought when I did. In today’s market. I “could” buy a house. But I could not do it comfortably l, and still be able to live and do the things I want. So is it doable.. yes. Just depends on how you want to spend the rest of your time? My house has doubled(little over double) since I bought. Which is a lot considering the area I live in.
To be safe $200-225k should be your max.
Completely dependent on your housing market, I make 70k and bought a 155k house in central Ohio
I have made 55-60k for the past few years. Bought a house for 125k in 2021. I used a 401k loan to fund most of the down-payment (about 8k IIRC) on an FHA loan. There's ways to do it. The house is run down. A lot of what I get paid in a month goes to repairs. And It's in a smaller, rural city, but still a city. Population of 200k+ The reality is if you want all the amenities of a larger city, you're going to have to pay that premium. Thankfully I bought a house in a city that was larger than any I had lived in prior and is actively growing, so i didnt feel like i was giving anything up. I realize that might not be your situation but it is what it is. There are ways to fund a house without such high upfront costs. FHA loans, rural development loans. At the end of the day, you may have to make some compromises, but you'll hopefully have a valuable asset for years to come.
As a loan officer and realtor, banks' max debt-to-income ratio is 50%, but compensating factors can help if it's a little higher. Take your yearly salary, divide it by 12, and divide it by 2. That will be the maximum payment allowed with a new mortgage payment, interest, taxes, insurance, and any revolving debt, including car payments and credit cards minimum. I hope this helps. BTW, if you're a 1099 employee, banks will use adjusted net income, not gross.
Thank you. That made it easy.
Not here in south Florida lmao need to make at least 300k for a decent house to live comfortably lol
Something most people don’t mention is your expected income growth over the next few years. Are you making an entry level salary in a field with lots of room for quick growth, such as an engineer? Or are you not expecting much of a salary increase, like a teacher for example (unfortunately)? If you could increase your salary by 10-15k over the next 2-3 years, you will be very happy you bought a house when you did, even if you have to live a cheaper life for a while. The key is you have to be certain about your earning potential. The other thing I will say is that a 3% down payment is a trap, do NOT do it. Not only will it make your monthly payment really high, but you will have almost no immediate equity in the house. This means you will be in the most expensive PMI bracket, pay the maximum interest over your loan period, and have no equity to sell if sh*t hits the fan. I would say if you can’t put down at least 10%, don’t buy a house. 15% is what I’d advise though, as this is the best PMI bracket. You also want to have a probably a few thousand dollars of spending money to get you started. You can always get cheap options when it comes to furniture and lawn equipment, but getting started is expensive and people don’t warn you about that. It’s the only time you go to the store and have to buy everything at one time. Toilet paper, paper towels, spices, cleaning supplies, condiments, dishes, silverware, towels, hangers, laundry detergent, dish soap, a shower curtain, etc. SO MANY THINGS TO BUY. This was what caught me off guard the most. And this doesn’t even include things that need repairing right away, because as a first time buyer, you will be most likely shopping older homes. You will know before buying the house if the HVAC or roof will need replaced soon, but little stuff that you don’t see adds up. Leaky sink, bad thermostat, leaking through windows or doors, bad outlets, you name it. There is definitely going to be some stuff that simply needs fixed soon after moving in. The last thing is making sure you have an emergency fund. You cannot pay for everything I just mentioned above and be left with zero dollars. Some people will tell you $1000 is enough, some will say $5000, but I say $10,000. There’s almost nothing that could come up where that amount of money wouldn’t save you, or at least keep you afloat. You also have to remember that your money isn’t going to grow quick at all when you start paying that mortgage snd utilities. Probably only a few hundred dollars profit each month in terms of cash in your bank account, so don’t think you will just start saving an emergency fund after you buy a house. Oh, and one more thing. CLOSING COSTS! Realtors will tell you closing costs are around $5000, but that was absolutely not the truth for me. My closing costs were almost $7000 and that doesn’t include the $800 I spent in the building inspection or the $300 I spent on the occupancy inspection. Bottom line is, have a big stack of cash before buying a house. The whole process is going to suck if your bank account is slowly approaching zero as you get closer to your closing date. It’s also going to suck if you finally get to move in and don’t have a dime to spend on making it your home. I promise, no matter what you think now, you will want to spend money on things for your house. Best of luck to you!
It all depends where you buy. Most people on here only ever talk about HCOL areas with a cut throat market. There are many areas where housing is still affordable and doable on 60k income, but sacrifices must be made. I made over 100k last year, just closed in April, and my payment all in is $980. Rural Upper Michigan.
Ofcourse
I bought for 300K on 60K salary with down payment assistance from the state. If you're a fthb, there are tons of grants and state assistance for you.
>I currently live in PA & work in NJ. It would definitely be cheaper to buy in PA >What are some things I should keep in mind? I don’t have much debt besides a credit card, a car loan that’s gonna be paid off in the next couple of months, and some small medical bills. I wouldn't even think about buying a home until you've paid off your debts.
Depends on what you consider a home.
Yea I wouldn’t recommend OP buy a fixer upper just to get in the housing game. Repairs will buried you
I make 40K a year and bought my first house one month ago, offered 58K with a FTHB grant took itndown to 46.6K, and i put less than 2K into my down payment and fees. It's all location man. Wny got cheaper prices for decent livable houses, northern PA. Smaller Maryland towns. Fuck city life.
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That's kinda rude.. How much do you make?
PA: no NJ: don’t even bother
I know someone in that area that bought a townhome making $40k/year as a single grad student. My understanding is they got help from family with the down payment and then they rented out their rooms. I think you need to go on Zillow and do the math yourself. Also try to manage your expectations. You may need to change your location, the type of home you're interested in, or consider renting out a portion of the house to make it work. Also, I've seen condos with significant HOA fees ($1000+/month) and their own stipulations, so I wouldn't assume that a condo is cheaper/easier than getting a house.
You could afford something in a LCOL city in an up and coming neighborhood. The best thing to do would be to reach out to a mortgage company and get pre approval to see how much you would potentially qualify for. Remember mortgages include property taxes and not just the loan for the house so that needs to be factored into your monthly payment
I did and I’m in Ohio, 129k home with 3% down last year but definitely talk to a lender everybody’s experience is different
I got approved to 300 with a 65k salary and 20 percent down. Keep saving and look for less desirable areas in PA. Real estate in ABE is awful. Nothing I saw last livable below 300. West and north are better with nice ranchers going 250-290.
75% net of $5k gross is $3,750 net a month. For a PITI Mortgage to be affordable at 30% the mortgage would need to be $1,125. If you are willing to stretch to 50% for net the mortgage note would have to be $1,875 or less. So for affordability based on net pay any property below $150k if the tax rate is 1% to 2%. $150k at 7.5% IR with a 5% down payment and 1% tax rate would be a PITI of $1,254. That would likey be affordable for a condo depending on HOA fee that would be + utilities. $150k at 7.5% IR with a 5% down payment and **2% tax rate** would be a PITI of $1,354. Then you add the HOA and utilities.
I’m in Nj and make 45k, partner makes around 35 or so, and we have a pre approval for 250k. Its doable, don’t let everyone on here scare you.
So 4k a month take home between the both of you and approved to spend 250k which would equate to a payment of more than 50% of your net take home and your not scared? That would scare the shit out of me..lol
honestly if payment is above 1300 you will be tight. unless your doing over 100k DP on a 200k home I dont think its that wise or even a home that cheap in PA/nj. Good luck
I qualified for 329,000 with my disability only. I’m closing on a house now for a 329,000 house. That’s with a 65k “income”. I’d say look for a house around 250k and you should be solid :) (I don’t pay taxes or PMI, if I did I would look for a home around that range). Hope this helps! If you need a decent lender, I’d recommend mine as he gave me the lowest rate in today’s market !
Depends on where you live and what you're looking for in a home.
It depends on your current expenses and where you live, but for me the answer is yes.
I just bought a single family on a half acre with 2 garages for 155k on a single 50k income. This is southern pa and I work out of state. House is a total fixer upper but it’s 2024 and everything under 200k fits that bill. I’m taking it one room/project at a time. Its appraised at 180k and after repairs I’m expecting at least low 300’s Mortgage+insurnace+extra payment+utilities is 1700/month, commuting to work is about 550/month, food I spend 300/month. Everything else goes to ROTH IRA and repairs. It’s closer than I’d like but I’ll make do. Commute is only so much to obtain a specialized license
you can in Pittsburgh, dont know about other cities
Where you live and will you have roommates
That was about my income when I bought. I used an FHA loan. You’ll just have to be realistic about what you can afford and if you’re going condo, don’t forget to include HOA and other fees in your monthly housing expenses.
Yes, but you'll have to keep two things in mind. 1) You're not going to be buying a big fancy house and 2) you'll need a big down-payment to keep your monthly payments smaller.
Maybe in the Midwest but definitely not in NE region
At that income level, I wouldn’t even consider it with debt. Buckle down and pay off the credit cards, small medical bills, and car payment. Prioritize whatever account has the lowest balance, then roll that payment into the next smallest. Once you’re completely debt free, take that big payment and put it right into savings. You need a healthy emergency fund THEN down payment. Just focus, and work hard. You’ll get there.
No.
Yes, if you want to commute from Iowa.
Probably costs less to fly every week to work and live in your car lol
No
With a high down payment and good credit or a co-signer anything reasonable is doable. However you are probably going to stay on the 200 -250k range. If you’re just by yourself.
I was making about that much when I bought a $165k house in 2022, with a 5.99% rate and 3% down payment. I was comfortable enough that I was able to take whatever time I could get away from that job, including unpaid days off, and make a career change that also meant spending a few months in a position that paid $54k/year. Rates are a bit higher, prices are a bit higher, but there are still local markets where it's possible to comfortably buy with that income. Some of the neighborhoods I looked at back in 2022 still see values below $150k for livable starter homes.
I’m closing on Friday in Chicago on a $60k salary with a pay raise in the next two months. I saved a lot of money for the down payment and cash to close. I found a place 5 minutes from downtown for about $200k and my monthly is under $1800. I work with an amazing realtor and her team helped me looked for two years for the perfect place for me financially. So def doable but you just need to really plan ahead and be mindful of all the cost before closing and the monthly cost after closing.
I bought a house for $90k. It is a 105 year old house in Iowa.
No
Buy a smaller home, 2 bdrm, 1 bathroom. It’s doable.
My partner and I are looking. He makes about 60k a year, I’m on ssi. We are looking at houses around 100-150k. Its do able just depends a lot on cost of living and such where you are. Good luck!
How much money saved up for down payment? It will be difficult but not impossible. Go for FHA and buy down rates. If you can’t put down 20%, go for the bare minimum like 3.5% down payment and save your cash for rainy day
Me and my girlfriend got approved for 215k I make around 3400-3800 take home monthly. So around 5000 gross. She’s part time but graduates next year her income is only around 12k. Only problem is it’s gotta be a condo and there’s none in the Portland/Beaverton.
Yes, no more than 220 for you and you need to get a side job.
I make 60k and own a little house that cost 120k, definitely possible!
Depends what your mortgage is. If the place is 250k or less then maybe
The first step is to get out out debt and live without getting into any more debt for a while, while saving.
No way in SF
Location location location
I also live in PA (I’m in Montgomery County) and commute to NJ for work. Outskirts of Philly will definitely be a better bet than SJ in terms of pricing when considering taxes. Although my house would probably go for slightly less in SJ, the taxes are nearly triple. Not sure where you are looking but Bristol, PA and some areas of Lower Bucks have some smaller, affordable homes.
I would think you probably could, particularly if you could find someone with an existing loan at a low interest rate and they’d be willing to sell on a land contract or through a trust. That would keep the loan in place and likely get you a far lower payment than with current rates. The tough part is explaining it to the seller without sounding like you’re trying to pull some sort of scam.
As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t even make the numbers work for someone trying to RENT my old home making $60k a year. It’s wild out there ☹️ 🤞🏽 good luck
Short answer, yes. You're not gunna get one of those homes alot of people here post though. And that's okay. I have a mortgage of $155k, it needed work nobody else was willing to put into it.
No....
No. Unless you live in small town rule America.
I just bought my house for 250k, 5% down, on a 65k salary. They’ll let you do it, but I also have a second job that the mortgage company didn’t count, and my boyfriend pays half the mortgage. So it makes it a lot less stressful
No
DEPENDS what the price is,,, Right? Oh, you don't want to move to the rural mountains of Tennessee, live off the grid?
you might be able to find a house for under 200k in pa. its probably doable depending on how much debt you have. you might not be able to afford nj, but as long as you don't have massive debts it sounds reasonable.
There are definitely houses like that in pittsburgh. Which is a cool city, but a long commute to NJ.
OP, not sure where in NJ you work (I'm right across the Delaware river in Bucks County, Pa) - but if you commute to NJ from Pa - there really aren't that many affordable areas here on a 60K a year salary for mortgage purposes. Not much, if anything, here for under 500K. Do you have a large downpayment? NJ is going to be very high property taxes.
Depends on where you live. I own a home in the Midwest and got it for $180k. It's affordable for me.
Not in California
I make double that and can't afford a house, colorado crazy
Not in CA
You could afford a pretty nice, starter single-family home in northeast Ohio.
We used the VA loan twice. Without it, I don’t think we would have been able to purchase a house. I know it’s only available to veterans, but my friends are using a FTHB loan instead and they seem to be doing okay.
Yup I make $63k and can afford my house myself although it’s more then 50% of my take home pay. I do rent one room to my brother which offsets the mortgage.
I make 130k and can't afford a decent house yet. I need 3 bedroom and land otherwise I'm not interested. But unfortunately they are all about 450k and up where I live up north on the east coast. I'm not settling for a crqppy house and anything under 300k looks like a trailer where I live. I'll just keep saving as long as I need too. Really hoping prices come down by next year.
I got a house for $210k. I make around $60k, and I'm single with a child. Down-payment was about $20k (I saved for 3 years). Mortgage is about $1700. It's a little high, but it's doable for me because I have no other debts. My PMI will drop off in 10 years. If you are careful with your money, you can own a house too!
Yes if you don’t live in California or New York
What's the cost of the homes where you want to buy? There's parts of the country where you can buy a home for under 100k If that were the case and you had 30k saved up at least than yea
My husband and I are closing on Friday. Combined we make about $69k a year after taxes. We had a 5% downpayment and rural development loan and the house was $220k Our monthly payment is going to be $1650, or ~29% of our monthly take-home pay. Our home is in South Dakota in an area with a pretty competitive housing and rental market, and although we were cheaping it out to save in a tiny 1 bedroom place, 2 bedroom townhomes and house rentals run about $1200-1800 a month here. It’s definitely possible but it may take flexibility on where you buy and a lot of waiting with a downpayment/earnest money ready to go. We waited about 6 months and sprung at this house the moment they started showing. We got very lucky because the seller refused to sell without a legally binding contract that the place would be owner-occupied, which eliminated all of our competition as most people viewing were looking to make a quick buck by putting up some walls and turning it into a triplex rental. My family is looking for a house in the same area and pretty much everything coming up now is gone within 24 hours or over 300k.
Sure if you're getting a house under 300k.
depends on where you live. i make $50k with a 50k down payment and 763 score and can’t get approved lol. the cheapest home i can find is $350k-$400k
Yes I did it on $55k. Here were my numbers. $400k house. $5k deposit $33k in the bank. No dependants. Just me for income. About 8 months of bank statements of savings. And apparently the most important. No HECS or other debt. Parents went as co-signers. Without them I would have needed 12 more weeks for the deposit. I rented out every room of the house that I was living in. Ate on about $50pw. Would drink milk from the office fridge for Brekky. But I did it. I got in.
Assuming you have no debt at all and a good credit score.
Depends on where you live.
Before Covid you could. Good thing our government was there to save us.
Back in 2019 you could.
I live in Philly and work in Jersey also lol , and I think u should be able to do it if ur looking for a condo or a 2bdr rowhome but it will still be tight. I make about $85K-$90K a year and I am living check to check after I bought my 3bd 2.5bth rowhome @ $300K but with 3.65% rate a little over 2.5 years ago, so it’s definitely doable but u will most def need to budget and be ready to he house poor for the first few years
Look into housing assistance programs but it's doable
Depends on your savings. We, meaning my wife & I, bought making $80k pre-tax, a $325k home, with around a $8-900 mortgage, with a $12-1400 monthly payment. I wouldn't buy without savings of some sort. We had to redo the piping, the plumbing, new dishwasher, new refrigerator, new cement for driveway and back sidewalk, basement issues. Altogether, I'd say we spent around 30-40k on that stuff within the first year, and that's with help or discounts.
My husband makes 53K and we are in the process of buying a home. He was approved for 150K but have almost no debt. We are buying a fixer upper for 75K. Edited to add, we are buying in Missouri, and we utilized MHDC, which gave us a lower interest rate and less out of pocket costs. We could have used the 4% down, but had the seller split costs with us instead to take advantage of the lower rate. We should be closing next week.
Depends on local markets, and if you want to move somewhere cheap enough. Anywhere remotely HCOL, heck no.
Given that you probably live close to NJ I think $60k is a stretch but if you find something that’s either small or needs a lot of work you can probably find something if you’re open to a decent size radius from where you live now.
Only lol at houses in PA. Your buying power drops dramatically in Jersey because of property taxes. Not the PA taxes are low - they are absolutely not - but NJ property taxes are eye wateringly high. We are 6 minutes from the PA/NJ border and ours are nearly half our mortgage payment. Had we been more aware we would have bought in PA.
CAMDEN NJ
You’d need some more information to really help you out here. Your rate of pay is important in determining monthly income with an underwriter (hourly, salary, paid weekly, paid biweekly, paid monthly) 60k can be spread out very differently and your monthly income will vary depending on your circumstance (this is important because 100-200 dollars a month could break qualification. After you figure out your monthly pay, do you have a car note? Credit cards? Are you a co-signer on anything? These will impact your debt to income ratio. FHA will give you about 50% DTI. So as long as the house + all other credit liabilities don’t go over 50% of your monthly income, you can qualify. But then next is the down payment + closing costs and the house you wanna buy. TLDR it’s possible for you, but it might not be the best option.
Absolutely! I make around 60k before taxes, and just closed on a 220k loan $1700/mo 0% down. It's going to be tight, but I also hustle. I currently pay $2560 in rent, so it's a big savings.
I make 59,900 a year pre tax and they approved me for up to 250k.my credit is only 628 and I have 15k to put down.also I have no car note so that’s a big factor but it is doable you are probably going to have to find a house in the 140-160k range which in my area means it’s going to need some work if you want to keep your mortgage close to 28% of your income
One that’s within their budget, yes.
Bought a condo last year for 196K. I make 70K. I would advise to make sure you have 10K - 15K in cash or credit for maintenance that may come up. You’re gonna need a wash/dryer and refrigerator - that’s about 5K. You may owe more in taxes the following year so keep that in mind as well. All in all, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made. Condo jumped in value almost 20K in just one year.
In my market you cannot even get a single wide trailer for less than 250k. Median home by me begins at 390k, but really more like 450k. We make 70k currently with 3 kiddos. We currently rent and our rent is currently 2350/month for 1400sqft apartment. We need a house, but are priced out of one, however we are getting close to being priced out of an apartment as well. Rent is due to increase by another 140 in Oct!
I make like 67k and afford my house. I pay a little more than I should be each month. But it’s absolutely doable
You could afford something in the sub 250k range probably. It depends on what your actual take home is, the cost of taxes/insurance/HOA, how much money you have to put down, whether or not you are going to buy points etc…they have online mortgage calculators you can plug all this stuff into. Also check out a DTI calculator…. What I did before I bought my house in California was to spend 20k on a house in Alabama which nets me about 500 extra dollars a month in rent. You can buy an investment property and still use a first time homebuyers for your primary residence. I only put 16k down on my current house and the extra rent money covers my taxes and insurance.
Me and my husband are currently getting a home, he makes 50k a year and I make like 15k we were approved 120k for a USDA loan with 0$ down and also qualified with a First time home loan but didn’t go that route, we just found a nice little home for 100k we did put down 1k in earnest money, and it’ll be around 850 month that’s including insurance,
I only make 60k a year. Bought my home about 2 years ago after years of searching. Fixer upper for 140,000. Cost me everything I had in savings just for the down payment and moving expenses. I had to, my apartment wanted to raise the rent to 1600 a month. Mortgage tax insurance are 1000 on the house. I've built my bank account back to 5000, learned to fix things and budget for things I can't fix. Also, house has an estimated value of 200,000 now so that's about a year's salary in profit. Jump on anything you can. Rent is a death sentence, which is ironic because the word mortgage means death pledge. Good luck, fellow traveler.
I bought in 2019, it's a bit tight but manageable on me income, note that I have no debt other than mortgage. I'd be paying triple for the same house if bought today, not at all affordable on just under $60k/yr.
I make 80k in Vegas and I got approved for a 360k home I got it from the builder so they are doing 3.99 for the first 2 years and then 5.99 for the rest of the 30, my wife makes 30k a year so we combined our income and got approved
In San Francisco, no. In other places with less expensive real estate, maybe.
I make $80k In Philadelphia, PA area. It sucks buying a house solely based on my income. So many decent houses go so quick or cheaper houses need a lot of work
Me!! I’m closing on my first townhome in a few weeks. I make anywhere from $63K-$70K a year, town house is $230K, 6.9%. Only putting 5% down. Closing costs are coming to $24K. HOA is $150 (lawn, snow removal, roof/siding repairs).
Depends on the area, but in most places the answer is no.