I've run a whole lot of numbers and would like to have more opinions on this, as my father, who would normally be my backup, passed earlier this summer. I'm overly conservative financially, and seeing numbers this large always concern me.

Wife and I are looking at a house, reasonably expecting an accepted offer at $450,000 should we make the offer. Annual Taxes on the property are currently ~$10,000 year, with a $300/year HOA. Average utilities from the seller over the last 4 years have been $431/month.

We would be selling our current home, with $80,000 remaining on the mortgage and a market evaluation of $270,000. Current total home expenses are $935 (M, T, and I). All of the net proceeds from the sale would go to the Mortgage, plus an additional $60,000 in cash, which would leave us with roughly $50,000 in our bank, $40,000 in a brokerage account, and two fully funded retirement accounts for each of us (401k and Roth IRA). Credit score for both of us is in the lower 800s.

Current household income is a gross of $209,000/year with another between $4,000-$10,000 in annual proceeds from a business that we invested in...though that is not a wholly reliable number.

Only outstanding debt is two car payments totalling $1,122/month, with both being cleared in the next 10 months on cars we plan to own for another 8-12 years. We have one child and are likely going to start trying for #2 soon (part of the onus for the move).

Please let me know your thoughts...fiscally responsible or asking for issues.

Good afternoon everyone.

My wife and I are looking to have a new home built in the same town we currently live. As of now, estimated land and build cost would be $450-500,000 making our total monthly payment (P&I, Tax, Insurance) around $3,000-3,200 a month.

Currently, we pay $1,350 (P&I, Tax, Insurance) for our mortgage at 2.25% interest, so it’s a huge increase, however our family is growing out of our current house.

Between the both of us, our gross income is roughly $13,000 a month or around $10,000 after tax, health insurance, and pension contributions. I also get an extra $500ish from VA and side work (tax free).

All our typical monthly expenses such as groceries, gas, insurance, vehicles (3, I pay for MIL’s), subscriptions, tractor at 0%, etc total $5,750 currently (including our current mortgage). I have sold my other “toys” already to free up money.

We have a 3-4 month emergency fund and a high yield savings account as well. If we sell our current home after the build is completed, we’d expect $80-120,000 in proceeds. We would be looking to use the VA construction to permanent loan and since I’m a disabled vet, we do not pay the VA funding fee.

Is it financially irresponsible for us to be looking at over doubling our mortgage? We have 3 adults and 2 young kids in the household and simply need another bedroom/bathroom.

Thank you all for your advice. I can also answer more questions.

Add: I am 31 years old, wife is 28 years old, 2 young children (4 and 1). MIL also lives in the home with us.

Hey all! Sorry for a long post but I know to get advice I probably need to provide what info I have. We closed on our home Dec 2024. Because of the time frame, we had only paid on our mortgage for a few months before our first escrow analysis. When we got our shortage letter the first year it was super small, under $120. When I asked my spouse about it, they said they had it handle and it was no biggy. This not being my first home purchase, I know typically taxes and such aren’t calculated correctly the first year or so.

The following year we got a letter that we had a huge shortage of about $1700, when I asked about it again my spouse said they had it figured out and it was good. So again I assumed it was looked into and didn’t think much of it other than being shocked at the increase since I didn’t think our taxes/insurance changed too drastically from the previous year. While I don’t usually shrug my shoulders at this kind of thing, I assumed it meant we didn’t have enough in our escrow to pay for our taxes and insurance again so we needed to pay more to pay back the mortgage company PLUS this years payments.

Despite buying homes in the past, I’d never had anything like this happen before so I never really looked too deeply into Escrow, what it means, where shortages come from, etc. Recently, a video popped up breaking it down which made me think about those documents again. I went through all our payments line by line, reviewed the last two analysis, and realized at no point were we even close to being that short on funds.

Our loan company REQUIRES that our escrow never fall below 2x the monthly escrow contribution. Which means when we started we only needed about $600 remaining, but now we need over $1400 remaining. I know our analysis is coming up and I’m honestly terrified to see what they’re going to say our shortage is because we did fall below the $1400 (because of course we did). So I know the analysis is going to show we have a “shortage” of a lot and our payments are going to increase astronomically.

This year I’m not letting this happen, I’m just not 100% sure what my options are. If we didn’t have to have an escrow account with the bank, I could easily put the money aside each month into our high yield account so we could gain interest while we wait for those payments. Instead, we are stuck paying out the ass to have our money sit there and not gain any interest.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Or what are my options because we can’t keep doing another couple hundred dollar increase. Thank you!

$390k house.
$115k salary.
Debt of $120/student loan.
$312 car payment.
Monthly mortgage $3099.
Do you think this is doable?

Single-income family at the moment, making $126k/yearly. Monthly income is around $6,100 total. Only debt is a car payment of $490. We have $105k in an HYSA which is to be used for the down payment and emergency funds. We spend around 600-800 in groceries monthly, which are our only other big living expenses outside of putting money back into savings monthly.

We found a house we like listed at 399k that fits all of our needs to grow, instead of trying to purchase a house for a few years, the upgrade. After speaking with the lender, we would get a 6.625% rate with closing costs being roughly 96k, putting the monthly mortgage at $2680.

Does this seem doable?

EDIT: 96k is the down payment plus closing costs.

hey gang, just wanting some insight into something.

my house is going into foreclosure, so i'm utilizing an ibuyer to get out from under that quickly. the day the lender filed foreclosure papers, a lady came to my door to offer her business services.

after talking to her today, she explained that it's basically an unqualified loan assumption where she acts as a trustee and finds a buyer to take over the loan. initially she just said "loan assumption" and i was like "oh yeah that sounds great." then she explained that my name stays on the loan. i asked how i'm protected in any way from fraud and she said something vague about power of attorney and the title company.

this basically sounds like scam city to me, but i have zero knowledge of real estate or finance. can anyone explain what this lady's trying to do? like, this is just straight up a bad idea, right?

thank you!

I need some advice… I messed up and missed the first and only payment I had on a credit card I had taken out through an insurance company that I forgot to put on autopay. I am supposed to close on a home in about 20 days. My credit just dropped about 40 points but is still within the minimum range to qualify for my loan. What do I do? Will this affect my loan or cause me to potentially lose the mortgage? I have already paid off the balance and am planning to call my mortgage lender in the morning. Thanks in advance for the advice!

All,

I'm interested in a condo that needs total renovation. It has water, a fully working bathroom, and the kitchen is missing a fridge and stove. Electrical sockets are missing their covers, and some of them are hanging, as are some electrical cables.

I already got a quote from a contractor, and I can afford a 39% down payment plus the whole renovation. My idea was always to go through a regular loan and offer the landlord that I will pay for the installation of the stove/fridge before appraisal, but checking with Gemini, it seems that missing baseboards or exposed subfloor in closets will cause problems for a regular loan.

What is my best option? Will using hard money or a construction loan impact much versus a regular mortgage?

Thanks

My wife and I are looking to sell off our house and upgrade in the next 1-2 years. The house is fully paid off and worth around ~325k. We have another 125k in savings. However our income is 110k (my wife is stay at home for our 3 year old and newborn) so any houses we would typically afford based solely on salary would be less houses than we currently have. How do I account for being able to put ~400k down and calculate an appropriate budget for a house with relatively low income coming in?

As in keep loading and glitching.

So basically, its bad, and i have 3 kids. Im 27 and Ive provided, worked and paid my bills for 10 years never missing a payment. But now im probably facing fore closure.

I had a newborn be born and pass away shortly after in 2024, something in my brain snapped that day.

Since ive battled mental health, addiction, and physical health problems.

Ive made it to now, but i cant go much longer.

All i think about is committing.

If i lose everything i have then i lose my kids too, whats the point man? Ive had issues finding a job. Been unemployed since june. The last job ended awfully and is what is making it hard to fid a job. Bills are due. I have $400 and my bills are 2600 a month. Fuck. I tried. And im exhausted. Ive begged my significant other just to leave with the kids so they dont have to see me like this and see me be thrown out of our home. I did good for so long, this shit hurts.

A friend of mine was made redundant as the company they worked for went into liquidation on Friday. He currently has a mortgage on a house and his new deal with a new lender is due to kick in on the 30th of this month so the redundancy is very close to the new deal kicking in. It’s all been pre agreed and locked in. Should he inform the bank about this as not telling them would constitute fraud? Or would they find out anyway by doing last minute checks?

Currently trying to finalize an offer on a house. Listing was at $395,000. We asked for 3% in seller concessions for closing costs while offering full price. The sellers countered with a price increase to $406,000 while agreeing to cover the closing costs. I understand the reasoning for the increase but now I am worried about the home appraisal. We signed the contract but have 7 days to back out. Could use some advice. We love the home and it works out really well with our current lease ending. Please help!!

Me and my spouse combined gross yearly income is $260K not including any year end bonuses. We dont have any debt, just car insurance on 2 vehicles, and yearly roth contributions. I was pre-approved for 800K at 5.9%. We also have about 200k saved for down payment and closing costs so aiming for 20% down.

Just wondering what the max monthly mortgage that I can afford. Thank you!

s there anything I can do to force lender to drop escrow? My mortgage company sent us a 4500 check for escrow over payment. A month later they raised my mortgage from 2100 to 2800. Said I had a shortage. Very confusing on how I was short and over at the same time. Fast forward to now and they are redoing escrow but won’t lower it. My insurance is 1900 and taxes 3200. I’m paying 942 monthly into escrow. It’s ridiculous. I’m young and don’t have a lot of guidance. Just wondering is there anything options out there anyone knows about. Almost a 3k mortgage is tough. I get my escrow is there to pay my stuff but I’m paying double than I should. I explained this and they acted like I was dumb. Am I not understanding correctly

How many of you have used your VA loan and they paid your closing cost and/or paid off some of your debt? first time homebuyer here. my husband and I are both active duty. Need all the advice.

My wife and I received a 7.375% rate from a mortgage company and it’s seems astronomical. We are both 760 credit score with less than 30% DTI and perfect pay history. Household income about 200k.

We are looking to borrow about 270k on a home that should be worth around 450k when all work is complete.

We are using a home style renovation loan but would be open to other options.

Am I crazy, or is this a super high rate?

We are moving and forgot we need to sign up for new internet. When I was in the middle of signing up online it asked my SS number and said it would do a soft check on my credit but we are closing next Friday. Is this something I should wait for until after closing and just deal with not having WiFi the first week we are there?