Pull the trigger on dream home?

[athena53]

Well the pool is a year old, however I have accounted for additional costs to maintenance and I do believe it is a concrete pool. We’re the homebody types who enjoy entertaining aside from going out and or traveling very much.

Concrete is MUCH less trouble- that was the pool in the second home. And yes, being a homebody is a good justification for wanting to spend a little more on a house. When I lived in Bergen County, NJ you almost had to in order to get into a decent neighborhood in a good school district. I don't regret giving up other frills to live there- both the house my Ex and I owned and the one I bought after the divorce turned out to be very profitable.

 

[aaronc879]

If both you and the wife plan to work for at least 15 years after getting the home then it should be affordable. Get a 15 year mortgage if you can swing it. How secure do you feel your job is?

 

[Midpack]

Zillow says you can, but it’s really not that simple. Depends on all your other spending how much you can handle as a mortgage payment.

 

[Romer]

I bought my dream home in 2008 at age 47. It was tough to fit into our finances but did it with a 15 year mortgage and paid it off a few years early.

My view is the home you live in takes up so much of your life on a day to day basis. If it makes you happy and you can afford it, then you should go for it even if it requires a 30 year as rates are still low

I still love this house 13 years later and the land gave me room to add a garage for more toys and plenty of space for the pups

 

[pb4uski]

I think you'll be fine. If you pay $600k and put 20% down and can get a 30-year mortgage at 3.7% your monthly payment would be $2,209/month or 14% of your combined income once your wife gets back to work... leaving a lot of room for property taxes and insurance.

 

[Ninepoint5]

If both you and the wife plan to work for at least 15 years after getting the home then it should be affordable. Get a 15 year mortgage if you can swing it. How secure do you feel your job is?

Been w/ my employer for 22 years now. Family business and although nothing is guaranteed in life (insert death & taxes comment) I feel confident we will be around for another 70 plus years

 

[cyber888]

It depends on when you plan to retire. If you are retiring around 67 and you are 42 now .. then you've got 25 years to pay that house, which is plenty of time to pay for it.. If you are planning to retire at 52, then you've only got 10 years to pay that 80%. So depends on when you retire.

My current house is about 550K but bought it cheaper 18 years ago, and got only about 67K left to pay for it (my only debt). So, this makes it easier for me to retire sooner like 1 - 2 years.

Happy new year… I am looking for insight on how some of you wise vets on here would attack my dilemma. I am married, 42 with a little one and one in her last semester of college. My spouse will be going back to teach next year. I’ll bring in $130k a year, no debt other than my house. I max out my 401(k) as well as putting $500 a month into a 529 account.

I have been wanting to find a new place to live, have somewhere that my little one can roam around and have a big enough yard to where it exhausts him. I may have found our dream home however I am curious as to how the “ dream” home comes in to play into the equation when it is all said and done in regards to retirement?

The property price is $600K and I would put down 20%. So the question is twofold. With the income of myself as well as my wife can I afford it as well as how does your personal home figure into the equation of retirement/happiness leading up to retirement?

Hopefully I provided the appropriate amount of information needed into retrieving some sound advice. I appreciate it and I hope you all have a great new year

 

[someguy]

I disagree with others who appear to imply that a paid off home is a prerequisite to retire early. A mortgage is just another expense that can be paid in retirement the same as before retirement. And, depending on where you live, RE taxes, HOA, and maintenance can over time be a bigger expense than the P+I of a mortgage.

As I said before though, you've got to run the numbers for FIRE, not just current cash flow. Increasing housing costs now by $1000/mo is a double whammy for a while -- less going into retirement funding AND more expense in retirement (ie, a bigger pot).

 

[HarveyS]

It depends on when you plan to retire. If you are retiring around 67 and you are 42 now .. then you've got 25 years to pay that house, which is plenty of time to pay for it.

Quite true....unless you get RIF'ed at age 50.