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danielle
LIF Infant
Member since 7/05 137 total posts
Name:
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How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
Just curious as DH and I found a house we are in love with, but it would be tight.
ETA: maybe this will help.
DH's salary would cover basically gigantic mortgage, the taxes(that are crazy), and the insurance.
My salary would have to cover everything else. I make decent $$, and we don't have any CC debt or anything outrageous.
I guess I am just nervous b/c since we got married we have always lived off his salary and saved mine. We would no longer have that nice savings account we are so used to. Oh well, I guess I need to grow up at some point.
Message edited 6/26/2006 9:40:29 PM.
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Posted 6/25/06 8:15 PM  |
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sunnyplus3
:)
Member since 11/05 8749 total posts
Name:
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
we bought a home that was modestly priced in a middle class neighborhood so we wouldn't have to stretch.
Lots of things come up money wise as a homeowner & a parent. There have been so many expenses we just didn't figure on. for example, the price of energy has gone up by 50% in the last year, if we were already streched I don't know how we'd pay all the unforeseen extras.
We didn't want to feel the pressure of overextending ourselves.
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| Posted 6/25/06 8:39 PM |
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julz33
i run for bacon
Member since 5/05 20584 total posts
Name:
julz
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
We didn't stretch ourselves at all... I am too much of a worry wart. I would only go for a house that we could afford easily on one salary.
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| Posted 6/25/06 8:39 PM |
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maryg
LIF Infant
Member since 5/06 196 total posts
Name:
Mary
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
i am sah mom so my husband is the only one working. the house we are in contract for would make it a little tight for us but i suppose our back-up is me working. we budget down to about a couple hundred not including our unreliable cash income that he does part-time. (hobby). my sil budgets down to literally $20 savings per week for the house she bought last year. she's able to do it too but i think THAT is scary. my husband and i will have a bit in the bank after all is said and done for "back-up". The house we are buying is pretty much nothing needs to be done. not even painting. that's why we went higher than we orginally wanted to.
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| Posted 6/25/06 8:52 PM |
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Eva Luna
Be kind...life's hard!
Member since 8/05 4750 total posts
Name:
God, bless & heal my DH, JenG's DH Rob & DebG
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
It would be pretty hard right now if only one of us worked...but not in the near future (we both get bonuses and will be debt free soon, God willing!!  ). We have a few hundred left each month for "play money" which is a lot more than we had in NY when we rented!! 
If it's your dream home and you CAN afford it (meaning you have money left over each month) I would go for it. Not everyone can say they live in their dream home.
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| Posted 6/25/06 9:23 PM |
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Bebalina
<3
Member since 6/05 2922 total posts
Name:
N
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
we stretched ourselves to purchase our home, and with both of us working it was still tight, but we're almost there for a year now, and we've found the balance and we're doing just fine now
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| Posted 6/26/06 10:12 AM |
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Bugaboo
Relax!
Member since 5/05 2133 total posts
Name:
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
Not that far. When we purchased our house, I was a part-time SAHM. Now, I'm back full-time but we went into the buying process with the mindset that we would be living off one income.
Message edited 6/27/2006 1:33:21 PM.
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| Posted 6/26/06 10:15 AM |
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schnapy
LIF Adolescent
Member since 9/05 766 total posts
Name:
Diana
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
not far at all, we bought a house that we could afford on one salary...
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| Posted 6/26/06 10:25 AM |
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Diana1215
Living on a prayer!!!
Member since 10/05 29450 total posts
Name:
Diana
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
Posted by schnapy
not far at all, we bought a house that we could afford on one salary...
Same here. But also having a tenant helps.
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| Posted 6/26/06 11:02 AM |
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dandr10199
Grace is growing up too fast!
Member since 10/05 11561 total posts
Name:
Dina
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
Posted by schnapy
not far at all, we bought a house that we could afford on one salary...
same here. We bought a fixer upper and renovated most of the inside before we moved in. We are going to renovate the outside in a few months when my DD is a little older and sleeping through the night.
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| Posted 6/26/06 11:24 AM |
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computergirl
LIF Adult
Member since 5/05 3118 total posts
Name:
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
Posted by schnapy
not far at all, we bought a house that we could afford on one salary...
Same here. I wanted to be a SAHM and didn't want the house payments to change my plans...
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| Posted 6/26/06 5:38 PM |
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krashnburn
I am Batman!
Member since 5/05 4093 total posts
Name:
I'm Batman, I tell you!
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
I gotta say I'm really jealous and can't believe this. DH and I have pretty good salaries, but there were never any houses we could ever afford only on one salary. If one of us gets laid off, we'd be in trouble and I could never be a SAHM. What jobs does everyone have, for Pete's sake. No wonder the prices on LI keep going up--apprently people can afford it. Sorry if this sounds like an attitude...it's just frustration and jealousy.
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| Posted 6/26/06 5:49 PM |
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Jessee
LIF Adult
Member since 3/06 1260 total posts
Name:
Jessee
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
Posted by kra5hnburn
I gotta say I'm really jealous and can't believe this. DH and I have pretty good salaries, but there were never any houses we could ever afford only on one salary. If one of us gets laid off, we'd be in trouble and I could never be a SAHM. What jobs does everyone have, for Pete's sake. No wonder the prices on LI keep going up--apprently people can afford it. Sorry if this sounds like an attitude...it's just frustration and jealousy.
I second your jealousy! My husband and I do well (or atleast I thought we did), but god knows a house on one of our salaries, or being a SAHM is not an option. I think there are lots of factors - age, obviously income, and of course choices. Some people would rather live in a smaller home and SAH, and others do not. But whenever I feel overwhelmed about $$, I try to remind myself that we're probably doing a lot better than a lot of people - and we should be grateful for what we have, and enjoy it.
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| Posted 6/26/06 6:00 PM |
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msrsfeb
LIF Adult
Member since 2/06 1277 total posts
Name:
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
i agree. We are buying a house now and could not buy a thing on one salary. Being a SAH Mom is only a dream for me. I have come to face my reality though. It is amazing what people can do. I thought we were middle of the road with our combined salaries but the fact is to live on LI we are below appreantly.
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| Posted 6/26/06 7:18 PM |
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Kidsaplenty
Sister love
Member since 2/06 5971 total posts
Name:
Stephanie
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
Posted by kra5hnburn
I gotta say I'm really jealous and can't believe this. DH and I have pretty good salaries, but there were never any houses we could ever afford only on one salary. If one of us gets laid off, we'd be in trouble and I could never be a SAHM. What jobs does everyone have, for Pete's sake. No wonder the prices on LI keep going up--apprently people can afford it. Sorry if this sounds like an attitude...it's just frustration and jealousy.
ITA with you. In my opinion its sad when the middle class can't afford to buy a house.
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| Posted 6/26/06 7:37 PM |
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maryg
LIF Infant
Member since 5/06 196 total posts
Name:
Mary
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
Posted by kra5hnburn
I gotta say I'm really jealous and can't believe this. DH and I have pretty good salaries, but there were never any houses we could ever afford only on one salary. If one of us gets laid off, we'd be in trouble and I could never be a SAHM. What jobs does everyone have, for Pete's sake. No wonder the prices on LI keep going up--apprently people can afford it. Sorry if this sounds like an attitude...it's just frustration and jealousy.
I am LOL at your jealousy. I am a sahm and it is not a picnic. A lot of rearranging of finances. And another...I thought I was one of the poorest members of this board... I am probably am but we've done a lot of sacraficing to save. I've been a sahm for 2.5 years now. My husband was making $55,000 then. It's really not that much when we had to pay rent, to support a baby on formula, $1000 debt minimum to pay every month etc. But it's years later and with promotions and everything we are finally in a place where we can afford a house, TIGHT but afford. I laugh and it makes me cry to think how bad it was then...God forbid he should get to the bank late to cash his check...it meant no food in the house until he cashed it. I mean litterally paycheck to paychek living....FM me if you want some tips/ideas on how I make being SAHM something manageable. I don't want to post it b/c some things is kinda...embarrassing  I alo realize a lot of people can make it on one salary but not willing to do what it takes. For us, we really just don't want strangers taking care of our kids when they are unable to communicate with us yet.
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| Posted 6/26/06 8:39 PM |
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MegZee
My bunny
Member since 5/06 8777 total posts
Name:
Meaghan
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
Posted by computergirl
Posted by schnapy
not far at all, we bought a house that we could afford on one salary...
Same here. I wanted to be a SAHM and didn't want the house payments to change my plans...
im sure a lot of these people may have bought there house before the boom.
its ridiculous that a house that was $150K four years ago is now worth $400. somethings gotta give - EVERYONE i know that is in their 20s that bought a house within the last 2 years did it NOT buy on Long Island - there arent many buyers left!
eta: FH and I make much more than the average family on LI and we are going to struggle to buy a starter home.....most people that bought their houses five years ago cant afford to buy it today!
Message edited 6/26/2006 8:45:55 PM.
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| Posted 6/26/06 8:42 PM |
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MrsBlueSash
Love my sailor
Member since 6/05 5793 total posts
Name:
Christian
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
We bought on the premise that one income should cover our mortgage. We've thought about the idea of more, but its seems scary if one person makes a change or gets hurt and can't cover the mortgage and bills.
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| Posted 6/26/06 9:07 PM |
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2Pisces
Life Coach
Member since 2/06 3337 total posts
Name:
Paige
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
Posted by Bebalina
we stretched ourselves to purchase our home, and with both of us working it was still tight, but we're almost there for a year now, and we've found the balance and we're doing just fine now
same with us. 
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| Posted 6/26/06 9:12 PM |
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2Pisces
Life Coach
Member since 2/06 3337 total posts
Name:
Paige
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
Posted by MrsBlueSash
but its seems scary if one person makes a change or gets hurt and can't cover the mortgage and bills.
This scares me a bit....especially if Michael were to get hurt. God forbid. It would be such a struggle. 
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| Posted 6/26/06 9:12 PM |
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MegZee
My bunny
Member since 5/06 8777 total posts
Name:
Meaghan
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
Posted by MrsBlueSash
We bought on the premise that one income should cover our mortgage. We've thought about the idea of more, but its seems scary if one person makes a change or gets hurt and can't cover the mortgage and bills.
for all of you that bought that can live on one income - did you buy your first home recently??
I couldnt imagine living on one income with the housing prices here - FH would have to make over $100K himself - we make that together, but not buy ourselves!
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| Posted 6/26/06 9:16 PM |
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danielle
LIF Infant
Member since 7/05 137 total posts
Name:
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
Message edited 6/26/2006 9:37:43 PM.
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| Posted 6/26/06 9:37 PM |
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maryg
LIF Infant
Member since 5/06 196 total posts
Name:
Mary
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
Posted by Meaghan729
Posted by MrsBlueSash
We bought on the premise that one income should cover our mortgage. We've thought about the idea of more, but its seems scary if one person makes a change or gets hurt and can't cover the mortgage and bills.
for all of you that bought that can live on one income - did you buy your first home recently??
I couldnt imagine living on one income with the housing prices here - FH would have to make over $100K himself - we make that together, but not buy ourselves!
We are buying our first home now, and will be living on one income. (The house is only $375,000. And I say only b/c it is actually one of the cheapest homes on the market for the area we are looking in. At least cheapest for something that wasn't about to fall down or look like a doll house )
We saved and took care of all debt so this is years of planning.
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| Posted 6/26/06 9:51 PM |
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LSP2005
Bunny kisses are so cute!
Member since 5/05 19453 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
Posted by Meaghan729
Posted by MrsBlueSash
We bought on the premise that one income should cover our mortgage. We've thought about the idea of more, but its seems scary if one person makes a change or gets hurt and can't cover the mortgage and bills.
for all of you that bought that can live on one income - did you buy your first home recently??
I couldnt imagine living on one income with the housing prices here - FH would have to make over $100K himself - we make that together, but not buy ourselves!
We bought our home this past October. We can afford it on just one income, but we also have my law school debt which is like a second mortgage. 1/2 of my law school debt should be paid off by this time nest year. That will free up a lot of $ for us.
Even though we make great salaries, I still clip coupons, and we lead a modest lifestyle. We drive one car. We don't really drink a lot, but we go out to eat with our friends. It definately takes planning to live frugally, but DH and I enjoy it. When we do spend, we splurge but then we go back to our every day frugality.
For example, we try to bring lunch to work 4x a week and starbucks is barely even a monthly treat. I think a lot of little things add up. That is how we save.
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| Posted 6/26/06 9:58 PM |
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~Colleen~
my loves...
Member since 5/05 9129 total posts
Name:
guess
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Re: How far did you stretch yourself to buy your home?
Posted by Meaghan729
Posted by MrsBlueSash
We bought on the premise that one income should cover our mortgage. We've thought about the idea of more, but its seems scary if one person makes a change or gets hurt and can't cover the mortgage and bills.
for all of you that bought that can live on one income - did you buy your first home recently??
I couldnt imagine living on one income with the housing prices here - FH would have to make over $100K himself - we make that together, but not buy ourselves!
We closed 13 days ago (yay!) and we bought based on DH's salary alone (banking mine entirely - using his for saving's and bill's) and we didn't stretch ourselve's. Although it's still scary - but we hear that's normal 
Over the course of 16 months, we managed to save ~35% of the house...put 20% down, paid closing costs up front, put money aside for a bathroom gut and rebuild...and (thankfully) still had $$ in our joint account (DH has ~8% of the cost of the house in savings that we're not touching unless there's a dire emergency). We're very proud 
ETA: The only "debt" we have going into the house is DH's car payments and he's done Sept '07 (unless we pay it off sooner).
Message edited 6/26/2006 10:42:23 PM.
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| Posted 6/26/06 10:39 PM |
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