conversation: User (legalhel): "Hi all,\n\nMy wife and i (both 27) are thinking about purchasing our first home. Here is a break down of our finances:\n\n* -$90K yearly income, $5400 after taxes per month (I make 90K with a stable job in engineering, wife works with a non profit, some times gets paid and other times doesn't (does average out to about 10K)\n* -$1250 Monthly rent\n* -$250 Monthly Utilities/cell bill\n* -$340 Monthly car (0% financing, have about $6000 remaining)\n* -$280 Monthly car insurance\n* -$225 Monthly contribution to 401K (company matches up to 3%)\n* -$500 to $700 in other living expense\n\nI think we can save about $2000 per month, although over the past year, its averaged out to about $1000 per month due to random expenses.\n\nI have about 35K in savings, will get an additional 15K from parents to purchase home. I can borrow an additional 15K from my brothers if need be.\n\nI have no other debts\n\nI've been looking at a specific type of home, some thing with an acre or two just outside of the city. Not many houses like that go up often.\n\nThe house we are interested in is listed at $279,900, it very well maintained, fits almost everything we are looking for, has a new roof and HVAC system. The kitchen and bathrooms need renovations, but we can do that over time. Based on comps, the price is about right, but tough to tell.\n\nI ran the numbers and if i were to purchase the home at the listing price with a down payment of about 13% ($35000) i would be paying a total of almost $1700 per month, this includes tax, pmi and home insurance. \n\nCan i afford this? All of those online house affordability calculators claim i can buy a house up to $450K, but i feel like that is a load of BS. \n\nMy lease for my rental is up and my landlord is forcing me to either sign a new lease or get out. I have to make a decision soon.\n\nAny help would be great.\n\nJust to add: i've been looking at houses since April."
  Self: "3x your income basically. So about $270,000. But that doesn't take in debt to income ratios. Also, Trulia mobile app has a great mortgage calculator where it's easy to see what your payment would be based on down payment and interest rate."
  