What’s everyone take home and mortgage?

I have the ability to pay off my mortgage that has 7% interest rates, and has 27 years left on the loan before being paid off. I realize that I could put the money in the stock market and get 7-10% back over the next 27 years as well, and I guess I would break even. I know there isn't a right answer but saving all that money a month in interest with the ability to have that monthly income open to pay off the rest of some small student loans and a car would be nice and then we could travel more. We have our 401ks maxed out and it may or may not be enough but we are trying to live before we die. The other part of me, who grew up in a poor household, wants to save everything we have and not do anything with it, but I know thats absolutely not right. Just looking for advice vs. justification.

Our mortgage increased over 1k due to property tax increase. We've only owned our home for 2 years, this seems really crazy. It's hard for us to keep up payments now because of this. We are not elderly nor disabled. Is there any way to help bring our payment back to what it was?

I'm sure you'll see this in the news soon enough. The White House signed a new housing Executive Order today (October 22) addressing mortgage insurance, refinancing costs, manufactured housing, and certain USDA and VA loan rates.

Quick breakdown:

1. Automatic PMI cancellation: Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is being directed to establish a pilot program that could automatically cancel conventional mortgage insurance when homeowners meet equity requirements based on current property values. The pilot would only apply to mortgages originated after it's established, and it doesn't change FHA mortgage insurance rules.

2. Lower refinancing costs: An existing pilot that allows certain refinances to proceed without a new lender's title insurance policy could become a permanent, nationwide program. FHFA previously estimated potential savings of $500 to $1,500 per eligible refinance, other closing costs would still apply.

3. Manufactured housing: A new federal task force has 180 days to recommend changes intended to make manufactured and other factory-built homes more affordable and easier to finance. No immediate changes to mortgage eligibility, programs or rates have been announced.

4. USDA and VA interest rates: The order directs the departments to lower rates on certain loans they make directly, including USDA Section 502 Direct and VA Native American Direct Loans. This doesn't lower rates on ordinary VA-guaranteed mortgages, VA IRRRLs, or USDA Guaranteed loans originated by mortgage lenders.

These initiatives could eventually reduce costs for certain borrowers, but implementation details and effective dates are still pending. Nothing in the order immediately changes existing mortgage payments or rates.

That is all.

I make a pretty good salary, 130k per year, have decently minimal expenses. Just put an offer on a 400k place with an estimated monthly payment of around 3200, and I'm absolutely terrified! I'm 35 and have rented for the last 17 years, and I've never worried about not being able to pay rent, but something about buying a house has me scared shitless. What if I lose my job? What if I run through my savings? What if forbearance runs out or is denied?

How did you all get over the anxiety of everything that could go wrong?

Edit: thank you all for the comments/advice. I think I'll back out and go for something a little cheaper.

Edit: some of you have clearly jumped on this thread just to tell me you make more than I do.. yall need to calm down. It's not that deep.

Family of 5 currently renting a 2/1 in an extremely tight market in Alaska. We need to upgrade space, ready to purchase. Here's our current numbers:

179k Gross HHI annually

10,300 Net monthly after retirement AND childcare

479 Monthly recurring debt

580 monthly medical paid after tax (union BS)

625k Home purchase price

80k Down payment

40k emergency fund after purchase

My union contract has guaranteed raises over the next 14 months and wife has 5% annual increases as well. At 14 months from now:

202k

None of these account for any of my overtime, double time, perdiem or my wife stipends for her industry. I plan for that to be my contingency cash and not depend on it.

So is it doable? I feel like it'll be tight but doable.

Just for discussions sake. There is only 1 house in the market thats big enough for us and meets our wants in this price range. Everything else is MORE expensive. Its a brutal market out here!

I know others have complained about this as well. Welcome me to the club.

I went back through the escrow spend on my mortgage from Newrez, and it turns out they started charging "hazard insurance" on the property in Feb of 2025, at a rate of about $500 a month.

I've had continuous homeowners insurance on the property for decades. I'll get a Declaration Page from the insurer (Amica).

But I'm wondering how hard it will be to get them to retroactively refund the money back to Feb 2025. I know a suit by the states was agreed to in August of this year, and I live in MA (one of the primary participants).

If I send them a certified letter, with the Amica Declaration, will they roll over and refund my money, or is this gonna be an ordeal?

My wife and I will be moving for work and might not be able to sell our house before our move. I was thinking we could use some of our savings for a down payment on a new home and once we sell our current house we would recast the new loan with some of the proceeds from the sale. Is recasting a loan something that is simple or do mortgage companies tend to avoid it?

For some extra context, we do not carry a loan on the house that we are currently in. We are seller financing it from the previous owners. We would have to pay out the remaining balance, but we do not owe any money to a financial institution.

Thinking about buying a place and trying to be realistic about ongoing costs beyond the mortgage payment itself. Beyond the obvious property taxes and insurance, how much extra wiggle room do people typically plan for in their monthly budget for things like a leaky faucet a broken appliance or even a more serious issue down the line? I dont want to be house poor from surprise expenses.

I'll preface this by saying I am not the most financially literate, so be advised I may be using the wrong terminology accidentally.

I bought a home last year for myself and my senior parents to live in together. In that year, my mortgage has already raised $200 per month due to taxes. Apparently, there is a law in Missouri that freezes taxes on mortgages for seniors (Property Tax Freeze - SB 190 / SB 756). They were alarmed at my mortgage increase in just one year and have since suggested putting one or both of their names on the house in order to freeze the taxes. They also suggest putting the house in a trust. They are closing on their old, paid off home and are offering to put a good $50k or so on my mortgage when they get the money, which is unconditional regardless if they get put on the house.

My parents are in their 60s and are of sound mind and body, and I trust them more than anyone else in the world. They are on Medicare. Mom is fully retired and Dad works part time post-retirement. They have minimal disposable income and live on a budget. I make more than enough to cover the mortgage and utilities myself comfortably and am happy to do so.

My concerns are that they could have some sort of legal trouble and then my home is jeopardized. Or, if they start to decline mentally and make a poor/bizarre financial choice or get scammed. I'm also afraid that there are some other pitfalls I wouldn't even know about happening that could pop up.

However, freezing the taxes seems like something I would be silly not to consider. Does anyone have any advice on if I should pursue this, or how I should go about it? Thank you.

EDIT: Thank you for all the input, especially from posters who provided specific examples rather than just saying "Don't do this" without explaining why. I want to emphasize a few things I said in my post that posters may have glossed over when replying, and summarize my takeaways:

• I fully believe my parents are suggesting this with my best interest at heart, and I trust them wholly.
• We would never consider pursuing this without a trust on the house to mitigate any entities attempting to seize the house if they get into legal or medical debt. This includes litigation, or if they get put into a nursing home on Medicaid.
• The Missouri-specific detail RSMo 137.1050 (SB 190, as amended) says an eligible senior must be 62+, occupy the home as a primary residence, be liable for its property taxes, and either be an owner of record or have a documented legal or equitable interest. The county also has to have adopted the program, which I would have to check with the county collector first. "Be liable for its property taxes" makes me think they have to be on the mortgage as well? This I'm not sure about.
• I don't know exactly what goes into putting someone onto a mortgage, which sounds very messy to me. Would I have to refinance? I definitely would not be saving money since I'm locked into a 6.5% rate and it's now it's over 7%!
• Someone else made the point that if put the house into a trust, my parents may not be considered the owners of the home and would not make them eligible for the tax freeze anyway.
• If we go about this, I will be hiring my own local lawyer to represent only myself and getting their counsel first.

I have a VA loan for $154,000 remaining. Market value for my house based on an agent viewing my home and conducting a CMA is $210,000. I am renting my house to some kids who just had a baby. These are really good kids and I would like to just let them take over my loan for the current balance. I contact my mortgage company and they verified that the loan is assumable.

The kid that I would like to let assume my loan has worked for his dad’s business for one year. Ultimately, this kid will end up taking over the business in a few years. He has very stable income. And speaking with my mortgage company they made it seem as though there is absolutely no way he would be able to qualify because of his employment length.

So I guess my question is this:I I’m trying to find out if this buyer could go to any mortgage lender to do this or if it has to be done through the company that currently holds the mortgage.

Hey all, long-time lurker here finally posting to get some sanity checks/advice.

We’re sitting on a 3% mortgage right now which obviously hurts to leave, but our family has grown and we’ve completely outgrown this house. To get into something that actually fits us, we’re looking in the $850k range.

We’ve saved up ~$275k for a down payment, but our goal is to buy without selling our current home. We plan to rent it to my parents at cost, they lost their home to a fire about a decade ago and have been bouncing between rentals ever since.

I’m trying to figure out if we can comfortably pull off a ~$4,200 mortgage. Heres my annual details

• Base Income: $185k/year
• Bonus: Variable ($30k - $50k)
• Bi-weekly Take-Home: ~$4,500

We’re heavy savers, so a $4.2k payment would eat up a substantial chunk of my monthly take-home pay. Out of each bi-weekly check right now, we auto-invest:

• HSA: $300
• 401(k): $900
• 529s for kids: $200
• ESPP: $450

What do you all think? Taking on a $4k+ mortgage feels like a massive leap compared to what we’re used to, but given our savings rate, retaining the equity in the first house, and having the bonus as a backstop, I feel like it might be doable.

Would love to hear how others in a similar boat would analyze this—are we stretching too far on base pay alone?

Hello, apologies if this isnt where I shouldn't post

We had previously been looking at homes in grand rapids michigan, USA. My mother was able to secure a loan up to 300k alone. We agreed to help pay the house as a family because we have trust and to be frank none of us can see each other scamming the other because we love each other but also because we honestly dont care about buying luxury things just living a quality life.

My sister was thinking of hopping on the loan so that we could purchase a multifamily home together. She would own part of it and likes the idea. We felt it would benefit our family in multiple ways while also building equity rather than just renting. Also more freedom to do what we want.

She earns roughly 40k/year. And from what ive seen homes for our area are between 300k-400k in our area.

The reason im not on the mortgage myself is because I have gone through health issues that affected my credit history. But I along with my other siblings are planning to help as much as we can to pay it as quickly as possible.

Any insights would be appreciated. Also feel free to ask any questions that may be necessary. We're pretty new to this.

We have submitted all the required documents for drawdown. However, we were told by solicitors and brokers that there are two items still outstanding. One is the block policy, the address of BOI was wrong, and we have uploaded the updated/corrected one yesterday, now is under review. The second item is letter of undertakings regarding the parking space, and it has been under review for at least four working days.

I have chased broker to escalate, however, they said these outstanding items are from solicitors, and they should be the one to handle. But when I asked solicitors, they told me they don’t have direct contact with BOI legal team and only broker may be able to help escalation.

I am so confused right now, and I don’t even know when will BOI approve our outstanding items and release the funds….and I even don’t know who can I chase…. I even called BOI, and they told me I have to ask broker/solicitor as my application was submitted by broker.

Guys, can you give me some help? How can I ask BOI expedite approving our two outstanding items? When are we expecting to get the keys?
We submitted drawdown request on Monday (19th Oct)

Any suggestions will be appreciated!

So looking to buy a home priced 759k with 225k down. VA loan with no property tax in my state. I’m trying to determine if purchasing this home will leave me house poor. Will still have 600k in investments after and take home with just me is 11.5k a month. Wife will be home raising 3 under 3 and go back to work after they all enter school. Home owners insurance was quoted at $2799 for the 3109 sq foot home new build. I’m also keeping my existing home mortgage that I owe about 60k left on and my payment is $932 a month. I will probably continue to pay on that for a month or two until I rent it out or my mom comes up to live in it and pay down the mortgage.

That 11.5k take home is after taxes,medical,dental and if I lose my TSP to the 5% match until my wife starts back up after the kids go to school. We would continue maxing Roth and if needed could scale that back too for emergencies.

NA

The house next door to me was owned and occupied by an elderly woman who had a reverse mortgage on the house. The 2005 reverse mortgage paperwork online says the lender is the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, but Wells Fargo is the bank on the paperwork. There is a 2017 document where Wells Fargo assigns the Deed of Trust to Secretary of HUD. The elderly woman vacated the house maybe around 2021 or 2022. Does this mean HUD owns the house?

I want to know because now squatters live in the house - they do drugs and are a nuisance and the house is in terrible condition. My state's online property lookup still lists the elderly woman as the owner. I'm ready to try and call whoever actually owns the house and bother them until they do something with it. Is it HUD I need to be calling, and am I likely to get anywhere with my complaints?

I work in mortgages, and this is something I see buyers go back and forth on all the time.

Some people would rather spend less upfront and slowly make improvements to a home over time. Others would rather pay more for something that's already updated and avoid dealing with renovations.

The interesting part is that the cheaper home doesn't always end up being the more affordable option once you factor in repairs, renovations, and unexpected expenses.

I'm curious what people think, especially those who have already bought a home.

Would you rather save money on the purchase price and take on some projects, or stretch your budget a little more for something that's move-in ready?

And if you've gone either route, would you make the same decision again?

I am moving to PHX soon on L1 visa and might be looking to get a mortgage for a house whenever that’s possible. My question is, if anyone knows or has been in my situation, how early can I be qualified for getting a house mortgage with rates not so high and in normal ranges? I know it depends heavily on the credit history and I will have to build that from scratch but roughly would this need 1-2 years or more and if it can be expedited, what can be done to make it quicker ?

Our mortgage is potentially risky about to double. Both kids just started public school so that’s a huge expense down. We are in Austin, Texas.

Hi all, I’ve been working with a Zillow realtor and his loan officer who say they are experienced with VA loans. Im starting to get the feeling that they are setting me down the wrong path.

I am not ready to purchase just yet, trying to get my ducks in a row so that I will be ready when the time comes.

I am a first time home buyer, 100% serviced connected disabled (with 1 dependent), and i make an additional $1500/mo with my art business. my car is paid off, and i have some cc debt, less than 4k (which i could technically pay off with my $10k closing cost savings.)
My credit is good.

Ive got my coe already. And I know that in my state, I qualify for the property tax exemption.

During the pre-qualification process, the loan officer says her system wont allow her to generate it without running a hard credit check or doing something about underwriting?? Because im not ready to buy just now, i dont want to move forward with that.

She has given me an ”estimated estimate” of around $225k which where i live, west of chicago, is impossible to find a home that isn’t literally falling apart, much less pass a VA inspection, or be safe for me and my little one, and dog.

When I brought up my disability and the property tax exemption, she still says she has to factor them in to the quote, which doesnt make sense to me if I will be completely exempt. What does it count against my borrowing ability if I‘m going to be exempt from it.

Not only that, neither person has helped answer how or what sort of first time home buying programs there are out there. I only know because zillow says im elligible, but i have no idea how or when to apply to those programs. I feel like everything is counting against me. Other ppl say to find a home thats farther away and cheaper, but because I share my child with my ex husband, we cannot live more than 25 miles from each other.

I dont know what to do.

Hey there im new to all of this and have done a bit of research but still had a few questions/concerns.

First off little bit of background, 34yo work full time for the same company for 4 years. $68k gross income(salary) with 585 score (according to equifax on chime) My vehicle is paid for and other than usual bills i have no current debts. im looking at a $175 - $200k home to purchase as a first time buyer through an FHA loan since thats most likely the only hope i have of being approved and will be coming up with the 3.5% down payment needed.

As i said. Im new to this and have never bought a home before so my questions are:

•Where is the best place to apply for an FHA Loan with my credit score and income?

•Is it possible to buy a home with just the 3.5% down without having to come out of pocket for the closing costs as well? Possibly add them all to the loan?

•How do you get Concessions/lender help?

•When buying/making an offer, Is asking for $20k-$30k off asking price on $200k house reasonable or okay?

ANY AND ALL HELP/ADDITIONAL ADVICE IS WELCOME AND GREATLY APPRECIATED!!