How much income for 3m home

amother

Darkblue

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 10:51 am

amother OP wrote:

Not sure why my intentions are being assumed for the worst here? I’m not curious about any specific person and I know I can’t afford it. I’m trying to educate myself about housing plus living a frum lifestyle. Pondering years into the future if a certain community could ever be a possibility for us. Not sure why people are offended by my question. It’s always okay to educate yourself and learn more- not talking about finances or feeling uncomfortable to ask this type of question is so harmful!

And Zillow and trulia affordability calculators don’t take into account a frum lifestyle.

You dont need other people to tell you what you can or cant afford, figure it out yourself.

Go to Zillow, search for a house in the neigborhood you like, thats in the price range youd like. Go to the mortgage calculator so you can see how much you need to save for a down payment, and what your monthly mortgage + insurance payment would be.

Now use that at a starting off point. The rest are regular expenses anyone would have, it wont be that different than whatever you have now. Utilities, car payments + insurance, gas/tolls, tuition, groceries, health/life insurance, yom tov, therapy/medical expenses, vacations, household expenses, maaser, gifts, eating out/entertainment, household maintanance (if house has a pool include a few thousand for that), cell phones/wifi, etc etc etc

Give an estimate budget on what you think youll spend for each, calculate that with the mortgage and there you go you have what you need to be bringing home each month. Then you can figure out how long it will take you to save up your down payment.

It isnt rocket science, you dont need other people to do the work for you

amother

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 10:55 am

amother Darkblue wrote:

Do you respond like this to all other posts that users could have researched online? If someone asks for a recipe, do you get this upset? This is one form of research. Please ask yourself why you’re so incensed by my post, vs wanting to help another frum mom just trying to get financially educated.

Not that I need to justify it, but as I said earlier, I’m thinking years into the future so I don’t have a handle on what practical expenses will come up. Hence my question seeking out helpful information.

I think it’s extremely sad that this innocent harmless post is being met with so much aggression. It’s so important that women feel empowered to plan for the future, and it’s important that we help each other with sharing experiences others can learn from.

amother

Darkblue

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 11:10 am

amother OP wrote:

The reason people ask for recipes instead of googling, is so that they can get ones people have made and recommend.

This isnt the same thing, you wont be helped by hearing about how other people spend their money. No one can figure out what you can or cant afford. No one can tell you what things will cost or come up years in the future.

No one is saying you cant fantasize and try to see what it would take to get there. If you are upfront about that in your OP you probably would get better responses. Or put this in the entertainment section.

amother

DarkCyan

Thu, Mar 28 2024, 12:02 pm

I think the most helpful response so far was the poster who brought up the 30% principal.

Your housing costs should be one third of your income, not more.

You need to know:
1. How much of a down payment can you afford
2. What interest rate you're getting
3. Property taxes in that area

With this info, you can use a mortgage calculator (available online, just Google mortgage calculator) to find your monthly hosting expense. Multiply that number by 3 and that should be your monthly income.