ChiSquare1963 t1_iufh53d wrote on October 30, 2022 at 10:42 PM

Sounds like you are on the right track. You can’t afford a $700k home on your combined incomes, plus it’s not a good idea to buy a home with someone you aren’t married to. Pay down your debts aggressively, save for deposits and a small emergency fund, then get your own place.

Once you have your own place, continue saving while you work your way up the career ladder. When you have a combined income nearer $200k, you can look at buying a $700k house. With your current combined incomes, you’d need a massive downpayment to get the monthly payment into a reasonable range.

disposable_tree OP t1_iugnfal wrote on October 31, 2022 at 4:23 AM

Hi there! Thank you for your reply, I appreciate it!

I do agree with you on that. It is absolutely not in the cards to purchase a $700K home in the near future, unless there is a miraculous salary increase. (I cannot see this happening again as I just doubled my salary after getting my degree a few months ago). It is also something I will not consider without marriage, but ideally in my loose plan, it would hopefully be marriage within the next year or two, house within three. (I do also want to clarify this timeline is something that we have discussed together and feel comfortable striving towards).

I also definitely didn't go into the details of that homebuyers program enough. But in the end, the way it works is that certain occupations such as teachers, law enforcement, EMS, and fire are eligible to purchase one of the given homes in their district, eligible through the government program of course-- it isn't with every home, are able to purchase the home for 50% of the list price. The only catch is that you have to reside there for three years-- which to me is so beyond worth it to save 50% on a house.

So with this, ideally we will be able to do something like this as opposed to paying the full price of a home. Obviously such a discount would make a down payment as well as monthly payment significantly more attainable/realistic.

I guess my real question is more pertaining to if paying rent on an apartment is as much of a waste as I fear it is. To pay tens of thousands per year into something that I will never own at the end of the day is something I really struggle with. However, living with my family is draining me more than I would like.

I also would like to know what you consider to be a safe emergency fund. I know a lot of people have different understandings, but I've always been under the impression that about 6 months salary is ideal. What do you suggest?

ChiSquare1963 t1_iugriby wrote on October 31, 2022 at 5:12 AM

A homebuyers program designed to help teachers and emergency workers buy in the community where they work is a great benefit. Good luck with it!

It sounds like renting a place may be good for your mental health and relationship with your family. You might consider sharing a place to save on rent. In my 20s, I rented a 3 BR, 2bath with a colleague. We set up the 3rd BR as a sitting room.

Emergency fund? Three months expenses is bare minimum, acceptable for someone with a stable job in a field that rarely has layoffs. The biggest emergency most people face is loss of job, so you want enough to keep bills paid while job hunting. For most people, six months expenses is about right. With dependents or in a field where it’s more difficult to find work, you could need more.

disposable_tree OP t1_iugsk2k wrote on October 31, 2022 at 5:25 AM

Thank you! I’m hoping that it would work out where we would be able to purchase our first home like that. It’s definitely a great opportunity if it works out like that.

Ideally, we always could try to find roommate(s) but there’s always that fear of ruining a friendship or something, so I personally am quite hesitant but the idea of saving so much on rent is so tempting. It’s definitely something I could consider but I’m not sure he would go for it.

As for that emergency fund, I’ll definitely get to working on that three month reserve to start. Overall, we have relatively safe jobs as he’s in medical supplies/ems/fire and I work in corporate baking/lending. I do think my job carries the higher risk but I’m not a hedge or anything quite as volatile.

Thank you again! I appreciate your advice!