mortgage and budget question

[LivingAlmostLarge]

So most here only went with one income?

[esb3357]

My husband is in the navy so we look at things a little differently. We always buy on one income because my job never transfers. While I have always found a job one never knows. So it is silly to count on something if one doesn't have it.

We look at the following things before we buy

*can we rent it for at least $300 more than the mortgage quickly and keep it rented
*what issues need to be fixed in the next 1-5 years
*do we like the school district
*is the house one we are willing to keep coming back too

[Folio Explorer]

I suspect answers to your questions depend upon individual circumstances. If a couple's two jobs are largely secure, then using two incomes is reasonable. Then again, no job is guaranteed. If emergency savings are adequate and a job is lost, then it is possible to tap the savings while investigating less expensive housing options.

[bigdaddybus]

PITI is roughly 15% of my familys gross income.

My wife and I both work, and our incomes are roughly 56% from him and 44% from her. We could make it on my income alone easier than hers, but if it came down to it we could make it on one income by cutting extras (gymnastics, downsizing cell plans, cancelling sat tv service, getting rid of the entertainment/out to eat lines from our budget, etc.)

I like Folio Explorers comment. My wife and I both work for the largest insurance co. in the US. We are both around our 15 yr anniversarys there. We both feel very secure with our long term job prospects considering the current financial shape of the company, value we add in our work, preformance reviews, etc.

[EarlyRetirementJoy]

I'm impressed with how many people exercised restraint and went forward with a mortgage amount based on just one income. DH and I did same for many of the reasons already expressed - the security of knowing we could weather a job loss, the ability to then not be house poor, and the flexibility for me to be a SAHM until the DD's entered school. The other reason was our desire to become financially independent well before age 65, and having a paid off mortgage was a very important component of that plan.

Now, some 22 years later with a paid off house, financial independence reached, and both of us now defining life on our terms (which occurred at 48 and 56 respectively), do I regret our decision to purchase a home based on just one income? No, I do not.

I have to give a call out to an excellent article on the long reaching benefits of exercising purchasing restraint over on the Mr. Money Mustache blog - Which Part of the Money Wave Do You Surf? http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/...e-do-you-surf/

[disneysteve]

I'm impressed with how many people exercised restraint and went forward with a mortgage amount based on just one income.

Well this is a savings board. We are not a representative sample of the American house-buying public.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I find that a very interesting blog for mr money moustache. Amazing that he could retire so young.