last day (17 days later) » 

03:02
11
Q: Cash in retirement accounts to buy a house?

thumbtackthiefMy husband and I are looking to buy our first home. He is 39 and I am 37. We live in a major city and house prices are terrible. We are probably looking at a 500K-600K home. We were late bloomers, so to speak, so took a while to graduate and actually make steady income. We now both have good...

You need to knock out the CC debt before you think about buying a home. It is indicative of being out of control financially. 2K per month is good, but can you do better? Can you get that up to 4K?
Don't bump up your savings by cutting down the CC payments. You will never get a interest as good as the one on the CC debt. Aim to liquidate the CC debt the fastest possible than/then (sic) begin looking for more debt.
Something not mentioned yet: you say you're planning to start a family. Make sure you take into account the added expense that will entail. It isn't cheap to raise a child, you're already $245k in debt and you want to add another $500-600k to that amount? IMHO you're looking at far too expensive of a house for your stated financial status and immediate plans.
I second what @PeteBelford said. If you are making 150K, you should be able to live on 100K and eliminate that 45K in one year. In another year, you could have a 50K down payment on a house.
That means starting our family in our 40s. We already feel old.
03:02
@Kevin I agree with Pete as well, but let's not oversimplify: 150K becomes something more like 110K after taxes, meaning 45K towards the CC leaves you with 65K, barring any retirement savings and the massive student loan debt. Still livable, but not as straightforward as "just knock it out in a year".
There are many drawbacks to buying a condo. Will you be able to buy a condo that is big enough for the family you hope to have in 5 - 10 years? Will the walls, floors, and ceilings have enough sound-proofing that a crying baby will not wake up your neighbors? Will you have use of a safe outdoor area large enough for kids to run around? Will your kids have the chance to play in the dirt? It seems to me that buying a condo has all of the disadvantages of renting a condo, plus locks you into a situation that might not be right for you.
If you are looking to "get into the market" to hedge against future price increases, then buying a suburban (or rural) house that could meet your needs 5 - 10 years from now is less risky than buying a condo. Try to buy a home that has room to grow, in a community that you feel comfortable in. You say that you will need to add a car either way. If you choose a condo that you suddenly need to sell in three years (instead of a house you can expand), you might be forced to either sell at a loss, or become an "involuntary landlord". You can rent out a house -- but maybe not a condo.
Is it even possible to own property while the government forgives your student loans?
If you are just barely making ends meet, while (what it sounds like) barely setting anything aside for a rainy day, what happens if you own (rather than rent) a home and an appliance breaks down? Where are you going to come up with the money for that? If you rent, a lot of the more expensive items are Somebody Else's Problem whereas if you own, they become your problem. It's easy to talk a few thousand dollars for a single item, here, especially if you want it installed as well. (Some things you can lug in and install yourself; others, not so much.)
 
9 hours later…
12:23
One thing to note - "late bloomers" and awhile to graduate. It's easy to accumulate debt while making little income and still going to school. If the $150K level is here to stay, a $500K mortgage, with $2400/mo payment, isn't out of the question. What's missing from most of the answers is the final budget. If total housing, Prin, Int, Tax, Ins, and $5000/yr min maintenance is less than 30% of income, this couple still has a decent amount to kill that debt and still save.
 
4 hours later…
16:15
While I understand you feel too old to start a family, it is because you made poor financial decisions when you were younger. Making more poor decisions will not fix the problem. Lean in, work like crazy, and kill the CC debt. I bet you can knock it out in 6 months with your income and a strong desire.

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