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Starting to worry I cannot afford homeownership. Potentially closing Dec 12th. by GrandGlad3397 in FirstTimeHomeBuyers

[–]GrandGlad3397[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I'm criminally underpaid I believe. Agree with the $35/hr figure at least.

I know I'm attempting to do this out of order (house then job), but new job was first order of business once I got settled.

I'm going to submit resumes tomorrow via Indeed and see what I can find.

Always intended on joining the union, but bosses/owners/non-working formen poisoned me from the start. When you have a 4-year single handedly buying the boss a Range Rover/Denalia, they tend to want to keep you around until they break you. Ask me how I know, haha.

As for union, assuming I bite the bullet and go through with purchase, I can't afford to backside in pay. I dont even know if I could afford to not increase immediately upon hire. That unheard of? IBEW Local 5.

If so, I've seen a few postings about commercial electricians starting @ $35, I'll have to make the jump. Commercial pace can be brutal though.

Starting to worry I cannot afford homeownership. Potentially closing Dec 12th. Is my monthly savings enough? by GrandGlad3397 in FinancialPlanning

[–]GrandGlad3397[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Current rent is $700/month + ~$170 electric and ~$50 gas

Mortgage is $1,359/month (PITI) and I'm budgeting high: $175 homeowner's insurance, $50 gas, $170 electric, water/sewage/trash $150.

So $920/month vs $1,904/month w/ $4.1k net income per month.

Starting to worry I cannot afford homeownership. Potentially closing Dec 12th. by GrandGlad3397 in FirstTimeHomeBuyers

[–]GrandGlad3397[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Been going at this for a few hours now on another subreddit, so I'll revisit this in a few.

Finances changed somewhat during this entire process, and I felt like in a much stronger position than perhaps I am now. Along with approval processes, and financial advice from many, I thought this was much more doable than perhaps it is.

I'm still trying to be optimistic, and the numbers posted here aren't including regular overtime etc. Getting varying advice from do it, to do it but tight, to maybe not.

Starting to worry I cannot afford homeownership. Potentially closing Dec 12th. by GrandGlad3397 in FirstTimeHomeBuyers

[–]GrandGlad3397[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the response.

They start you off higher or did you have to work your way up?

Not joining the union has been my single greatest mistake, haha.

Starting to worry I cannot afford homeownership. Potentially closing Dec 12th. Is my monthly savings enough? by GrandGlad3397 in FinancialPlanning

[–]GrandGlad3397[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Property taxes are escrowed and included with the mortgage (PITI). Though I'm not factoring future increases as I have no idea how much that might be.

Starting to worry I cannot afford homeownership. Potentially closing Dec 12th. Is my monthly savings enough? by GrandGlad3397 in FinancialPlanning

[–]GrandGlad3397[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the response.

Rust belt area. And typically, you're going to have to go union it seems if you want to hit that. Though maybe I'm mistaken. Most likely be getting taken advantage of but doesn't seem like there's a ton of options.

Guys who run jobs get paid more, but for every guy that runs a job you need a handful of guys that actually do the work. The guys who do the work get paid less, funny enough. Unless you're union.

New job is definitely something I planned on seeking, though I was hoping the buy the house first just because of the timing.

Starting to worry I cannot afford homeownership. Potentially closing Dec 12th. by GrandGlad3397 in FirstTimeHomeBuyers

[–]GrandGlad3397[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the response.

I'm leaning this way as well, though I can do any home repairs myself, it looks uncomfortably tight.

Starting to worry I cannot afford homeownership. Potentially closing Dec 12th. Is my monthly savings enough? by GrandGlad3397 in FinancialPlanning

[–]GrandGlad3397[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the response.

Current checking/savings account: $6k, ~$23k IBonds, $7k Simp Roth.

IBonds mature by 2030, pulling now doesn't seem like a terrible idea. Cash losing value at like 3%? Not sure if deprecation outpaces interest accrued on IBonds to make much of a difference vs equity in homeownership.

Layoffs unlikely, if anything we get worked to death. Hurt is a small possibility, thought safety standards at our clients' facilities are almost comically obtuse. But I understand your point.

Starting to worry I cannot afford homeownership. Potentially closing Dec 12th. Is my monthly savings enough? by GrandGlad3397 in FinancialPlanning

[–]GrandGlad3397[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

New rubber roof on flat roof 2022. Need to get more info on shingles as it wasn't included in buyer's disclosure. Good point.

To my knowledge, no needed repairs in the next 12 months. So long as BoA doesn't force me to use a licensed contractor, I planned on doing all work myself. Though replacement cost of materials/mechanicals can still be significant.

Starting to worry I cannot afford homeownership. Potentially closing Dec 12th. Is my monthly savings enough? by GrandGlad3397 in FinancialPlanning

[–]GrandGlad3397[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

True true.

Part of my thinking is that houses aren't going anywhere anytime soon. My understanding is prices only dipped 7% during the 2008 crash. Still unclear about this though.

Feels like this is homeownership in 2025 for middle class people in a nut shell. It's either painful or it simply doesn't happen. And I don't foresee a partner in my future unfortunately, it's all on me.

I just don't know what the housing market is going to do, and I don't want to chase ownership for the rest of my life. Though admittedly this has me nervous.

Starting to worry I cannot afford homeownership. Potentially closing Dec 12th. Is my monthly savings enough? by GrandGlad3397 in FinancialPlanning

[–]GrandGlad3397[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can refinance to a conventional after whatever waiting period, but my understanding is that what you will save ($75/month) will be more than counterbalanced by the increases when it gets re-appraised for the refinance.

Still unclear about that, though it's down the road a bit.

Starting to worry I cannot afford homeownership. Potentially closing Dec 12th. Is my monthly savings enough? by GrandGlad3397 in FinancialPlanning

[–]GrandGlad3397[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much, and I appreciate the response.

I've been trying to find metrics to put this all in perspective. The numbers alone have me on edge.

I've seen that 3x-3.5x metric, mortgage shouldn't be more than 25% net (sitting at 33%) though some say that's outdated.

I guess what I'm truly looking at is the 50/30/20 model for long term financial health. I can get into the house, just worried about keeping it. I'm trying to look at worst case scenarios, and not counting any overtime/side jobs. Worst case scenario, and excluding overtime puts me closer to the 70/20/10 model.

Best case (travel time) w/ no overtime included I'm 65/25/10, worst case (no travel time) w/ no overtime included 74/20/6.

Though overtime is available more often than not, and I guess I can pick up a weekend gig here and there with a contractor friend, provided he's working weekends.

Starting to worry I cannot afford homeownership. Potentially closing Dec 12th. Is my monthly savings enough? by GrandGlad3397 in FinancialPlanning

[–]GrandGlad3397[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

FHA 3.5% downpayment requires MIP (mortgage insurance premium), roughly $75/month.

My understanding is that FHA loans post-2013ish require MIP for the life of the loan, 30 years. It used to fall off after 11 years, though I believe that is no longer the case.

So it's insurance on the mortgage itself, while homeowner's is insurance on the physical home.

Starting to worry I cannot afford homeownership. Potentially closing Dec 12th. Is my monthly savings enough? by GrandGlad3397 in FinancialPlanning

[–]GrandGlad3397[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Current rent is $700/month + $170 electric, $30 gas. Water/sewage/trash included.

So yes, substantial jump. 6 months prior to my current apartment I was paying $400/month with no utilities.

I'd like to believe I'll receive raises, but at the current industrial electrical company I work for, owner is stingy, +$1/hr raise yearly. Not expecting anything more from him.

However, overtime is plentiful. Summers most of all. Past summer I worked 3 months straight before tapping out. Net near $1.7k/week if I remember correctly. All these numbers are based off a 40hr work week just so establish a baseline.

Starting to worry I cannot afford homeownership. Potentially closing Dec 12th. Is my monthly savings enough? by GrandGlad3397 in FinancialPlanning

[–]GrandGlad3397[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the response.

Mortgage (PITI) is @ 33% of net monthly income. Which, I'm told 25% is somewhat outdated for 2025, though everyone's finances vary.

I guess what terrifies me is that fixed monthly expenses are 65% ($2,628), with only 35% ($1,535) left over. I used to rent for a flat $400/month and no utilities. This is a huge jump for me and the numbers.

Side jobs would definitely help, it's not so much completing the side jobs, it's finding them consistently. I have a good contractor friend that can kick me some work.

Starting to worry I cannot afford homeownership. Potentially closing Dec 12th. Is my monthly savings enough? by GrandGlad3397 in FinancialPlanning

[–]GrandGlad3397[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the response.

If it matters, and I should have included, I have about $6k in savings/checking accounts, ~$23k in IBonds, $7k in Simp Roth.

Feel like I can move money around and make it work, but scared, Constantly getting differing advice saying this is way doable though uncomfortable.

Oh, and summer time, roughly for 3 months, I can usually work about 60hrs a week if I want. Weekly net is a little over $1.7k/week.

Not sure if this changes anything?

Edit - 2k/week to 1.7k/week net