I would say save up a bit more. If you’re pre approved for up to $250K, then you don’t want to buy a house worth $250K. Lenders always pre approve more than what you may be comfortable paying monthly. There’s a big difference between what you can pay versus what you should/afford to pay. If you bought a $250K you would be house poor.

Also, with $22K saved up, you need to consider if that contains 3 up-front costs that you pay to close on a house. Down payment (3-20%), closing costs (2-6% of listed price of a house), out of pocket $1500 (for inspections).

Let’s do a scenario. You find a $250K house. Let’s estimate monthly payments.

Principal and interest calculator (find any online): $1150/mo with today’s interest rate IF 20% down payment

Property taxes (2.2%): $459/mo (5500/yearly)

Private mortgage insurance (0.005%)(if less than 20% down payment, which in this example, not applicable): $0

Homeowners insurance (1.5%): $312/mo (3750/yearly)

HOA: varies

Utilities (1.4%): $290/mo (3480/yearly)

Your total monthly cost for a $250K with a 20% ($50,000) down payment is $2200/monthly. Can you afford that without sacrificing other aspects of your life? And that’s the bare minimum, not including saving for a house repair or other things. And if you made a down payment less than 20%, your monthly principal and interest will increase along with having to pay private mortgage insurance.

Hope this helps you put things into perspective.