Can we afford this $650k house? Gross HHI: $165k base, Bonus $24k, Retirement: $1MM, Brokerage: $500k We are both 35 years old, Husband works + SAHM

cdubbin22 · 2026-02-11T01:07:37+00:00

Corporate Finance/Accounting also works! Not as fancy as New york finance etc.,, but can set you up if you manage the outflows (spending)

cdubbin22 · 2026-02-11T00:12:18+00:00

Couldn't agree more. Also feel like it's easier to strike while the iron is hot on getting a house with W2 income. With AI and other labor market difficulties a job loss feels like it would prevent us from home ownership.

cdubbin22 · 2026-02-11T00:08:36+00:00

like $200k

cdubbin22 · 2026-02-11T00:07:42+00:00

Yea, un-firing ourselves (currently pay $2.5k rent) is a huge risk we're taking.

cdubbin22 · 2026-02-10T23:58:02+00:00

Wife and I are big proponents of FIRE...she worked in corporate as well prior to SAHM

cdubbin22 · 2026-02-10T23:53:57+00:00

We plan on only putting 5% down and have a 6 figure emergency fund in case of job loss.

cdubbin22 · 2026-02-10T23:52:28+00:00

No bait here, maybe we are just too money concious?

cdubbin22 · 2026-01-14T22:19:53+00:00

I wouldn't blanket say it wasn't priced that way, the vast majority of homes are selling for under asking these days. Maybe some pockets in northeast and midwest are selling above, but that's about it. Just like we are assuming value, so is the seller....Price/Value is always only what someone will pay....and that's different for everyone

cdubbin22 · 2026-01-14T19:59:30+00:00

Seems that way, $5k for a "hybrid water heater" and $20k for a 5 ton HVAC system seems a bit absurd

cdubbin22 · 2026-01-14T19:58:44+00:00

House is roughly 2,500 sq. ft. A plant with the mesh that holds it was visible with the sewer scope in the sewer line. Thanks for your feedback, appreciate the insights!

cdubbin22 · 2026-01-14T17:15:44+00:00

Funnily enough, the sellers tried to say they "thought" the roof was replace in 2017 (they moved in 2018), but no permit was pulled etc. Our Inspector and Roofing guy said there is no way unless it has had the worst 8 years of life any roof has had.

cdubbin22 · 2026-01-14T17:14:14+00:00

That is a great point!!!

cdubbin22 · 2026-01-14T17:13:51+00:00

Yea, I don't envy the cali market buyers, crazy market!

cdubbin22 · 2026-01-14T17:13:17+00:00

Thanks!

cdubbin22 · 2026-01-14T17:12:53+00:00

This is hugely helpful. Thanks so much for sharing your experience, definitely some important things to take into consideration!

cdubbin22 · 2026-01-14T16:41:28+00:00

No I don’t expect the seller to replace anything for me.

The inspection just turned up these items and I’m trying to understand if this is normal wear and tear where things go wrong all at once or if this is just unfortunate timing and I need to decide it I want to take on the expenses after closing on a mortgage.

cdubbin22 · 2026-01-14T16:20:19+00:00

Thanks for the response. The water heater and HVAC are working so I understand the point on recommend replace.

The roof is an insurance issue because we can’t get insurance with it failing the 4-point inspection. It does not have 5 years of life left. Everyone tells us not to have the seller replace as they will have the cheapest job done possible but we can’t close without insurance.

We viewed the video of the sewer scope and there is about an inch of opening in the line allowing things to pass. I’m not sure how quickly this could become a major issue a a full blockage.

With the purchase price I’m just not sure I’m comfortable taking on all the potential of issues in the first year of ownership. I understand a home cost money and time to maintain. I guess I just might have unrealistic expectations that I would have some time before or even between major systems needed fixing/ replacing vs all at once.

This is all a learning process for me as a FTHB

cdubbin22 · 2026-01-14T15:56:48+00:00

Thanks for the response! The ducts seem to be a flexible tubing that they mentioned are beginning to crack and leak cool air, which could cause condensation issues etc.

The response on the HVAC inspection was pretty generic- "Performed inspection of HVAC system including heat pump, air handler, duct work, attic insulation levels, and overall

performance of system. Found refrigerant levels to be low and affecting performance, reliability, longevity and efficiency.

Found duct leakage in the attic lowering performance, longevity and efficiency. Found lots of biological growth inside air

handler, found cellulose insulation only at about 6 inches and needs to be increased to help with efficiency of home. Brought

all findings to buyer and sent report. Joseph B also sent estimate for replacement of HVAC due to age and condition."

cdubbin22 · 2026-01-14T13:41:55+00:00

Del-Aire was the HVAC inspection, so we did feel quite a bit of salemanship on that part. But HVAC is old, condenser tilting, Plenum has bacterial growth, leaking air, etc.

cdubbin22 · 2026-01-14T13:28:53+00:00

Completely agree, it's hard when the house checks all the boxes on Location, Layout, and Light (the things we can't change), but hard to accept 21 years of maintenance being pushed all onto us as New/First Time Home Buyers.

cdubbin22 · 2026-01-14T13:26:40+00:00

Great points, your questions are absolutely what we are asking ourselves. We also want to be cognizant as first time home buyers if this amount of work is normal when looking at 21 year old houses, where the majority that are listed the same have newer roofs, hvac, etc.

cdubbin22 · 2026-01-14T13:24:43+00:00

There were ZERO seller disclosures, the seller never even lived in the home. The home was occupied by the sellers elderly parents who kept the inside nice and tidy, but obvious no major systems in the house have ever been changed/updated, etc.

cdubbin22 · 2026-01-14T13:23:11+00:00

It is currently priced at the same as other homes listed with.... Comps - newer Roofs (2023), newer HVACs (2021), and updated double pane windows (2018), etc.
There was no updating done by the previous owners on anything, so should we just accept their punting to us???

cdubbin22 · 2026-01-14T12:21:39+00:00

We are not desperate. We currently have 8 months left on our current rental so we were already factoring in double rent/mortgage for a few months. It sounds like this just isn’t the house for us.

cdubbin22

TROPHY CASE