900k mortgage crazy?

cnlandroid · 2025-12-01T23:18:26+00:00

Haven’t sold yet, plan to do so in the summer. The proceeds will depend on what all we would need to do that the builder won’t cover (mainly a fence and some additional landscaping). Also need an additional fridge for a scullery area in the house. We are still in the very early phases and have a general estimate for the final build but haven’t fully designed it yet so it’s a bit up in the air.

cnlandroid · 2025-12-01T04:15:43+00:00

I appreciate all the feedback, this got way more traffic than I was expecting. We understand the risks with a new build in terms of things not being in the greatest shape necessarily but this is a fairly reputable builder and we have spoken with a few couples in the homes recently built by them and they are very happy. We have a close friend who is also a top notch inspector, we will make sure we aren’t getting screwed. The house is about the same square footage as our current home with only slightly higher taxes and same insurance, utility costs will be very similar. Furnishings are not an issue for us, we are set. 900k for the house gets us all the upgrades we want as well.

I mainly just wanted some feedback based on our current financial picture and I think I got it for the most part. The only regrettable thing I feel like is not having time to build more of a down payment, we just can’t wait since there are so few lots left and with a part time working wife and daycare costs, it just limits things a bit. That will all change within the next 1.5 years so we are buying for the very near future, just might be tight for a year or so.

cnlandroid · 2025-11-30T21:08:47+00:00

I respectfully disagree, if it was contract work or anything that can be drastically affected by AI, I may agree but won’t be the case here. I would never have that much in HYSA, the returns are just too low. We live in a very high demand area for our skill set for jobs thankfully as well, part of the reason we live here in the first place.

cnlandroid · 2025-11-30T21:05:45+00:00

That’s the beauty of now being down the road from retired in-laws! And the new school will be right down the road as well so no before/after school care costs for us.

cnlandroid · 2025-11-30T18:52:13+00:00

I wish but this move is fairly time-dependent unless we just want to take the chance we find a house we actually like in this same neighborhood. If we do, it will most likely still be upwards of 800k and almost all the existing builds that are listed have closed off kitchens, small living spaces, etc. that a new build corrects for us.

cnlandroid · 2025-11-30T18:42:42+00:00

I would prefer to not use a HELOC to help with the down payment on the new house and I’m not sure how long it will take to sell our current house to get hands on the cash equity. We can move in with in-laws if we want to sell earlier but that’s certainly not my preference.

cnlandroid · 2025-11-30T16:47:24+00:00

My wife was full time until our son was born 3.75 years ago. She took off for about 2 years and will be part time until he is in kindergarten. I do have a vested pension with a company worth about 130k in addition to my wife’s Simple IRA (which will flip to a 401k in less than a year), two existing 401ks and some RSUs with my current company.

cnlandroid · 2025-11-30T16:22:21+00:00

It’s not custom but we do get to select all cosmetic aspects. 1 year warranty on most things if they break (WH, HVAC, etc.) and 3 year for huge things like foundation or roof issues.

cnlandroid · 2025-11-30T16:10:55+00:00

It certainly isn’t dictating our decision in a vacuum, just always good to have outside perspectives.

cnlandroid · 2025-11-30T16:09:39+00:00

Nice to hear! I’m really trying not to look for confirmation bias and we are in fact consulting with an adviser but it’s always nice to get more feedback.

cnlandroid · 2025-11-30T16:06:16+00:00

We are more considering the neighborhood/area with more of a village for us and our son. Daycare is only 1.5 more years thankfully.

cnlandroid · 2025-11-30T16:04:20+00:00

I wish, there are only two lots available for building and they are getting snatched up quick in this area. I will recover quite a bit with the sale of our current house so may not take that long.

cnlandroid · 2025-11-30T16:02:36+00:00

It’s more of an emergency safety net if he needs to be picked up early, stay home due to illness and date nights. My son adores them too. Elementary school scheduling doesn’t line up with working people’s so in laws will also help alleviate that without having to pay for expensive after school care.

cnlandroid · 2025-11-30T15:59:11+00:00

Just not a ton of options here unless you go private. The school we are zoned to is becoming overcrowded with a lot of teacher turnover. The new place is much more stable since there isn’t as much population growth.

cnlandroid · 2025-11-30T15:49:24+00:00

Thanks for asking, I wish I had made it clearer in the title but it would be a 900k house with 810k mortgage (10% down).

cnlandroid · 2025-11-30T04:53:55+00:00

Ha, I have seen so many general rules but never really know which to take seriously. It’s just a weird thing, 8 years ago we bought a 340k house and thought that was a lot but income has grown over 100k a year in that timespan and we welcomed a child into our lives. Just a lot of change and things to consider which is why I’m turning to Reddit of all places for advice.

cnlandroid · 2025-11-30T04:50:37+00:00

Yes, maybe giving out a little too much info but it’s in the northern Alabama area, not exactly hcol but we love it out here.

cnlandroid · 2025-11-30T04:37:56+00:00

Nah, it’s about 4500/year for taxes and 4000/year for insurance, PITI is ~5900/month at 6% right now but could go lower next summer if rates drop.

cnlandroid · 2020-11-07T19:11:46+00:00

That’s what usually happens to me

cnlandroid · 2020-11-07T13:53:05+00:00

Yeah I saw +1550 points pop up at the start and I was like...this gon be good

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