Nursing salary and buying a home?

Nurses General Nursing

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I start school for my BSN in the Summer of 2015 after I have my second child. I'm not picking nursing for the salary, I've always had a passion for nurses and what they do and couldn't see myself doing anything else with my life!

BUT I'm a planner, dreamer, and have big goals and like to know what I'll be able to expect after I become a nurse. So is it any way possible to have a $400,000, maybe even $500,000 home on a nurses salary? I want a new styled home that I'll be happy to live many many years in so I don't mind it being one of my biggest investments and I don't want to wait late in life for it since my kids will already be growing older by the time I start house searching! So having my house (and student loans) as one of my first financial priorities (we don't need brand new expensive cars) would I be able to afford to pay a $500,000 30 year mortgage?

Specializes in LTC, med/surg, hospice.

All great advice here. I have a modest house. Went the USDA route. I refused to look at houses above a certain price range because it easy to talk yourself into spending more when you see what is available. Even still I have buyer's remorse because I could have gotten a better deal I'm sure but lesson learned! ANYTHING can happen these days and you don't want to HAVE to work overtime to make your mortgage payment or other bills that come up.

Specializes in geriatrics.

I have a couple of friends that I'm taking cues from....what to avoid when buying a home. The only way they can manage the mortgage is to either have roommates or work overtime. Savings? What savings?

No thank you. I'll buy only what I need. I'd rather enjoy my life.

Specializes in ED, Medicine, Case Management.
I have a couple of friends that I'm taking cues from....what to avoid when buying a home. The only way they can manage the mortgage is to either have roommates or work overtime. Savings? What savings?

No thank you. I'll buy only what I need. I'd rather enjoy my life.

One would think that after the housing market crashed in 08, people would have more sense about buying within their means and padding their savings account instead. We bought our most recent house based on only one of our incomes, that way we knew we were not buying too much house. If one of us loses our job for some reason we can still make our mortgage. Added benefit? We have the opportunity to travel and enjoy ourselves. Find a house you love, but be able to live a life you love as well.

Specializes in Cardiac, ER.

You can always move,...I'm in Missouri,...4 BR, 3 bA 3000 sq ft home, 2 acre lot, new 5 yrs ago $185,000

I dont know much about finance, but I do know some basics 1) You never want your rent/mortgage to cost more than one week's pay. 2) You dont want to spend more on a car than half a year's salary. I think banks go by these numbers and determine how much they will finance you based on your income and credit.

Specializes in PACU, pre/postoperative, ortho.
This is tons of great advice. One thing I haven't seen mentioned here is the fact that (IMO), just because the bank says you're approved for x-amount doesn't' mean you should be looking at houses that are that amount! Those numbers are just numbers, calculations on debt-to-income ratios, etc. Nowhere in those numbers are things other posters have mentioned like monthly health insurance premiums (mine is $450 for a family of 4), crazy-expensive house repairs, a cars breaking down, an unexpected flight for your family to go visit a sick relative (could be a couple grand right there), in other words, LIFE. Way too many times I've seen people get preapproved for a certain dollar amount and immediately go out shopping for exactly that amount of house. Whatever the bank tells you you can afford is (again, IMO) never ever realistic.

Exactly! We bought our house in 2002 back when lenders were bending over backward to give anybody & everybody a mortgage. They were shocked I didn't bite on a $200,000 quote. I strictly looked at what my monthly rent was & made sure my new mortgage pmt was in the same ballpark (actually $10 less). Refinanced a couple yrs ago & took off another $100 per month. Paying extra where I can so in a few more yrs when it's pd off, we'll borrow again & do some major remodeling, maybe start looking for our next house...

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
Paying off your mortgage early?

It's nice to be debt free, if for nothing less than peace of mind. By paying off early, you save a ton of interest. While you will lose a tax deduction, the deduction is ALWAYS less than what you actually pay in interest.

but, what's the cost of the money? My mortgage interest rate is just over 4%, but my Roth is currently earning 17%, and averaging >7% over the past 10 years. I earn more by investing.

Plus, if an emergency comes up, and the mortgage isn't paid off, you don't have the cash on hand anymore. What if for some reason you need to walk away from the house? The bank won't give you the prepaid money back. A lot of people ran into problems during the Great Recession and everything was tied up in the house.

Plus, if you plan to sell and move before the mortgage is paid, you won't be paying that interest anyway.

Everyone needs to make the decision based on what is right for himself/herself. I am paying off my mortgage early (in a couple of weeks) in part, just to simplify my affairs. I am already "maxed out" in contributions to my 401K and my Roth IRA, so I haven't been able to add any money to those investments. Any additional investments I make will be taxable. So I put the extra money towards the mortgage and have saved a few thousand in mortgage interest over the last few years. (A penny saved is a penny earned.)

As for needing the extra cash in case of an emergency ... I have a home equity line of credit (never used) that I can tap at any time. I can also take money out of my Roth tax/free and penalty/free at any time. And I always keep about 1 year in expenses in easy-access accounts.

So for me, paying my mortgage off early made more sense than paying refinancing fees a few years ago when interest-rates dropped. So I kept my higher rate mortgage (saving the refinancing cost) and just paid it off early. That might not be the right decision for everyone -- but it was right for my situation. And I look forward to being TOTALLY debt free in a couple of weeks.

I would suggest looking for home buying programs that assist in the costs of buying or selling for nurses. I am a newly graduated nursing student who has also worked as a real estate agent for 10 years. I'm partnered with a program that gives back 25% of gross commissions to nurses, firefighters, law enforcement, teachers, and other medical professionals. I'm based out of Southern California, but can refer you to other agents in the country. The program is Heroes Home Advantage. Let me know if I can help with any info.

~Marisa Stapleton

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