One of my goals is to eventually be able to purchase a house. Many of my nursing colleagues are purchasing homes that are worth $450,000, $500,000 or even more. Sadly, my budget is about half of that or even less, which means the houses I have to choose from are not appealing. Most of them are small, old, or both.
I am just curious how other nurses manage to purchase decent houses? I've been looking through my income, and I just can't find a way to make it possible to incorporate such a house into my budget. I am salary, so there are no opportunities for overtime.
What are other nurses' experience with buying houses? How did you make it work? Did it require switching jobs? Inquiring minds want to know!
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Less can be more. I qualified for 150k more loan than I wanted to take out. I bought the house I could afford, no more. And I had a family too. But I kept with my budget. I don't care about appearances. I want to do more than pay for a house. I like riding the Harley, camping, going to the beach, eating out occasionally, and flying to visit grandkids. All that costs money and is a higher priority than appearing "successful". But that's just me.
Valid point. I just thought I would see if there were any suggestions since I figured if anyone knew how to buy a house with a nurse's income, it would be other nurses. Plus, it doesn't seem right to reach out to colleagues with nicer homes to see how they are able to afford them.
Nurses are essentially working class and many afford a home with OT or a spouse. I advocate learning personal finance before buying a house. Many of my posts mention books that are helpful such as Personal Finance for Dummies, Deal with Your Debt, Smart Women Finish Rich, and Your Credit Score. There are also many on the home buying process but its so long I don't remember them.
I would make sure my finances were in order, debt manageable, especially student loan debt as that impacts how much of a mortgage you can take out. I always suggest using credit unions if possible as they usually have better rates on loans.
Also rates are near all time lows so stick with a fixed rate mortgage. I recommend against ARM's which may be pushed by a broker as they get a commission. It is a risky roll of the dice, usually suggested to enable someone to buy a house they can't afford with the idea that you can always refi for a better loan in the future. Which is not guaranteed. Also I think it is easier to end up in subprime loans with ARMS which you want to avoid. I had a couple friends that ended up in bad loans and ARMs and then didn't have good enough credit and too much debt to refi. One almost lost her house during the 2009 recession, but thankfully was able to get a loan modification thru the Obama program. The other was saved by family that worked at a bank and was able to intervene and steer her toward a fair, fixed rate mortgage.
Also if you have a car loan and rates have gone down you may be able to refi it, which was news to me. Thankfully my hospital offered a free home counselor that walked me thru the process, went over my credit report, the loan and insurance. She made a budget of what she felt I should strive for, although I did go above it when I bought the house. There are limits of debt usually 36%, although I was at 41% so highly leveraged at the time between student loans, car loan and a few thousand in credit cards. While I've done OK, it was stressful and I did worry a lot about the debt at the time.
You may want to consider student loan consolidation if you haven't already done so as it changes to a longer, but fixed rate loan and lower monthly payment that allows you to afford a home more easily.
There is a lot to think about before buying a home. I would advise taking the time to get your finances in order. Then researching the home buying process itself, determining what neighborhoods you want to live in etc. Many credit unions offer first time home buyer programs to inform their members.
The biggest problem in my area (and I am sure it is similar in other areas) is that while the cost of living and cost of housing is rising, employers are not offering increased wages to compensate for this. Additionally, the majority of the new houses being built are quite large, with many of them nearing $1 million if not even more. The newer homes that are a bit smaller are still in excess of $400k. Unfortunately, if I want nicer living arrangements, I have to settle for an apartment or townhouse. Otherwise, if I want my own house, the only options are old, small houses built in the 50s-70s. It's a struggle, because none of these options are ideal.
Why am I not surprised about this answer? ?
With that said, even if I were to cut back on my Diet Pepsi purchases, I still would not be able to afford the type of house I'd like.
The nursing home industry has a lot of downward pressure on wages as it has been impacted by Corona, on top of low medicaid reimbursements. If you want to make more money I would look for a job in Assisted Living. That is private pay and profitable so I would expect better salary.
Many people buy a modest starter house, fix it up, then sell it for a profit to eventually get their dream home.
I understand that some people have trade-offs, but I am not convinced that it is not possible for some people to have everything that life has to offer as I've observed this among some of my colleagues who appear to have everything. It's just become apparent that I am likely not one of those people.
You have no idea what goes on in a person's life behind closed doors or how they can afford it. We can't tell you how they did it. But more concerning is once again you are comparing yourself to others, wanting what they have with seeming envy, and then feeling defeated and upset that you don't have it too.
If you don't find a way to change your mindset, I think you will remain frustrated and unhappy. For some reason you are fixated on what other people have that you don't. Sadly I don't have an answer for that.
Specializes in Ortho, Med-Surg, Tele, Case Management.
20 hours ago, LibraNurse27 said:
We do get travelers from New York too! I haven't met any from NYC yet, but many from upstate NY. Those salaries are for staff RNs with experience at places like Kaiser and Sutter. I know a night shift nurse in Oakland Kaiser who's been working there 30 years and makes $100/hr. Holidays time and a half so... $250/hr! Not all Bay Area nurses make that much, and not right away. I would say average RN hourly pay would be in the 30s-40s/hr for SNF and community clinics, 50-60s for county hospitals/clinics and smaller local hospitals, 70s-80s and even more for UCSF, Stanford, Sutter, and Kaiser. I know some of our covid crisis rate travelers made a LOT of money. But a small home is usually at least $900,000 in the "cheaper" areas, in SF or the peninsula you need multiple millions, so even $100/hr isn't enough to compete with those who work in tech. I'm completely priced out of my home town as it is next to Google, facebook, and Apple.
That's understandable, Upstate NY in general has a much lower cost of living than the NYC Metro area.
It's crazy that it doesn't matter how much money one makes, if the cost of living is too high it can feel like you're just barely making it. It's also annoying that the pay hardly ever matches the cost of living in most places.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
I see all these McMansions here and no one is EVER home! So they are probably always working to pay for them. Appearances are expensive. Keeping up w/the Jones' ridiculous.
Many people buy a modest starter house, fix it up, then sell it for a profit to eventually get their dream home.
I did this but I am not saying everyone or the OP should. I learned on "This Old House" how to evaluate projects and DIY. My first house was built in 1931 and I bought it from the original owner. I cried the first morning when I found the bath temperature was barely warm. The owner was over 90 so I then understood it.I adjusted the hot water heater, lesson one. On my Summer vacation I had a shower installed. Even so much better but I still love baths.
It had beautiful oak flooring and the kitchen cabinets had been built in place and were at my height. The stove was original and it did work. It had a warmer and baking oven and a lid that slid over the burners. My refridgerator was from the 50's and worked longer than those I have bought since. My linen closet and bathroom drawers were built by a true craftsman. When my friends came did they snob me? No, they bought equally as charming houses and moved on to new construction when they desired it. BTW they are at the 30 year mark which means...new roof, furnace and airconditioning.
I took another route...sold my home for a great profit and moved into an older home that has so much charm! I know I am probably alone in liking a master craftsman building that does not involve 'nail gunning' the trim, making sure trim edges actually meet, good stain and the BEST underlying wood without knots.
By the way, I have seen many young couples in health care buy "MY" starter home. Each for a period of 9 - 15 years. Each moved onto larger homes to accomodate growing families. And each made money....much more than rent $$$$
Then you need to make a plan for how to get there, whether it's starting with one of the old, small houses built in the 50s-70s (and don't knock those- in my area, they are far superior construction compared to the mass production/building of newer homes) to make the investment in equity or whether it's trimming all of your non-essential costs and putting every extra cent into a savings account for a future home or whether it's finding a way to increase income.
I love the older homes, they have character and curb appeal vs modern cookie cutter homes. Yes they may be smaller, but then cost less to heat and cool. Also have more windows which I love.
I agree they are better made and higher quality materials like brick and stone. I love my storybook house, it is cream brick with a lannon stone arched doorway, window shutters, bay window sunroom and crown molding in the living room.
Also the newer house materials burn quicker so a new house will burn faster than old construction if their is a fire.
Less can be more. I qualified for 150k more loan than I wanted to take out. I bought the house I could afford, no more. And I had a family too. But I kept with my budget. I don't care about appearances. I want to do more than pay for a house. I like riding the Harley, camping, going to the beach, eating out occasionally, and flying to visit grandkids. All that costs money and is a higher priority than appearing "successful". But that's just me.
Amen! I wish OP could see this as the bigger picture. I've always been a saver and budget conscious. Maybe OP will get it before they're retired...
Specializes in Mental health, substance abuse, geriatrics, PCU.
12 hours ago, klone said:
As far as the meta-conversation about areas with good pay - Minneapolis! Most of the hospitals here are union, and the pay is pretty phenomenal, particularly compared to the COL. With 15 years of nursing experience, I could make $96,000/year as a floor nurse, 36 hours a week, on night shift. (it was tempting)
And you can get a decent house in Minneapolis proper for under $350,000. Granted not NEW and SHINY, but in my opinion, new and shiny is not desirable. Give me a Craftsman built in 1910 with original woodwork, built in buffets and bookshelves, and stained glass windows any day!
Thanks for sharing this information. I always wanted to work somewhere with a union and I've always heard positive things about Minneapolis in general.
I agree with you on the house, my grandparents had a home built in the 1800's, beautiful house, built well, and my sibling still lives there to this day with only having to maintain it, no major repairs.
Of course the bad thing with old houses is that they have more history and more ghosts roaming about. ?
Of course the bad thing with old houses is that they have more history and more ghosts roaming about. ?
I love ghost stories (Victorian and the like) although no one in my family thinks this is a usual interest. But I have never met a ghost so my liking might change. I found newspaper stories of wakes (I'm Irish) in our home and we sometimes talk about where the caskets would have been.
SmilingBluEyes
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Less can be more. I qualified for 150k more loan than I wanted to take out. I bought the house I could afford, no more. And I had a family too. But I kept with my budget. I don't care about appearances. I want to do more than pay for a house. I like riding the Harley, camping, going to the beach, eating out occasionally, and flying to visit grandkids. All that costs money and is a higher priority than appearing "successful". But that's just me.