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 Pedi.
where are you living now?Have you considered the cost of day care for two?Your husband should explore options on how to make more than $25k a year.

This is true too...because is OP isn't entering her BSN program until 2015, she will presumably graduate in 2019. Who knows how the economy will be then. And mortgage lenders want to see job HISTORY and consistency. I had to provide 3 years' worth of W2s when I applied for my mortgage. A lender won't be too excited to give a big loan to a family in which the newly licensed nurse is the primary breadwinner.

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This is true too...because is OP isn't entering her BSN program until 2015, she will presumably graduate in 2019. Who knows how the economy will be then. And mortgage lenders want to see job HISTORY and consistency. I had to provide 3 years' worth of W2s when I applied for my mortgage. A lender won't be too excited to give a big loan to a family in which the newly licensed nurse is the primary breadwinner.

I pay my mother in law to take care of our kids and that's very true, the economy may be very different 4 years from now and my husband recently became a self contractor at a company so his pay is sure to increase. And I knew I couldn't get a loan fresh out of college, I would have to work a few years before applying for a loan. Plus I plan to go back to school after a couple years of working as a nurse to become a Nurse Practitioner. When it comes to regular everyday finances, I have that pretty well established, I just didn't know how home buying and mortgages worked so I calculated an unrealistic financial estimate for a house. Besides my ignorance on home buying, we'll be fine financially.

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Specializes in ICU.

I got pre-approved up to $170k on just my own personal salary as a new grad RN making $20/hr, but my credit score is just a hair under 800 and I have no student loans. A $500k house is a little excessive, but it's definitely possible to buy as a new grad, especially if you have a second income coming in.

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where are you living now?Have you considered the cost of day care for two?Your husband should explore options on how to make more than $25k a year.

I have childcare covered and my husband is doing the job that he loves right now, I encourage him to do what he loves to do regardless of pay. I don't want him to go to a job where he's unhappy everyday to get paid more, it won't be worth it. I just had no clue on how Homebuying worked and I know I can't get a house fresh out of college. I know I will have to work for a few years before applying for a mortgage. But I calculated an unrealistic financial budget to buy a home simply because I didn't know about all the extras that I'm being informed of by other posters. I believe as long as I take these posters Homebuying advice, our finances will be fine.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
Ok. See I was confused because I took $500,000 divided by 360 months (that's how many months are in 30 years) and got about $1300 a month and by the nurse salary on indeed.com (which I now know is inaccurate) I would have been making that much per week, plus my husbands income, so I believed it was somehow doable. BUT I know nothing about home buying and wasn't sure about the nurses salary so I knew my numbers could possibly be way off. Thanks for the accurate information!

You have to factor in the interest on the loan, taxes, maintenance,, etc. It's not just the loan for the home. Houses cost money, even when they're paid off.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
So basically nurses cannot dream big...

The irony of this statement and your screen name is not lost one me.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I pay my mother in law to take care of our kids and that's very true, the economy may be very different 4 years from now and my husband recently became a self contractor at a company so his pay is sure to increase. And I knew I couldn't get a loan fresh out of college, I would have to work a few years before applying for a loan. Plus I plan to go back to school after a couple years of working as a nurse to become a Nurse Practitioner. When it comes to regular everyday finances, I have that pretty well established, I just didn't know how home buying and mortgages worked so I calculated an unrealistic financial estimate for a house. Besides my ignorance on home buying, we'll be fine financially.

If you want to go back to school to become an NP, then that will be even more debt. You may want to even reconsider getting a house until you finish NP school, if you decide to do that.

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If you want to go back to school to become an NP, then that will be even more debt. You may want to even reconsider getting a house until you finish NP school, if you decide to do that.

I may do that. But the university I'm attending is also a hospital (University of Alabama at Birmingham-UAB) IF I can get hired there, they will pay for my schooling. Nothing's set in stone right now so everything may work out, besides the 500k house lol I now know to settle for less.

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Specializes in CICU.

I don't get the fascination with huge expensive homes (thankfully). I have a little house with a monthly payment (including the escrow) that is far less than my car payment (and I don't drive anything fancy).

I have been in overwhelming debt in the past and I don't recommend it to anyone. It is the most stressful thing and the debt weighed on me constantly.

Don't forget the utility bills on big homes. Don't forget they have to be cleaned, maintained, etc... DOn't forget all the costs to actually buy the house - earnest money, inspections, closing costs, paying for a year's worth of insurance. Movers, new furnishings to fill up the big house. Yard equipment. Landscaping. Draperies and blinds - how many windows are there? Appliances.

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You know, when I bought my house I was doing just that and paying extra on my mortgage every month... then I met a financial planner at bar trivia and he said he advises people AGAINST doing this because your mortgage interest is your biggest tax deduction and 30 years from now, you'll probably be in a higher tax bracket because you'll be worth more money and then will end up paying more taxes if you lose your biggest deduction.

If having interest is such a good thing than why do people always want the lowest interest rate loan they can get? Paying off a house early may not always make the most sense especially if there is other debt you are paying on that can't be written off or your money is invested in something that is making more money than you'd be paying in interest. However most people who pay off their house with no other debt to worry about don't regret doing so. This would also include saving for retirement.

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I don't get the fascination with huge expensive homes (thankfully). I have a little house with a monthly payment (including the escrow) that is far less than my car payment (and I don't drive anything fancy).

I have been in overwhelming debt in the past and I don't recommend it to anyone. It is the most stressful thing and the debt weighed on me constantly.

Don't forget the utility bills on big homes. Don't forget they have to be cleaned, maintained, etc... DOn't forget all the costs to actually buy the house - earnest money, inspections, closing costs, paying for a year's worth of insurance. Movers, new furnishings to fill up the big house. Yard equipment. Landscaping. Draperies and blinds - how many windows are there? Appliances.

I don't want a huge home, maybe a 3 or 4 bedroom. But I do want a newer modeled home and I assumed they would cost more but I was overpricing and calculating wrong. Now that I've narrowed my price range to a realistic one, I found some homes online that suite the image I had in mind. Although by the time i finish school those exact homes won't be for sale anymore but i have an idea of the type of homes that may be available and how to find them when I have my job as a nurse. I just needed a little direction and this board has been more then helpful! Thanks to everyone!

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Specializes in CVICU.

To make it simple, you will need to put 20% down if you want to get a decent loan rate and avoid paying PMI (private mortgage insurance). So to put it simply for a $400,000 house you will need to come up with 80k for the down, plus probably another 10k for closing costs and other miscellaneous fees. Plus you don't want that to completely tap you out of cash. Putting 80k down on a 400k house would still leave you with a 320k mortgage. So with an interest rate of 4.35% (todays rate) would leave you with a $1593/month, not including taxes and homeowners insurance which could easily be another $600/month.

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