Need a reality check - how much can I afford

trky wrote: ↑ It's hard to say without knowing your other expenses/debt. You should know your monthly mortgage add your reg expenses, utilities and taxes to get a number.l but with that income I don't see any issues unless your got some real big debt.

DaMan12 wrote: ↑ Is that 5K net actually your monthly take home or is that 2X Biweekly paycheques?

MarinersFanatik wrote: ↑ It looks like you're probably going to be stretched out a bit much if you try to buy a newer two bedroom condo in New West or Burnaby, which should set you back around $600k - $700k. Plus, you're planning to have a kid, so you're not going to know how much your expenses will balloon in the future.

Maybe just get a bigger one bedroom, perhaps with a den that you might be able to use as your kid's bedroom for the first few years, and then you can re-evaluate later.

Easy401rider wrote: ↑ how come he is stretched out much , if he buys a place for $650k with %20 downpayment ,his monthly mortgage payment would $2000k , lets say strata , property tax /hydro, water etc would cost him another $1000 (strata fees are much lower in BC btw) he will still left have $4000k everymonth for expenses ... there are many $650k low rise stratas in Vancouver he can buy might not be new but still he would be ok . no need to buy something smaller which he will have to sell in couple of years and buy something bigger and pay taxes and expenses on top of it ...

MarinersFanatik wrote: ↑ There's a bunch of other expenses like groceries, insurance (car, home, life), vehicle fuel, cable, internet, cell phone and other miscellaneous stuff. Then there are all of the kid's expenses, with potentially daycare being the biggest one if they choose to go that route, and RESP. They might even want to start early on investing for their retirement as well.

All of these expenses add up and it's going to be close for OP if they decide to max out the mortgage. Ultimately, up to OP and his wife to decide what they want to do. If they know how much they are currently spending every month and what expenses will look like after they buy, it's going to help them make the best decision possible.

2001CivicDX wrote: ↑ $2.5K every two weeks.

RichmondCA wrote: ↑ Where are you in you in your career? Are you at the top of your earning potential, middle, just starting out? What about your fiance?

It's pretty 'normal' to stretch yourself when you are young and have a lot of room for earning potential. Myself personally I stretched myself pretty significantly with my first purchase, but I also knew my income would 2x-3x over the next 5-10 years. It was still super stressful, but it's a calculated risk you can make based on your risk tolerance. Ideally you buy something for the long haul and not something you have to sell again in 3-5 years.