Property taxes are included in PITI, and they are substantially smaller than tax deduction.

If you contribute maximum to both of your 401k’s, your housing payment would be around 40% of your net income. Two kids … 2500/month for full-time care, 5 days a week, in the child care place in UTC mall, till they are old enough to go to school, much less after that. And why do you have car loans if you make that kind of money?

Pay off your car loans first, save up for the down payment if you don’t have 150-200k in the bank already … those places may not go below 600’s, but they probably won’t shoot right up, either.

I like those townhomes, and I like the area (I lived across the freeway from them for 5 years). If I could be comfortable with only 3 bedrooms and 2000 sf, I’d probably buy one of those myself. Sadly, I need a lot more room to keep my family happy, and I don’t expect to make enough money to afford a 3000 sf home in La Jolla without a major career change… For now, I’ll live in the boonies and focus on trying to score 175 on LSAT.