If you haven’t done so already, go apply for a mortgage. During the process, you may run into something that you hadn’t considered. That something could be a game changer for you.
The process doesn’t take much time and it’ll help confirm what you thought you knew or help to further enlighten you.
My wife and I recently did this. During the process, we discovered that our lender of choice now requires a 15% downpayment on all condo/TH mortgages. We also discovered that PMI would be about half of what I had thought it would be.
Once we sat and ran the numbers based on what we learned, we decided it was not the time for us. After downpayment and closing, our reserves were well below comfort level.
I’d also like to echo what has been said above about children. I’m probably a few years older than you and having my son changed my perspective on a number of things, one of which are the neighborhoods that are acceptable to me.
One thing that has helped me wade through some of the BS, is having some well grounded mature friends (co-workers, friends of the family, family, etc.) to bounce ideas off of and ask questions. I don’t mean the flashy guy that’s constantly talking about all the “stuff” he has. That guy is probably actually broke. I’m talking about the quite sensible guy that has been plugging away for years. This guy can be a source for wealth of knowledge and experience. Take the opportunity to learn from his mistakes.
OT:
Always be mindful that your realtor has a vested interest in your purchase.
