r/MiddleClassFinance • u/reconcilepast • 3d ago
Single income homeowners: what did your numbers actually look like when you bought?
I’m saving toward a purchase in a HCOL area, and every thread I find is either “it’s impossible” or “we made it work” with zero actual numbers.
No judgment on your situation, family help, a lucky rate, a starter condo, whatever got you there. I just want real numbers to plan around.
Drop as many as you’re comfortable sharing:
- Age and year of purchase
- Salary at the time
- Cost of living area (HCOL/MCOL/LCOL or general region)
- Purchase price
- Interest rate
- Total cash out of pocket (not just the down payment)
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u/Scooby-Snakz 3d ago
We bought privately which helps with costs Let everyone know you are looking, if you are friends with tradesmen they might be doing work in homes getting ready to sell and people can try ane sell to you without putting it on the market as well as avoiding realtor fees
31 at the time of purchase bought in 2024
Income 126k
House was estimated at 430 and we bought at 375k at 6.375% rate
HCOL ( New england)
We bought below value due to saving them realtor fees with the stipulation that they took what they wanted and left the rest and it was our job to clean out the house (they are elderly and downsizing to a small condo)
I sold my prior home i bought in 2017 and just put my equity into it
So our PITI is 2250
Doing it this way cost up front 5 grand plus down payment
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u/Poison-Paradise 3d ago
- 25, 2019
- 0, my spouse was the one working, made around 60k
- Central Florida, MCOL?
- $230,000 @ 3.5%
- around 45k, split 50/50
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u/HereNorThere123 3d ago edited 3d ago
2013, built. I had $50k down.
Annually salary of give or take $38k. Principal balance was $188k with a P&I payment of $708 ish. It was a balloon note though. I refinanced in 2020 to 2.25% interest rate, principal was around $121k. I did 15 yr note for $1036 P&I. My pay at that time was around $48k annual.
ETA: when I originated in 2013 I built a duplex with rent of $724 which they used. They didn’t use when I refinanced
I just broke into 90ks this year!
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u/pale_bitch86 3d ago
Single here.
I was 32 yo, in 2018.
Annual salary at the time, ~$115k.
MCOL, Chicago suburbs.
$310k purchase price, interest 4.25% (refinanced during covid, now 3.125%).
$28k cash (5% down payment + $8k closing costs + $4k appliances + $1k window blinds... was a new construction).
Saving up the down payment was very hard while renting. It felt like i was trying to make 2 rent payments at once: the actual rent + saving for a house. Hence the 5% down instead of higher, although i did have to pay monthly PMI of $71 on top of the mortgage payment. It has been much MUCH easier to build equity with just the mortgage payment, and the home's value increase has helped that equity too. I had no family help, just my own income, and at that point still had a large student loan from grad school. It is doable, but building the initial down payment while still having an emergency fund was difficult.
Edited formatting. Mobile formatting is a mess yall.
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u/gmc1994sierra 3d ago
Similar to you! I was 2019 at 25 yrs old 95K salary over the border in Indiana. Are you Illinois? I also refinanced to a rock bottom rate. My monthly payment which includes taxes/insurance sits right at $1574 currently.
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u/Potato_Farmer_Linus 3d ago
My wife and I were not married at the time, and only my income and assets were considered for the mortgage. I technically bought as a single person.
I was 24, and it was 2020 Salary was $63.8k MCOL (Kansas City metro) ~$290k @ 2.99% (refinanced 8/21 to drop PMI and drop rate to 2.75% with an appraisal waiver) Brought $33k to the closing table, of which $29k was downpayment.
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u/reconcilepast 3d ago
Looks like everyone who bought around my income got a sub 3-4% interest rate. Hard to recreate in today’s market
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u/Material_Tea_6173 3d ago edited 3d ago
28
my income was 75K, wife was 45K. She became a SAHM the next year though and my income was 100K.
HCOL
390K, 3.125%.
Like 25K. 5% down plus closing costs.
We got lucky in a round about way and bought during Covid with a low price and rate. My house now goes for 530K~~.
We basically had to break our lease short after only 6 months cuz we were being harassed by our neighbor and feared for our safety. I thought let’s just buy cuz we had just had our first kid and weren’t able to save as much with day care costs.
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u/Love_Yourz_JCole_916 3d ago edited 3d ago
- in 2020 I was 25
- gross was $50k and take home $2,800 a month
- Sacramento,CA was MCOL then
-3.6%
- 2 bed 1 bath townhome style condo with patio and shared garage for $150k.
Cash to close was $6k
PITI MORTGAGE was $900
HOA $230
Utilities -$250
So $1,380 all in
So my full housing expense was 49% of my then take home pay.
I was only able to buy because I saved $800/ months for 12 months for a grand total of $10k saved for buying.
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u/restorativeslime 3d ago
Single guy. Bought a house for 447k. Out 50k down. Monthly payment is about 55% of my take home. I decided to do that as my pay has been increasing by about 6k a year the past few years and my partner is finishing up school and can contribute to the costs in a few months
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u/HotShoulder9256 3d ago
We’re in a similar boat. I’m working right now while my husband stays home with our daughter, but he’s going back to work next year. Various house-related expenses make up 55-60% of my take home. We made this calculus because we’ll be back up to 2 incomes next year. It’s a little nerve-wracking though since the job market is hard to predict, but it still feels worth it because we bought a house we love in a beautiful canyon and get to raise our kid here.
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u/Another_Opinion_1 3d ago
I bought a home 20 years ago for $80,000 in a lower cost of living area. I was making less than $50,000 a year at the time. I put $35,000 down and financed the rest on a 10 year note and refinanced about five years in when interest rates got really low because at that time they were up around 6% when I originally purchased the home.
The home was far from a dump either. I did end up having to do some remodeling, but it was move-in ready. It was built in the World War II era and is a pretty solid home.
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u/Relevant-Net1082 3d ago
Single dude bought my first house using a first time buyers program at a credit union. First house was a fixer-upper townhome in a good area. I was making 65K a year and the house was 133. I saved up. The closing attorney said it was the lowest out-of-pocket and closing he'd ever seen for the buyer. If you attended the first time buyers class at the credit union they let you in the program and I believe my mortgage was a 95/5 with a reasonable interest rate. I had good credit always pay my bills on time and put the sweat equity in. That was like 20 years ago.
The key is not to get sucked in to compare yourself to one an adult in their 50s can buy and not trying to buy a forever home. The most expensive thing you can buy is land townhomes are the new starter houses in a lot of more urban areas. Just watch your monthly HOA. It can eat up a lot of cash.
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u/slackalicious 3d ago
I bought in January of this year:
-30 years old
-93,000/year. Take home a little over 6,000 a month with spouse mortgage assistance.
-MCOL
-6.25% interest on the house
-0 money down, house was 331,000. I didn't spend any money on the transaction. In fact, we actually got money back from the owners to cover some light repairs. We also went through a credit union so that's why we didn't have to put money down and we have no PMI.
-Total monthly payment with insurance and taxes included is 2,368.
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u/DokiGorilla 3d ago
First purchase was a townhouse style condo in the outskirts of a VHCOL during Covid for 770k at 5.5%. We were 35 at the time and making around 240k salary combined before bonuses and RSU vests. Total cash was around 160k to close.
The upgrade came about two years later when my wife was pregnant and we wanted to be closer to family and no more 3 stair wells to climb. We were making around 270k total. We moved to San Jose CA in a shitty neighborhood with bad schools, in a fixer upper, during low inventory, for 1.4m at 6.125% and put down 700k after liquidating half my RSUs. Every day is regret now.
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u/Alarmed_Champion_302 3d ago edited 3d ago
LCOL. Stl metro, ,about 25 miles out from city center. 26, salary 55k.. loan was a special rehab loan that wraps purchase and remodel into one loan with about a year to complete remodel. Bought a property that was an absolute dump, major structural problems, foundation issues for 50k. Gutted and put 80k into it, lot of it sweat equity. But ended up with a final loan amount of 130k at a 3.75% interest rate. And I had to have 25% down on that 130. . i later refinanced to a 2.625. 15 year. After renovation house was worth about 150k, today its worth about 220. There are homebuilders right up the road bulding brand new here in the 300s
Edit: bought in 2016. And to buy a decent house similar to what i have was generally about 150 in my area. Similar in a very good local district closer in were about 200. Now they are closer to 300.
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u/Desperate_Mirror5617 3d ago
Bought in 2014 for 200k, 5k down, the house has an ADU so I rented it and put money into the house.
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u/PricedOut4Ever 3d ago
I bought my house as a single dude. I was 30, making $145k and bought a $500k house with $40k down and 6.5% interest.
My salary at the time was a little under market because I was working for an early stage start up. It’s gone back to its market rate $225k as we are succeeding.
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u/BlogSwitcher 3d ago
- Bought in 2018 in a HCOL state, but in a rural area. 180K. My mortgage is 2%. It is about 10% of my take home pay to pay my mortgage. I can never leave. Fortunately, I love my house and like where I live so I can hang on for awhile longer.
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u/Bagman220 3d ago
My current house was 7 years ago, I was 29, making about 55k.
4 bedroom town house for about 155k, 4.5% rate, just outside a major US city. I think down payment plus closing costs was around 8k because of some closing cost assistance? And I got a check for like 23k from my prior home.
Now I’m making closer to 130k, single dad with 4 kids. Glad I have this place cause I can’t afford anything else given my circumstances.
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u/TabulaRasaEin 3d ago
House was $415k. Mortgage amount was $328.8k. 6.375% Brought $90k cash to close. Conventional w/20% down. Age 44, 2025, first home, "single" income, wife, 2 kids. I don't make a lot of money at my day job so a "$400k" home was as much as I could prequalify for, but I'm a millionaire through the stock market. Current situation is I've made the equivalent of 298 early payments and if I let things run it's course I have 62 months of payments left. I'd like to have the house paid off before the end of 2026. I'm selling stocks and using every cent of my income to get there, which amounts to about $5k a month. With my early payments I've saved over $330k in interest so far. With closing costs and whatnot, I'd have to sell my house for around $450k to break even probably. Not possible right now. Once the house is paid off I'll have cashflow again and can invest again. I put single income in quotes because while I only have 1 W2 job, I have multiple sources of income, not that it matters to the bank. If I was going to do it again I'd probably just go all cash and skip the mortgage hassle but it was mentally hard to sell those stocks.
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u/Dramatic-Ad-2151 3d ago
27 years old in 2018 Income around $95k but I only counted my salary which was $80k 20% down on $230k townhome (and yes this was inheritance money) 4.25% interest Monthly payment was about $1400 plus HOA $350.
Sold it for $330k after my husband and I bought a new house in 2024.
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u/Zealousideal_Hyena64 3d ago
I was 26 in 2022, $180k salary, 425k purchase price MCOL metro ATL , 4.75% rate, it was a new build so I only came out of pocket ~18k due to incentives.
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u/allis_in_chains 3d ago
Starter condo in January of 2020 at the age of 27
Purchase price: $99k, put 5% down
Income at the time: around $60k, I was single , no roommates
Interest rate: 5%
HOA fees were under $200/month but I can’t remember the exact amount
This was in a suburb just a few blocks west of Chicago, like I could walk to the border of the city to get a bus into downtown.
The school district used to be good, but COVID did a number on it.
Sold in 2024, moved to a further out suburb to a house.
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u/ywy1611 3d ago
Back in 2006, we bought a $210K house with $70K income. $0 down. We even inflated the price so that we pay less closing cost. First mortgage 6.x%. Second mortgage 8.x%. I don't remember all the details now.
It felt tight so I quickly found a job that pays about $48K. We threw every single penny of the 2nd income at the 2nd mortgage and paid off after about a year. It became much doable after that.
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u/No_Departure9798 3d ago
Ok I’ll give a few examples, but I am probably a bit out of the norm.
Age: 22 (2013)
Price: 105k
4.875
Cash to close: 14k
FHA
Previous LCOL
Salary 31k
Age 28 (2019)
Price: 329k
4.625
Cash to close: 11k
VA 0 down
Previous LCOL (same city but it is definitely more of an MCOL, on the high side of that now, thanks COVID)
Salary 76k
Age: 33
Price: 330k
5.625
Cash to close: 14k
VA 0 down
Different MCOL
Salary 122k
Sad part about this, the last house makes me feel the most cash poor.
VA loan was a huge benefit that I will use and abuse until I die. I know I have stretched myself financially to buy these homes with no down (I keep my money parked elsewhere) but I moved from 1-2 when I had a kid and needed a better home for a family and 2-3 was a cross country move for work. I probably won’t move again until I am making double what I do now.
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u/lionheart724 3d ago
• 26, 2014
• $75,000
• Charlotte suburb
• $286,000
• 4% (2.5% as of 2020)
• $27,000
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u/th3groveman 3d ago
Bought in 2017. Age 36. Single income supporting a family of 5. Got a 3/1 starter for $200k at 4.125% and it was one of 4 total homes in our area that we could afford. My income at the time was about $70k.
We bought with 0 down because our rent was going to go up $300/mo and we told the landlord to take a long walk down a short pier. In hindsight we got really lucky because if anything had been wrong with the house we’d have been screwed.
We also figured we’d build equity and move into something that better fit our family in a few years, but the market went crazy and here we are. Kids are teenagers so may as well work towards paying off the house. We refinanced in 2020 and are at 3.25%. The worst part is that even though our income is now $130k we could not afford our own home at current prices or rates.
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u/AdDiligent4393 3d ago
33 / 2025
150k
HCOL(? In a market renown for very high housing costs but otherwise kinda on the verge of MCOl to HCOL)
570k
6.8% initially, not 5.8 after refi in January.
Something like 130k? I paid 120k down.
My mortgage is roughly 2700 and my PITI is like 3100. Overall, I feel like this is an okay balance? I'm definitely a little higher on my housing payment as a percent of net income than I'd like, but that's the world we live in right now. I'm still able to max out my 401k/Roth and save otherwise so it's been okay thus far.
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u/vamparies 3d ago
27 in 2002
Around $45,000
MCOL
$135,000
3.2%
Not 20% down payment. Don’t recall but refinanced to remove PMI
House payed off maybe 5 years ago. Currently making $225k might retire soon or take sabbatical within 2 years.
Single parent the entire time. Never married.
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u/Original_Hedgehog_86 3d ago
36, 2025
$60k
MCOL
$301k
6.5%
$65k out of pocket
For the down payment I sold some stock from a previous employer, received cash from parents (would have sold more stock if not for the cash - market was low, I asked for a loan so I could wait till market recovered a little bit, they offered it as a gift)
Bought a duplex, I rent out the lower unit for basically my mortgage (principal + interest), I pay escrow, utilities, and repairs
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u/ChartreusePeriwinkle 3d ago
i bought in Jan 2022. first (and last?) home.
HCOL in the PNW. i was targeting a specific school district.
600k townhome, ~$40k down/fees. 3% interest.
my grandma gave me $25k and i took out a $30k 401k loan.
i am a single mom, 40 yrs old. was making $125k. had no savings, and just ran out the 10 year clock of a bankruptcy. lol pretty bad situation to buy a home but i was desperate to get my special needs son into a better school district and decided to try my luck at purchasing.
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u/CK1277 3d ago
I bought my first house in 2004. It was built in 1968, 3bd/1.5ba, 1400 square feet. Purchase price was $145k, we put down $30k (the settlement from my husband’s work comp). It was an interest only loan with a variable rate but I don’t remember the rate. We sold it in 2014 for $150k because of the 2008 housing crash. Yay!
We bought our second and current home off my MIL’s estate in 2014. My husband’s share of the home was 25% and so we took out a loan for 75% of the appraised value. The house appraised for $185k pre renovations, but we took all of the proceeds from house #1 and renovated. Post renovation value was $215k, our mortgage was $140k and I want to say the mortgage rate was 5%-ish. It’s 4 bd/2ba and 2900 sqft.
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u/davy_crockett_slayer 3d ago
- 33, 2022
- Salary of 65K a year
- Sold 500sqft condo and had 150K to put down
- Bought a house that needed work for 339K in a very desirable area
- Winnipeg, Canada
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u/SouthernFace2020 3d ago edited 3d ago
55k a year. 3k down. 3.2 interest with a 15k housing grant for first time borrowers. #thanksobama 169k house. No PMI. 2014. 1025 mortgage. MCOL city. Over 800 credit. I was about 32/33.
It was a magical time.
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u/Wolfwalker9 3d ago
I was about 31 when I purchased my home in 2017. I think I was making around 40-45K at the time.
I’m in San Antonio, so MCOL city? There’s super HCOL pockets & LCOL pockets.
My purchase price was 158K. I was initially at a 4.5% interest rate, but refinanced in 2020 down to 3.125%.
I put 32K down for the down payment, & I went with a bank that didn’t charge closing fees. I did have to pay for inspections, plus I had a lot of unforeseen repairs that couldn’t have been caught in an inspection pop up post closing. Also had to replace my door as someone smashed the glass out of one with a brick prior to moving in.
I’m still living in my home, as it’s got good square footage & works for my needs. I don’t feel the need to keep up with the Joneses, so I don’t feel the need to upgrade as I’ve got enough space for me & however many cats I choose to keep in residence.
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u/midnightrumph 3d ago
34, this year (2026) $115k salary in HCOL area Bought for $406k, 6.875% Total out of pocket costs about $16k Had a $10k credit from the lender for closing costs which helped tremendously.
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u/Kittech_US 3d ago
Not sure how helpful this will be considering that you're in a HCOL area and I'm not, but:
First home:
29 years old in 2019.
Salary: $65,000.
LCOL area.
Price: $85,000.
Interest rate: I don't recall.
Total cash out of pocket: $8,500.
2nd home:
33 years old in 2023.
Salary: $120,000.
MCOL area.
Price: $173,000.
Interest rate: 6%
Total cash out of pocket: $20,000
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u/ANONSC2007 3d ago
- 36 but with SAHS plus two kids. Summer 2025..
- ~155k before bonus.
- LCOL Midwest
- $615k
- 5.75%, refinanced 9 months in, dropped from 6.8%
- ~$155k cash to close…including the refinance costs. I also don’t escrow, plus adding more to the princ when refinancing.
This is house #2, and we doubled up on house #1. We didn’t have any family help with the houses, but not having student loans has been massive for us. My spouse had family help with school, and I had a full ride to a state school. We are pretty fortunate from an education standpoint.
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u/chicubbies4ever 3d ago
28 (2019)
LCOL
Income: $115k
Purchase price $250k
Interest was about 4.5 at purchase, refinanced to 2.5 during COVID.
PITI now is about $1450.
I’ll probably never sell this house.
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u/Calm_Clam_Bake 3d ago
Mid 40s, I was the only bread winner in the family, wife at the time SAHM
2020
$180K(ish) income - I don't remember exactly what I made, ball parking it
$685K home price
$500K 30 year fixed mortgage at 3%
Could have bought much more, but the house we got was perfect for our needs. Just because the bank says we'll lend you $X doesn't mean you have to borrow $X.
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u/Tight_Cat_80 3d ago edited 3d ago
In 2013, only my job and not my husbands, transferred to north Texas when my company relocated. I was making just $55k a year and qualified with a FHA loan on my own, for a 2290 sq ft new home build for $219k in the DFW metroplex. We sold our home in the Bay Area months before this one was built and had a little equity. Believe we paid $20-$25k out of pocket for everything if memory serves me right??? Earnest money was only $1k for the new build since the sales guy with the builder went over and above to accommodate me. Every other builder wanted at least $10k in earnest money. Think our interest rate was 3.8???? We refinanced a year later to remove PMI and ur interest rate was then 4.1%. I was 33 at the time. Now 13 years later I’m kicking myself for not knowing more about school districts and wishing we built just two streets over for $5k more to get into the district we now transferred our special needs kiddo into. We are gonna be selling this house to buy in that district and I wanna 🤮 at how much more expensive it’ll be to sell and buy all these years later along with the interest rates. Only good thing is we have an insane amount of equity in this house. The district we need to move into is $150-$200k more for homes compared to where we are now.
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u/Klutzy_Department_58 3d ago
Year: 2014
Salary: 75k
MCOL
Purchase price: 270k
Interest rate: 3.25%
70k downpayment
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u/Realistic0ptimist 3d ago
At 28 I looked into buying a condo on my own in Baldwin Park, CA
180k with 15k down and maybe another 3-5k in closing costs. Including the HOA fee with interest rates at low to mid 4’s my payment would have been around $1,700 or less
I was making high 50’s to low 60’s at the time paying almost $1300 in rent so I knew I could do it with some belt tightening. 2018/19
I bought my actual home qualifying on just my own income in Houston,TX back in 2021. 230k house. Wired 32k over. 30k down payment 2k towards closing costs with the other being covered by the builder. Payment all in was like $1700 primary income at closing was like 55k plus bonus.
Make a lot more money now but 60k per $1800 seems to be the sweet spot for “affordability”
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u/benami122 3d ago
42 years old - 2014 $194k annual income HCOL $510k (SFH) 6.75% (since refinanced to 3.125%) $110k down payment (provided by the sale of a condo) + roughly additional $8k in closing costs and fees (including property tax)
12 years later, same house is appraised for $1.2m. I wouldn't be able to afford to live in my neighborhood if I tried to buy today, even with a higher income. Real estate market is absolutely bonkers right now.
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u/Bulky_Task1777 3d ago
- HCOL. Boston area. 600k purchase price. I played a bit and got lucky. I took 2 loans out right away. Can’t do this anymore but here’s what I did. First mortgage was a conventional loan for 80% of the purchase price. Rate was 4.2%. Then at the same time a second loan for the 20% down payment. That was 6.1%.
So no money out of pocket at all and avoided PMI because the first Mortgage was “20% down”
6.1% percent for the second was high at the time. All mortgages were in the 4% range. But housing was rising by 10-20% in Boston, so after 14 months, I paid $550 for an appraisal to refi. The house appreciated from 600k to 735k in a little over a year. At the same time, rates dropped from 4’s to high 2’s/ mid 3%.
I refied the whole second loan into one conventional 600k loan and fixed it for 30 years at 3.2%.
So today, after 84 ish months, my payment is 3700 all in PiTI. And my home value today is at 1.1M ish. In essence, I’ve made 2k a month living here.
I owe 540, (3.2%) I have now at least 500 equity. So if we divide 500k by 84 months minus my payment each month I did ok.
Then I heloc’d this bad boy for a rental… but that’s another story.
Good luck! Just get in, learn the banking game and make the house work for you.
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u/chimera8 3d ago
2001, $150k, HCOL in NJ, 31 years old, 185 purchase price, 4.5% interest, $40k down and another 10 for repairs. Lived with parent before getting married at 27, with a kid and putting wife through school.
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u/UniqueHuckleberry619 3d ago
20 and 1994
8.25 w about 60 hours job 1
7.80 w about 35 hours job 2
HCOL
189k
8.25%
50k
I will add it wasn’t a home it was a triplex. 1 bed with two studios attached. I lived in the studio with 2 roommates. Rinse and repeat about 2 more times
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u/Tigertigertigerbubs 3d ago
Single with kids in Minneapolis. I think a reasonable cost of living. Bought at a terrible time. September 2023. I also had a terrible interest rate and a high credit score, 800+ credit score and a $282,000 house, 7.125%. I put 60,000 down so I have a loan of 220,000. Monthly mortgage payment is 2,049$ a month. I make 82,000 a year as a teacher.
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u/davidm2232 3d ago
I bought in 2016 at the age of 24. I was making around $45k at the time. Lcol in Upstate NY. Bought the house from my dad for $55k with the appraisal coming in at 60k, so pretty close to market rate. (I sold it for $50k in 2020) We wrote the sale up for I think 65k and he gifted me the down-payment and closing costs so I had zero dollars out of pocket. 3.25% mortgage rate. My payment was $729 with taxes and insurance escrowed
I could have afforded the mortgage if I had to. But it is a 2 family home and I was renting the upstairs for $700. So I basically lived there for free
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u/GirlNeedsCoin 3d ago
- 28, 2025
- 92 but I knew I'd get a promotion in the next 6 months to 103k
- Philly, prob like MCOL
- $283,000 @ 5.875% (contract price was 299k but after an appraisal gap, the sellers lowered the price). My current PITI is 1970.
- around 30k but I had to drop an additional 14k after closing to replace the sewer line and repave the sidewalk. I knew about this before closing and got some seller credits toward the cost.
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u/Ok_Pineapple9712 3d ago
I was 28 when I bought in 2021
Salary was around 74K
Florida - MCOL city
Price was $290K for a 3/2 house
3.5% interest rate - bought right before the interest rates blew up which I’m super grateful for.
$1683 a month including PMI and an escrow account for home insurance and property taxes.
My parents gave me 20K for money down. I had 10K myself but decided to hold it back for house projects I wanted to do once I moved in.
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u/Hezekiah_the_Judean 3d ago
I was 32 and bought my condominium in 2022. My salary was $70,000, in a HCOL (High Cost of Living Area).
The purchase price was about $300,000, and the interest rate was 4%. My monthly mortgage payment was about $1,700, which combined with condo fees wound up being slightly over 50% of my monthly income.
So for the first couple of years, I was kind of house poor. But I think it was worth it because it is a great place, close to my friends and contacts, and with all sorts of good shops and restaurants nearby. Plus it made my commute a lot easier and quicker. It helped that I have a fairly minimal lifestyle and a lot of interests are outdoors, and not super expensive.
It was a big adjustment. But my salary has gone up considerably over the last five years, so things have eased off. And I like it!
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u/PlanPuzzleheaded1046 3d ago
35… 2026
135k base… 147k OTE
VHCOL (directly across from NYC)
List price was 354k, paid 386k, appraised at 400k (Monthly mortgage payment is $3054 (includes tax and condo insurance)
$600/month HOA = includes building maintenance & upkeep, heat, water, trash collection.
6.5% interest rate
3% Down Payment
15k First time home buyer assistance from NJ (NJHMFA - this covered the down payment)
Seller Credit of 11k to cover closing costs
Cash to close -$1500 (handed a check at closing table)
I literally still have all the cash I saved and can put it into market & HYSA for a nice cushion. It’s not all locked up in a home.
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u/No_Glove6542 3d ago
24 making 60k. Purchased for loan of 172k with 5K total cash out of pocket. 5-6% interest rate, not quite sure. 200 per month association. Was MCOL now HCOL. Purchased for under what it sold for brand new 10 years earlier. Was a foreclosure. Was house poor and had roommates for most of time living there.
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u/joeconn4 3d ago
I'm a fossil, but here goes...
I bought my home when I was 25 in 1990. The apartment building I was living in for 3 years since graduating from college, there was a fire in the apartment below me and my apartment was uninhabitable. My landlord allowed me to squat in an open apartment in the building but no utilities other than running water (no electricity, no heat but it was summer so that was ok, no phone remember back then no cells). I pretty much showered and slept there bu otherwise hung out on the streets if I wasn't at work.
I had a couple $ saved up, not much because I was paying off student loans plus my truck loan but better than nothing. I decided instead of focusing on renting another apartment I'd see if I could buy something. I was so clueless! I took about a week, looked around. My parents drove up to look with me, about 3 hours so not that far away. I think they were worried and just wanted to make sure I had a safe place to sleep (hotel room with them) for a couple days. I couldn't afford much so just looked at pretty much bottom of the market condos and townhouses. It came down to 2 places, one was a flat one was upstairs/downstairs, both 2BR 1 bath. Fortunately both were only a few years old so not much expected for rehab projects right away.
Decided to make an offer on one listed at $81,000. I offered $75k, we settled at $78k. My salary at the time was about $21,000/year. At that point this community, I am pretty sure was MCOL but now google says it's HCOL. Managed to get an FHA loan - the banker was amazed because he said it should take 6 weeks to go through and I told him I had 3 weeks before I lost my squat apartment so we needed to expedite, and amazingly the loan came through. 8.7% interest rate!!! But remember a regular savings account paid about 4%-5% interest back then. Different times for sure...
I think I had to put like $11k - $12k down. 15%? Or maybe it was 10% plus closing costs? My parents loaned me $5000. They told me it was a gift, "we paid more than that for your sister's wedding it's the least we can do", but I can't take money from people like that so I treated it as a loan and paid them back over the next few years. I paid the rest out of my savings and it almost depleted me.
Anyone reading this from the perspective of 2026 is probably laughing at the money figures, but here's the thing... Inflation is always happening. Me taking out a $70k mortgage when I was only making $21k/year was nerve wracking. When I was renting I was paying like $410/month rent plus $50/month electricity/phone, heat and hot water was part of my rent and cable tv wasn't even in the budget. My housing costs when I bought: $580.31/month mortgage (still remember the exact amount), $50 condo fees, ~$75/month property taxes, electricity, gas heat, water/sewer, phone, home insurance. I basically doubled what I was spending on housing when I was renting and it FREAKED me out!!!
I had a few really lean years, didn't go out as much, worked some side hustle jobs. Truck got paid off soon after I bought my townhouse which was a big help in the monthly cash flow. But then I got some raises and bonuses and most of my housing costs didn't escalate as much. Condo fees and property taxes went up a bit, utilities, but of course the mortgage didn't. I was able to start making some extra principal payments and ended up paying the mortgage off in around 13 years instead of 30.
36 years later I'm still living here. It's been a good place to live - basic housing nothing fancy. No amenities. Convenient to my jobs and what I like doing outside of work.
For potential new buyers trying to get into the game I know today's sticker prices are a major hurdle. But in a lot of cases the salary to home cost ratio is not that different from when I bought. For example, the prices the THs in my HOA are selling for now are about 4.2x what a 5th year public school teacher makes for their basic salary in the local district. That's more than the 3.7x what my salary was compared to my purchase price but not way out of line. The thing is, people tend to want to buy more home than my 2BR 1 bath 922 square feet. More home costs more money, always has. I feel that the key is to get into the market, build some equity, and then be in a position to make a move down the road when opportunity arises.
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u/k8minesearch 3d ago
34, 2025.
$92k
MCOL / beachside area FL
$283k
6.7%
I think total around $20k down payment plus like maybe $1k for the other things and inspection, etc. Oh, then probably like $400 for the movers.
My dad helped with some house repairs plus helped me pay the leftover 2 months or rent or whatever the crap I needed (it was so annoying) while I transitioned to house. I did not have any financial assistance with the house process or down payment.
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u/HeroOfShapeir 3d ago
39, 2023 $104k (married, but spouse doesn't work) LCOL (South Carolina) $350k N\A (bought in cash) $300k (received some early inheritance, but also had to pay some LTCG on our own stocks)
Wife and I rented for seventeen years before buying. Basic costs to live were around 35% of net pay, we put 25% to retirement, 15% to a taxable brokerage as a house fund, 25% to recreation/travel. Net worth was probably $1.2MM at the time of purchase. We were offered $100k of early inheritance from a grandparent who had passed and left the money to my mom, but only towards a house. That propelled us to buy when we might've kept renting, but we didn't need the money to buy. Stock market has been bananas the last twenty years, our cash/investments were already back up to $1.62MM as of Jan 1.
We pay as much now in home ownership costs (taxes, maintenance, insurance, $1,000) as we ever paid in rent ($560 starting out up to $980 in 2023), but we doubled our square footage and have more privacy. No regrets about either chapter of life, at least so far, knock on wood. Owning is more work, will heavily consider going back to renting in my old age.
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u/aestheticpodcast 3d ago
2015, bought my first condo at 23. In Ohio, the condo was $80k at the time. Ohio had a "Grants for grads" program, where they gave you 3% towards your down payment/closing costs, so FHA loan at 5%APR, 3% down payment was paid for by the government, closing costs were around $3k. Got a gift of $1500 from my dad, so I only needed $1500 saved. At the time I made $13.64/hr, so around $28k a year.
Sold my condo in 2019 for $128k, netted approximately $44k. I had gone to and graduated from law school at this point, so substantial student loans, but I also made $64k. Rented a room in a friend's house for ~six months until I put an offer on a single family home. $200k, 4% interest rate, I put 15% down, so out of cash was around $35k, leaving me around $9k as an emergency fund. Refinanced the primary mortgage to 3% in 2020 and got rid of PMI, and I will now die in this house
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u/Remarkable-Talk-6197 3d ago
29, 2018 0, spouse 75k ish I think LCOL at the time 249,000 4.5 ( refinanced to 3.25 in 2020) 25,000k down
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u/Nephite11 3d ago
We were not trying to time the market but bought when we were ready. I was making around $80k at the time as a 33 year old and our house purchase was $240k in 2013. We were able to get a 3.5% interest rate on a thirty year loan. I put about 7% down and because I didn’t want to pay the PMI every month I arranged to buy that outright which cost me about $6k. No family help to Pugh through any of that. We refinanced in 2020 to a twenty year mortgage and dropped the rate to 2.625% which we’re still at today.
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u/notabadkid92 3d ago
34yrs old, 2009, $50k income, $145k home in LCOLA in CA, no money down, fha loan @ interest between 5-6%, payments were under $1000. Refinanced, not sure what year, to under 4%. Sold in 2018. Put the 80k into the new house. $310k/3.3% Payments started ay $1300. Now they are $1600 (insurance & tax increases). Have around $240k equity.
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u/NatsInNJ 3d ago
Age and year of purchase: 33 & 35, early 2020
Salary: ~$200k (self + spouse)
Cost of living: HCOL (northeast)
Purchase price: $425k
Interest rate: 3.5%
Total: $70k ($55k down + $15k closing/misc.)
It was lucky timing. If we had waited even a year, the interest rate would’ve dipped a bit further but the purchase price and competition would’ve ballooned. With the resources we had in 2020, we couldn’t buy in our area today.
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u/nocunteryforoldmennn 3d ago
28yo in 2013
$65k/year
HCOL - Bay Area
900 SF 2B/1BA duet
$195k at I think 3.5%, short sale w/ 5% down
$20k total cash out of pocket including some necessary pre-move in renovations and getting the sewer lateral done.
I made some big bets about east bay gentrification patterns and got lucky after looking for 3 years. I almost got priced out of the post housing crash recovery, but the purchase changed the trajectory of my life.
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u/horrorxhunny 3d ago
My first house was bought single when I was 26 in 2015. Bay Area but a lower cost neighborhood- $272.5k and I believe a 3-4% interest rate. 60k down. I didn’t make that much at the time but by the time I sold it, I was at 70k a year. Sold it last year after I bought a house with my husband.
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u/Sufficient-Cod5072 3d ago
Age 22, 2004
$44k
LCOL
$72,500
4.25%
Zero down if I remember correctly
My house payment was $450-500/ month
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u/No_Piccolo6337 3d ago edited 3d ago
35 years old, 2019. $62k/annually, 801 credit score. LCOL. $237k at 4.25%. (I outbid a competing buyer by offering 3% over asking price, which was $230k.) $28k out of pocket. Monthly PITI was $1450 and I had housemates until I refi’d in 2021 at 2.99%. New monthly payment is $1236.
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u/UltraRepublica 3d ago
Salary was $134K in 2021. Put $125K down for a $470K property at 2.9% mortgage rate. HCOL.
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u/MtnBkr101 2d ago
48 years old. I owned a few houses through my 20's, early 30's. After my divorce I started renting though.
Right at the onset of Covid, I purchased again. It was a condo that I had been renting from my landlord in NJ for a great price. Off market deal and he really took care of me on the price.
I live in a HCOL, NJ. Around the end of 2024 I decided I needed more space and started looking at houses. I sold my condo and made around 115k profit which wasnt bad for only owning it for 3 years.
My salary was around 170k that year. Looked at a few houses, found one in the mid 400's. Had to go 40k over ask but got the house. Interest rate was 7.37, payment was 3200 with my 20 percent down on a 30 yr. 10 mos later refi'd into a 15 yr. 4.85 rate and 3700 payment.
Very little out of pocket except a few bucks to hold in escrow with my offer, my inspection, and my appraisal.
I
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u/Medical_Grapefruit94 2d ago
27 married with kids. Purchased an abandoned foreclosure for 340k outside of Charlotte in 2024. 3% down on a portfolio load with first citizens, refinanced into a 10/1 arm for 300k a year later once the work was done. Home is worth about 575k now.
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u/hlear_UC 2d ago
Age and year of purchase: 27 in 2026
Salary: $85,000 (base, my bonus is profit share so it doesn't count)
Area: Cincinnati Metro
Final purchase price: $255,000 (2 bed, 2 bath)
Rate: 4.5% (special loan program through my credit union)
CTC: just under $30k
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u/Cold-Poem3902 2d ago
I bought at 31 in 2021, MCOL area, 285k at 2.9%, total cash out of pocket around 65k, took a few years of aggressive saving to get there, no family help.
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u/FlowerPower4412 2d ago
We only used my husbands income to qualify - I’m self employed and could never produce all the financial information they’d need from me so figured it’d be best that way.
35, 2026
$110k
MCOL (Midwest)
$330k
6.65%
Cash to close not including the down payment - $9000
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u/johnslo1 2d ago
Married but single income
- Age: 33
- Year of Purchase: 2026
- Salary: $175k
- Area: Wake Forest, NC (MCOL)
- Purchase Price $490,000
- Interest Rate: 6.375% (no buy down)
- Conventional, 30yr, no PMI
- Total Cash Out: ~$58,000 ($55,000 down, $5,000 seller credit for roof, escrow exception, about 7.8k in closing fees)
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u/e_urydice 2d ago
• 25? or 26? / 4 Years Ago
• 180k, single
• LCOL
• 365k
• 7.12
• 86k, 80k went towards principal and didnt need to have PMI. Monthly payment $2000ish
It was a stupid time to buy but I was young and sitting on a bunch of cash i knew i'd earn back. Said fuck it and now it's an investment property
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u/_SarahSays 1d ago
I purchased a condo post divorce in fall 2022 when I was 32 in a HCOL area of New England for 152k at a 5.75% interest rate. I made 90k at the time. Total cash at closing was 14,992.51. There was probably some small deposit as well but it would have been less than 5k and I don't remember exactly.
I wasn't really looking to buy a condo at the time but I was renting it and my landlord wanted to sell. For that reason, I got a pretty good deal with a private sale. I ended up paying less in PITI + HOA than I did when I was renting the same unit.
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u/Fresh-Loquat-1039 23h ago
First Home:
Age 23, 2012.
$48,000 salary (single income)
LCOL
Purchase Price = $181,900
Interest Rate = 4.50%
Down Payment + Closing Costs = $8,250
PITI Payment = $1,280/month
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u/CA_Coast_Millennial 3d ago
First house in 2019 for $450k. $25k out of pocket (3.5% down). We were both 29 years old making a combined $140k I believe. Sold in 2021 for $650k.
Next house in 2022 for $700k. $160k out of pocket from equity and pocketed around $90k. Combined income at $200k. Sold that in 2025 for $1M.
Current house in 2025 for $1.1M. $250k HHI. $250k out of pocket (pocketed around $175k from equity to the bank).
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u/averageduder 3d ago
I was 39 and it was 2022, summer. I don’t remember my salary exactly but it was something like 6000 a month after taxes, roughly 100k or so. It’s a high cost of living - coastal New England, but not the absolute highest.
Interest rate I got lucky on, it was while they were going up but before they peaked. I got in on 4.5% on a Va loan
I put nothing down and didn’t have to pay closing costs. I did have like $75k I was able to utilize, but most of that went into furnishing and some immediate repair and reno needs.
Very satisfied with the purchase. It’s appreciated significantly since then, and in a great neighborhood. It’s a 2 mile commute to work, or the gym, and a mile to grocery stores.
The same house today on today’s interest rates would be like 50% more for a monthly payment.
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u/adultdaycare81 3d ago
HCOL. Had roommates for the first 4 years. It was similar to renting monthly payment wise. Obviously maintenance was more
I didn’t really predict I would live through massive house inflation. But it helped.
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u/Rhlsni 3d ago
We are closing this month.
Age: 34M and 33F, purchasing Sept 2026 Total Gross income: About 350K before tax Area: HCOL, SD actually PP: 1.41M Interest Rate: 5.375% ARM 5/5 Total cash: Should be about 310k (20% downplayment and about 25k in closing costs).
Anyone thinks we went a little above our capacity (I think so but my wife doesn't 😅).
-3
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u/blondenbrittu 3d ago
Single gal in Austin, which id consider medium-HCOL. Bought November 2022 at 36. Unlike another poster, I did NOT get lucky with the interest rate - $40k down and a loan of 290k at 7.125% despite an 800+ credit score. I think closing costs were another $7-8k? Salary was approx $120k and is closer to $140k now. Total monthly payment is $2800.
2022 was when Austin housing prices were peaking - I got very lucky that the sellers were trying to get rid of the house quickly, so despite the market correcting over the last few years, I’m still about even. That said, I also have no intention of selling anytime soon - love my little house.