Folks get caught up on what Zillow tells them they can afford, and don't check that the lil mortgage calculator is going off 20% downpayment. Many of us aint got 48k to put down on a house. Which means your rate goes up, AND you now have to add in mortgage insurance cuz u dont

have the 20%. Now also factor in your monthly home owners insurance and your property taxes. That $1200 you saw on Zillow is now $1650.

Now let's talk downpayment and upfront costs. FHA loans allow you to put down a min of 3.5% - again, b/c of this you have to pay mortgage insurance, & interest rate may not be as low as conventional.

So for a 250K house we're looking at $8,750. Add in another 500 for inspection

plus another 3-7k (on average depending on where you live) for closing costs + taxes. That's up towards $15k to get moved in, plus any additional repairs and fixes that need to be done.

It's a while before you can recoup that.

And if you're looking at the $1650 and going, 'well, still cheaper than my rent'....'it's also likely youre not going to be finding many 250k homes in your area anyway.

I'm not trying to scare anyone out of the process, its still a great deal for many folks. Just giving some real numbers so folks can process. I'm always open about my own experience b/c I want others- especially other first gen homeowners- to feel empowered in their process

Now, here in Atlanta where one bdrooms are starting to cost an avg of $1500 a month, my 199k purchase back in 2018 is finally starting to make some financial sense.

my numbers: I did FHA, put down 3.5%, went in not wanting to pay more than 1200ish but ended up closer to 1450

with all my taxes and insurances included. Shot up another 100 cuz of taxes later. Interest Rate was 3.5 at the time. I refi'ed and have a lil equity so my new rate is a bit below $1300. I have a 4 bedroom. Yes, cheaper than renting a one bedroom, but I spent

around 15k getting into the house with all those upfront costs, and another 7k fixing stuff up over the last 2 years. It'll be another couple of years before I think I'll truly feel like im saving.

Not included in the mortgage number is monthly repairs, additional taxes, ALL utilities (water, sewage, trash, gas, electric), monthly law care, gutter maintenance, pest control which could avg another 300-600 depending on the month.

One last thing, folks assume mortgage is a fixed rate forever, it is not. It can also go up overtime, largely due to taxes.

And while it’s true that 1st time homebuyer programs and down payment assistance can help, there’s usually an income ceiling & rules that u don’t sell or rent out w/in 10 years or you’ll have to pay that $ back. It’s not stipulation free money that every and anyone can get