Astronuc said:One should have learned from one's parents and grandparents..
My mother told me it is ok to stretch to buy a house because inflation and normal pay raises will enable you to grow into the payments. Damn her.Borg said:One other piece of advice. Don't try to get the biggest house that the bank will let you have - they don't care how it will affect your retirement savings or standard of living.
20 years ago, that general advice might have been useful. If you followed that model in the past 8-10 years, you are screwed, especially if you took out a mortgage on that property that you were "sure" was going to appreciate faster than your interest rate and inflation could erode your investment.russ_watters said:My mother told me it is ok to stretch to buy a house because inflation and normal pay raises will enable you to grow into the payments. Damn her.