You can easily afford that mortgage. It's $4100/mo. Aren't you netting $12-$14k/mo after income tax? Not sure what the property taxes are where you are.
Everyone faces the same anxiety when buying, but what's the alternative? Is your rent that much cheaper? If you lose your job, you still have to rent a place to live.
You're also missing out on a big capital gains tax exemption.
If you do lose your job, you can rent it out.
$800k is nothing in a city with $240k jobs. You should see other big cities in the world!
Will you pay him back the difference if he can't? If not then why such definitive statements about what someone else should be comfortable with.
I could easily borrow a million or more from the bank to buy a house, but that wouldn't make it a wise decision. Instead I live in a house far smaller and more modest than what I could be living in and I feel better for it knowing that in a downturn (when most likely more people are experiencing a downturn) I will not have to change my life-style one bit.
While I agree with you, the big difference (I think) is that you burn a significant portion of your savings on the down payment. So that cash is no longer available to cover your monthly costs if you lose your job.
Everyone faces the same anxiety when buying, but what's the alternative? Is your rent that much cheaper? If you lose your job, you still have to rent a place to live.
You're also missing out on a big capital gains tax exemption.
If you do lose your job, you can rent it out.
$800k is nothing in a city with $240k jobs. You should see other big cities in the world!