Excellent advice... When I was shopping for a house (about 16 years ago), a Realtor told me that I could afford a monthly mortgage payment of $XXX dollars... I informed her that I could afford a payment of substantially LESS than that amount, by about $350 a month! And am I glad I did so. It's allowed me save some money for my retirement, but more importantly, it's allowed me to keep my house! Even with refinancing the mortgage at a rate nearly 2.5% less than the rate I originally got, due to property tax and (to a lesser extent) increases in the cost of homeowners insurance, my monthly mortgage payment has gone from $385 to $645 a month. Happily, my income as increased along the way, so it's affordable for me. But had I gone with what the Realtor suggested, I wouldn't have been able to afford to keep my house.
Mark
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus