[flynmudd]

My advice to everybody, don't take out a loan on a house that you can't afford. Be realistic, start small and work your way up. It's less stressful and it can be more worthwhile financially. Don't take out second mortgages for credit card debt, just stop spending money on things you don't need, and definitely don't take on an interest only loan.

[xcamel]

No matter how good or bad the economy is, there is always a percentage "beyond the margins". This is the percentage that gets the news coverage. The "very poor", the "over leveraged", "the sudden filthy rich" etc. etc.

If you follow the money, the stories are always coded with "weasel words" to "up the dread level" - also signaling the "short sellers and speculators" to dive right in and grab the remaining asset base for pennies on the dollar.

But alas, I was "just sniping"

[upchuck]

Excellent advice.

May I add...

Study long and hard the difference between want and need.

[freedom moose]

My advice to everybody, don't take out a loan on a house that you can't afford. Be realistic, start small and work your way up.
That's what I say to idiots here who tell me the gov't must give everyone a dignified home. They call me fascist. I used to try to explain why I wasn't a fascist....

[goldstategop]

Yep. Some debt, such as making the home liveable, is unavoidable. But the rest, avoid taking out any unneeded debt.

"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

[MarkL]

My advice to everybody, don't take out a loan on a house that you can't afford. Be realistic, start small and work your way up.

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

[Sender]

I would add to your good advice that for most families where both adults are working, think about what would happen if one of you lost your job for a few months.

If the payment you're considering would kill you instantly in that scenario, downsize your dreams a little. Security is better than square footage or marble.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

"My advice to everybody, don't take out a loan on a house that you can't afford."

Excellent advice. Real Estate has been very, very good to me through the years; but then, I never bought more than I could afford, fixed 'em up, flipped 'em in a few years and bought something bigger and better. And now with the tax break, I don't have to "flip" this last house because there isn't the panic to roll the proceeds into another property to avoid a tax penalty.

'Tain't Rocket Science. And between you, me and the fencepost, I'm looking FORWARD to downsizing in the future. I can't believe how "house poor" some of my friends are because their McMansions suck up so much of their income.

But they just don't get it. ;)