patrick.net

I second the captain. This country has been at the extremes lately. If the federal government butts itself out of the house buying process and stops the bail outs (with our money), everything will become normal and we get to see affordable house prices, normal loan qualification and house buying standards.

"Tell me about it, before I was working on closing our loan, I had a few rogue grey hairs, by the day I moved in, the sides of my head and my mutton chops, were completely grey. That was just a 45 day closing process. Every day someone at the bank was putting me to the test.
Always end with, "Well it sounds like we have everything we need, that should be all, good luck see you at the closing."
The next day, someone else would call with a tone, like the deal is being X'd if I don't get my ass down to some office, get a form filled out and faxed back by close of business that day.

This was every single day. I hope there's a bad spot in hell, the worst place imaginable, where the hell sun don't shine, and the hell winds don't blow, for the people who came up with the SOP for getting a loan processed."

E-man says

How much house can I afford? I can afford as much house as the bank is willing to lend. So I guess the question you should ask is.....

How much is the bank willing to lend?

Not entirely true. The bank will often give loans for more than a person can truly afford. To live comfortably, I should not buy a house for more than 450K, but the bank will give me almost 700K (this was last April), based on my salary and credit score. However, I am not willing at all to pay more than 400K to buy land and build. Not going to settle for a former crack house in the NOBE (North Oakland Berkeley Emeryville).

rufita11 says

E-man says

How much house can I afford? I can afford as much house as the bank is willing to lend. So I guess the question you should ask is.....

How much is the bank willing to lend?

Not entirely true. The bank will often give loans for more than a person can truly afford. To live comfortably, I should not buy a house for more than 450K, but the bank will give me almost 700K (this was last April), based on my salary and credit score. However, I am not willing at all to pay more than 400K to buy land and build. Not going to settle for a former crack house in the NOBE (North Oakland Berkeley Emeryville).

What is not entirely true about my question above?