I am an E4 and so is my spouse, now due to our child beating the odds she got pregnant on birth control. The kid is due in September, so I will not be receiving E-4 with dependent pay until then. However, I want to purchase a house in Norfolk and was curious as to how much house I can afford. We both have practically zero debt (I have a credit card with 700 bucks on it imma finish paying off next month) and we are both receiving single BAH currently. Our monthly expenses currently are roughly 1500 so we have built an emergency fund of about 15k. Please advise me on how to move forward. I would get an apartment but when I have looked for a 2 bed 1 bath they all end up costing 16 to 1900 a month when I could get a house for theoretically only 400 to 600 more bucks a month.
Requesting advice on Homebuying
byu/bravodemadrigal inMilitaryFinance
Posted by bravodemadrigal
2 Comments
You should get an apartment. That cheap house for “only” 600 more/month is the MINIMUM you will pay. You will have extra expenses of utilities, water leaks, roofs, etc.
In the apartment, that’s the maximum you will pay. In the meantime, take that extra $600/month and build up your emergency fund to cover 6 months of expenses in a house, and closing costs for it. Look into buying at your next duty station.
Also OP, your wife counts as a dependent brother. So expect your BAH to be 2229.
Still a bit of a stretch on a house, so I’d go for an apartment, use the leftover BAH to furnish the place piece by piece, get rid of the debt, the take your time house shopping when the market and price is right.
Edit: you’re dual mil so disregard.