<prompt> Human: Hi PF,My wife and I are in the early stages of house hunting in a HCOL area. Realistically, we are in a market where 400-450k is about the least we could spend. We currently have 20,000 in savings and 40k in 401k if needed.The challenge is this. Ive improved my credit from my younger sins 34 now and have a FICO score of 690. We have been cleaning up my wifes credit but it currently rests at 610. We do pull in a pretty decent income 155k for me, 75k for herShould I be pursuing a house in the range outlined without her? Should we be waiting? Our rent is currently 2200 a month with an August 1st increase to 2500 and we have outgrown our space as is. Any advice is appreciated!  <response>: 230k income. How do you have so little cash available? At any rate, even with all your available funding, you wont have much available as a down payment.Build credit. Save ...which should be incredibly easy unless you have a bunch of debt...in which case would make buying a house even harder. 