<prompt> Human: Looking to buy a house, wanted to get PFs input.Assistant: This is all going to depend on quite a few things. Do you have any other debt? How much are you putting down? Are you going to stay in your area for at least 5-7 years? Do you adequately save for your retirement? Do you have an emergency fund?Human: I have about 7k in CC debt and 33k in student loans 3.5 - all the spots Im checking out are FHA approved Yes, at least 5-7 years Im 30 years old and have a 401k with about 30k Yes I do have an emergency fundAssistant: Are you aware of PMI requirements on a FHA loan?With your amount of debt and the amount youre putting down, there is no way I would go to 40 post tax income to purchase a home. Why are you currently wanting to purchase this home?Human: PMI is included in that 40 net income figure. I want to buy a home because I have been paying about 25 of net income to rent for the past 4 years and would prefer to keep that as equity instead. I am also starting a family and would like the extra space and type of neighborhood a home would afford. Assistant: Im starting to think that you might be of the mindset that renting is throwing away money. Is this correct?Youre hardly keeping equity by paying into a mortgage where you have so little down. If anything you are likely burying yourself into an upside down situation in the first few years of the mortgage. Are you accounting for taxes, repair costs and general upkeep in your 40 figure as well?Human: I am of the mindset, although I have been rethinking it of late. The 40 accounts for taxes, PMI and the mortgage. Repairs and general upkeep would be additional, is there any standard rule of thumb to estimate what that figure wouldshould be?  <response>: If youre not including repairs and upkeep along with home insurance that number can get pushed well about the 40 range pretty quickly. How old is the house? My house is about 1400 sq ft and a new roof is 10k. New heaterac was 4k. New water heater is 1k. Repairs can get extremely expensive. I dont think there is a good rule of thumb because of the age of the house matters quite a bit. Youl want to know the age of the appliances, heater, roof, siding, and flooring when you buy. You can estimate when they will need replacing based on that.Are you able to put 20 down? If not youll most likely pay out more money in interest, taxes, and insurance than you are renting. If you are paying 25 of your income renting, why not invest the difference between renting and buying? That will give you a lot more flexibility. 