<prompt> Human: 28 single, no kids, no debt.Over 100k in a money market account. Contributing heavily to my 401k.Own my car outright and it is newer so hopefully no unexpected repairs around the corner.Make 100k a year, I think it works out to be 74,112 after taxes.Property tax will be between 2 3 percent.A lender said I could spend 500k on a house.Assume the house is 500k, I put 100k down, property tax is 2 and the interest rate is 4. My monthly payment should be right around 2,810. These figures are for a 30 year fixed mortgage.My monthly gross income would be 100,000 12 8,333.33So 2,810 8,333.33 100 33.72 which is under 36.I feel like I cant actually afford a house this expensive...Ive heard the conservative estimate of no more than 14 of your monthly take home pay for your monthly payment. That means I couldnt spend more than 1,544. If I were to follow this I should really be looking at houses that cost 300k or less.Another rule would be no more than 13rd of your after tax income. This means my monthly payment should be around 2,058. If I saved more for my down payment lets say 130k and the house costs 400k my monthly payment would sit around 2,000.I wont be raising a family any time soon. I could have a few roommates for a few years and I wouldnt mind much. Right now I have no planned roommates so I cant rely on having them pay for anything.Another rule I heard is no more than twice your gross income, for me this would be 200k which means barely getting a condo in the areas im looking.  <response>: When buying your first home, consider a few things:1 Closing Costs. Your 100k down wont be enough to cover 20 down on a 500k home when you factor in closing costs 2-5 of the homes value.2 Emergency Funds. You make 100kyr, but what happens if your company goes under tomorrow? I would highly recommend against committing 100 of your available funds to a single investment.3 Mobility. Youre 28; where do you want to be when youre 33? Figure you will spend at least 5 years in this house else its not worth paying the closing costs on.4 Space. Where do you live now? How much stuff do you have? If you buy a bigger place, you will buy stuff to fill it: a couch, a table, a spare bed, a TV in a guest room that nobody ever stays in or uses. Maybe a 200k condo as your bachelor pad wouldnt be so bad?5 Heating, Cooling, and other expenses. More space means more temperature to regulate. Its cold this year, yea? How old are the homes in your area? How well insulated are they? Beyond taxes and insurance and repairs and upgrades, there are month to month costs to consider, especially if your current place has utilities rolled into the rent some do, some dont and youre not used to accounting for them.So, youre approved for 500k, and youre all set to stay where you are for at least 5 years. Maybe look for a one bedroom town house for around 300k. 20 down is 60k, lets say 4 for closing costs 12k, that leaves you 100k-60k-12k 28k in savings your emergency fund. You still own a place, youre still building equity, youre not paying someone elses mortgage by renting a unit, but youre also not committing to more than what you need. Do all the math you want and Im proud of you for running the numbers, but you have to figure out something that feels comfortable for you. My wife and I, our first house, we were pre-approved for more than twice what we spent. Our monthly mortgage with taxes rolled in was only 150 more than what wed been paying in rent, so we knew wed be comfortable affording it. You just have to figure out what feels right for you.Best of luck! 