<prompt> Human: I am 26 years old with almost no debt small car payment. Currently renting a house with some friends but am ready to get my own place. I currently have about 50K or so between savings and mutual funds. I make around 45K a year with room to grow in my position. I understand that with this income level, my loan to income ratio will probably be a little high--but I will be able to put down a sizeable downpayment while not handcuffing myself. My brother has already said he will help with any issuesrepairs that may come up inasmuch as he can. I have been casually looking at homes in my area between 200-250K. I had planned to talk to a lender about pre-approval but wanted to get some thoughts on my plan from people who know a lot more about this than I do.I plan to stay in the area indefinitely after purchasing a home. Is this doable for someone in my situation?  <response>: Youre probably well aware, but make sure to figure out just how much property tax is for the houses youre looking at. Sometimes its StateCountyCityTown, and it can make an impact on your price ceiling. Id also encourage you to look in the cheaper range so that you might have the option of working to pay off the mortgage in 25 or even 20 years, regardless of ifwhen youre planning on moving to a different house later. 