<prompt> Human: Ive been trolling reddit for days now and I cant figure this out, so here goes. Typical story - were a young 28 couple about to get married and buy our first house. We found a house we love. In fact, it checks all the boxes of wants. Everyone I know is telling me we can afford it but maybe Im just too conservative andor bad at math to figure this out. So, reddit, please help me figure this out!We both have govt jobs, so they are steady and pay modestly. We live in NJ. Together we make about 6253115kyr. Our monthly debt is as follows: 525 student loan, 740 car loan 1265. The student loans go away in 10 years Im praying for full forgiveness and the car loans in 3 years. We pay 200 for car insurance, and health insurance is taken out of our pay. I figure 240mo for gas, 300 for groceries. Anyone know how much oil heatelectricinternet costs for a 2700sq ft house? Im guessing 400mo?? Paychecks are 1333 and 1550 5766mo net. We have 40k saved.The house we want is 285k. We are putting 15k down more on that later. Mortgage rate is 4.143, taxes are 732mo yeah NJ sucks for that. Property insurance is 75mo. PMI 122mo. Total monthly payment of 2245 rounding. So were on the same page: I figure thats 5766-2245-525-740-200-240-300-400 1116 net saved. If we put 400mo away for retirement thats 716. Seven hundred and sixteen fucking dollars after all necessary expenses. Is that OK? That seems like too little to me? Anyways...The house has mad problems. Needs a new roof 15k? new septic andor drain field 10k minimum?, new furnace 8k? oil heat, no access to gas, new AC unit 1k?. There are other problems, like some mold, basically a hole in two of the floors from water damage, and random other shit. Im ready willing and able to do the in home repairs, but will need a contractor to do the septic. I want the projects, thats actually part of the allure of the house. Even with all that done, the house STILL needs updating new kitchen, bath, every room painted and carpets come out, install hardwood floors, fridge, washer dryer, range, oven, all the bullshit post-caveman humans need. Were thinking of putting 15k down and using 20k for necessary repairs 5k lost to closing costs. I feel like if the house needed nothing, that maybe we could afford it, saving 716mo. That figure will get easier as time goes by - PMI will go away, cars will be paid off, we both get steady but small raises each year. But given that the house needs so much initial work roof furnace ac septic MUST be done right away Im feeling like I just dont see how this will work. So I guess my question is - all those calculators and advice on how much to spend on a house dont really apply to a fixer upper or do they??. Please give me hard, financial evidence that supports the conclusion we should not get into this house. My instinct is we should not. But I dont have enough real world experience to know if saving 716mo is goodbadcrazydo-ableyoull be fine? My most sincere thanks for any input - well. almost any. you know who you areHumbly - Corvius  <response>: Okie dokie, heres what Im seeing: were a young 28 couple about to get married and buy our first houseCongrats! We have 40k saved.I assume that the wedding and honeymoon are 100 paid for already, right i.e. dont need to use savings for anything? That could be a major variable. Paychecks are 1333 and 1550 5766mo net. We have 40k saved.I assume that this includes adequate retirement savings, correct? At your income level, I would say that you need to save about 15 on top of social security in order to comfortably have enough when you retire, accounting for a lot of market issues in the near future. So were on the same page: I figure thats 5766-2245-525-740-200-240-300-400 1116 net saved. If we put 400mo away for retirement thats 716.Just to check, does your job put money away in a pension for you or is there anything else for retirement? 400 per month sounds pretty low if there are no other retirement savings. Im on the other end of the spectrum single, earn about 90k, and save about 20 in my 401k, so call it 1,460 pretax monthly, which I think is a reasonable amount. Im one of the folks who thinks that a house is a form of retirement savings as well - if you treat the house like an investment and dont go for all the want upgrades, basically treating yourselves as renters. It sounds like youre probably not interested in that. Point here is: make sure you save enough for retirement, this is your 1 priority, not buying the house you want. As far as this item is concerned, retirement is the most expensive thing people buy, right after house and right ahead of cars. Make sure youre in a good position here. I personally like T Rowe Prices calculator for this The student loans go away in 10 years Im praying for full forgivenessDepending on type of forgiveness, make sure you factor in the potential tax hit, if any. Also, Im not a fan of praying as a financial strategy. Be careful here. Our monthly debt is as follows: 525 student loan, 740 car loan 1265. The student loans go away in 10 years Im praying for full forgiveness and the car loans in 3 years. We pay 200 for car insurance, and health insurance is taken out of our pay. I figure 240mo for gas, 300 for groceries. Anyone know how much oil heatelectricinternet costs for a 2700sq ft house? Im guessing 400mo?? As others have said, if the rate on your existing debt is high, try to pay that off ASAP. Your car loans look very high relative to income almost as much as I pay on mortgage as a of my income. As far as oil heat, Im not sure, but its a lot. Itll be mitigated somewhat by your putting in a new furnace more efficiency, but oils expensive now, especially compared to natural gas which is dirt cheap. I have an 800 sq ft condo in the Boston area, and I pay about 60 month for electric in the winter about 13 of that cost is because I have 100 renewable energy, so you could say 40mo is more appropriate in winter and about 110 mo for natural gas heat. Oil can easily be more, and you have more square footage. I would estimate my average bills are about 60 month for electric excluding the green and 80 mo for natural gas, so if you do 2,700 sq. ft. 800 sq. ft. that might get you an approximation, though I dont know what the energy cost differential is for your area vs. mine. Lets assume about 150 mo electric and 300 mo for oil. Note: CALL THE UTILITY COMPANY! I think they can tell you a good estimate, if not the actuals for that house, or for the area, or something.Now, here are the big things I want to point out:Elephants in the room Marriage, kids?, one person stops working?Self explanatory. I think youre not saving enough for retirement as is. Are you or your wife planning on retiring if when you have kids? Do your jobs allow you to pick up where you left off afterwards if you do? Can you meet your fixed commitments on one income? Can you save enough for retirement, and potentially the kids college, on one income? Think long and hard about this. I think youre not saving enough for retirement as it is, given you have 2 people living together cost savings, and a good income. If one of you needs to retire, I think you might be boned. Hidden expenses?I see the expenses you list, but dont see the ones you dont list. Some to consider: Do you go out to eat? Drink? Do you take vacations? Do you buy gifts for people? Subscriptions: Spotify, Netflix, Gym, Wine of the month club, who knows. Water bill at the house youre looking at. Car repair budget. Medical expenses. Clothes Electronics gadgets toysDo you keep a budget? If not, start now before you buy. Go back through the past years expenses, and figure out what your money goes towards. Make sure thats in your plan. Fixer upper or tear-down-er and replace-er? The house sounds like it needs work. A lot of work. Mold scares me - a lot. You could be signing up for a huge liability, and dont have cash to cover it, I suspect. At least not enough to cover it and have an emergency fund.How stable are prices in your area? Big city or small town? If small town, your housing market is probably more volatile, and Id be careful about investing such a large portion of your net worth into local real estate rather than in broad stock market.These are just some things to consider, and I cant tell you if its worth it for you or not, but youre biting off a lot. I personally bought a 305k place, 20 down, with 90k yr base income though with decent potential for appreciation. 3.875, my PITI is 1,300 per month; plus condo fee of 150 only covers repairs to the house and maintenance we want to do - we have a long-term budget in place; plus utilities of 150 mo ballpark; gets me to about 1,600 per month. Thats near the upper limit of what I would want to pay, and my net take home after health insurance commuter HSA retirement deductions of 20 is about 3.9k per month. I have no other debt, and have a fully funded emergency fund. My payment is about the most I would feel comfortable spending, and it allows me a considerable amount of room for fun going out, for vacation, and to buy toys. Everyone has their own priorities, but know that you are signing up for a 30 year commitment. Good luck! 