Goomba > wrote in
:

> Steve Pope wrote:
>
>> That's going a little far. In most lines of work, you cannot
>> predict your income from year to year. Maybe some have ultra
>> secure jobs, say in the public sector, but that is a small
>> fraction of people in general. The credit risk of an
>> individual is not an exact calculation, it is just a range of
>> probability. Buyers and lenders both take a calculated risk.
>>
>> Steve
>
> if you're buying a McMansion and can't reasonably afford the
> payment (say if one person in the couple lost their job or
> quit to stay home and raise kids) and have committed 50% of
> their net income to a mortgage payment, they're over extended.
> Are they keeping up with the Joneses or just hoping to turn a
> profit down the road? Is it an unnaturally high cost of living
> area? I dunno?... but IMO, one still needs to be able to live
> within their means and not at the extent of some other
> financial area.

Exactly. Me and my husband lost both our jobs the month we
purchased the house I live in now. Talk about sweating it!!!
You have to be realistic in what you can afford if there might be a
family problem down the road. How the heck can you make payments
for 6 months or so?!!