Rant: The realtor who told me I was 'house poor' before I even bought a thing

Last year, I was dead set on a cute fixer-upper in Portland listed at $315,000. I had my finances stretched to the max, and my realtor flat out said, 'You won't have money for a coffee, let alone a new roof.' I changed my search to homes under $280,000 after that. It stung, but she was right. Anyone else get humbled by a budget reality check they ignored at first?

3 comments

3 Comments

dianawilson2d agoTop Commenter

Tbh @zarag17 changed my mind too, now I actually get why being house poor is no joke.

zarag172d ago

Ha, yeah a similar thing happened to me... looking back it was the best thing anyone could've told me. I ended up renting an extra year to save up a bigger down payment, and that buffer saved me when the furnace died three months in.

blair9902d ago

That line about not having money for coffee really hits. I ignored a similar warning on my first house and ended up eating ramen for six months just to cover the water heater that went out. Your realtor did you a solid even if it stung at the time.