Does it ever make sense to be house poor? - I’m a 26F who currently pays $1330 in rent and total bills are $1650 a month. I make $3700 a month post tax. I have a side hustle and can make upwards of $1k a month but it’s not stable. $30k in savings, 20k in retirement, no CC debt and 8k in student loans. I have no car payment but I’m coming up on 9 years with my Honda accord.

Im currently in nursing school and set to graduate and start working as a new nurse in October. I accepted an offer but don’t have salary details yet.

Im looking into buying a home. A new build at $255k (the cheapest one). I was approved for FHA but the rate is 6.5% which puts the mortgage at $2,305. I assume my new nurse salary will be similar to what I make now, but hoping for salary growth opportunities.

My lease will end after graduation and though I don’t mind my apartment, I’ve dealt with a lot of in-unit issues and awful neighbors. I’m getting a little tired of renting and would love to be in my own home. Given that the mortgage is at least more than half of my take home pay now, would it ever make sense to do this? I keep being told that the rates will never go back down and home prices will keep going up.

I am expecting to get a 10k sign on bonus, and considered dividing this by 12 and paying house stuff first, and paying the rest with my salary for the first year.This would be about $1500 that I would pay from the nursing pay into the house.

Of course I can get a roommate, but I know i shouldn’t rely on that.

In my area, a lot of homes are older and at least $250k but in less desirable areas. Being that I’m a single woman, it’s important for me to feel like I live in a safer area. Townhomes in the area were built in the 80s, priced around $200k but the HOA fee brings the estimated mortgage amounts to around $1900. Everything I’ve looked at seems to need a lot of work.

Sorry if this is a lot of info, I’m just at a loss on what to do and eager to own a home. I understand homeownership comes with a lot of unexpected expenses. I do not know what my rent price will be if I resign my lease yet. I wouldn’t mind resigning but I know I will have to go through this process at some point.

Edit: I’m going to keep renting and saving until Im a little more stable. Thanks for the responses