I got my pre-approval for my mortgage. I was approved for 150% of what I want to spend. That's crazy! No wonder people get into such a mess with their mortgages. I don't even know how I could afford that much. I used a mortgage calculator, and with a 20% downpayment, I would still have very little money left every month after paying the rent.
Of course, I guess once I buy a place, I will have to change my tax withholdings again. They're already high, and I'm expecting to get a bunch back this year (I should really change that) and I'll have a tax break with the mortgage payments too.
But I digress. 150% of my max! Insane! What are these companies thinking? That said, I'm smart. I'm sticking to my max. Actually, I'm willing to go up an additional $15K, but I'm keeping that to myself and not mentioning it to my agent - I know she'll push the limits, and I'd like to have that in my pocket if the perfect place shows up. But if I tell her I've got that window, then suddenly she'll push beyond that. I've heard good things about this particular agent, and I'm hoping that she doesn't go crazy, what with me getting approved of so much money that I'm completely not prepared to spend.