The path to home ownership - qualifying

One of the things we are doing differently this time is that we are only qualifying on D's base income. Last time we used both incomes and when both of us had our incomes drop - we were in trouble. Now, my income will not even be reported - even though I currently pay the rent. Also, as a mechanic D's income changes each week based on the work he gets. We are using a standard 40 hour workweek as our basis income for our budget. So, on paper we live on one paycheck and he only makes 40 hours worth of income.

Rental rates are going up in our area. For instance, our same apartment is already renting for $100 more per month than we pay. Pretty soon it will be cheaper to own than to rent, so we will probably start looking when we have a base amount of savings ready rather than waiting until we have saved 20% of the purchase price.We want something modest that we can afford even if times get really bad for us and that we can pay off as quickly as possible. One night we just sat playing with amortization tables on the internet. We found that by doubling only the principle part of the payment we could have a loan paid of years early. If we are careful and buy the right house for the right price, we could conceivably have the house paid off before our 5th grader goes to college.

Our lender has given us the green light as far as getting a mortgage goes. Now all we need to do is save the down payment, but that is for another post.