I'm a sole earner 1099 locum CRNA. I have an accountant that does an excellent job. Due to my propensity to do what I want at the time I want to do it, I am trying to buy a house. I have decided to buy a (for me) expensive home. Expensive is anything I have to get a loan for. So, there is this 360k house we have found that could be good for us for at least a few years.
Paperwork on a normal w-2 loan process can be easier but generally it's been the same for me.
Except, I have rental properties that are claimed as losses on my taxes. I have my income written down significantly based on may exemptions, deductions and whatever magic accountants do. My net income is 160k which is respectable. However, if you recall rental homes, surrogacy and life are all expensive experiences. Therefore, cars, loans, & credit are all taken into account.
So, although my income is significantly higher than appears and I save on taxes. Now I need to be concerned for qualifying for a moderate home in an average city. often times I hear that people need to claim a higher income and pay more taxes to buy more house. I think that if I had less debt based on my income I could have pushed my loan amount to 600k on 160k of earnings which is just shocking to me as the payment would be pretty high for a supposed income level of 160k.
The good news is that I am not looking for an amazing, blow it out of the water home. I'm looking for reasonable, decent re-sale, good schools, and place to let the dogs outside.
I'm taking into account sale and realtor fees. However, houses have been sitting on the market for a while at the current rates. I'm moderately concerned that we could be at the top of the market.
If that is the case we will need to watch for not over upgrading a house. We'll need to recall that kitchen and bath are selling points. Going too small with a high price or too large can mean that the home will be more challenging to sell.
Buying a home makes it more challenging as a locum as well. If looking to only do locums in one area it can be rough. The hospitals will try to do per diem vs locum. The housing amount provided going toward paying off a mortgage is highly important in keeping my plan alive for 5 years from now.
We will be looking at 2-3 houses today and if not impressed we have our home picked out.
Will keep you updated as we go through this process.