Squatola.
We went down today to talk with a broker about how and when we can start looking for a home to buy here. Took in pay stubs, W2s, yada yada. Tell her we're looking for something in the range of $x a month including the taxes and such, because that's what we feel we can comfortably afford.
She runs the credit report, asks about our current bills, and crunches some numbers. Meanwhile, we're terrified she's going to laugh us out of the office.
With a huge smile, she happily tells us that she's prequalifying us for almost three times the amount we said we were comfortable with.
Thanks, but no thanks. On paper we can afford it, but in the real world it ain't happenin'.
On top of it, long gone are the days of 20% down. Five percent is all we need.
I get the feeling no one learned a lesson with this housing crisis we're all still trying to dig out of. On the up-side, to heck with renting for the next few years, we're going house hunting in a couple months.
Anyone else seeing something like this? We were sure they'd be much more cautious about lending.