Accepting advice to pay 240k student loan debt PLEASE

[indebtpharmd]

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Hello everyone, I am a 5th year pharmacy student in a 6 year program at Albany College of Pharmacy and health Sciences. After I complete my rotations in a year I will be graduating with 240k of debt (I have had no co-signer for years). About 150 will be from sallie mae and the rest from the fed. I am looking for any advice from current pharmacists who have been in similar situations. I will move anywhere, do anything, and work for anyone to pay off this debt. Any hope/advice would be brilliant! Thanks, Mike.

 

[indebtpharmd]

my obvious frustration with this topic even has me making typo's on the title... sorry

 

[ucrx]

Hello everyone, I am a 5th year pharmacy student in a 6 year program at Albany College of Pharmacy and health Sciences. After I complete my rotations in a year I will be graduating with 240k of debt (I have had no co-signer for years). About 150 will be from sallie mae and the rest from the fed. I am looking for any advice from current pharmacists who have been in similar situations. I will move anywhere, do anything, and work for anyone to pay off this debt. Any hope/advice would be brilliant! Thanks, Mike.

Look into government or service jobs. Although I don't think military pays all of your loans back, I believe they may pay some after so many years of serving. And if you want a break from pharmacy, look into something like the peace corps. I think they help with loans too.

 

[indebtpharmd]

My goal is to do whatever I can to pay my debt off as fast as possible. I have been looking into the Navy/Air force. I noticed they changed their student loan debt assistance programs since the first time I saw them. I thought I may hire an accountant to figure out how/if refinancing my federal and private student loans is possible. However, doind this will just cost me more money. Whatever it is I do, I am going to live out of a cardboard box until they are paid. The dreams of a brand new sports car I assumed I would buy the day I signed a contract are long gone...

 

[pharmalt82]

240K!? WOW!
There are definitely going to be fresh PharmDs with $250K in debt jumping off bridges once the surplus really hits and they can't find a job...
Maybe that will trigger the student loan bubble to finally burst...mass suicide of people who took out massive student loans. Even if those loans are insured, the lenders will be screwed if the defaults by suicide are high enough in number...

 

[TemSirolimus]

240K!? WOW!
There are definitely going to be fresh PharmDs with $250K in debt jumping off bridges once the surplus really hits and they can't find a job...
Maybe that will trigger the student loan bubble to finally burst...mass suicide of people who took out massive student loans. Even if those loans are insured, the lenders will be screwed if the defaults by suicide are high enough in number...

someone on this board stated something to the effect of situation comedy not always funny at any situation

 

[indebtpharmd]

240K!? WOW!
There are definitely going to be fresh PharmDs with $250K in debt jumping off bridges once the surplus really hits and they can't find a job...
Maybe that will trigger the student loan bubble to finally burst...mass suicide of people who took out massive student loans. Even if those loans are insured, the lenders will be screwed if the defaults by suicide are high enough in number...

I think those of us with this much debt have a little more mental strength than the average student. It takes a lot more to put yourself through school when you dont have parents to spoon feed you $$$ the entire way. Were you one of the lucky students who doesnt know how to file financial aid because mummy did it every year? Maybe when these pharmD's comitt suicide because mom is no longer around to breast feed my demand will be higher...

 

[jinga]

Hello everyone, I am a 5th year pharmacy student in a 6 year program at Albany College of Pharmacy and health Sciences. After I complete my rotations in a year I will be graduating with 240k of debt (I have had no co-signer for years). About 150 will be from sallie mae and the rest from the fed. I am looking for any advice from current pharmacists who have been in similar situations. I will move anywhere, do anything, and work for anyone to pay off this debt. Any hope/advice would be brilliant! Thanks, Mike.

Maybe you could lay out your loan amounts, by lender, which interest rates? Perhaps you've even been given projected payment amounts to help us make some determinations...

 

[jinga]

Sorry, I meant to say "with interest rates." Not a huge deal, though 🙂

 

[aboveliquidice]

My goal is to do whatever I can to pay my debt off as fast as possible. I have been looking into the Navy/Air force. I noticed they changed their student loan debt assistance programs since the first time I saw them. I thought I may hire an accountant to figure out how/if refinancing my federal and private student loans is possible. However, doind this will just cost me more money. Whatever it is I do, I am going to live out of a cardboard box until they are paid. The dreams of a brand new sports car I assumed I would buy the day I signed a contract are long gone...

Work for the VA or military = Make 120 payments in a row. You cannot quit your job nor can you miss any payments.

Do this, and ANY remaining debt beyond 10 yrs will be forgiven.

 

[indebtpharmd]

Work for the VA or military = Make 120 payments in a row. You cannot quit your job nor can you miss any payments.

Do this, and ANY remaining debt beyond 10 yrs will be forgiven.

Is this true for even my sallie mae private loans? Also, does this deal with the new health care reform bill that dealt with student loan reform? I thought that was only for federal student loans, the majority of mine are private. Thanks for clarifying

also what kind of payment do you think this would be?

 

[aboveliquidice]

Is this true for even my sallie mae private loans? Also, does this deal with the new health care reform bill that dealt with student loan reform? I thought that was only for federal student loans, the majority of mine are private. Thanks for clarifying

also what kind of payment do you think this would be?

Private loans are not included - however, if you roll them into a Federal Direct Consolidation loan, they would then be eligible. Check this site for more info: LINK

As was mentioned above - you could also consider the Military or PHS. There are several programs designed to pay back a significant amount of loans... The Indian Health Services will pay 20k per year for as many years as it is needed / available. Both the Navy and the Army offer 40k (less taxes) per year for 3 yrs (with the possibility of negotiating a 4th yr).

 

[jinga]

Private loans are not included - however, if you roll them into a Federal Direct Consolidation loan, they would then be eligible. Check this site for more info: LINK

As was mentioned above - you could also consider the Military or PHS. There are several programs designed to pay back a significant amount of loans... The Indian Health Services will pay 20k per year for as many years as it is needed / available. Both the Navy and the Army offer 40k (less taxes) per year for 3 yrs (with the possibility of negotiating a 4th yr).

I didn't realize private loans can be consolidated with federal loans. I have a few private loans already and it would be awesome to get some of them paid through this program.

 

[pharmalt82]

I think those of us with this much debt have a little more mental strength than the average student. It takes a lot more to put yourself through school when you dont have parents to spoon feed you $$$ the entire way. Were you one of the lucky students who doesnt know how to file financial aid because mummy did it every year? Maybe when these pharmD's comitt suicide because mom is no longer around to breast feed my demand will be higher...

Nope, I fill out the FAFSA myself. But, you are right, it's pathetic that there are students who have never been to the FAFSA website because their parents do it for them...
Also, whatever loan consolidation pathway you choose, if you do choose one, make sure you choose a "federal" pathway (that's the best phrase I could come up with). I'm recommending that because you never know what kind of benefits might pop up in the future.

Also, are you going to be sacrificing career opportunities to pay off this debt?

 

[StaviZFingerZ]

Hello everyone, I am a 5th year pharmacy student in a 6 year program at Albany College of Pharmacy and health Sciences. After I complete my rotations in a year I will be graduating with 240k of debt (I have had no co-signer for years). About 150 will be from sallie mae and the rest from the fed. I am looking for any advice from current pharmacists who have been in similar situations. I will move anywhere, do anything, and work for anyone to pay off this debt. Any hope/advice would be brilliant! Thanks, Mike.

Would you be willing to work for $80,000 per year if there were no jobs available?

 

[awval999]

One. You cannot role private loans into the federal consolidation loan.
http://loanconsolidation.ed.gov/borrower/bloans.html

Two. Regarding the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. "The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program provides for forgiveness of the remaining balance of a borrower’s eligible loans after the borrower has made 120 payments on those loans. In general, only borrowers who are making reduced monthly payments through the Direct Loan Income Contingent or Income Based repayment plans will have a remaining balance after making 120 payments on a loan."
http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/LoanForgivenessv4.pdf


Only Federal loans are looked at under PSLF. Implying one will get a federal job is a stretch. This program is new and there aren't even guidelines yet. "Unfortunately, the Department of Education does not currently have a formal process to sign up for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or for confirming eligible employment. However, we are putting substantial pressure on the Department to put an eligibility confirmation process in place swiftly so that borrowers can make good financial decisions regarding their student loans. In the meantime, save records that identify your employer and the dates and hours of your employment."
http://www.ibrinfo.org/what.vp.html

I'm trying not to be a bearer of bad news. But to take out an outrageous amount of loans like this is not a good start. This is a warning for any pre-pharmacy student. Pharmacy school is a truly a financial decision, and these new schools will gladly cash your $40,000/year check while not being able to promise a single job.

This is an amortization of $240,000 over 10 years.
Monthly Principal & Interest $2,761.93
Total Number of Payments 120
Total of 120 Payments $331,431.35
Original Loan Amount $240,000.00

Realize that this is an entire (or more) net two-week paycheck making about $110,000/year in an moderately taxed state such as Ohio.

 

[aboveliquidice]

I didn't realize private loans can be consolidated with federal loans. I have a few private loans already and it would be awesome to get some of them paid through this program.

Not necessarily private loans - Perkins loans yes... complete list of loans that can be consolidated are here: LINK

Sorry for the confusion... I would think that some form of loan forgiveness program such as the IHS would be perfect for you.

 

[awval999]

So to answer the OP.

You cannot role the Sallie Mae debt into a Federal Consolidation Loan.

That private debt will not be looked at to base an Income-based repayment option.
You will make too much as a pharmacist to qualify for an income-based repayment (15% of expendable income after poverty threshold) that would make any large difference in repayment between standard and income based.
You are assuming 10 years (public sector) instead of 25 years (private sector) for the loan forgiveness programs which are brand new and don't have current guidelines; cannot guarrentee a "cushy" VA job, although I'm sure IHS will send you to the middle of nowhere if you wanted for a decade.

However, the debt is managable. You will just have to live off of the equivalent of ~$50,000 (pretax) a year for the next 10 years. Plenty of people do that everyday in small town Albany.

 

[aboveliquidice]

One. You cannot role private loans into the federal consolidation loan.
http://loanconsolidation.ed.gov/borrower/bloans.html

Two. Regarding the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. "The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program provides for forgiveness of the remaining balance of a borrower’s eligible loans after the borrower has made 120 payments on those loans. In general, only borrowers who are making reduced monthly payments through the Direct Loan Income Contingent or Income Based repayment plans will have a remaining balance after making 120 payments on a loan."
http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/LoanForgivenessv4.pdf


Only Federal loans are looked at under PSLF. Implying one will get a federal job is a stretch. This program is new and there aren't even guidelines yet. "Unfortunately, the Department of Education does not currently have a formal process to sign up for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or for confirming eligible employment. However, we are putting substantial pressure on the Department to put an eligibility confirmation process in place swiftly so that borrowers can make good financial decisions regarding their student loans. In the meantime, save records that identify your employer and the dates and hours of your employment."
http://www.ibrinfo.org/what.vp.html

I'm trying not to be a bearer of bad news. But to take out an outrageous amount of loans like this is not a good start. This is a warning for any pre-pharmacy student. Pharmacy school is a truly a financial decision, and these new schools will gladly cash your $40,000/year check while not being able to promise a single job.

This is an amortization of $240,000 over 10 years.
Monthly Principal & Interest $2,761.93
Total Number of Payments 120
Total of 120 Payments $331,431.35
Original Loan Amount $240,000.00

Realize that this is an entire (or more) net two-week paycheck making about $110,000/year in an moderately taxed state such as Ohio.

One, I agree - I was generally stating that several loans can be rolled and made eligible, such as perkins.

Two, you assertion someone is going to pay back 240k over a 10 yr period is shortsighted. Most people will consolidate / extend repayment to 25 or 30 years. You will pay way more this way, but your payments will be lower, and when you are able to pay more on the loan (over pay) you can.

To be certain, anyone taking out student loans in the era of 6.8 and 8.5% rates are going to get hosed. That includes all professions (med, dent, opt schools aren't cheap either).

Is anyone else tired of the constant drone of "I can't find a job". You can, they are out there. Plenty of them.

Lastly, no - your school will not guarantee a job for you. If you were an art major, this may be an issue for you. As a professional, you're expected to be able to accomplish tasks on your own. Locating a job falls squarely in that skill set.

 

[type b pharmD]

pharmacy school is not merely another "investment".. granted, looking at finances is smart .. but I would have chosen it regardless of the debt I would be taking (i'll have 170k or so), because I love the job so much.. it doesnt make sense to do something ELSE that i dont enjoy, simply because it will allow me more money. So to answer stavi's question, yes I would work for 80k .. because that's the salary i based all my calculations on 5 years ago when i decided to go into pharmacy.

Worst case scenario, say you have 500k in loans and make 70k .. your IBR is still going to be $600-700 a month.. you can still live very luxuriously on that kind of money.

 

[awval999]

pharmacy school is not merely another "investment".. granted, looking at finances is smart .. but I would have chosen it regardless of the debt I would be taking (i'll have 170k or so), because I love the job so much.. it doesnt make sense to do something ELSE that i dont enjoy, simply because it will allow me more money. So to answer stavi's question, yes I would work for 80k .. because that's the salary i based all my calculations on 5 years ago when i decided to go into pharmacy.

Worst case scenario, say you have 500k in loans and make 70k .. your IBR is still going to be $600-700 a month.. you can still live very luxuriously on that kind of money.

I disagree. Everything in life (that incurs substantial cost) should be looked at in a cost-benefit analysis. No career is worth 500K in loans if you can only make 70K. And you cannot accumulate 500K in Direct Stafford (or PLUS) loans. IBR only takes into account government loans. Anyone sitting on Sallie Mae loans will be hard pressed to have those loans forgiven.

However, I agree that one can live nicely on 70K; however, many in this forum do not think so. Just playing devil's advocate here.

 

[awval999]

One, I agree - I was generally stating that several loans can be rolled and made eligible, such as perkins.

Two, you assertion someone is going to pay back 240k over a 10 yr period is shortsighted. Most people will consolidate / extend repayment to 25 or 30 years. You will pay way more this way, but your payments will be lower, and when you are able to pay more on the loan (over pay) you can.

To be certain, anyone taking out student loans in the era of 6.8 and 8.5% rates are going to get hosed. That includes all professions (med, dent, opt schools aren't cheap either).

Is anyone else tired of the constant drone of "I can't find a job". You can, they are out there. Plenty of them.

Lastly, no - your school will not guarantee a job for you. If you were an art major, this may be an issue for you. As a professional, you're expected to be able to accomplish tasks on your own. Locating a job falls squarely in that skill set.

Agree on the job compliants. You won't find me arguing that. However, people should realize that before they start school.

You cannot consolidate private loans. But just to entertain your argument, one needs to see how badly dragging these payments out for 25 years is.

At 7% interest over 25 years:
Monthly Principal & Interest $1,696.27
Total Number of Payments 300
Total of 300 Payments $508,881.02
Original Loan Amount $240,000.00

 

[type b pharmD]

I disagree. Everything in life (that incurs substantial cost) should be looked at in a cost-benefit analysis. No career is worth 500K in loans if you can only make 70K. And you cannot accumulate 500K in Direct Stafford (or PLUS) loans. IBR only takes into account government loans. Anyone sitting on Sallie Mae loans will be hard pressed to have those loans forgiven.

However, I agree that one can live nicely on 70K; however, many in this forum do not think so. Just playing devil's advocate here.

Well in my case, cost benefit included the benefit to my well being of having a career that I can look forward to going to work every day. You cant really put a price tag on that

 

[jinga]

Well in my case, cost benefit included the benefit to my well being of having a career that I can look forward to going to work every day. You cant really put a price tag on that

Type B, I love your optimism, but you HAVE to put a price tag on it. Friend, the real world hurts. I'm only 24, but you'll have kids, a car payment, a tank to fill, a mortgage, and probably braces to pay for. I have tons tons tons to learn yet, but I have at least had to support myself and my wife for a long time now.

Pharmacy school IS an investment and it's awesome you love it. But the reality is if you're chained to your debt and unable to provide for yourself and a family with no way out, it ISN'T worth it.

 

[jinga]

So to answer the OP.

You cannot role the Sallie Mae debt into a Federal Consolidation Loan.

That private debt will not be looked at to base an Income-based repayment option.
You will make too much as a pharmacist to qualify for an income-based repayment (15% of expendable income after poverty threshold) that would make any large difference in repayment between standard and income based.
You are assuming 10 years (public sector) instead of 25 years (private sector) for the loan forgiveness programs which are brand new and don't have current guidelines; cannot guarrentee a "cushy" VA job, although I'm sure IHS will send you to the middle of nowhere if you wanted for a decade.

However, the debt is managable. You will just have to live off of the equivalent of ~$50,000 (pretax) a year for the next 10 years. Plenty of people do that everyday in small town Albany.

This is reassuring. We will have an easy time living off of 50K and will probably try to much much less!

 

[Dancer123]

I think this website can help you look at specific numbers. It has quite a bit of information but my favorite part is the calculators tab at the left hand side. The first two calculators are the best place to start because they are simple and straightforward.

http://www.finaid.org

I was looking at several different loan options that looked promising at first, but after looking at the specific numbers I realized it wasn't as good as it seemed. I agree with a previous post that the option for working in a public service job with 120 payments does not really benefit you very much. The payments are too high and after 120 payments (which means 10 years) you have hardly any debt left. Also the interest that builds up over 10 years is most likely more than the amount that would be forgiven in the long run. I will have almost that same amount of loans when I graduate and my conclusion was that the best thing to do is to find the highest paying job possible and focus completely on paying loans as fast as possible. It worked out that every extra year that I take to pay off loans is an extra $10,000 in interest that is added to my amount.

-Don't be discouraged that your private loans won't be considered in the income base repayment plan. If you want to pay off your loans as fast as possible the IBR plan is not the way you want to go anyways. They lower your payments but it takes you much longer to pay it off and you have more interest that has accumulated.

-At least for your stafford loans (subsidized and unsubsidized), Perkins loans, and Plus loans you can calculate what your consolodated interest rate would be yourself using the Loan Consolidation Calculator rather than paying someone to figure it out for you.

- Something to check out: Under the Electronic Debit Account (EDA) payment option, your bank automatically deducts your monthly loan payment from your checking or savings account and sends the payment to the Department. In addition to helping to ensure that your payments are made on time, you receive a 0.25 percent interest rate reduction while you repay under the EDA option.

-Also, make sure you check your most recent loan amounts. You may have more than $240 if you haven't considered loans that have accumulated interest while you have been in school. All the loans you have will have gathered interest unless you had the perkins or stafford subsidized loan.

Hope this helps!

 

[type b pharmD]

Type B, I love your optimism, but you HAVE to put a price tag on it. Friend, the real world hurts. I'm only 24, but you'll have kids, a car payment, a tank to fill, a mortgage, and probably braces to pay for. I have tons tons tons to learn yet, but I have at least had to support myself and my wife for a long time now.

Pharmacy school IS an investment and it's awesome you love it. But the reality is if you're chained to your debt and unable to provide for yourself and a family with no way out, it ISN'T worth it.

providing for a family not something I have on my agenda, so that makes it a LOT easier. Ultimately I hope to move back to my home state, where I can buy a nice house for $100k. They say kids cost $500,000 each.. or something (a figure i'm making up).. so not having kids is a big win, financially. Also not needing to live in a big house is a win. I also never plan to spend more than $10,000 on a car. My family never bought cars newer than 5 years old .. if you choose a good model, you should be able to get 100k miles out of it without major repairs. That saves a ton of money. Also having an apartment bill under $500 a month as well. In the city I ultimately plan to move to, you can get a luxury 2bedroom for $425 a month, heat and parking included.

My point is: money, and the relative lack or surplus thereof is completely dependent on your perception and circumstances (that you control). I've been thinking about this for a long time and planning too, so it's not just some pipe dream. My boss has told me they often have difficulty filling jobs in wisconsin anyhow .. but if i cant get there right away, I'll just wait until somebody dies, is fired, retires, or transfers to a "hotter" location.

 

[jinga]

providing for a family and owning a house is not something I have on my agenda, so that makes it a LOT easier. Ultimately I hope to move back to my home state, where I can buy a large well maintained house for around $100k

Smart plan. Lol. 'Nuf said. Stick to it, dude.

 

[jinga]

Would you be willing to work for $80,000 per year if there were no jobs available?

I would sacrifice an organ to work for 80K right now. Unfortunately, I have several years left.

 

[StaviZFingerZ]

This is hopeless.. unless he/she can marry rich, I say go on a financial exile to a foreign country and default on the loan!

 

[jinga]

This is hopeless.. unless he/she can marry rich, I say go on a financial exile to a foreign country and default on the loan!

Agreed, it might be doable if they were all federal, but given the private loan situation: ouchy...

 

[pezdispenser]

Whatever it is I do, I am going to live out of a cardboard box until they are paid.

If you will really do this, it will still take 6 YEARS. That's paying $4,500 per month out of a pharmacist's take home pay of $6,000. Hardly practical...

A more reasonable approach would be to go on an extended payment plan of up to 30 years. This will bring the payment down to a more manageable $1,500. Yes, 25% of your pay check will be gone for the next 30 years or pretty much your whole career (not considering raises/inflation), but if you never saw it in your bank account you won't be tempted to live the high life. Just a middle-class lifestyle like you're making $80k instead of $110k. 🙂

 

[jinga]

If you will really do this, it will still take 6 YEARS. That's paying $4,500 per month out of a pharmacist's take home pay of $6,000. Hardly practical...

A more reasonable approach would be to go on an extended payment plan of up to 30 years. This will bring the payment down to a more manageable $1,500. Yes, 25% of your pay check will be gone for the next 30 years or pretty much your whole career (not considering raises/inflation), but if you never saw it in your bank account you won't be tempted to live the high life. Just a middle-class lifestyle like you're making $80k instead of $110k. 🙂

I fear that the payments might be higher due to the large amount of private loans - can anyone comment on this?

 

[stevephhs016]

So I have $111,000 private and $59,000 federal. Paying 1.5k to private loans, and $800 for federal. I make $50/hr for CVS. I'm living comfortably enough to not have to worry about putting food on the table, making a nice purchase once in a while, live in a condo with 2 other pharmacists. I guess I'm a living example.

As for advice, don't make stupid spendings, don't go out every night. If you have extra money, put it into your loans, live with your parents if even.

Its tough but its doable.

 

[PharmDstudent]

Get a part-time job in addition to a full-time job. Or get 2 full-time overnight jobs, 1 for each week.

 

[jinga]

So I have $111,000 private and $59,000 federal. Paying 1.5k to private loans, and $800 for federal. I make $50/hr for CVS. I'm living comfortably enough to not have to worry about putting food on the table, making a nice purchase once in a while, live in a condo with 2 other pharmacists. I guess I'm a living example.

As for advice, don't make stupid spendings, don't go out every night. If you have extra money, put it into your loans, live with your parents if even.

Its tough but its doable.

When are you looking at having them paid off?

 

[PumpkinSmasher]

I think those of us with this much debt have a little more mental strength than the average student. It takes a lot more to put yourself through school when you dont have parents to spoon feed you $$$ the entire way. Were you one of the lucky students who doesnt know how to file financial aid because mummy did it every year? Maybe when these pharmD's comitt suicide because mom is no longer around to breast feed my demand will be higher...

240k? 😱

May God have mercy on your soul. I agree with Stavi...just bail.

 

[confettiflyer]

good lord why do people take out private loans? i was gonna suggest IBR+PSLF but most of your debt is private so you're basically SOL. Better find a job that lets you work OT and bring down that balance.

 

[Farmtastic]

are you supporting anyone else? if it's just yourself, and you can take home about $65k per year after taxes then you can use that to pay it back.

one person can live a very good life comfortably off of 30k per year.

so you have 35k per year (65k - 30k) towards student loans. so for example, if you have to pay back 315k, you can do it in 9 years.

 

[Carboxide]

Honestly, your best bet IMO would be to get married, live off his/her salary and put your entire salary towards loans for like...4 years or whatever.

Get it OVER with.

BTW: this is why the old law school adage "Live like a lawyer while in school, you'll live like a student when you're a lawyer" rings true.

 

[Passion4Sci]

Except if you graduate from a T5-8, in which case you can do both. 🙂

So you want someone to get married pretty much for the sole reason to pay off his loans? Awesome advice.

 

[Farmtastic]

I'm confused...

if you take home 60-65 after takes per year....then how can you not pay it back?

 

[Passion4Sci]

I'm confused...

if you take home 60-65 after takes per year....then how can you not pay it back?

65/12 is ~5k/mo take-home.

That quickly gets evaporated as numerous people have shown so far on this thread.

Mortgage, car, hobbies, family, family, family, etc... it all goes away, and if you're throwing 2k of that out the window immediately for your loan payment and are left with 3k a month? A decent house around here will run you 10% down (so figure $35,000 cash needed to even get talking...) and then a $2200 mortgage. 3000-2200 = X?

5.4 BEFORE loans is not very much money. AFTER loans, sure... 5k is a great living wage. But does someone become a pharmacist and earn a doctorate to make the equivalent of $36,000 per year? I think not.

 

[StaviZFingerZ]

and then a $2200 mortgage.

Dude... that's a payment for a mortgage on $320,000... on a $450,000 house with taxes and insurance.

I guess that depends on where you are... but $450,000 is a lot of house in TX but a shack in CA.

 

[confettiflyer]

Dude... that's a payment for a mortgage on $320,000... on a $450,000 house with taxes and insurance.

I guess that depends on where you are... but $450,000 is a lot of house in TX but a shack in CA.

d000d, prices crashed...you can pick up a decent 1800 sq ft+ tract home for $450k in OC. I guess that's still a shack by TX standards, but still, that's like a 50% discount from 5 years ago.

 

[StaviZFingerZ]

d000d, prices crashed...you can pick up a decent 1800 sq ft+ tract home for $450k in OC. I guess that's still a shack by TX standards, but still, that's like a 50% discount from 5 years ago.

You can't buy a 1,800 sq/ft home in TX. That's illegal here. Minimum 3,000 sq/ft.

$450K will get you 4,000-5,000sq/ft house with all the upgrades.

 

[Phoho]

You can't buy a 1,800 sq/ft home in TX. That's illegal here. Minimum 3,000 sq/ft.

$450K will get you 4,000-5,000sq/ft house with all the upgrades.

I'd like to see the documentation for that because I don't think that's correct. The house my parents owned when they were living in Waco wasn't even 3,000 sq/ft.

 

[type b pharmD]

I'd like to see the documentation for that because I don't think that's correct. The house my parents owned when they were living in Waco wasn't even 3,000 sq/ft.

LOL he was joking.

 

[Phoho]

LOL he was joking.

Damn, sarcasm is so hard to detect on the internet. Props to Stavi for fooling me.

 

[aboveliquidice]

I'd like to see the documentation for that because I don't think that's correct. The house my parents owned when they were living in Waco wasn't even 3,000 sq/ft.

LOL he was joking.

Damn, sarcasm is so hard to detect on the internet. Props to Stavi for fooling me.

This will only inflate him...