How large of a loan to expect?

[Anonymous]

Hello, I will be looking to buy my first home and am very curious what to expect regarding what kind of mortgage my wife and I will qualify for.

About us:

I am 28 she is 30

I have a phd she has an md. I just started working a little over a year ago, she has been a medical resident for 2 years. our cumulative gross is currently 150k annually, this will increase ~10k/year for the next 5 years and then more than double in the 6th year.

my credit score is 750 hers is 790 via creditkarma (not sure if that website is legit). i have a thin credit history (3 years with cc), otherwise it is flawless.

we have no debt. no car loans, no student loans, just monthly cc bills always paid on time.

down payment around ~50k.

I am hoping to get a loan between 300 and 400k. I think the payments on this would not be unreasonable, however perhaps the bank would think this is too ambitious based on our income?

am i at a disadvantage for my short work history? should i wait to buy a new car until after buying the house? do i have a chance of getting a 400 k loan? what about 450k? at what rate? we are looking in a philly suburb where prices are elevated for how much house we would like to buy. i am frustrated by the 28% of gross rule of thumb and would like to exceed that with my monthly payments. should i just take a 30 year loan and overpay the monthly payment? 

i am very new to thinking about this so i apologize for confusing statements and questions.

[boomhower]

The DTI ratios are what they are.  They aren't set in stone, if the file is good enough they can be exceeded, but with your thin file I wouldn't count on it. The scores and downpayment would put you in a position for conventional.  Whether you will be able to exceed the guidelines is going to be up to the lender.  If you look much over $400k your getting into jumbo territory which changes things dramatically.

[Revelate]

The fact you have a credit score takes you out of the thin-file category.  You almost certainly qualify for a conventional loan, and if you live in an "expensive" place as defined by the government, you absolutely qualify for a FHA one.  I wouldn't worry about it significantly much, your combined gross income is way more than you need, and from what you posted your DTI is trivial currently.  

Short work history: um, no.  You can do better than that if you achieved your doctorate

First, the job you have likely mostly requires the doctorate anyway (or at least you got hired because of it) so use that as a point in your favor to have more than one year work experience.

Secondly, in virtually every doctoral program I'm aware of, and the fact neither you nor your wife have student loans, you were being paid as either a TA or an RA: claim that as work experience, because almost certainly in your case, it is.  

Honestly you're probably not going to have to work that hard: you don't have to put much lipstick on your pig, you qualify for most of the mortgages out there, and the only "ding" you're going to take is you're not putting 20% down... which hardly anyone else does these days anyway, especially people who look as good as you two do on paper.