I was eyeing a house for 135 but it was in Dutchess county and it is not a municipality I can live in working as a NYC employee.
...ok ...understand the sensitivity, just don't think it was intended the way it was taken
...your income is your gross on your w2s ...no "pluses" will be counted unless they are regular and supported by your past 3 years W2s ...any "buyback" you are paying to your pension plan won't be counted in your DTIR
...your credit scores are marginal as I'm sure you know ...you can probably get a mortgage but the rates will be higher and there will be fewer lenders willing to work with you ...anything you can do to get your mid score (mortgage) over 640 would be of great help ...be sure the scores you are working with are FICO mortgage scores, not the FICO 8 you normally see on myFico or a FAKO score you find elsewhere (that no mortgage lender uses)
...your location means USDA is out (they have great programs for your income/credit but only in rural areas) but NY city and state are in ...depending on exactly what you qualify for, your target price should be doable but pay very close attention to the property taxes as they are (imnsho) outrageous in your target area
...you will need to get your DTIR down in order to qualify for your target price ...PIF any CC you can since that will eliminate the minimum payment from your DTIR ...but keep one balance between 1-9% for optimal scoring of revolving accounts.
...that said, the first thing you need to do is get into your state/county/city homebuyer assistance programs ...google for their phone info and then just do it ...they are bureacracies and may tend to drive you batty ...but in the end they can put you in your own home where you want to be at a price/payment you can afford ...no one else can do that for you in your current situation imnsho ...hth
Thank you. I was looking for an honest opinion and that is what you have given me. Right now might not be the time but I have to put the work in to get what I want for myself. I am going to do what I need to do to achieve my dream and if that too is not in the cards for me I will be ok because at the very least I know that I tried.
Ive seen some pretty decent things in that price range that aren't dilapidated.
...one person's dilapidated is another's dream "fixer upper 
...took a brief look on trulia at westchester county for 2br/1ba sfs under 200k ...pretty good selection but most are "as is" fixer-uppers ...FHA 203k types ...but your local homebuyer assistance programs will already know how to deal with those problems and have solutions available
...noted you said you couldn't live out of the city ...if thats an actual job requirement rather than just a practical one, check with your HR to see if your employer has any assistance programs or ties to such ...they often do
...did I mention taxes? ...holy sh*t!!! ...those are craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazy taxes ...but then I think anything over $600 a year is insane 
I did a search in cortland, ny and found a few that are lower than $125 and I love. A lil over 100 actually.
My Union has help with closing costs and lawyers for closing but they only help when you buy within the 5 boroughs. I'm going to be like a sponge and just soak up as much information for you guys and do as much chugging as possible.
My Union has help with closing costs and lawyers for closing but they only help when you buy within the 5 boroughs. I'm going to be like a sponge and just soak up as much information for you guys and do as much chugging as possible.
No worries where that is concerned. If a condo or a coop is all that I should look at right now then I will face the facts and stop my search. In life sometimes you have to see the writing on the walls even if you can't understand it at first. I thank you for all of your advice as I settle into the life of a perpetual renter.
Thank you.