It's me again, kind of long posts..
Backstory - Age 41. Put in an initial offer on a home today, let's say it's $340k after renting a small 1br apartment for over 10 years. This will be over 3x the size. Will try to negotiate down more. Haven't finalized the financing piece yet but closing would be a month from now. In both scenarios PMI is around $100/mo with an 820 credit score. APR is 6.99% conventional, high for the last 5 years but that's where the rates are right now.
3% down would be about $18,948 which I have in my checking account now. Monthly payment ~$3,121 including the $192 HOA.
5% down would be $25,732 which I will have come Friday but would leave me stretched pretty thinly as far as emergency fund goes. Monthly payment would be $3,036.29. I haven't asked for 10% or 20% estimates. 5% down with $345k price essentially requiring less down ($20,933 is $3,069/mo.)
My overall net worth as of May 2025 is $409k, no debt, $382k in investments ($322k 401k, $53k Roth IRA, $3,500 HSA, $1914 Brokerage acct 1, $994 Brokerage acct 2, $297 Crypto ), $25k liquid. Do you think it's worth taking some money out of 401k or Roth IRA to lower the down payment? My gross pay hovers around $11k/mo. By the book would be around 20% down. However that would take close to 2 years while also paying rent.
My gut instinct says not to touch any retirement given the long term return on those and instead cashflow extra to principal as I see fit. I dropped my 401k contributions to 6% temporarily but can always go back to the max level. That gives me an extra $1k/mo net.
Additional Context:
1. My bf would eventually move in with me in about a year but he won't be on the loan. Timing didn't quite work out between his lease ending and the penalties for ending it early are pretty steep (~$2000 in addition to the $1800 already paid prior to the move in date). He'd probably pay around $1200/mo to me I'd estimate when that does happen.
2. My lease is up in August and the apt management said it's cheaper just to do the 60 day notice vs early termination. June I pre-paid, so another $1370 payment for July and August would be pro-rated.
3. This apt has been far from care-free. I've had a carpenter ant infestation, flooding during a freeze, recurring mold issues in the bathroom, leaking pipe from the upstairs apt that was fixed, from Friday through today I have leaking A/C pan issue that I have a bowl setup to catch the water even after 2 visits. The glazing in the bathroom is peeling off again and it needs a respray. The door knob on the front door only started turning one way. My rent increased from $770/mo to $1270/mo or 65% and is likely to go up again for what amounts to an a/c system replacement, one time partial carpet replacement and exterior doors repainted. Since moving into the apartment I've paid about $125k in rent. Even the townhouse I used to co-own in 2012 has doubled in value. I doubt we're going back to those days again.
4. As far as overall dp amounts I started saving in December 2024 so just under 7 months. Otherwise I'd have a lot more set aside. Home quality I'd say is an 8/10, needs some light work done but otherwise move-in ready. Location for me is 9/10, close enough to the urban part of town but far away where the crime rates are much lower.
I wrote a novel already and it's time for bed. Appreciate any initial feedback.
