Hi all, first time post here, I am hoping to get some advice / feedback on my situation.
Financially speaking, I make $70K a year, salaried, no bonuses or commissions. I have $0 Debt, $18.4K cash, $55K in my 401(k) that I am 5 years vested in, and an 800 credit score. My current all in living expenses (rent, utilities, etc.) are $1,050 a month, and I've been faithfully saving $1,500-$2,000 a month for half a year. I spoke with a lendor whom a friend recommended and is close to, and he sent me over 6 worksheets (3/5/10 down each on a 275 property and a 300 property). My lease is up at the start of May, and I entered 2019 not sure the timeline on this would be. I still don't know. Here are my breakdowns:
3 - Financially, I could swing this right now, have a large amount leftover to recover from the big initial hit, but then have a larger mortgage long term
5 - I would either need to borrow from the 401(k) to assist with the purchase costs, or basically walk away broke afterwards
10 - Not possible unless I borrow heavily from the 401(k)
With all that said and written, I am 35, single, not in a relationship, and using this as a long term retirement asset. I could see myself dying in a home in the area I am looking at. My life is established, I have no intentions to move from this area, and I don't think the purchase in itself is unwise. In the 275-300 range in this area I could get a 20 year old property, 4/3/1500-2000 ish, well-maintained, literally across the street from a 5 mile wide park, safe area, good schools, established neighborhood.
Currently, I don't have a realtor, but my friend is having the one he has used for two home purchases in the same zip code contact me. The lendor can get me a conditional offer if I send him over my documents. At that point, the only thing preventing me from proceeding is 1) making the wisest financial decision in whatever timeline that is, and 2) finding a property I want.
With all that said, are there any major blind spots I'm missing? Is this a wise / unwise path forward? Thanks