In article , "Kim W5TIT"
writes:

I am
shopping for a new home and my husband and I have decided what we are
comfortable spending, what we need and desire in a new place, what kind of
interest rate we'll accept, and what payment we want.

Weren't you folks having a place built, Kim? Or are we talking about the same
thing?

Know what? One
mortgage company so far has told us, "you have a lot of room to move,"
meaning that we can get into something much bigger and more expensive than
we are looking for. They seem shocked that we aren't interested in
"maxxing" out our limit!!

Sure. I've encountered that, too, in all sorts of transactions, Their focus is
very narrow. And their fees and commissions are based on the selling price.

And note that reselling mortgages is pretty standard, so the people who sold
you the house and mortgage won't be holding the bag if you do default.

And, you're right about bankruptcy, too. When I said to a lender that we
weren't comfortable with the expense they were suggesting, they said we
could afford it and didn't know what the problem was.

Of course not. It's not their money or their house!

I told them I think
about things like potentially losing my job or my husband losing his. The
come back was that we always have bankruptcy available!!!

Now *that's* a new one! ;-)

Point is that the lenders &tc won't protect us from ourselves. *We* have to do
that.

73 de Jim, N2EY