Pulaski

I'm not sure about FHA loans, but you should be able to lose the PMI without refi'ing. It is certainly in the terms of our mortgage that when the balance drops below 80% of the purchase price, OR the house is formally appraised at more than 125% of the mortgage balance, then the PMI is cancelled.

Hawkini

We were told (by our loan originator) that FHA loans taken out (I think sometime in 2013) you pay PMI the life of the loan - i.e. even up to 1% LTV - crazy but you should re-finance out of FHA loans as soon as you can to stop paying PMI basically.

Also - forgot to add - our other mortgage from house in NC, that is a conventional loan where indeed, no refinancing required as soon as we are 78% LTV it *automatically* drops off, but you can request it at 80%.

N1cky

And kids' activities aren't cheap. We pay around $2k in training costs per year, add in equipment and local comps and you've got another $500. Then if you qualify for divisional and national comps (which many sports compete at,) you're looking at flights and hotels as well as more comp entry costs. So anywhere up to $5k, and that's just for one kid

Hotscot

The OP may not want to talk about details but it is surprising that a company would offer a job in the Bay Area, that requires an international relocation, for such a low salary.
I wonder if they have other employees in the area that are paid as low.

Hawkini

+1 - good point - I was actually assuming the job was technical/software of nature since it's an H-1B - but you're absolutely right - the cost to the company might be a factor in the low offer for base salary? Or there might be decent benefits/performance bonus package?

Michael

For FHA loans, MI (not PMI) is normally 1/2% and is for the life of the loan. The problem in refinancing is that interest rates will likely continue to rise so it is likely that payments will be higher when refinancing.

bewildering

Unless I am missing something refinancing will not be possible until you have 20% equity. Also FHA MI is double the amount of PMI. And I also believe the rates on FHA loans are a point higher than conforming mortgages.

The mortgage brokers I know no longer advise taking the FHA loans because of the changes in 2013.

bewildering

To the OP.

You have to do your own research, and work out your budget. Only you know what standard of life you are comfortable. I know a family of post docs with 2 children who live on significantly less than 90,000. But they are fine with living in an apartment, using public transportation and doing without. They also have a great life and love being in San Francisco. If you like camping, hiking, climbing and surfing then money is not that big of a deal. There kids are happiest I have met. I hope my children turn out the same. I think some people on this forum have a bad case of affluenza.

Also, you can find out if 'choicing' is available in the school district in which you are living. In San Diego if your local school is considered 'failing' then you can 'choice' your kids into a different school in a different area.

Hotscot

It's not fair to talk about "affluenza".
Imagine for a moment that your are very sensible in your financial planning and want to have a decent retirement plan.
Take $17.5K for a 401K contribution.
Put 5K into a Roth...so that 22.5 k off that 90K right away for example.

Nothing to do with "affluenza".

N1cky

Your friends may live in a rent controlled apartment, or receive other help. You can't currently rent anything in Walnut Creek, big enough for 5 people for under $30k per year, and that's in a small apartment (not something most people would want with 3 kids.)

Relying on public transport in SF is completely different to relying on it in WC.

Equipment to camp, climb and surf isn't cheap.

You cannot choose which school your kids will attend in the Bay area.

We certainly aren't affluent. I do know we couldn't live around here on $90k

Pulaski

I suspect the opposite, that most posters are likely within $50k+/- salary, know how much their rent or mortgage is, and can then extrapolate to higher/ lower income and different rent/ mortgage. Speaking from experience, trying to budget for $3,000/mth rent and $90k/yr income would be challenging, and to suggest otherwise is unfair to the OP.

agnosticaphid

I live in Oakland, by myself. I live in a very nice part of town and my 1-br apartment is about $1,200. That's actually probably 10% below market rate. But I still bet that you could find a 3-br apartment in the east bay within commuting distance to walnut creek for between $2,000 and $2,500 monthly. I'm not positive about school districts, but the east bay really isn't THAT expensive.

That being said, I dunno if you want to have 5 people stuffed into a 3-br house, I can't comment on the cost of a palatial space, and I am kind of inclined to agree that if your partner has the kind of job that can get a visa it seems a bit odd for the pay to be only $90,000 annually in this super-expensive area, especially if the type of visa precludes you from working.

Still, I'm sure you could make it work if you wanted to, if you are very thrifty. The median household income for the east bay is only about $70,000 so it's not like we're talking about living in the poor house. But you'll end up spending up to a third of your post-tax income on housing. It will be difficult to find the cash for extraneous activities.

Just my two cents.

Vixsta

Thank you all for your advice it's certainly given us a lot to think about.

Ozzidoc

Choicing doesn't mean that you'll get your desired choice. At least, not in the SDUSD.

Moses2013

The other thing people haven't mentioned or maybe I've missed it, Health Care? How much would you be paying for the whole family in the US compared to the UK and what would your husband get if he loses the job?