Answer: -There is a method to finding this out... Like our mtg should be 1/3 of your income or something. So, that would put ou right around the right place! I say go house shopping, and stick within your budget! Not the high end, either. Been there, done that and it was very bad. -The population is not nearly as important as the location. You might find a house in a rural location for that price; on the coasts, that would not even be a down payment. The mortgage calculators work just fine for the classical fully-amortizing mortgage; the mathematics is not complicated (if you are a computer). But there are many other mortgage products available; go to www.mlcc.com (the real estate lending arm of Merrill Lynch) to get an idea of what there is. What to do: Prepare a balance sheet (what you own, and what you owe) and an income statement (where it comes from, and where it goes), and take these to your friendly local banker. He will be able to tell you what you may be able to do. With that information, go to a realty web site (www.realtor.com is as good as any) and start shopping. When you have some possibles, go to www.zillow.com to check property values. Then you can go to a realtor, or work a deal yourself. -The calculators are right only if you know the exact rate you qualify for. if you get a loan for 80k at a rate of 9% on a 30 year term the payment would be $643.70 and you said you have a good credit score, I'm sure you can get something better than that.