Decades ago when I lived in the states I was told that most places will finance 2.5x couple income for a house. In California, they would finance 4x. So, this would get them a max of 880k if these rules of thumb still hold. What can one get for that price in nicer areas of LA? What are the current rules for estimating house affordability there?
That's not far off. Usually the DTI limit is somewhere between 36% and 45%. So 759,826 to 952,309 for your max mortgage. Assuming you spend that full $952 and pop a $200k down payment on top, that makes for well, $1.2mil.
In my neighborhood, most 3/2 houses are $1.5mil. There are things under that amount that are toootally fine. But your definition of "fine" and someone else's? That varies.
