Hi All,
thanks for your responses, advice, and perspective. The seller ended up having multiple offers so we didn't get the price we were hoping for (900k) but after multiple counter offers, we ended up outbidding everybody by offering an extra $22k. hahahah. my spouse and I were so set on not going past $905k but there's something terrible about trying to outbid everybody + really wanting the house. we put 20% down despite the VA loan. we had been saving up the money for the last 5+ years so why not.
We're going to be house poor for the next couple of years but we won't ever be in the red as long as I keep my job. My job is pretty stable. Since this forum seems pretty anonymous, I guess it doesn't hurt to provide our incomes - in case it may help someone else who's in the same situation as us. I earn $120k/year + 15% bonus and my spouse brings in $25k/year from the VA benefits. so we are definitely somewhere in the middle class. we're still in disbelief that we purchase a home for almost a mill but we plan on raising our kids in the same home for the next 30 years so we don't mind the idea of not being able to eat out all the time and forgo a couple of vacations/year for our future kids.