I think that would get you a 600k house, yes. Especially if you have equity already. I earn about 160k, but when I bought this house I probably earned 130k. But I would be approved for much more if I wanted to take it on (I don't. My current mortgage makes me feel ill sometimes!) I'm positive you are better at living frugally than I ma though, so I would like your chances of pulling it off better than mine.

What about oakleigh? That's maybe a bit more pretty than springvale. Worth a look. Yeah I think if you were renting in the area he'd get into the school, I don't think they care what you do afterwards as long as you're in zone to start with. Where I used to live was in the zone for elwood primary, which seems to be very popular, and we had a lot of families rent in my block for ayear then move, presumably to get the kids into the school.