Home Buying ? What Can You Afford?
Okay, you've decided to buy a home and are trying to figure out what you can afford. Before you go home buying, you need to carefully consider what you can afford as far as a mortgage payment.
Mortgage Payments
The first step you should take in determining what you can afford is to talk to a mortgage lender. In fact, the best step you can take is to go through the loan process to the extent required to get a pre-qualification letter. A pre-qualification letter tells you and a seller how big of a home loan the lender will give you.
So, once you have the loan in hand, that must be the amount you can afford? The answer is maybe or maybe not. The prequalification letter is based on a number of factors such as your earnings and credit. It is not based on a picture of your life, which can lead to problems.
Other Expenses
There is nothing worse than buying a home and straining to make the monthly mortgage payments. This situation occurs when a homebuyer relies solely on the pre-qualification letter or their own wishful thinking. You may have purchased your dream home, but don't let the payments be a nightmare.
In determining how much you can afford to expend on a home purchase, you must consider your overall financial situation. Although you may be in a decent financial situation at the moment, do you have future expenses that will put pressure on your finances? Such situations might include:
1. Planning to have kids in the next year or so?
2. Are your current children going to college soon?
3. If you own a business, is the financial outlook stable?
4. If you work for a company, are you reasonably sure the company is headed in the right direction?
5. Do you have any concerns regarding the dreaded downsizing?
6. If you are the sole bread winner, what would happen if you were unable to work for a few months because of health issues?
These general questions are intended to wake you up to the possibility of over extending yourself on a mortgage. Every situation is different, so make sure you take a careful look at your life to make sure you are committing to a loan you can afford now and in the future.
Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - providing homes for sale by owner, "FSBO", properties. Are you thinking, "Should I sell my home?" Visit http://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to sell your home sale for free for one month.
Latest News
Interest rate drop opens door to refinancing Austin American-Statesman, TX - By Shonda Novak, MS Taboada The recent sharp drop in mortgage interest rates is creating a window for homeowners nationwide to refinance and providing an ... Looking to refinance? Now might be the time |
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Self-Employed Are Frozen Out of Mortgages Wall Street Journal - He's been unable to find a lender willing to refinance the $900000 adjustable-rate mortgage on his primary residence, which he says is worth around $1.1 ... |
Md. sees drop in loss of homes Baltimore Sun, United States - Many borrowers took on mortgages at the height of the housing boom, believing they could eventually refinance to a lower loan rate or sell their homes if ... |
Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Begins Development of Hope for ... MarketWatch - For borrowers who refinance under H4H, lenders are required to "write down" the mortgage to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-provided ... |
 Washington Post | Mortgage rates fall, but many borrowers will have trouble qualifying Los Angeles Times, CA - Jeff Lazerson, a Laguna Niguel mortgage broker, said all the customer calls he received Tuesday were from people seeking to refinance, not buy homes. ... Mortgage-market revival: Try, try again Last Call for Smart Homeowners US move cuts mortgages to lowest rate since February |
New mortgage crisis looming, experts caution San Bernardino Sun, CA - And since investors no longer want to buy commercial mortgages, banks are reluctant to write new loans to refinance those facing foreclosure. ... |
Good time to refinance your mortgage? WKTV, NY - By GARY LIBERATORE (WKTV) - If you are in the market to buy a home, it's a really good time, but if you're selling, it's not so good. ... |
A recession Q&A Newsday, NY - ... take measures that will result in lower mortgage rates, "so people can afford to buy up housing inventory and refinance mortgages at affordable rates. ... |
Great Wolf continues mortgage negotiations Wisconsin State Journal, WI - Because of the economy, refinancing arrangements are taking longer and are structured differently than in the past, he said. The resort continues to operate ... BRIEF: Great Wolf still talking with lenders |
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