Mortgage & Refinancing Information

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.


MORE RESOURCES:

Mortgage Refinance Options to Think About
3x24 - Your Newspaper and News Magazine, Germany - Aug 26, 2008
Mortgage refinance options are always available no matter what type of mortgage you already have in place on the home you are living in. ...


What’s A Divorce Got to Do with Your Mortgage Refinance?
Corsavoo.com, France - Aug 25, 2008
When you’re the aggrieved partner, you silently wish that things will suddenly take a better turn, especially with an unpaid mortgage. Refinance plans have ...


Q: Can points from a refinanced mortgage be deducted on my taxes?
Louisville Courier-Journal, KY - Aug 29, 2008
A: If the points were paid solely to refinance the mortgage, they can be deducted as mortgage interest but must be spread out over the life of the loan. ...


Taking Home Mortgage Loans
3x24 - Your Newspaper and News Magazine, Germany - Aug 25, 2008
... you find your exact Loans and Credit Cards. Visit us now to get your Free Mortgage Refinance Loans Quotes Get your free report on Guaranteed Credit Cards.


Hartford National Title Enters Into Strategic Partnership with ...
PR-CANADA.net (press release), Montenegro - 2 hours ago
... Hartford National Title will continue to offer its real estate closing services for mortgage refinance transactions throughout all 50 states. ...


MLive.com

Family's money woes center on the house
MLive.com, MI - Aug 2, 2008
File: Leisa Thompson, The Ann Arbor NewsJay and Betty Jahnke: Still worried about their mortgage payment and tuition bills for their daughter. ...


Refinance your Home Loan and Get Extra Cash
Corsavoo.com, France - Aug 23, 2008
There are online sites offering access to a complete and up-to-date list of lenders dealing with mortgage refinance and this will make the process a lot ...


Borrowers feel fallout from mortgage giants' woes
Salt Lake Tribune, United States - Aug 20, 2008
By Alan Zibel AP Jeff Jaye, a mortgage broker in Northern California, used to rely on homeowners looking to refinance their loans for more than two-thirds ...


Ask the Biz Brain
The Star-Ledger - NJ.com, NJ - Aug 11, 2008
I have a pre-payment penalty on my mortgage loan for three years. I'd like to refinance sooner. Is there a way a lender can waive the penalty? ...


Area last in state in home prices
Toledo Blade, OH - Aug 27, 2008
By JON CHAVEZ The Toledo metro area was the worst spot in Ohio for home prices and mortgage refinance values in the past year, dropping nearly 4 percent. ...

Mortgage-Refinance - Google News

home | site map
© 2006