ESTIMATE YOUR BUYING POWER

Lenders use two standard (but somewhat flexible) guidelines to determine how much of a monthly mortgage payment you can afford. The first guideline is that your household should spend no more than 28 percent of its gross monthly income (before taxes) on monthly housing expenses, including: mortgage principal and interest, hazard insurance, real estate taxes and private mortgage insurance, if applicable. However, some lenders will stretch that figure to 33 percent.

The second guideline is that your monthly household expenses (as outlined above) plus other debt should not exceed 36 percent of your gross monthly income, although some lenders will stretch this to 38 to 40 percent.

How can I estimate how much of a monthly mortgage payment I can afford? 

First, calculate your monthly household income, including that of your co-borrower, if you have one. In addition to regular wages, don’t forget to include overtime, bonuses, commissions, dividends/interest, alimony/child support, and any other income.

Credit reporting companies:

Experian (800) 682-7954 www.experian.com

Equifax (800) 685-1111 www.equifax.com

TransUnion (800) 888-4213 www.transunion.com

You can also get a copy of your credit history at the following online location:

www.creditreports.com

What if I find a mistake in my credit history? 

You can correct simple mistakes by writing to the reporting company, pointing out the error, and providing proof of the mistake. You can also request to have your own comments added to explain problems. For example, if you made a payment late due to illness, explain that for the record. Lenders usually understand about legitimate problems.

Approaching the task of buying a home can be overwhelming. It is a complex event during which there is so much to learn and to consider. How much can I afford? Where will the down payment come from? How much will I need and where can I find the best loan? How do I begin the look for a home, what should I expect from my real estate agent and what type of home is right for me?

These questions are just the beginning. Buying a home is one of the largest financial transactions in one’s lifetime, yet most people know very little about it. When embarking on the path to homeownership here are two very important points to remember:

- You can and should understand everything that is happening in the home buying process.

- You will need to learn some new terms, apply some new concepts and take the time to learn about purchasing a home.

Always remember that you are the most important person throughout the entire real estate process. It is easy to think that many others may have more expertise or clout, but the truth is that you, the buyer, are the one person in this transaction that makes it all happen. If you decide not to buy, the entire process comes to a complete stop.

If you plan from the beginning to approach the home buying process intelligently and with confidence, you are much more likely to buy the home you’ve always wanted and had the confidence that the best decisions were made.

Steps To Buying A Home

  - Make a decision to rent or buy.
- Figure out how much you can afford.
- Find the right real estate agent.
- Get pre-approved.
- Decide what kind of home you want.
- Find the right neighborhood.
- Begin the home search.
- Preview the homes.
- Make an offer.
- Apply for a mortgage.
- Have the inspections conducted?
- Close the transaction.
- Move into your new home.

Though you may be willing to spend a certain amount, the real determination of how much house you can afford is driven by how much a lender calculates you can afford. So before you begin to search for the perfect house, it is very important to begin the homebuying process by getting preapproved. Getting preapproved for a home mortgage loan will provide you with a preliminary statement on the size of loan for which you can qualify. Knowing this, you can then focus your home search.

In general, lenders allow your total monthly housing costs to go as high as but not more than 30 percent of your gross monthly income. The second requirement is that not more than 36 percent of your gross monthly income can be tied up in the total monthly house payment and payments on long-term debt.

Lenders use slightly different formulas for determining the "total monthly house payment.” These costs generally include the mortgage principal and interest payment, property taxes as a monthly sum, and hazard insurance as a monthly sum. These four items are referred to as PITI (principal, interest, taxes and insurance). Other costs may be included in this calculation if your down payment is less than 20 percent or if you are responsible for homeowner’s association dues. The calculations may vary from lender to lender but will provide you with a gauge.

The Pre-approval Letter 

Your friends and family may know you to be reliable, dependable and someone who pays bills on time, but all others in a real estate transaction will require you to prove it. That’s where preapproval comes in. A preapproval letter is more reliable than a pre-qualification letter. In the preapproval process, a lender will examine your finances and will make a preliminary statement on the size of the loan for which you’ll qualify.

Preapproval is an involved process. The lender will take all pertinent information regarding your finances and perform an extensive check on your current financial status. This procedure will ultimately give you the exact loan amount that you will be eligible for (depending on what type of loan you decide to select.) Being preapproved lets the seller know that you have gone through an extensive financial evaluation and there should be no unexpected obstacles to buying the home. It makes your offer much more powerful.

Pre-approval gives you a very good indication of:

- How much down payment you’ll need

- Your closing costs

- Your monthly payment (including PITI: principal, interest, taxes, and insurance)

- The type of loan for which you qualify and which best suits your needs; and,

- Special programs for which you may be qualified, including those for veterans, first-time buyers, teachers, etc.

To become pre-approved you will need to provide a lender with the following:

- Your employment and income history (including recent pay stubs)

- Your monthly debts

- The amount and source of cash available for the down payment and closing costs

Preapproval letters are not binding on the lender, they are subject to an appraisal of the home you want to purchase and are time-sensitive. If your financial situation changes, interest rates rise or a pre-determined date passes, the lender will review your situation and recalculate your maximum mortgage amount accordingly. You can research lenders yourself and ask them to preapprove you.

Before you step foot into the first home you look at, it's a good idea to thoughtfully determine your wants and needs, and the difference between the two! By analyzing your needs you will be able to get a clear picture of exactly what you want your new home to look like and how it should function for you. Once you're in the thick of viewing homes, it's all too easy to fall in love with someone’s decorating or a home’s outstanding architecture – and to completely overlook that there aren't enough bedrooms or bathrooms to fit your needs.

First, you should write down why you're looking for a home. For example, are you currently renting and would like to have a home where you can begin building equity? Maybe you have outgrown your existing home or changed jobs which required you to move to a new city. These factors will all have an impact on how you approach your home search.

It is important to identify what you envision your home to look like and what features it should have. Writing this down helps to avoid ambiguity later in the home search process. You should make at least two lists: one should describe everything you would ideally like and the other should list the features of the home that are an absolute must. It is most likely that you will blend the two lists into one as you progress through the homebuying process. This is a natural and evolutionary process that becomes clearer as you determine what you want and what is available.