How to Easily Find Out How Much Home You Can Afford
It’s everyone’s worst nightmare–you find that dream home only to take a look at the asking price and have your stomach drop.
Can you afford it? Is there a way to pool your resources and assets to make it work?
And what if you settle for something small and pokey, in a bad area of town because you think you can’t afford better, only to find out (after you’ve signed the papers) that you could?
Before you commit to signing on the dotted line, it’s a good idea to research just how much home you can afford and whether you could scale up or if you should dial it back.
Here are some simple ways you can find out just how much you’re entitled to borrow against the cost of a property and basic tips on how to prepare your financial information to help you start out on the right foot. Plus we’ll make it even easier with a home loan calculator that saves you the math!
Find out what the lenders will be asking
There are a few things you’ll need to take into consideration before you head off to trawl the net for borrowing solutions.
1. Gross monthly income
How much do you make a month, before your bills and expenses go out?
2. Debt and monthly expenses
If you have any credit cards, existing loans or rolling monthly expenses, you’ll need to make a note of them before you start.
3. Credit score
Use an online tool to find out what your credit score is. The quality of your score will affect how much a bank will be willing to lend you.
4. Down payment amount
How much can you afford to put down in a lump sum and how much is required?
Get all your financial information together before you approach a bank or lending company so you know where you stand.
Even the practice of collecting this information will give you a rough idea of what you can afford, so avoiding disappointment is easier.
You may also want to get together a list of questions to ask your bank or realtor, such as the tax on the property and how much the closing costs on the property are likely to be.
Use a home loan calculator
This is the fastest and easiest way to figure out how much home you can afford.
Just use an easy tool to enter all your monthly outgoings and the costs you’d expect to pay on the new house.
The home loan calculator will show you how much you can afford to borrow, so you don’t come away with more than you can handle or less than you can afford. Easy!
Consider the costs going forward
The cost of a home isn’t just about the ticket price, you know. Every property comes with monthly costs going forward:
– Utilities
– Home maintenance
– Tax
– Insurance
You also have moving costs and home interior expenses to think about, so don’t forget to add those to your list!
If you’ve got all your finances together and you’ve used a home loan calculator to see just how much you can borrow, you’re ready to plunge into the world of the housing market!