Know what you can afford.
Buying a new home will likely be the largest single purchase most people will make in their lifetime. Overextending your finances can quickly turn home-ownership into a nightmare. Banks use a debt-to-income ratio calculator to qualify buyers. To know your debt-to-income ratio, simply divide all your monthly financial obligations (car payments, credit card payments, etc…) by the total monthly gross income. For example, if you’re monthly gross income is $5,000 and if you’re already spending $600 per month on car payments, $300 per month on credit cards, and, your mortgage will add another $2500 per month in expenses, you would divide the sum of your monthly financial obligations by your gross income. In this case, $3,400/$5,000 will equal .68 or 68%. Banks will generally not lend to a person with a debt-to-income ratio greater than 43%. Keep this in mind when budgeting, but more importantly, you know your financial needs better than anyone else, and should budget a ratio that works best for you.
Know what features are a must.
We all have an idea of what our perfect home is. However, unless you have an unlimited budget, it is almost impossible to find a home that has all the features that you want for a price you can afford. Thus, differentiating between features that are a must versus features that are a plus is a realistic approach to finding the right home. Do you need four bedrooms or will three suffice? Do you need a pool or would it just be “nice to have”? No matter your needs and wants, we can help you find the perfect home for you.