What Mortgage Can You Afford

 

Hopefully, by now if you are considering a move, y’all have had a chance to explore our mortgage page on this blog. If you haven’t, you’ll find a lot of very useful information there about getting a mortgage, assistance for first time buyers, FHA, VA, USDA, Texas Home Buyers, and more. There is also information about free credit reports, credit bureaus and credit monitoring services.

I have just added another really cool site that provides an array of tools on mortgage calculators. I’ll share some of those tools in this post today, but first a heads up on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s site that features tools and resources for homebuyers. Do check it out and always be sure you are dealing with a reputable mortgage resource when buying a home. For many of us a home is the largest investment of a lifetime, doing it right and safely matters.  

If you are a regular follower of this blog, you are very familiar with my pitch on getting pre-approved for a mortgage – before you house shop! If you are not a regular, use the search tool in the right column to check out the reasons why you want to do that. It is important. If you want to talk it through, reach out to me.

If you’re wondering if you can afford a house, a mortgage calculator can give you a feel for affordability even before getting pre-approved. We’ll call this the planning stage. You already know your income and expenses and how much you have to put down, and, you may already have an affordable monthly mortgage payment amount in mind – so how about using that information to see how much house you can afford?  Or, how much income do you need to afford the house you want?

You may be tempted to shop first (who does not have a dream house in mind) but when you are seriously considering buying, that is the time to be well grounded and know what you can do. Information is a powerful asset in your arsenal and you will feel more confident as you begin the search for your new home.  However you choose to approach this, consider the disappointment if you find a home and then find it is not in reach!

For first time buyers, the home buying process can be intimidating - OK, maybe downright frightening! A real estate professional will guide you through that. Just remember, you are already paying a mortgage – your landlord’s mortgage. And, you are not going to increase your personal wealth by paying someone else’s mortgage. It is time to do something for you! 

Some folks have suggested that buying a home is a forced savings plan. I cannot disagree with that. You cannot live in a bank vault so why not fund the roof over your head and when you have paid off the mortgage – the house is yours.

Quite a few times in this blog I have written about rent vs buy – here is a calculator to show you the potential. Many folks still believe that you need 20% down or a perfect credit score to buy a house – YOU DON’T. There are programs to help. If you do not try, you will not know. If you try and come up short, you will know what you need to do to make it happen. And, you can reach out to me and talk about it. It is time to live the American Dream!

Some suggested reading for you – our magazine, Homes and Real Estate and one of our other sites  San Antonio Homes Blog or the Spanish version San Antonio Casa.

We encourage you to use the tools you will find throughout this blog. They are available to everyone whether you are a client or not. If we can help, just reach out. Are you ready to make a move?