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:

Washington Times

The Truth About Mortgage Refinancing Revealed By Connecticut ...
SBWire (press release), WI - 17 hours ago
Westport, Connecticut based Mortgage Broker Don Caiati reveals mortgage refinancing secrets at a new web site that is full of free reports, a home buying ...
Refinancing suddenly booms Honolulu Advertiser
Lenders Backlogged By Refinancing Rush Washington Post
Low Mortgage Rates Bring Refinancing Boom MSNBC
Forbes - Modesto Bee
all 23 news articles


Baltimore Sun

Average Mortgage Rate Hits 5%, Lowest in Decades
New York Times, United States - 9 hours ago
Of course, buying a home is a more lengthy process than simply calling up a mortgage broker to refinance, and activity typically slows during the holiday ...
Long-Term Mortgage Rate Falls Again Wall Street Journal
Banks' mortgage rates fall below 5% Boston Globe
Homeowners with good credit scores are poised to capitalize on ... Baltimore Sun
Scripps News - MediaSyndicate (press release)
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Washington Times

US Banks Offer Mortgages Below 5% After Fed Action
Bloomberg - 19 hours ago
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of applications to purchase a home or refinance a loan dropped to 1143.8 for the week ending Jan. ...
Mortgage rates fall to record low again Forbes
Freddie Mac: Benchmark mortgage rate continues to new low MarketWatch
Bold government action can solve housing crisis North Texas e-News
American Banker - Connecticut Post
all 575 news articles


Cardoza proposal could aid housing crisis
Stockton Record, CA - 3 hours ago
Under the Cardoza plan, the payment on that mortgage refinanced to 4 percent fixed rate would drop to $1194 a month. Contact reporter Bruce Spence at (209) ...


REFILE-UPDATE 1-US mortgage demand dipped before Fed move-MBA
Reuters - Jan 7, 2009
The jump in applications during December may have been driven by homeowners already "on the fence" and prepared to refinance on a drop in mortgage rates, ...
Mortgage applications down in latest survey Forbes
Week-to-week mortgage applications down 8.2% MarketWatch
Fewer apply for home loans; credit line delinquencies increase Los Angeles Times
KVOA.com - Kansas City Star
all 63 news articles


Boston Globe

Fed’s Rosengren Calls for ‘Concerted’ Fiscal, Monetary Policies
Bloomberg - 5 hours ago
... to purchase or refinance homes,” Rosengren said. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped for a 10th week to 5.01 percent yesterday, ...
Rosengren sees path to recovery Boston Globe
Fed's Rosengren says recession more severe than thought Reuters
all 51 news articles


Los Angeles Times

Congressional Press Release on Mortgage Deal
Wall Street Journal - 9 hours ago
"Despite efforts by Congress to address this issue, not enough lenders have come to the table to help borrowers with bad mortgages refinance into new, ...
Citigroup reaches agreement with key senators on mortgage ... Minneapolis Star Tribune
Citigroup agrees to allow judges to help modify some mortgages IdahoStatesman.com
all 541 news articles


TopNews

Question & Answer on mortgage refinancing
Boston Herald, United States - Jan 1, 2009
If I refinance the mortgage on my current house, will I hurt my chances for getting a loan for a new place later on? A: No. Refinancing a loan shouldn’t ...
MORTGAGES: 30-year Mortgage Rate Falls For Ninth Straight Week To ... CNNMoney.com
Mortgage Rates Hit 37-Year Low Poynter.org
Home-Mortgage Rates' Next Stop: Below 5% Wall Street Journal
Ventura County Star - Wall Street Journal
all 457 news articles


Refinancing shoots through the roof
Plano Star Courier, TX - 15 hours ago
“Quite a few people have remortgaged,” said Craig Jarrell, loan officer with Pulaski Mortgage. “Most people who refinance are new homeowners as recent as ...


Mortgage refinancing skyrockets
Cincinnati.com, OH - Jan 3, 2009
... 2009 With US mortgage rates the lowest in 30 years, local lenders say they've seen a strong surge in loan applications as homeowners seek to refinance ...
Waco banks seeing a boom in mortgage refinance applications Waco Tribune Herald
Borrowers seeking to refinance may face challenges WTOP
As mortgage rates slide, refinancing applications take off Dallas Morning News
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mortgage refinance - Google News

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