If you have a lot of consumer debt like credit cards or personal loans, you’ll want to try to eliminate or reduce this debt since it will affect your ability to qualify for a mortgage and make the estimated monthly payment.
If you have monthly obligations like car payments , credit card payments, personal loan payments, student loan payments, etc., be sure to take these into account when you’re determining your bottom-line affordability figure.
The lenders will be able to tell you only what you MIGHT be able to afford based on your salary and level of debt. You also have to feel VERY comfortable with the reality of the monthly payment on your house.
You have to be careful not to assume that you can cut back your expenses and stretch yourself into a house payment. You don’t want to be cutting into healthy eating habits by eating fast food or junk food for a house that you may not be well enough to live in for a long time.
Real Estate Financing – The Most Important Tips
Remember that buying a home may be the single biggest investment you’ll ever make. Invest carefully. Don’t get yourself into a situation where you cannot make the payments. I know it’s hard to see into the future but based on your present health and job situation make sure you can do it for a reasonable period of time. Enough time to build up equity so that if you do get sick or lose your job you can easily sell your house before you get into a foreclosure situation. Try to think ahead. Thinking positive is important but so is being realistic.
Real estate financing has its secrets and you will gradually learn them by continuing to research everything you can find online and offline. Ask questions of real estate agents, real estate brokers and lenders and any other real estate professionals you know. You can learn a lot in a short period of time. What seemed like mumbo jumbo when you start out will gradually make sense. Be informed. Don’t jump into anything blindly or without giving it serious thought. Get a lot of advice and think about what makes sense to you. Ask other homeowners how they are doing and what pitfalls to avoid. Read every real estate contract and loan or home mortgage contract thoroughly before you sign on the dotted line.