One of the most frequently asked questions when considering buying a home is whether you can afford to buy and how much you can afford to buy? There are several factors that determine your real estate buying power such as credit history, income, and current assets, etc. The ultimate decision of what you can buy will be determined by your lender and should start there.
If you would like to get a feeling of how much monthly mortgage payments might look like feel free to use our mortgage calculator.
After you know how much home you can afford, make sure and get pre-approved for a loan before you start looking for your home. Note that there is a significant difference between pre-qualified and pre-approved. Pre-approval means that you have the loan underwriters approval for the loan – it’s like cash waiting for your purchase. This will let you buy and negotiate with confidence without leaving you wondering whether you will get the loan or not. Pre-qualification only means that your loan approval will be considered with very little assurance that you will actually get it. Therefore, before you go house hunting, get pre-approved!
