| |
Costs and Financing
|
|
|
How much home can you afford? Knowing your price range
brings your house-hunting into focus. Since most people
will borrow money for their house purchase, it helps to
look at your finances from the lender's viewpoint. |
| |
 |
The amount of money a lender will loan you depends primarily on
how much you can afford for the monthly payment, and how much
you can invest in the down payment. |
| |
|
|
|
Monthly payments consist of the principal and interest on the
mortgage loan, as well as property taxes and homeowner's
insurance. These four costs are often abbreviated as PITI. |
| |
|
|
|
The larger the down payment, the less you need to borrow, which
means a lower monthly payment. The obvious source of money for
your down payment is either your savings or the proceeds from
the sale of a home you already own. There are, however, special
financing programs available that you should also consider. The
mortgage lenders will have knowledge of these special programs. |
| |
|
|
|
Conventional loans require a down payment as low as 5 percent of
the purchase price of the home. You may be required to buy
private mortgage insurance (PMI) with a down payment of less
than 20 percent or in special higher risk situations. This
insurance protects the lender in case of default and allows the
lender to approve a larger mortgage amount than would otherwise
be approved. |
| |
|
|
|
There are a multitude of financing options, including
conventional mortgages, adjustable rate mortgages, and balloon
mortgages as well as special financing programs. Mortgages are
available from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA Loans)
and the Veteran's Administration (VA Loans). |
| |
|
Based on information you provide, the FINANCIAL CALCULATOR
will calculate a quick and dirty amount of how much home you can
afford to buy. This will give you some ball park numbers to take
to a mortgage lender like HomeServices Lending to start your
discussions about the amount of mortgage you can afford and
desire.
Click here to use the financial
calculator. |
| |
|
It's a good idea to get pre-qualified, or better yet,
pre-approved before you start searching for your home. An offer
to purchase presented by a pre-approved buyer stands a better
chance of being accepted if there are multiple offers on a
property. Contact a Homeservices Lending representative if you'd
like to set up a personal consultation to get a
pre-qualification or pre-approval certificate to go with your
offer to purchase.
|
| |
|
Click on MORTGAGE under the HELPFUL TOOLS menu at the top for
more information on HomeServices Lending. |
| |
| |
|
|
|
George
Blissett, REALTORS®, eRES, FTHBD, SRIS, SNCS,
SRS, MSS
Semonin REALTORS, 4967 US Hwy 42, Suite
100,
Louisville, KY 40222
Phone: 502.329.5268 Toll Free:
1.800.626.2390
©2001-2009 Semonin REALTORS. A
HomeServices of America, Inc. company. All
rights reserved.
Email:
webmanster@georgeblissett.com
|
|
