Buying a house in Montrose CO is exciting, and ideally, you will enjoy it for years to come. Many aspiring homeowners wonder just how much they can afford to spend. The answer is different for everyone, so you’ll have to crunch the numbers and take an honest look at your budget. There are some general rules of thumb to follow, so try these tips to make sure you choose a house that you’ll be able to make payments on comfortably.
1. Make a Complete Household Budget
If you don’t already have a budget for your monthly income and expenses, you need to sit down and hash this out. Use a budget template to get focused, and enter the amounts you spend for important items such as rent, car payments, student loans, food, entertainment and so on. Once you have these numbers in hand, consider how much you feel comfortable spending on a monthly mortgage payment. You may wish to trim certain areas to boost your housing line, but just make sure everything balances out.
2. Keep Your Mortgage Payment Under 28 Percent of Your Income
Experts recommend that your total housing costs come to no more than 28 percent of your total take-home pay. Keep in mind, though, that this number isn’t just the mortgage payment: It should also include taxes and homeowners insurance payments. Your real estate agent can help you estimate the full cost as you shop around.
3. Experiment With Online Calculators
To get a sense of how house prices and real estate taxes in your area influence your buying power, try using an online affordability calculator to get a ballpark figure for what you can afford in Montrose Colorado. It’s also worthwhile to play with a mortgage calculator to see how different down payments and interest rates affect your bottom line.
4. Talk to Your Lender
The mortgage company you choose will have the final say on how much you can borrow, so it’s worth getting prequalified and preapproved before you get serious about house hunting. Your lender may also help you come up with creative ways to boost your down payment or take advantage of special lending programs.
Once you know your number, you’re ready to hit those open houses and showings! Having an accurate budget in mind will make your real estate search in Montrose much easier and allow you to focus on the right houses for you.
Thinking about Buying or Selling? Call or Text: 970-417-9375
Copyright 2017 Keller Williams Colorado West Realty, LLC. If you have a brokerage relationship with another agency, this is not intended as a solicitation. Equal opportunity housing provider. Each office is independently owned and operated. For sale by owner data not included in research findings. Sales data reflects sales from homes not limited to the Atha Team LLC. This information was gathered from Keller Williams, The National Association of Realtor, CoreLogic data analysis firm, Montrose Association of Realtors, and the Mortgage Brokers Association. This data is considered accurate, but is not guaranteed. Copyright Atha Team LLC 2017. All Rights Reserved.