St George Homes for Sale - How Much House Can You Afford?
When considering St George homes for sale, and a home purchase, one of the first things you need to ask yourself is, “How much home can we actually afford?” One quick way to get an approximate answer to this question is to multiply your annual gross income (before taxes) by 2.5. Just for example, if your annual household income is $100,000, you could probably afford a $250,000 home. Other factors will definitely affect this figure, including your credit history and your present debt load. In addition to credit cards and student loans, debt can also include child support, alimony, medical bills, automobile loans and ongoing household expenses.
Lenders usually suggest that your monthly mortgage payment be no more than 25% of your monthly gross income. In addition to preparing for an increased house payment, you also need to consider the expense of closing costs, inspections, moving, and other expenses associated with purchasing a home. For example, the home may require some redecorating or landscaping to meet your needs. Once it has checked all those boxes, of course you can now afford to go shopping the St George Homes for Sale.
Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway
FEAR is the emotion most of us feel when it comes to the bottom line of what we can afford. Have you heard before that action is required to dispel fear? Well, the same can be said in this arena and it is accentuated especially in the area of finances. FEAR of calling a reputable Lender, in this case, can literally keep you with an even more negative consequence- feeling helpless with the unknown, sometimes even kidding yourself with it and getting majorly distracted in looking at homes you think you might be able to afford, but don't really know. May I suggest, just call Steve or one of my other preferred lenders and you will be amazed at the order and peace that can follow in being armed with good conservative wisdom, advice and freindliness- if this feels good, than you can trust it. I trust whole heartedly my recommendation to you, because I've discriminated among Lenders already for you AND had many success with people being treated fairly, HONESTLY and warmly. ~Brian
House Features
As you consider the house you can afford, make a list of must have features, such as a specific location, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, steps or no steps, size of garage, size of kitchen, style of home, etc. List each feature the home must have.
Second, list features you would like the home to have, such as a basement, patio, deck, walk-in closet, the type of heating or air conditioning, and style of architecture.
Last, consider those features the house must not have, such as location near a freeway, fixer-upper, poor landscaping, etc.
As you begin seriously looking for a home, take the time to decide how much home you can afford and the features you want or don’t want. This will help you focus on those homes that truly meet your needs and your budget. Pre-qualifying with a reputable lender will assure that you are considering homes in the right price range, and the house-hunting process will be more fun and less stressful!