It is typical for all of us to start a new year with high hopes and determined plans. If your plan is to purchase an Oakland home this year, you should know what your options will be, so that you can move towards your goal sooner, rather than later, in 2013.
If you would like to have a general idea of the type of home that you can afford, there is a quick and easy way to determine this by going to www.bankrate.com, and then to their calculator section. While the information here is very generic, you will have something to consider. As your Oakland real estate agent, I will be assisting you in much more specific and detailed ways as we begin your home search in earnest.Â
Here are the steps that you will follow:
1. Enter your expected mortgage amount-This will be the cost of the home, less your downpayment.
2. Enter the term for the payments-Â You may want to enter a number of terms--say 15, 20 and 30 years as you work with this calculator to see the end effects of each of these factors as it relates to your projected monthly payments.
3. Enter your expected interest rate.- Again, enter a number of entries--say 3%-6%. The actual rate that you are finally going to pay will be dependent on your credit score and history, not what you would like it to be, so enter a variety of numbers.
4. Enter your expected start date for the actual payments to begin.
5. Review your resultant calculated mortgage payment-Â Note: To meet most lenders demands, this amount may not exceed 31% of the monthly amount that you pay for of all of your household payments each month.
You now have an educated guess as to what you can afford to pay for your new home. This information will help you make serious plans as to how to deal with your finances to make your wishes come true for 2013.
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Posted by Bruce Wagg on
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