How To Make Sure You Can Afford Homeownership

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How To Make Sure You Can Afford Homeownership
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• The single most effective way to make sure that
  when the time comes to purchase your first home,
  youre able to afford it, is by taking the time
  to conduct thorough research, and being honest
  about your income and expenditures.

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• Firstly, find out every potential cost associated
  with becoming a homeowner, and talking to a real
  estate agent, mortgage broker and financial
  advisor can help you get to grips with this.
  Having a rough idea of how much it will cost,
  simply wont be enough youll need to calculate
  your income, other expenses that youll incur,
  such as your mortgage, home insurance, property
  taxes and utilities among others, and sit down
  with all the figures in front of you. Once you
  have a better idea of what your outgoings will
  approximately be each month, youll be in a much
  stringer position to know whether homeownership
  is currently viable for you. Next, you should
  compose a balance sheet containing all of your
  income and expenses, and see if you can afford to
  spend that amount each month.

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• To help you carry out these steps, here is a
  short, but hopefully helpful, guide
• Start with your income
• Try to make your calculations as accurate as
  possible, and understand exactly how much money
  you bring in after taxes and other deductions,
  every month. You cant spend more than this
  amount each month, and resist the temptation to
  be generous with the truth! Honesty is key here.

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• Then, seek a mortgage pre-approval
• Pre-approvals can give you a clearer idea of how
  much a lender is likely to approve you for, but
  its important to remember that this process
  doesnt account for any other existing debt that
  you might have, or any expenses. Pre-approval is
  great for giving you an idea of what you might
  get, but it doesnt always mean that you can
  actually afford it.
• Think about home insurance costs, HOA fees,
  property taxes and utilities
• While some of these expenses may not change a lot
  when you buy a property, especially if youre
  already living in your own home, its important
  to consider whether any of them may increase when
  you buy a new home.

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• How much consumer debt you have?
• Whether youve got credit cards, car payments or
  a student loan among others, lowering your
  debt-to-income ratio by paying off as much as you
  can, is always going to go in your favor when
  searching for a lender.
• Remember that a mortgage broker can help you
  search for an appropriate lender, and may even
  have access to mortgage deals that you wouldnt
  ordinarily be privy to.

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• What other expenses do you have?
• On average, homeowners spend around 1 of the
  price of their home on maintenance and repairs
  every year, so it makes sense to have a small
  fund set aside to help you cope in the case of
  unexpected issues that need to be addressed.
  Dont have enough money to be able to set any
  aside can you really afford homeownership?

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• Track all expenses and create a workable plan to
  put into practice
• Once youve spent time accurately calculating
  your average spending and outgoings every month,
  its time to create a workable plan to cover all
  costs associated with homeownership, and living
  by it for a couple of months (or for as long as
  you feel necessary) to help you determine whether
  youre in a strong position to buy a home.
• Homeownership can be a wonderful thing, and for
  many, its a real game changer, but going into it
  without a clear and honest picture of your
  finances, is only ever going to backfire on you.

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• Mortgage-broker-Calgary is your best resource for
  finding a mortgage for your property. Luke Wile,
  is a Calgary mortgage specialist and is proud to
  serve clients from across Canada, while being
  centered in Calgary, Alberta. Luke is proud to
  serve his clients with a personalized approach to
  finding his clients the best and lowest Canadian
  mortgage rates and terms offered by the major
  banks and private lending institutions. If you
  are looking for debt consolidation in Calgary,
  with Luke Wile you can get fast and personal
  expertise for your mortgage!