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How Much Home Can I Afford?

 

One of the first questions to ask when you start looking for a new home is “how much can I afford?” With all the different banks, financial institutions, mortgage companies, and financial advisors out there, it might be difficult finding someone to turn to and trust with your financial future.

In order to help you get a better idea of your affordability range, we recently sat down with Jake Francom from First Colony Mortgage, EDGEhomes’ preferred lender, to discuss what to look for when buying a new home. Let’s look at a few of Jake’s home affordability guidelines and what every homebuyer should do before looking for a new home.

EDGEhomes Quailhill Townhome Model, Saratoga Springs, Utah

Understanding the Loan Process

When it comes to home loans, lenders are basically looking at one thing: debt-to-income ratio. The general rule of thumb is that your monthly mortgage payment should be between 28-36% of your monthly income (depending on your credit score).

In order to find your general affordability range, we take a few things into account, including household income, assets, credit score, and your debt and expenses portfolio. Let’s look at each of these factors and the role they play.

5 Factors That Affect What You Can Afford

Income

Lenders look at your household’s adjusted gross income as reported on your personal taxes. If you have rental properties you can add in depreciation, but this only makes a difference if you have multiple rental properties. If you’re self-employed, lenders take the last two years of your adjusted gross income and average the numbers. Typically, the higher your income, the more likely you’ll be loaned a higher amount due to the likelihood of repaying your debt.

Assets

Normally, you’re expected to use your income to repay any loans. However, some lenders may view you as less risky if you have any liquid assets. Liquid assets are assets that can be converted into cash quickly, also known as marketable securities or money market instruments. These include savings, money market accounts, mutual funds, inventory, stocks, and government bonds, to name a few.

Credit Score

A credit score is a three-digit number calculated from your credit reports. This is a number based on the likelihood you will repay borrowed money. Your credit score takes into account:

  • Delinquent accounts
  • Unpaid collections
  • Past bankruptcies or foreclosures
  • Tax liens or civil judgments
  • Recent applications for credit
  • Outstanding debts

While you don’t necessarily need a flawless credit score to get a loan, it’s worth noting that the higher the score, the lower the interest rate, due to consumer evidence of financial reliability.

Debt and Expenses

Along with your credit score, lenders will look at any outstanding debts and your monthly expenses. These include monthly payments, car payments, other loans, and more. By combining your entire financial history, lenders are better able to assess what debt you can take on and give you a loan accordingly.

No matter what loan amount you qualify for, it’s important to be comfortable with your monthly mortgage payments. While your income and credit score may afford you a higher amount, the most important thing is finding what you’re most comfortable with.

Working with our loan officers can help you decide which monthly payment works for you, how much you want to save, and how much you wish to allocate towards your home. Make sure that you find what works for you.

Pre-Qualify

No matter what you do, make sure that qualifying for the loan happens first. Don’t start your home buying journey by falling in love with a home only to find out that you can’t afford it.

By prequalifying first, you know where to start and won’t get in over your head with excessive monthly payments. This will help you to know and set your budget. Fill out an application on our site to get a better idea about your options from a First Colony Mortgage loan officer.

EDGEhomes and First Colony Mortgage

Ready to get started on your home buying journey?

EDGEhomes ensures a seamless home buying experience, from start to finish. We strive to provide quality care and expertise to make the home building and home buying process as effortless as possible. That includes connecting you to the best of the best as far as designers, suppliers, and lenders.

First Colony Mortgage is EDGEhomes’ preferred lender. When building a new home, the mortgage can be different than existing houses. First Colony Mortgage is ready to assist and guide you through financing your EDGEhome. As part of the pre-qualification process, they will verify your employment, income, and assets to make sure you qualify before you go under contract. That way you won’t have any surprises when your home is ready.

 

For more information, click here to calculate what you can afford with First Colony Mortgage’s affordability calculator.

 

Date

09/10/2018

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