Before you buy a house, figure out how much house can you afford. Use this house affordability calculator to get a rough estimate of the cost of your house based on your credit, income, and debt level. Generally, banks cap the amount they will lend to the lowest-risk borrowers (i.e. people with good credit) at 30% of their monthly income.

Using the calculator, figure out how much house would be affordable for you if you have less than a perfect credit score, or even a damaged credit score. Do not buy a house before you find out how much you can pay for it because you will end up spending more than you should. If you do decide to buy a house based on how much you can pay, make sure to factor in things like mortgage payments, insurance, taxes, and other expenses. You will end up paying more if you buy a house with higher levels of these things in it.

If you do decide to buy a house based on how much you can pay, use the calculator to find out which different home loan options are best for you, including FHA, VA, and even government and municipal loans. These are just some of the different types of financing available for you to borrow money from to finance a new house.

If you cannot afford to buy a house on your own, hire a real estate agent. Agents know the right places to look and which houses are the best to buy. Most agents charge you a fee for finding you the best deals, but that’s still a lot cheaper than buying the house on your own. Real estate agents can also negotiate prices with sellers better than you can, so you get a better deal as well.

Once you find the house that you want, figure out how much mortgage the house will cost you on a monthly basis. Make sure you know how much you have to pay on a regular basis because you want to be able to make payments on time. A house is expensive, so you will be paying interest on it if you do not make your payments on time.

Find out the loan terms and conditions of the home you are thinking of buying, especially any penalties for late payments. {if any. Find out what your credit score will be at the end of the term of your loan. {if you have a poor score you may have to pay extra for that in interest. {if you have a good score, then you might not have to pay anything extra. {if you have bad credit, you might have to pay a higher interest rate or fees. {if you have a lower score you might be better off paying less. {if you have a good score you will be better off paying the same as much as possible. {if you have a poor credit score, you might be better off paying as little as possible.

Figure out how much mortgage the monthly payment on the house will be. Be sure you are not paying more than you need to by using the calculator.

Get quotes from multiple lenders. You might get offers from different lenders and compare them and see which one offers the lowest mortgage and the best interest rates. Get more quotes and compare them, because this is how you will know how much house can I afford.

If you are in a hurry to buy your house, you can call the home loan companies that are offering the best prices right now. Get multiple quotes and compare them. You want to know how much house you can afford. Right now.

The point of getting a house is to live in a house, not just a house. Be willing to work hard for it and pay close attention to what’s going on in your life. That’s how you know how much house can I afford.

Author

Gio Watts

Gio Watts brings over 10 years of digital marketing experience to his role as marketing manager at Walletminded. In his current position, Gio oversees brand marketing, campaign management, and audience growth initiatives. Prior to joining Walletminded, Gio held marketing roles at several ecommerce and SaaS startups, most recently serving as senior marketing manager at CloudTable Inc. There, he specialized in paid social advertising and content marketing. Gio holds a bachelor’s degree in business marketing from the University of Oregon. He is a certified content marketing specialist and frequently guest lectures at his alma mater. When he's not devising omni-channel marketing campaigns, you can find Gio coaching youth basketball and indulging his passion for live music.

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