How much can I afford on a New House/Condo? (first time buyer)?

Question

Hello everyone,

I am really interested in buying a house soon (or a condo if I can't afford a house). I am not married, I have no dependents, I currently have a 690 FICO score, no debts, first time buyer, and I make 36,000 a year. Also, I don't have any cash for a down payment.

What kind of loans are available to me? What is the max I can spend? Any suggestions/tips would be greatly appreciated!

Also, I live in Central California if that helps!

Answer 1

You should keep your housing costs around 35-40% of your gross income. The banks might let you go as high as 50%, but that leaves you zero capacity for other debts, like if you ever need a car or something.

40% of your income is about $1200/month. Assuming 75% of that can be applied to a principal & interest payment, at 6.75% (100% financing with mortgage insurance would be about 6.75% in total. Mortgage insurance will be tax-deductible for any loan application originated in 2007, so it's likely to be cheaper than doing an 80/20).

$900/month for principal & interest would get you a home worth about $140-150,000, and leave you $300/month for taxes and insurance (or homeowner's assocation dues for a condo).

Every state has a housing finance agency. Look up the one for your state. You may be eligible for some grant programs for down payment or closing cost assistance, as well as potentially getting some subsidized interest rates. They can be great, but have some strings attached (it is the government, after all). The agency can direct you to lenders in your area who are approved to sell the grant products.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Your debt ratio including the new mortgage should only be about 40% of your monthly income or $1200 (this includes insurance and taxes and for condos HOA dues). So if your current bills include all credit card and loan payments it appears that your new mortgage would need to be less than the amount your paying for rent. Right now your at a 60% debt ratio which would not get approved. Also, make sure you do the calculation with your monthly pay before taxes. Contact a broker and they will be able to determine based on interest rates and your down payment how large a loan you can afford.

Answer 3

If you truly have no debts you could probably qualify for about $140,000 on a loan But your FICO will probably mean a higher % rate and NO down means you'll pay an extra $200 or so for PMI (unless you have 20% down).
Get a prequalification letter from several lenders - they do not charge for the prequal and you can see what the $$ numbers are real time, not us guessing here.
And only get prequals for a 30 yr fixed - any of the ARMs will end up putting you in bankruptcy in a few years.

Answer 4

Giving what you have, I would be able to approve you for 150K pretty easily. This could stretch toaround 200k before it gets hard. In addition to the credit, income, and debt will be the equity in the home. A bank is much more willing to lend on a home that is priced below market value. This is where a good real estate agent comes in. If you are getting the property for around 70-80% of value, a bank will strecth your loan a little further. If you want a pre-approval give me a call. Ron [phone]

Answer 5

Contact a mortgage broker. They will ask you questions as to what you want and they will pull your credit report to see what you would qualify for. Make sure and get a good reference from family members, friends, coworker, or a real estate agent for the mortgage person. It makes a huge difference and can cost you thousands if you wind up with the wrong one. We did and we paid for it and didn't realize it till we refinanced the mortgage.
You should be able to qualify for a 100% loan. Make sure you have some cash for 'good faith' money (about $500) and for closing costs ($1000 - $5000, depending on the value of the load) or you can ask the seller to pay closing costs and it just gets sucked into the sale of the house.


Good Luck!

Answer 6

You are absolutely qualified to purchase a home, however the amount you can qualify depends on what is reasonable to you. On paper, with $38K a year in income and zero debt, the max payment you can afford is $1583.33. Keep in mind that this payment would have to include your property taxes and insurance payments as well. Based on a $200,000 30 year fixed at 6.5%, your payment would be $1264.14, leaving $319.19 per month to go towards your taxes and insurance. The taxes will vary greatly depending on what area you are looking in. Hope this helps.

Answer 7

Most lenders will give you a chance. You have a good FICO, and have decent income.

The question is, where are you buying and for how much?

Don't get trapped into "interest only" loans, as they do reset and cause much grief to the holders. Do your best to get a fixed loan (30 or 40 year)

Answer 8

If you ask any mortgage lender, they will gush all over you and tell you you can afford X-amount of dollars worth of housing. Don't fall for it. Always shoot for well under what any bank tells you you can get.
This may be an excellent time for you, because there are many people trying to sell and get out from under over-mortgaged housing commitments. You can negotiate closing costs, or a seller may pay for all of them.
Good luck to you! It's a huge step, but if you can suffer the b.s. jumping-thru-hoops, you too will join that country club of home ownership, and it's well worth it.

Answer 9

The rule of thumb for lenders is they will give you a mortgage where the monthly payment, including insurance and taxes, does not exceed 28% of your gross income. In your case that is $840.00. Assuming that you have annual taxes of 2400, and insurance of 400, thats $233, leaving you $607 for interst and principal. That will get you around 120,000 on an adjustable rate mtg.

Answer 10

Your best bet at this point is to get a free mortgage quote. Keep what you are asking for amount wise realistic and you will be told what you qualify for and if you'd like you can also get a free prequalification letter which will help you in shopping for your house or condo. This site has a great free mortgage quote center