Me and my fiance are looking to buy our first home, how much should we pay for our home?

Question

Together we make $80,000 a year. What is the percentage that should go toward monthly mortgage. With no money down.
Thanks

Answer 1

25% of monthly income.

Answer 2

Le_Roche has some great ideas:

Just b/c you make $X - does not necessarily mean you should or can spend Y% of $X per month. 25% certainly isn't a terrible number to shoot for, but if you have significant other debt (cars, student loans, credit cards) it may be too much. If you are lucky enough to be debt free AND have some money set aside for a down payment AND have good credit, you may be able to afford more house.

Your credit, assets, income, debts can all interact and play a role in what rate you get, which will impact your payments, which in turn will influence the amount of house you can purchase.

Definitely check with your CPA, financial planner, mortgage broker BEFORE you fall in love with a house you really can't afford.

As you can read, your income is just one factor in what determines how much house you can afford. Also, just b/c someone tells you that you can afford it, does not mean it is what is best for you in the long run. Buying a house is just a small part of your overall financial picture.

Please post more specifics or more questions if you are still not comfortable with what direction to take.

Regards,

Joe...

Answer 3

You should consider another option also. Is you or him a veteran? Veterans can get a very good interest rate lower than anything on the market. Reason, being is you should look at building your own house. If you do your research you can pay say $80000 for land and property and the value would easily be double the worth. Plus you can design a home what you both want. Google and study SIP (Structural Insulated Panels). In Florida, they had a 18000 sq ft home for I think $38000. You would still need to buy the land, and get a contractor to do the work. Too long to explain, but if interested let me know and I can send some URLs and what state are you all in. Reason is that no use giving you a company in CA if you are located in Florida. They have regions. I plan to build around October this year.

Answer 4

First of all you have to be approved to purchase a home. You further have to be pre-approived to see if you qualify for a 100% loan.

In answer to your question this can all be solved very simply without fanfare with little or not expense to you. I don't know the prices of homes in your area so here is what I suggest.

Find yourself a mortgage broker in you local telephone book, call and tell this individual that you want to be pre-approved for to purchase a home. Pull up a chair and plan to sit for awhile, because this is not gonna be over in a minute. As a matter of fact grab your favorite beverage so you can answer the questions correctly.

Since you are not married there is a double treat for each of you. Both have to fill out seperate loan appplications as well as credit reports.

You will also need to find a way to get the following items to this mortgage broker. If both of you are gonna be on the loan then both must collect and send the same information.

#1 Two years of federal income taxes along with the W-2's to match from each of you.

#2 One month of pay stubs from each of you from all jobs held by you.

#3 Any and all bank statements from all the banks both of you do business with. You will also want to send any statments about your 401-K plan for the both of you.


Now once the loan application has been completely filled out\, the credit reports have been gotten, this mortgage broker will be able to tell you if you are qualified for a 100% mortgage and any other loan programs you are qualified for. He will be able to tell you a little about your interest rate. Most of all he will be able to tell you, based on your combine monthly income, as well as the amount of your monthly income that is geared toward consumer debts that are on each of your credit reports how much house you are able to purchase. Your mortgage broker will now be able to issue you a pre-approval letter (Not a pre-qualified)

Now you may find a real estate agent or get a referral from your mortgage broker and to assist in finding you, your home.

Once you have found this home of your, the real estate agent will now prepare a sales agreement for you and the seller to sign. While your mortgage broker is ordering an appraisal to verify the value of the property.

Now the mortgage broker might want or need additional documentation, just find it and give it to him, this is common.

About 7-14 days after you have found your home, your mortgage broker will call and set a date for you to sign your loan docs. In these docs will be your monthly payments, interest rate, when the loan is due and the amorization time. Your mortgage broker should explain this to you before signing loan docs.

I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.

"FIGHT ON"

Answer 5

What you should pay depends on a number of factors:

1. How much of a monthly payment you desire or can afford
2. Where you want to live and what homes are going for in that area
3. What your CPA has to say about your tax status, and what would be best for you
4. What your lender qualifies you for, and if they're going to require you to put some money down
5. What type of home you want and what you're willing to pay

Before you go shopping for a home:

- Talk to your accountant
- Get a copy of your credit report
- Talk to your bank or a reputable mortgage lender about what programs are available to you and what you qualify for

Answer 6

Pay what you can afford without altering your current/acceptabel lifestyle. Also, I'd recommend you go by the lower person's income to determine what payments you can afford. This way, if the higher income earner loses his/her job then you can still afford to make mortgage payments using the lower income earner's pay. If the lower earner loses his/her job, you can still afford to make payments. You don't want to ever buy a house and be foreclosed, do you? I'd suggest you see a financial planner before you even make an attempt to purchase a home. This way, both of you will have clearer financial goals and a plan for both of you.

Answer 7

25% max is the norm. Highly advise you get married or form a corporation before you make a joint real estate purchase
$1,500-$1,700 per month @ $80k annual. But varies..

Answer 8

You need to see a financial planner, to see what is appropriate for you, its not just about what you make, its about your finances, expenses and current savings...

Answer 9

If your take home pay is $80,000. $100,000 to $120, 000 home.
sorry dont know about %'s.