How To Set A Budget For Buying Your First Home

When it comes to buying a property, everyone knows the golden rule: don’t buy more than you can afford. It is possible to budget for a home. However, each buyer’s definition of “affordable” will be different. The average sale price for a new house in the fourth quarter of 2021 was roughly $361,700, that means that some people spend a lot more and others pay a lot less.

The 28% Rule Can Get You Started

The 28 percent rule, which states that your monthly mortgage should not exceed 28 percent of your gross income, is one of the simplest ways to figure out your home buying budget. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is a little more accommodating, allowing clients to borrow up to 31% of their gross income. 2 Remember, if you have additional debts, you must take them into account in addition to your mortgage payment to evaluate how much you can truly afford when it comes to house and land packages.

Homeowning Expenses Beyond the Mortgage

Preapproval for a mortgage is an important initial step in the home purchases process, but it is only one factor to consider. A mortgage isn’t the sole continuous cost of housing; buyers must budget for a variety of other expenses as well. These expenses include property insurance, electricity, repairs, and upkeep. The yard needs to be trimmed, the snow needs to be shovelled, and the leaves need to be raked. Property taxes must also be considered by buyers. You also have to consider the builders central coast cost if you want to renovate and upgrade the current property.

These costs can quickly mount up to a considerable portion of your monthly budget, making a home that appeared reasonable on paper expensive in reality. As a result, while deciding how much home you can afford, you should factor in all of these prices as well as other recurring expenses. A $1,500 monthly mortgage payment may be manageable, but add another $1,500 in monthly costs, and your commitments have more than quadrupled.

Your Down Payment Should Dictate the Purchase

Lenders typically require homeowners to pay a minimum 20% of the purchase cost in cash for any home and land packages. They can still secure a mortgage if their down payment is less than that, but they will almost always have to pay for private mortgage insurance (PMI). 5 When they pay PMI, their monthly payment will increase by 0.5 percent to 1% of the loan amount.

Choose a Property You Can Handle

First-time purchasers should examine the property’s condition and size while determining its affordability. After all, big isn’t necessarily well, especially when it comes to cooling and heating. A charming home perched on a gorgeous hillside may be a dream come true, but shovelling that long, steep driveway in the winter could be an expensive nightmare. So might that 3,000-square-foot fixer-upper that appears to be a steal until you discover you’ll have to renovate every room and the builders central coast prices are sky rocketing.