getting a mortgage in florida

What Monthly Mortgage Payment Can You Afford?

The majority of people always shop price verse quality, you may ask yourself such questions as; “Is this better deal?” or “What’s the unit price on this BOGO?” On the other hand there are times where you might say “the more I spend the better product I get” but this is when you must ask yourself, is the sky really the limit? What about when you are looking to purchase a home, do these rules still apply? No matter what your situation is, there are guidelines that will help steer you into YOUR affordability range for a home.

There are several “rules of thumb” often used to help people estimate the size of mortgage for which they might qualify. Besides understanding that you will have to pay for this every month, even if money gets tight, there are items that lenders look for. Lenders will often qualify people to borrow between 2 and 2-1/2 times their gross annual income. However, keep in mind that lenders are often willing to approve a larger loan than homebuyers feel they could comfortably afford or want to assume. This is what I like to refer to as the grey area where there is a huge chance you shouldn’t encroach on but you may want to just to see the difference between what you can comfortably qualify for and what would “make things tight” each month.

Another rule of thumb is that people should spend no more than 28 percent of their gross monthly income on housing expenses. (Monthly housing expenses include the principal, interest, property taxes, homeowners insurance and private mortgage insurance, when required). These are the expenses that typically are not carefully considered and can fluctuate greatly and push you into that grey area I was referring to. The information on these variable expenses is not hidden you just need to be aware of them. For example if your taxes are $2K a year and the HOAs are another $240 each quarter that this literally bumps your payment another $250 each month.

To put this into perspective you may be purchasing a smaller place in a more convenient location with a mortgage of $1450 each month while you could be searching in a different area with no HOAs and cheaper taxes bringing you closer to a $1200 mark. One more additional tip is that your monthly housing expenses and other long-term debts should not exceed 36 percent of a household’s gross monthly income. The best examples for long-term debt could be items like student loans and car loans. Of course you have already considered this against your monthly budget but when qualifying for a home loan these are items that are added during the process.

We will consider this the very first step on the road to homeownership. The nice thing is that when you are able to complete your footwork upfront you allow yourself no surprises and a confident look into whether this is something you can really afford or if the timing just isn’t right.

If you are currently in the process of buying a new home in Florida make sure to use the resources on www.MoversAtlas.com to help you make an informed decision on where exactly you want to live!



homes for sale in sarasota fl

Sarasota Area Ranked Highest Well-Being Level in U.S.

Sure you have heard things such as “decrease your morning commute and increase your health” or “lower your stress and live a longer happier life” these are things along with the occasional gym session that can give you a better quality of life. But what about where you live?!

It seems crazy but where you live correlates back to level of stress relief and level of happiness. There is a recent study that indicates that if you live in a prosperous location with good financial standing, sense of purpose, and community that can play a big role in all your happiness. Taking all of this into account the Gallup’s annual Well-being Index ranked the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metropolitan area as the location with the highest well-being in the United States. Gallup conducted 176,000 interviews with residents of ALL 50 states on topics including physical health, financial stability, community activity, and supportive relationships.

Sarasota, Florida is known for its incredible beaches and some of the best sunsets you have ever seen. The city has a population of around 53,000 people and a land area of 26 square miles with about 40% of that being shoreline and water. The economy is nothing but thriving with an unemployment rate of 5% which is almost 1.5% lower than the rest of the US along with recent job growth of 5% compared to the US overall at 1.1%. Of course Florida doesn’t have an income tax and the household average income is right at $41K which seems low but isn’t that a good thing when you don’t have to make a ton of money to get by? When things are affordable for the working class including homes and overall cost of living I see this as a huge plus.

There are all kinds of jobs available here from all different disciplines with the highest percentage being “Sales, office, administration support” at 25% followed by “Management, business and finance” at 13%. Of course there is a niche for anything from engineering to education and food prep and serving. This area like the rest of the US was hit by the recession and home prices that were drastically “adjusted” which may have drove a lot of the super wealthy to other places which just makes it even more affordable.

So the location is affordable, heavily visited by tourists, which helps maintain the great economy and has a ton of things to do on the weekends. Also, Siesta Key Beach (in Sarasota) has been rated the number ONE beach in the NATION several times by many different people. The sand is described as white powder like sugar, super soft and super fine. They have a multitude of intercostal waterways, land or pier fishing spots that can be tapped anytime. Another huge plus that many people don’t know is that Florida is actually the number one state with the most golf course in the US at 1,261 and over 30 of them are in Sarasota alone!

Taking all this information into account it is no wonder why Sarasota, Florida was ranked as the city with the highest level of well-being in the United States. If you are thinking about moving to Sarasota or another great area in Florida make sure you use the tools on MoversAtlas.com to research your new potential neighborhood and community.

 

reasons to move to lake nona fl

Lake Nona – Florida’s Up and Coming “Medical City”

Just outside of Orlando, Florida lies a new town that has recently grown leaps and bounds due to the addition of several medical facilities. Lake Nona is a small (yet growing larger by the minute) town that is South East of Orlando and just outside of the Orlando international airport. The, used to be rural, area has been developed with a mixed plan for its future. Lake Nona seems to have been put on the map almost overnight due to the establishment of the so called “Medical City”.

The city is around 7,000 acres of what used to be a mix of wooded and open grassy fields. The developer, Lake Nona Property Holdings owned by Tavistock Group, had a good outlook for the development of this area. Keeping in mind that many of the properties in Lake Nona are brand new or almost brand new, the prices reflect that but show to have great appreciation after the purchase.

The area has a range of real estate such as brand new townhomes reasonably priced that start around 150K many lake nona real estate for saleof them in gated communities with granite counters, community pools and other excellent facilities. The single family homes in Lake Nona range from mid-level $200K and increase to the several million dollar range thanks to the beautiful Lake Nona Golf and Country Club community. Whether the apartment or home is reasonably priced the community and surrounding area has been known to keep a luxury spin on it. No matter if you are looking for an upscale apartment or a 10,000 square foot, 5 car garage, 8 bedroom house you will be able to find one in Lake Nona.

Medical city has received the largest amount of popularity and for good reason to. Picture an area with supporting “entry level” jobs of restaurants, hospitality and country clubs mixed with a HUGE number of upper income possibilities for nurses, doctors, long term care providers, professors, engineers and everything in between.

Lake Nona has very notable schools and hospitals to include the University Of Central Florida College Of Medicine lake nona homes for saleand Health Sciences Campus, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, University of Florida Research and Academic Center and Nemours Children’s Hospital. As you could imagine these places have many opportunities for a solid career and depending on your field of choice a great place for higher education.

One of the more well-known places thanks to some (negative) media coverage is the Lake Nona Veterans Hospital. Despite what the media says this hospital is worth taking a look at. The campus is 65 acres located in the heart of medical city with 1.2 million square feet of cutting edge care. The campus houses many buildings to include a 60-bed domiciliary, 120 bed community living center (long term care) along with 134-inpatient beds a free standing chapel and veteran’s memorial. The state-of-the-art facility will be serving central Florida’s 400,000 veterans.

Scholastics are also important when ranking an area and Lake Nona doesn’t fall short here either, being zoned as Orange County; Lake Nona high school, Lake Nona Middle school and Northlake Park Community School are all rated very good. The community school covers grades K-5 with the other schools covering through grade 12.

Lake Nona is very up-and-coming, the location is fairly close to downtown Orlando and just minutes from the airport. Lake Nona is known for its great golf course and country club, other parks and plazas. Plazas are filled with new shops, bakeries, delis, restaurants with live music, a wine and tap room along with everyone’s favorite grocery store where shopping is a pleasure, Publix. If you are looking for a newer community with a great range of career growth and appreciating property values Lake Nona maybe your new home.

If you are considering moving to Lake Nona  you can research real estate, neighborhoods, and communities using the MoveMap on MoversAtlas.com!