How to Determine What House You Can Afford

When searching for a house, we often let our emotions get in the way and throw all logic out the window but we should always ask ourselves, “Can I actually afford this house” before we rush into signing any important documents. How to calculate how much I can afford on a new house

So how can you determine and measure the affordability factor? It all depends on how much you are willing to pay up front (down payment), how much you want to pay for your mortgage on a monthly basis, and of course, your total income. Other factors to consider are any big expenses such as university costs, student loans, medical bills, or your monthly savings account or retirement contributions. You must also factor in your monthly expenses such as credit card bills, car payments or any other expenses that may get in the way.

Your credit rating will come into play as well as this will determine how much you will be able to take out in loans for your mortgage so be sure to spend some time paying off as many debts as possible and increasing your credit score before looking for that perfect new home.

Now as far as actually calculating the affordability numerically, I could bore you with financial details and minutia or I can make it very simple for you. Go online and search for an affordability calculator. Many websites including cnn.com, msn.com and many real estate agent websites have a free online form where you plug in certain numbers and figures to determine the affordability of a home you are interested in.  They will ask about your income and any expenses you may have as well as other factors to quickly calculate this.

As a general rule, the debt to income ratio (how much you owe divided by how much you make) must not surpass 36% and housing payment to income ratio (housing payment per month divided by income per month) must be about 28% but of course, it varies from website to website. Using pre-determined formulas and percentages, these calculators will do the math for you while asking you very simple and direct financial questions. It’s as simple as plugging in the numbers and clicking a button. It’s quick, easy and convenient.

Once you determine exactly how much you can afford to spend on your house and for your monthly mortgage payments then you can begin searching for your perfect new home! Once you have narrowed your home search down to your top few contenders make sure to research the neighborhoods, communities and surrounding areas of each home on MoversAtlas! This is an important step that many first time and experienced home buyers overlook. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of your individual home but the surrounding area is almost just as important as the home itself!

If you enjoyed reading this post you will find the main Mover’s Atlas site even more Interesting! There you can discover important information about what surrounds your current or future Florida home, give it a look: Mover’s Atlas.

Tips on Being a Smart Home Buyer

Being a smart home buyer is much like being a smart car buyer, the best tool you can have is being equipped with the right knowledge. Doing complete and thorough research will help ensure you make the best decision possible.  After you have Advice on buying a new homefound the perfect house or narrowed it down to multiple houses you are interested in it would be wise to sit down and carefully look over the financials in many different aspects.

The price of the home is just the start.  If you have ever gone through the process of being preapproved for a home loan you know that typically you are approved for a lot more money than you actually want or need.  In this case you need to set your own personal budget for your new home, some recommend this should be a third of your take home pay on a 15 year FIXED rate mortgage.  This would be combined income and could vary depending on your personal debt like cars, student loans or credit cards.  This may seem like it is much less then you thought you could afford but there are many additional expenses that come along with being a home owner.

One big expense that most people overlook if it is their first time buying a home is buying furniture and other standard household items. Many people are used to living in apartments, condos or even mom and dads and in these cases many don’t have enough furniture to even fill the place; this may not seem important at first but depending on the individuals circumstances using bean bag chairs for living room furniture or TV trays for the kitchen table gets old very quickly.  These items tend to sneak up on most and end up being a burden that turn into more debt and more cost that is overlooked.

Some more expenses to consider are additional taxes, HOA fees, mortgage insurance and home insurance.  The fees that are tacked on during the purchase, known as closing cost, can vary depending on the type of purchase. The closing cost can typically be calculated fairly easily and fortunately is a onetime cost; on the other hand taxes and HOA fees are ongoing and should be carefully included into the consideration when purchasing a place.  Many times there are HOA fees that can be several hundred dollars a month, this money could be better used elsewhere so it is important to educate yourself on these additional expenses before you close on a new house.

It is said that knowledge is power, this is especially true when buying your home. It is important to have a full understanding of all the hidden costs, what your limitations are and how comfortable you want to live.  The best thing you can do is take your time, do your research and be honest with yourself and your situation.

If you enjoyed reading this post you will find the main Mover’s Atlas site even more Interesting! There you can discover important information about what surrounds your current or future Florida home, give it a look: Mover’s Atlas.

Retiring Soon? Consider Moving to Orlando!

For the majority of people that have made the right decisions, saved money, and carefully planned for their future they will eventually get to a point where they stop going to their “day job” and begin to really start enjoying life and what it has to Orlando Florida Retirement Communitiesoffer.  Retirement is a really good opportunity to start the stuff you have been putting off because you didn’t have enough time.  At this point it is important to plan out your retirement years much like your working years.  A big part of this planning may include downsizing OR even relocating, the following are reasons why living in or relocating to Orlando, Florida would be a really great place to consider for your retirement.

First and foremost Orlando is known for its tropical weather, considering all the northerners have spent many winters shoveling snow, scraping windshields, layering clothing and salting driveways.  All of these things are activities that waste time and energy that would be much better spent playing tennis, golfing, riding bikes, going to movies or anything else you choose to do during retirement.  Of course you don’t have issues with this everywhere in the country but Orlando has other great reasons to be your retirement destination.

Orlando may be known for its weather, but what about our communities designated for 55 years and older?  There are many communities even entire towns that are designed for people that are 55 years and older, these are places designed to have centralized grocery stores, shopping centers, restaurants and other conveniences that enable you to not have to drive around all day wasting time and gas doing your day to day activities.  These communities give you opportunities to be around people with the similar ages that are trying to enjoy life without the hustle and bustle of folks still in their working years.  Many of these communities enable you to even commute in golf carts! Whether you are driving to the grocery store or the ninth green, some of these places you will find it more unusual to see a full size car on the street than a golf cart with a shiatsu riding shotgun.   This leads me to the next point, hobbies.

Even during your working years you probably had hobbies just not enough time to enjoy them as much as you wanted.  One big part of retirement are things like golf, fishing or pleasure boating; this is very convenient considering Orlando is known for its golf courses and waterways.  Orlando has more than 50 golf courses in the greater Orlando area with communities built around them.  The neat thing that most don’t know about the golf course community is that with the course comes the club house, with the club house they typically have tennis courts, restaurants and a pool.  Other options like boating or fishing come to mind with many docks that dump you in fantastic chains of lakes with plenty of site seeing and fishing. With the closeness of communities, weather to support hobbies and outdoor activities, and plenty of parks and recreation you will have no complaints about Orlando being a top spot for your second wind!

If you enjoyed reading this post you will find the main Mover’s Atlas site even more Interesting! There you can discover important information about what surrounds your current or future Florida home, give it a look: Mover’s Atlas.