How Much Money Can I Borrow To Buy A Home?
There’s really no easy and quick answer to “how much money can I borrow to buy a home?”
It will all depend on the overall financial health of the area in question, the financial health of the mortgage company in question and the risk that giving a loan to you will provide to that same company. However, the first two aspects mentioned will weigh less when you apply for a mortgage, after all; everybody wants some profit, right? So, if the overall market condition is good and the financial health of the company is great, they *might* get a portion of their earnings to re-invest to bring even more revenue but the bigger part of it will be converted into profit for its shareholders not necessarily on making your life easier by loaning you more. That’s capitalism, buddy.
Alright, are you lecturing me or answering how much money can I borrow to buy a home, RealEstateAgent.com?
Ok. Let’s cut to the chase. You will get as much money as the calculations of the mortgage company say you will be able to pay it back in a timely manner. And to figure out how much that means in your case, we will need to figure out what is your risk to the company.
To do that, you'll need to figure out what your gross income is (before taxes) monthly and yearly. To get a quick ballpark figure, take the yearly income of yourself - and your co-purchaser if applicable - and multiply by 2 to 2 1/2. Most people will fall into this category. There are other things to consider, however – like monthly debt payments and home-related expenses like homeowner’s insurance policy cost and homeowner’s association fees, your expected loan term and interest rates. If you have a large down payment combined with little to no bills, the lender may believe that you could afford a more expensive home than the ballpark figure allows.
An important thing to do in order to prepare yourself to lure the mortgage companies into a large loan amount is taking care of your credit score, developing good habits towards it. Once you understand what is a credit score and how does it impact real estate, you will be able to secure, most of the times, not only better deals, but with less hassle.
Popular Real Estate Questions
Popular Real Estate Glossary Terms
Use of other people's money (OPM) in an attempt to maximize the return but at high risk. The use of leverage in real estate investing is a way to maximize yield on a small down payment. ...
(1) Financial ability and soundness of a business or individual to afford the purchase of property. (2) Worth of the dollar in real terms considering inflation. ...
Court having the responsibility of performing probate of wills and administering estates. In certain states, a probate court can appoint guardians for minor children of an estate. ...
Legal contract in which the lender controls the pledged property being financed. The agreement describes the property and its location. Of default occurs, the lender may sell the ...
Right to select something or perform some act. An example is a renter of property that is given the option to buy the home at the end of the rental period or to renew the lease. Not ...
The assessment sales ratio is a way of measuring the accuracy of a property’s assessed value when compared to the property’s selling price. This measurement gives the ...
The definition of an absentee owner is a property owner who does not reside on the property. An absentee can be an individual or a corporation with legal ownership over a property ...
Also called "Grey Shell, "Bare Shell," and "Artic Shell," a Cold Shell could be described as the more radical version of a Vanilla Shell. So, what does precisely the Cold Shell definition ...
Federal agency within the Department of Housing and Urban Development that provides financing to home buyers, particularly those with little cash or with a need to lower monthly payments. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.