How Much Home Can I Afford?
By sharon burns

Preparing yourself for buying a house, comes with the double edged sword of excitement about what your new house may be like, while an unsettling feeling may also be closely followed due to the nagging question of HOW MUCH HOUSE CAN I AFFORD?

Using a few rules of thumb, one can easily subside that anxiety feeling....

Figuring out your debt to income ratio (the same concept used by many lenders) in the comfort of your own home can quickly help you determine where you will fall in the loan amount eligibility scale.

Obviously, everyone's situation is very different, from the timing of the loan request, changes in housing market and lending market, credit history, credit report, and so on, therefore the following should be used as a guideline for your own personal budgeting use. For verification of your particular funding eligibilites, you should seek guidance from a mortgage lender or broker.

DEBT TO INCOME RATIOIn order to determine how much house you can afford on your own, you'll need to determine your debt to income ratio. Keeping in mind that each lender is different, the following numbers can vary.

First determine how much house you can afford. Lending companies will typically allow between 25% and 35% of your gross income to be used for all housing costs (this usually includes mortgage payment, interest, taxes, insurance, home owners association fees). Yes 25% - 35% is a wide margin, however this number can vary depending on such factors as housing market,

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personal credit score, and so on.

Figuring that your annual gross income is $50,000, divided by 12 months = $4166 monthly gross income.That means that, on the lower end, 25% the lender will allow you to spend $1041 towards housing a month.On the higher end(35%), a lender may allow you to spend $1458 a month towards housing costs.

The next step in figuring the debt to income ratio is to determine your recurring debt. Looking at your monthly minimum payments (you can get this from your credit report) for all credit cards, car payments, and the like, add this monthly number to the monthly housing number. So if you have $350 combining a car payment with a credit card payment each month, you would add this to the lower end number of $1041 to arrive at $1391. Now, use this number ($1391) and divide it by your monthly gross income number ($4166 above) to arrive at your total (with a new house) debt to income ratio. If this falls less than 35% you may easily prequalify. As the market changes and each lender uses a different number, this number can range anywhere from 35% to 42% as well.

Without going to a mortgage lender and having them prequalify you, there is no way to be certain that you are will be able to borrow the amount for a house that you desire, especially with the ever changing housing market. However, if you can determine your credit score and your (without a home cost) debt to income ratio, you may be able to call or look online to get a fairly good estimate as to whether you will qualify. You will want to select a mortgage broker or lender based upon your personal needs and situation(s).