How much Home Can you Afford

You will need a few hours to develop your budget on your home purchase once you've gathered the necessary information.

Separate your home needs  from your wants and make a rational decision based on the information.

You can print out a real estate budget form for developing your household budget.

Some items you'll need are:

• Current monthly loan payments.
• Other monthly expenses (childcare, dues, etc.).
• Records of variable expenses from the last 12 months (utilities, food, car repair, etc.).
• Records of annual or semi-annual expenses (insurance, taxes, etc.).
• An estimate of what your new home mortgage payment will be. To get this use our mortgage payment calculator.
• Records of other non-fixed expenses for the last year (medical expenditures, etc.). This will give you an estimate of average expenses of this type.
• Records or an estimate of personal expenses (entertainment, travel, etc.).

Be realistic. Make provisions for possible increases in some items ( school tuitions, insurance, taxes, etc.). Then look for ways to get and keep control over your budget.