Buying a House, Part 2, in Rockwall, Garland, Royse City, Forney, Wylie, Dallas
This is the second in a series of articles outlining what it takes to buy a house. Other articles in the series cover credit, income and asset requirements.
How much house can you afford to buy? If your credit scores are good, you should then decide on a budget for 
your monthly payments before you decide on the price for the house you want to buy. What can you honestly afford to pay for your house payment? Guidelines typically state 28-29% of your gross income, but it is possible to get higher amounts approved.
It’s important that you know what you are comfortable paying. Buying too much house could leave you cash poor and unable to do the things that you enjoy. It will also make it difficult to manage unforeseen expenses if you don’t have enough room to build up an emergency savings account. Once you know your maximum payment, your loan officer will then calculate what this payment translates to in terms of how much house you can buy, or the sales price. Stick with your price range unless you cannot find anything you like. If this happens, then ask your loan officer if you can go any higher on the price and what your payments will be.
Keep in mind if you live in an apartment, you will now be responsible for expenses such as maintenance on the house and lawn care as well as repairing and replacing large items when they stop working, so leave room for emergencies. You can also expect higher utility bills. On the other hand, if you are renting an older home, but will be buying a recently built house, you can expect your monthly utilities to decline due to improvements in energy efficiency over the years. If you make smart decisions on your budget when you buy a house, you will be happier with your home as the years go on.
Please check out my other articles on buying a house as I discuss credit, income and asset requirements, as well as choosing a great realtor and loan officer to provide you with a great experience!
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