Can you tell me how much I can afford? I want to keep my payments at X amount of dollars, what homes can I afford? We have all thought of these questions when we first think of buying a house. I call these feel-good numbers. We want answers from someone in Real Estate, but rarely ask the right person who can provide the right answer. These are not the real, hard numbers that will get one into the house that one day will become a home.
As a Real Estate agent it is my duty to keep my client's fiduciary interests at heart and seek the best deals for them. To keep that promise, I steer those seeking those numbers to a loan officer. This let us work together with realistic numbers that will narrow the search and provide my client a level of comfort with such a significant decision.
In a day and age where all we hear is ‘the economy is bad' - ‘houses are not selling' - ‘prices are dropping' - ‘we haven't seen the bottom yet', etc. Having reassurance of your own purchasing power puts in perspective what your economy really is. While in today's market it is true that some lenders will require at least 5% down and a FICO of 700 or better, it is always good to know what your real feel-good numbers are before starting the hunt.
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