What's Happening 1-4-12

Happy Hump Day! I was able to make it to the office early this morning and was going through my emails and I got one that I must write about.

I had someone respond to one of my listings and they asked a question:

How Much Are the Payments?

It amazes me how often I get questions such as this that tell me the person is starting their journey towards home ownership by traveling down the wrong road. Either they will be delayed because they waste time looking at homes that they cannot get a mortgage for or even worse, they end up getting screwed....

The first step in buying a home is education. Not looking at homes and making a wish list. The first step is educating yourself to be an informed consumer. And part of being an informed home buyer is talking to a mortgage professional and finding out what price range a bank will be willing to lend you. This is called getting a pre-approval letter.

Getting pre-approved is a very important step but just part of the beginning of the home buying process. You must also decide what type of mortgage will work for you and your unique personal and financial situation. You have to find out how much down payment you will need, how much closing costs are going to be, what types of homes will work for the type of mortgage you are going to use to buy a home. And more.....

Anyway, determining how much you can afford does depend on how much the bank will lend you and what your monthly payment is going to be. If you would like to learn more please check out

How Much House You Can Afford?