Mortgage Help | Imamother

amother

Plum

Sun, Aug 02 2015, 8:56 am

I am really confused about mortgages and scared to go to a mortgage broker since they'll do credit checks and all so I'm hoping someone here can help...

My husband and I make a combined income of ~$120k ka"h, have credit scores in the 800 range ka"h and our only debt is a $309/month car lease.

When I put in our info on online mortgage calculators it says considering Monsey tax of ~$12-15k a year we are only eligible for a $317k loan...but houses start ~$500k in Monsey...

How does anyone buy a house there?

Thanks

Amarante

Sun, Aug 02 2015, 9:22 am

Not sure if that is a rhetorical question. In general, it's hard for many people to buy their first home.

Many people get help with the down payment so mortgage is less.

It's somewhat of a chicken and egg situation since you need to know how much mortgage you can get to determine how much house you can buy. When someone does a credit check, it does show up in your credit report, but it really shouldn't be an issue for you. A good mortgage broker can present you with alternatives in terms of various financing options to work with your personal situation.

However, just because you manage to "qualify" for a higher amount, it doesn't necessarily mean it makes sense to go ahead. You should consider your expenses - the mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance including water, heating, cooling, yard as well as other maintenance that is normal for a house - plumbing leaks (small) or roof is need (expensive). There are a lot of costs that are involved in home ownership and you want to make sure that you can afford the TOTAL of housing costs along with the rest of your expenses. Many people don't buy the most expensive house they can theoretically qualify for because they don't want to have no money left (or very little) for other necessary costs of living - including savings and *normal* emergencies.