Knowing your numbers

  Our lives are filled with  numbers, phone numbers, speed dial, security codes, social and credit card numbers.  Those aren't the only numbers important to know.  When you start to purchase a home it's important to know your numbers ... before you start looking.

Buying a home is a major investment and there are many things to consider.  The worst thing a buyer can do is go looking for a home before knowing how much he can afford (assuming the buyer is on a limited income, needing to use a mortgage to finance the home).  OK, cash buyers can stop reading now.  Please leave the room, we don't want you to see the envy in our eyes!  :)

Home buyers who are the happiest are those that know their limitations.  When you know how high you can look, you don't waste time looking at homes that will only discourage you from looking at the ones that fit into the budget.  It's the old adage, beer vs champagne budget.  Start off with champagne and you are ruined for beer for good!

Start with a good lender

Most lenders these days can get a loan PRE-approved in a short time.  Be sure they know all the pertinent facts about you, don't without any obligations, thinking what they won't know won't hurt you.  It will.

As the lender/loan officer asks you for information, s/he is building a file on you and your ability to pay.  They will review your credit report, and check your employment references.  Validating your file fully prior to you finding a home is really in your best interest.

Once the work is done, you are ready to start looking for a home.  Having a pre-approved loan puts you in a strong negotiation seat.  The time you took to get prepared should and will save you time and possibly money on your purchase.

Knowing your numbers, all of them is an investment in your future.

Comments

[Resty]

Knowing your numbers could save a lot of foreclosures and bankruptcies. After all the years that I have talked to distressed homeowners makes me wonder most of the time. Yes, some of them gone into some serious financial mess because of some unforeseen medical emergencies.

But those folks who borrowed more and even refinanced to payoff other debts just really bugged the hell out of me.

Debt is debt and numbers don't lie. If your numbers that are going out is way more than what you got coming in, is trouble. Why these people missed that?