Make sure you can afford mortgage

Don't do what I did. First time naive homebuyer, got carried away by how much the bank pre-approved me for, made an offer, paid my earnest deposit money, scheduled inspection and yesterday took a few moments to crunch the numbers and use online mortgage calculators and realized I can't afford the mortgage. Or I guess I can technically afford it, but I won't have a life outside of living in the house. I'm heartbroken and I feel very stupid. Don't do what I did.

This was posted on a more active sub and I'm adding my thoughts to it.

I'll probably just echo what this user posted, because the numbers need to make sense before you start seeing homes.

People suggest talking to a realtor first if you're interested in buying a home.

I'd disagree with that. I think a helpful loan officer might be a better first stop, because they'll be able to cover monthly payments, show you how to calculate if a certain house might meet your budget, or tell you what price range of homes would meet that budget.

Unhelpful loan officers only tell you what you're approved for.

Starting with an agent is very similar. They'll tell you to get approved, and then they'll show you houses that meet your criteria.

But ignoring the budget just wastes time and money.

This user might have paid for an inspection (~$500+)

If the monthly payment to own a house is too much, see if you can realistically cut some stuff out of your budget (if owning the house is worth the cuts)

This is an early-stage (test) calculator that helps you do a reverse-search. Put in your desired monthly payment, the amount saved for a down payment, and it will push out a purchase price range for you. tools.newbhomebuyer.com/affordability

hope it helps

Sam

Originally shared by u/SamTMortgageBroker in r/NewbHomebuyer — view the original thread.