You must include utilities, real estate taxes, principle, interest, homeowners insurance, and any HOA fees if applicable, and put aside some cash every month for maintenance and upkeep.
In reality, your gross income includes money you don’t even see every month – payroll taxes, healthcare deductions, 401K deductions.
With a fixed-rate mortgage, the only changes that may occur in your monthly payment are the real estate taxes, insurance, and, if any, HOA fee.
First time home buyers may see a gold opportunity in buying a house these days and it may even look like a wise investment for Their money.
If you are not a DIYer and don’t know anyone who is, it may be wise in the beginning to invest in a website called Angie’s List, or at least get referrals from people you know.
If you are a First Time Buyer here are a few tips to think about that your mortgage broker may or may not tell you.
In the past it was very common to be told that your gross income was the dollar figure used to determine how much mortgage you could afford.
This is the mistake I made in the past and due to past experience I am of the opinion that there is a special place in Hell for 90% of the Realtors out there.
In my opinion the very least that the Planners should insist on, if they continue to allow this, is that the materials used in paving the garden should be porous so that any rainfall at least has a chance of soaking through and not running off and overburdening the existing drainage systems.
Hurricane resistant: Have impact resistant designs with reinforced track systems and sturdy frames to keep from caving and twisting.
Non-insulated detached garages do well with hollow steel doors or insulated to resist the impact of basketballs and other objects.
Insulated and attached garages do well with the sandwich doors.
here are three types of steel doors: hollow or non-insulated, insulated with vinyl backs, and insulated sandwich doors with steel on both sides.
Included in the door prices below are new sections, tracks, springs, heavy-duty hardware, and vinyl stops around the perimeter of the door.
The vinyl garage doors look much better than steel because of it has beautiful wood grain pattern.
The price of 8×7 wood composite garage doors is $1000-$1300.
8×7 wood garage doors have price range of $2,000- $7000.
A solid wood design that comes commonly in cedar, redwood, hemlock or mahogany but can be found in other tree varieties.
Nature has already found a way, you can do it too!
It is common even now that a mortgage broker will take your gross income and figure 30% and say you can afford it. In that case a larger down payment may be necessary to obtain a smaller mortgage.
If you have a lot of debt, it will be easier as a homeowner if you pay down most of if not all debt before you take on a mortgage.
You don’t want to be cash poor every month because of a mortgage/ house payment equaling 50% of your take home pay.
Depending on your situation, it is easier to save for an emergency fund, have retirement accounts, and take vacations if your housing costs are based on NET income and not gross.
This is true and the builder will probably take care of any move-in repairs that may be needed.
Keep in mind that, very frequently, one manufacturers add-ons and accessories may only work with their brand of garage door opener
so its probably not the best idea to buy a garage door opener from one brand while ordering accessories from another.
Keep in mind that unplanned landscaping works might lead to more serious problems such as exterior damage to your property or damage to the underground utility pipes and cables.
Electrical and plumbing are among the most important jobs because any flaw in the system could result in damage to the property or even worse – a health risk.
So it is not a good idea to be qualified on money you do not even see or have.
Buying your primary residence, fixing it up the way you like it, and turning around and selling it for a profit is not a good idea at this time
(what they call “flipping”).
The best way to determine how much your monthly payment should be is based on your NET income.
