Qualify for Loans in Utah

Buying Homes

How much real estate can I afford? This is both a personal question and a lender question. A lender will tell you how much you can borrow based on their assessment of risk to them, but only you can decide how much you can afford. This is a good reason to do a budget to determine your before and after scenario before you buy.

There are a lot of things to consider here:

•  Do you or do you want to Contribute to a pretax retirement account (401K, IRA) •  Will you have a child soon •  Will one spouse stop working in the future for family or to start a business? •  Will a child be going to college? •  Do you frequently go out to eat or socialize? •  Do you like to travel or do you plan to travel more in the future? •  And anything else that you consider financially important.

These items might also be more of a reason to buy sooner than later, it depends on you.

Another thing to think about is your future needs and how long you plan on living in the home. If you buy a home that is less than you can afford, this might be a mistake. The cost of selling and relocating after staying in a home for only a short time, like less than two years, could eat up your equity. It’s a fine line between this point and getting in over your head.

Keep in mind that most people move every 5 to 7 years. This is a good time frame to consider staying in a home. If you stay longer, that's great.