How Much House Can I Afford?
Buying a home can be lots of fun. It’s exciting to see all those years of dreaming come to life in a place you can finally call your own. With so many possibilities at your fingertips, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement before asking yourself the most important question of all: How much house can I afford?
It doesn’t matter if the kitchen is fabulous or the backyard is big. If you can’t pay the mortgage each month, or find the cash to fix what’s broken, your home will never be a blessing.
Before trying to find out how much house you can afford, determine if you’re financially ready to buy a home by asking yourself these questions:
If you answered no to any of the above questions, now may not be the right time to buy a home. Just married? Wait at least a year before buying a home, even if your finances are in order. Don’t add the stress of a home purchase to a brand-new marriage, and never buy real estate with your significant other unless you’re actually married!
Your search for homes may start online, but it shouldn’t end there. You can do a lot of research on your own, but you need the help of an expert when it comes to finding and securing your perfect home.
A buyer’s agent can help you navigate through the home-buying process. In some cases, they may even be able to help you find a house before it hits the market, giving you a competitive edge. When it comes to making an offer, your agent will negotiate on your behalf so that you don’t pay a penny more than necessary.
The more cash you put down, the less money you’ll need to finance. That means lower mortgage payments each month and a faster timeline to pay off your home loan!
A down payment of 20 percent will keep you from having to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI). PMI protects the mortgage company in the event you don’t make your payments, and they have to foreclose on you. It usually costs about 1 percent of the total loan value, and that cost is added to your monthly payment.
Getting pre-approved takes a little more work, because a lender will need to verify your financial information and submit your loan for preliminary underwriting. Although it takes some extra time to get preapproved, it pays off when you begin your home search since a preapproval letter shows that you’re a serious buyer.
Remember, bad financing can turn your biggest asset into a liability. We recommend always getting a 15-year, fixed-rate conventional loan with monthly payments that are no more than 25 percent of your take home pay.
You can figure out how to buy a home that won’t bust your budget by crunching a few numbers. Once you know how much you can realistically spend on a new home, make sure you and your spouse are on the same page about your budget and what you can actually pay.
Add up all income you bring home each month, then multiply your monthly take-home pay by 25 percent to get your maximum mortgage payment. If you bring home $5,000 a month, that means your house payment should be no more than $1,250 a month, including taxes and insurance. Also, remember to factor in home ownership costs and moving expenses.
Talk with a professional real estate agent about your financial goals for help in finding a home that fits your budget. A good agent with the heart of a teacher will understand how important it is to help you find a home you can afford — and that means one that won’t bust your budget!
* Used with permission from DaveRamsey.com. For help deciding which mortgage is right for you, visit https://www.daveramsey.com/mortgage-calculator.
A massive project -- which will make habitat better for mule deer on thousands of acres in southwestern Utah -- is underway.
Southern Utah
Improving habitat for mule deer herds
What: Habitat-improvement projects don’t stop in the winter months. There’s good weather in southern Utah, and range crews are using bullhogs to improve thousands of acres of mule deer habitat near Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. Bullhogs are heavy machines that tear out and shred pinyon pine and Utah juniper trees, leaving room for the widespread growth of sagebrush, grasses and flowering plants. On this project, eight bullhogs are operating at the same time to remove overgrown pinyon-juniper vegetation. In a couple of years — long after the loud, messy machinery is gone — this project area will offer better habitat for mule deer and many other species. The DWR is just one partner in this multi-phase Watershed Restoration Initiative project.
River restoration benefits sportfish and native fish
What: A backhoe sits in the middle of the river while other heavy machinery waits nearby. You watch dumbfounded as the operators pull chunks out of the riverbank and drop boulders and logs throughout the water. How could this possibly help the fish? Although it looks destructive, this work is exactly what the fish need. The project is limiting erosion, stabilizing the banks, slowing down the water and creating pools where fish can spawn. As a partner in Utah’s Watershed Restoration Initiative, the DWR is working to restore sections of the Sevier River and Beaver River in southern Utah.
Northeastern Utah
See bald eagles at Ouray National Wildlife Refuge
What: Bald eagles migrate into Utah during the winter to find food and escape colder conditions farther north. The birds are large and social, and can be fun to watch and photograph. On Feb. 24, the DWR will hold its final bald eagle viewing event for the month of February.
When: Saturday, Feb. 24
Eastern Utah
Relocating nuisance turkeys
What: Over the past 20 years, Utah’s turkey populations have boomed. Unfortunately, some of the birds have settled on private property and are making a huge mess. DWR biologists are trapping nuisance birds in northern and central Utah and moving them to the eastern part of the state.
