What Size Wilmington North Carolina Home Can You Afford?
The foremost step to purchasing a Wilmington, NC, home is determining how much home you can afford, or with what payment you feel comfortable. This can be a stressful procedure. Calling lenders, looking at mortgage loan programs and interest rates can be perplexing, to say the least. There is an effortless way to get started, and give yourself an idea of where you stand.
The foremost step is to find out what mortgage interest rates are at the current time. You can typically do this with a couple of phone calls to lenders or some quick searching on the internet. Get your rates on conventional fixed rate loans. If interest rates rise in the time to come, your loan will be unchanged, unlike Adjustable Rate Loans.
To obtain a very clear picture of how much home you can really qualify for, the best idea is to contact a reputable local lender and let them analyze your entire situation. The lender can calculate your income-to-debt ratio, do a quick credit score and give you the data you need. Usually, lenders like to see a ratio not exceeding about 28%. This does not take into consideration long term monthly debt. As an example, to qualify for a loan, lenders may require ratios of 28% or 36%. This means you can spend up to 28% of your gross monthly income on a motgage payment, and no more than 36% of your gross monthly income on all forms of debt, mortgage included.
Once the loan officer determines the amount of home you can afford, they can issue a
pre-approval for you. A pre-approval is an official letter saying the lender commits to giving you a certain amount of money as determined by current rates. This makes the home search much easier, because you know the price range you should be searching in. Also, sellers often require a preapproval letter when an offer is made to prove you have the money to buy the home.
We work with numerous Wilmington, NC, loan officers and would be happy to recommend one for you. Simply give us a call at (910)202-2546.
Realtor Melanie Cameron has been a professional, full-time Realtor since 1994 Certified Short Sale Specialistspecializing in the marketing and selling of residential homes in Wilmington and surrounding areas. Melanie has been a consistent Top Producer in the Coldwell Banker system and is ready to help you find your Wilmington NC real estate.
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