Real Estate Search Direct

“How much house can I afford?” is a question on many first time home buyer’s minds.  There are are many different factors involved in determining what kind of house, size of house and location you can afford to buy.

Listen to Ben’s story.  Ben had always wanted to buy a house.  He saved from the time he first got a job.  By the time he was 24 he had saved $20,000 for a down payment and figured he was ready to own his own home.

Ben had an income of $4,000 per month and with his down payment he figured he could buy a $200,000 house with 10% down.  He planned to live in the house he would buy for a long time so he could pay down the mortgage and be debt free before he retired.

Ben wanted to buy a house with a yard and enough room to raise a family.  In the area Ben lived and worked he knew that there were single family homes for sale of the size he was interested in starting at $320,000.  What do you think Ben should do?

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Comments (3) Dec 22 2008

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

In your search for a home you need to know if your real estate agent is really looking out for your best interests.

When I bought my first home, my real estate agent was most concerned about quickly closing a deal without spending any more time than necessary.

She rushed me through viewing properties and showed me seven or eight very similar condominiums in the same complex in one day.  These properties were all in my price range and matched my specifications.

When it came time to make an offer, I could hardly remember which property was which.  I would have liked to take a second look at a few of them to be sure which one I wanted, but she urged me to make an offer right away.

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Comments (0) Dec 17 2008