I recently read an excellent piece about five important things you should do if you're getting ready to buy a home:

1.  Get you finances in order
2.  Practice good credit behavior
3.  Shop around for the best loan
4.  Enter the market early
5.  Find a real estate agent now.

Read the full article at www.NorthJerseyAbode.com.

If you're thinking about buying a home this year, give me a call and let's talk about how you can prepare for it.  Start your search here:  

So you’ve decided to take the plunge and buy a new house!  How much can you afford?

Here’s something to think about:
Your lender decides what you can borrow but you decide what you can afford.

Lenders are careful, but they make qualification decisions based on averages and formulas. They won’t understand the nuances of your lifestyle and spending patterns quite as well as you do. So, leave a little room for the unexpected —  for all the new opportunities your home will give you to spend money, from furnishings, to landscaping, to repairs.

Historically, banks use a ratio called 28/36 to decide how much borrowers could borrow. An approved housing payment couldn’t be more than 28 percent of the buyer’s gross monthly income, and his or her total debt load, including car payments, student loans, and credit card payments, couldn’t be more than 36 percent.

That’s how much you can borrow.  Deciding how much you can afford should involve some careful attention to how your financial profile will change in the upcoming years. In the long run, your own peace of mind and security will matter most.