You can pretty easily figure out what your taxes will be. Look at the tax assessments on an MLS site for several homes in your county and price range. I'm in Arlington, and taxes on homes in my range were generally in the $5,500/year range, so I just divided that by 12, added it to my monthly payments and estimated what the insurance might be for a property. (I knew what I was paying for a home worth about half as much so I doubled that number.) In deciding what I could afford, I started with my previous mortgage and added on what I could comfortably handle each month. i assume you have housing costs now - start from there. (and assume higher utilities if you're moving from a condo to a house.)

We got a preapproval today but do they purposely quote you a higher monthly payment since you don't know what taxes will be?

Contact a mortgage broker first to figure out how much you can afford and get a preapproval letter, then work with a realtor.

Find a mortgage broker and have them run some numbers for you. they'll tell you some options.

I've found First Home Mortgage to be pretty helpful/competitive. There are a lot of branches.

Also run some numbers on your own. Basically, what is your monthly take home pay, expenses. then figure in what you can afford to pay monthly for a mortgage from that amount. And also figure in higher utility bills. Then add on top of it stashing some money for savings for repairs (basically working in a cushion). That should give you an idea of what you feel comfortable with as a monthly payment.

With that information, a mortgage broker will be able to tell you with today's rates, what kind of mortgage you can get and have approx. the monthly payment you're comfortable with. That will be your ceiling.

Then start looking at real estate sites, maybe read some agent reviews and find an agent.

I highly advise you to figure out what you can comfortably afford per month FIRST.

THEN contact a mortgage broker to sort out what kind of mortgage you can get for that monthly amount.

THEN contact a real estate agent.

A lot of mortgage professionals will do some calculation of your annual salary v. your debts. But it's far more useful for you to figure out what monthly payment you are okay with by actually writing out your take home pay and subtracting all of your actual expenses. Then whatever you get back in taxes due to the mortgage interest deduction can be put in savings and used for emergency repairs.

Good luck.

Go to Amazon.com and order something like home-buying for dummies. You need to educate yourselves. There is also good information out there on the internet. Take your time. This is one thing you really don't want to rush into or to screw up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shop around for mortgages and find out what they'll loan you. Then, figure out what YOU think you can afford in terms of monthly payments.

For realtors, my best luck has been going to lots of open houses. Get a sense of what kinds of homes you like, and talk to the realtors. Very quickly you'll feel out who is creepy, weird, too pushy, or just doesn't click. If you click with one, get references.

How do you suggest shopping for mortgages?

check the paper, check the internet, try Eagle Bank or Pen Fed or Amerisave...

On the one hand, the mortgage interest deduction will be a windfall for you in the early years, on the other hand, it's good to have a cushion for unexpected maintenance etc

Anonymous wrote:Shop around for mortgages and find out what they'll loan you. Then, figure out what YOU think you can afford in terms of monthly payments.

For realtors, my best luck has been going to lots of open houses. Get a sense of what kinds of homes you like, and talk to the realtors. Very quickly you'll feel out who is creepy, weird, too pushy, or just doesn't click. If you click with one, get references.

How do you suggest shopping for mortgages?

I actually found my realtor when I went to an open house. So that is good advice. Or get references from friends.

Shop around for mortgages and find out what they'll loan you. Then, figure out what YOU think you can afford in terms of monthly payments.

For realtors, my best luck has been going to lots of open houses. Get a sense of what kinds of homes you like, and talk to the realtors. Very quickly you'll feel out who is creepy, weird, too pushy, or just doesn't click. If you click with one, get references.

This is all very new to me and we're having a hard time starting somewhere to get the process started. Do you first get a mortgage and then find a realtor or find a realtor who then helps you find a mortgage and navigate the process? Also, I've read hundreds of 'can you afford to buy' things and done the calculators but who can help you decide if you should rent or buy?

Thanks!