The starting point for any Buyer should be to accurately determine your price range. Although, most Buyers tend to use what they feel are good estimates, they normally wind up buying a home in a different price range than they first thought. Our goal is to help you avoide wasting your time looking at houses you're not going to buy.

How do we do this? As you start your house hunting venture, we strongly encourage Buyers to get loan approval as your first step. It's not very exciting, but this not only saves you time in the long-run, it also can help you negotiate a lower price too. Why? Because Sellers are more comfortable knowing that the offer in front of them is submitted by a Buyer that can actually purchase their house. This reduces the anxiety for Sellers because they won't be worried up to the day of closing to learn whether or not the Buyer can actually qualify.

To obtain information on Mortgage payments we're happy to refer you to the David Weekley web-site. There's lots of helpful information for you here just a click away.

When determining your budget, remember it's not the sales price of the home that's important; it's really the cost to own it. And, this total cost changes from house to house and from community to community.

There are six primary (6) factors that will influence your monthly payment and thus your price range. They are:
1. Down Payment
2. Interest Rate
3. Taxes
4. Fees
5. Monthly utilities
6. Maintenance

The interest rate and down payment won't differ on two houses priced the same, but their total payments could be significantly different. That's right. Many Buyers often overlook these other costs when establishing their budget.

Consider the impact taxes can have on your monthly payment. Since taxes are not fixed, they vary widely from community to community. Some have taxes as low as $2.25/$100 of valuation whereas others are over $4/$100. The difference dramatically effects what you can afford. For instance, if you were looking for homes in the $350,000 price range with a 4% tax, you could actually purchase a home over $400,000 in a community with a lower tax rate... and yet still have the same monthly payment. We haven't met too many Buyers that couldn't use that extra $50,000.

So, you shouldn't just look at the sales price of different homes and feel that the payments will be the same. In addition to taxes, remember that newer homes are normally more energy efficient and therefore have lower utility bills. But, you may have more out of pocket expense when you consider the costs of window coverings and landscaping. Older homes can be priced less and offer mature landscaping but may require a more maintenance. And, don't forget to compare Homeowner Association dues and community fees.

At Realty West, we help you evaluate all your costst. We make this comparison process easy too, as we'll do most of the work for you.