Your Team

Your Agent
A successful purchase starts with the right representative. In fact, once you’ve selected the best agent to represent you, it is likely that he or she can recommend other professionals to join your team, taking more of the responsibility off of your shoulders.

Lender (Appraiser)
A bank is not just a bank. Having the right backer can be extremely important – it is your money we’re talking about after all! Make sure that your lender and financial representative is someone with whom you feel comfortable, and be wary of any lender who promises you more than you think you can reasonably afford. Your lenders may or may not require an independent appraisal, and typically will make arrangements for the appraisal themselves.

Lawyer
Your home purchase is far too important a transaction to skimp on legal representation at the risk of leaving yourself open to costly future issues. Find a lawyer who is willing to take the time to answer your questions and who specializes in real estate law.

Home Inspector
No home inspection is 100% guaranteed, but a few hundred dollars to catch a major problem now is certainly better than many thousands to correct that ‘surprise’ down the road. Ask your agent for a recommendation.

Contractor
Planning some renovations? You’re not the only one! The home renovation industry is booming, and in some markets, booking a contractor must be done months in advance (that’s a long time to go without a kitchen). Don’t let finding the right contractor slip through the cracks – planning ahead will almost certainly make your renovation smoother, and you contractor will appreciate the advance notice.

Your Plan

1. Find the right representative
Even if you’re not quite ready to buy, your buyer’s agent can be an absolute wealth of information, and can often offer ‘scoops’ on local developments you might not have know about otherwise. Speak to your agent first and he or she can be helping to guide you right from the start.

2. Find out what your price range is
Online mortgage calculators are a good place to start, but as you get closer to being ready to buy, there is no substitute for a written mortgage pre-approval. Just speaking to your lender is an extremely worthwhile venture – this is the only way to really get an in-depth picture of your overall financial picture and to discover exactly what you can reasonably afford to spend on a home (and possibly on renovating).

3. Find out what your local market looks like
The internet can be incredibly valuable in doing preparatory research. Start with your agent – he or she can direct you to valuable resources and immediately start e-mailing you real estate listings that may interest you (or at least give you a better idea of what your needs and wants are).

4. Find out what your true needs and wants are
Compose a needs/wants list that takes into consideration your local market conditions, your price range, and the advice of your real estate agent.

5. Find your dream home!
Once you’re ready to act, you may be surprised by how quickly you can make a decision. Armed with your pre-approval, a little market knowledge, and your needs/wants list, call your real estate agent, hit the pavement, and when you see ‘the house’, put in an offer.

With the right team behind you, it really can be that easy!

Your Calculator

Let us help you find out what you can afford! Our mortgage calculator will help you determine loan amounts, mortgage qualification, or whether you should be renting or buying.

Complete the fields below (e.g., Cost of Home, Down Payment, Monthly Income) and click Calculate Now. To view the different results of your calculation, click on the various tabs. To mail yourself a copy of your results, click the Receive this Detailed Analysis link.

Required

Required Must be a number between 1 and 50
Term In Years:
Required Must be a number between 1 and 100
Interest Rate:	%
Required
Cost of Home:	$
Required Cannot be more than Cost of Home
Down Payment:	$
Required
Annual Insurance:	$
Estimate Insurance to 0.43%of Cost
Required
Annual Property Tax:	$
Estimate Tax to 1.2%of Cost
Monthly Income:	$ Required
Monthly Debt:	$ Required

Optional

Gross Debt Service Ratio (GDS):
Total Debt Service Ratio (TDS):
Condos Fees:	$

Results

Receive this Detailed Analysis

Mortgage
Qualification
Affordability
Rent vs Buy

Your Monthly Payments

Loan Amount:
Loan Insurance ( %):
Total Loan(Mortgage) Amount:

Principal & Interest:
Homeowners Insurance:
Property Taxes:
Condo Fees:
Monthly Loan Insurance (%):
Total Monthly Payment:

Income Needed to Qualify for the Mortgage

Total Monthly Loan Payment:
Total Monthly Debt Payment:
Monthly Loan Insurance (%):
Qualifying Income of % GDS Ratio:
Qualifying Income of % TDS Ratio:

What You Can Afford
We are using the % ratio.
Cost of House:
Down Payment:
Loan Value:
Monthly Principal & Interest:
Monthly Insurance:
Monthly Property Tax:
Monthly Condo Fees:

Note: Cost of House = [(Monthly income x Debt Ratio) – monthly tax – monthly insurance – condo fee] / (monthly interest rate/ function of interest rate)

Monthly Rent:	$ RequiredMust be a positive number	No. of Years you plan on keeping the home:	RequiredInvalid
Annual Rental Increases:	% RequiredInvalid	Yearly Appreciation on the Home:	% RequiredInvalid
Monthly Renter Insurance:	$ RequiredInvalid	Annual Home Maintenance:	% RequiredInvalid
Savings or Investment Rate:	% RequiredInvalid

Your Real Estate News

real estate - Yahoo! News Search Results
Real-estate experts in Arizona are guarded but hopeful	2/4/2012 1:56 AM
At this year's Urban Land Institute conference, the conversations and atmosphere were different.
Two real estate firms combine	2/4/2012 4:02 AM
Cora Bett Thomas and Austin Hill are uniting to create new company that will meet the needs of a wider range of clients and to cover a larger market base including marketing investment property, condominiums, historic property, multimillion-dollar homes, land and commercial property.
Real Estate Forum: Avoid defeating your own deals	2/4/2012 1:08 AM
Question: Allison, we are looking for a foreclosure property to buy in Frisco, CO. Anything in particular we should watch out for? Answer: I'm getting this one a lot lately. While there are some great deals out there now, as i Copyright 2012 Summit Daily News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Summit Daily News Real Estate Forum ...
Real Estate Stocks: Is Home Ownership a Bad Investment?	2/3/2012 10:57 AM
Is there investment opportunity in these names?
Real estate veteran joins Nothnagle	2/3/2012 3:48 PM
Formerly of Hunt Real Estate ERA/Columbus Division, Jeanne Olson will be director of professional development for Nothnagle.
SYSWIN Receives Continued Listing Standard Notice from the NYSE	2/3/2012 5:00 PM
SYSWIN Inc. , a leading provider of primary real estate services in China, announced today that on January 18, 2012, the New York Stock Excha
Saudi- Move to regulate random real estate offices lauded	2/4/2012 12:42 AM
(MENAFN - Arab News) A former senior official at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry has lauded the efforts of the Makkah governorate and the chamber to regulate the real estate ...
Real estate transfers September part 3	2/4/2012 1:00 AM
MONTGOMERY COUNTY ABINGTON 2436 Arlington Ave., Mary McKeown and Mary Beck to Thomas Moore, $194,900.
New York Real Estate Question & Answer	2/2/2012 3:53 AM
Taking responsibility for a roof leak; a bank loan for capital repairs; lender says no to co-op sublet; next time, don’t forget the key.
Alexandria Real Estate Equities Earnings Preview	2/3/2012 12:59 PM
Alexandria Real Estate Equities will unveil its latest earnings on Tuesday, February 7.