December 7, 2010
Sometimes the most difficult part of becoming a homeowner with an FHA mortgage is taking the first step. Many people feel intimidated by the prospect of finding a new home, applying for the FHA loan and entering the commitment. But sometimes a little information is all that is needed to show a prospective house hunter that the dream may be within reach–and closer than expected.
The FHA provides a simple tool to help potential house hunters figure out how much home they can afford to buy. The FHA Buy a Home page has a link to a Ginnie Mae online calculator that asks for four simple figures to help figure out what your monthly mortgage budget could look like.
Potential buyers are asked to enter their gross income, their estimated car and credit card payments plus the amount of all other monthly payments. The online form does the math and returns data on an estimated sale price, loan amount and type, term and what the monthly payments could be.
The figures you get from this calculator are only estimates and are provided without regard to housing market data or additional factors like credit history, additional income from a spouse or co-borrower, etc. But doing some basic math can go a long way toward helping a borrower decide if they are ready to start considering owning a home and learning what to do to prepare for a house hunt.
Smart borrowers prepare at least a year in advance to commit to buying a home, so it’s never too early to start thinking and planning how to do it.
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
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