Your Castle Real Estate

Your Castle Logo
CONTACT US
(303) 962-4272
Buy Property | Sell Property | Search
  • Home
  • Our Team
    • Find an Agent
  • About Us
    • About Your Castle
    • Staff
    • Offices
    • Cities
    • Alliance Partners
  • Relocation
  • Services
    • Buyer’s Guide – Denver Homes For Sale
    • Sellers’ Guide- Your Castle Denver Realtor
    • Denver Real Estate Investing
  • Media
    • Newsletter/Blog
    • Your Castle Gives – Residential Real Estate
  • Training
    • Upcoming Courses
    • Past Courses
  • Contact
  • Careers
    GO

    How Much Mortgage can I Afford?

    December 2, 2020 By Lon Welsh Leave a Comment

    Your Castle Real Estate has over 650 agents in Colorado. We help about 34 families a day buy or sell a home. Many families struggle to determine how much house they truly can afford. Most of the time, they are uncertain where to begin. If you are in the same boat, lucky you! We are going to help map out the process.

    Step 1: Talk to a Mortgage Lender

    There are a lot of different variables that go into defining how much mortgage you can afford. To ease the stress of this process, reach out to a mortgage lender. Your Castle is an affiliate partner with Castle & Cooke Mortgage. Joe Massey is the Senior Loan Officer at Castle & Cooke. He works with individuals who want to buy a home, buy their first home, buy an investment property, and refinance.

    When initially speaking with clients, Joe asks them a series of questions and evaluates their financials. This information allows him to determine how much mortgage someone can afford. Still, there is a lot that goes into a down payment. Joe will look at things like a person’s credit score. Do they have good credit? He will look into their debts. How much are they paying in student loans? Vehicle loans? Credit Cards? He will then calculate how much money someone currently has Are they getting a gift from a family member? Do they need government assistance? The more they know, the better they will understand what someone is looking for in a new property and how they can afford that property.

    For example, they know they can afford a $2000/month payment. Joe will take this information and work backwards. He will figure out how the individual(s) can come up with the $2000/month payment, principal, interest, home owner’s insurance, and property taxes. Once he calculates this, it will equate to a certain number of potential homes to buy in their desired area. This maybe a $380K home or possibly it is a condo, so it is closer to $390K.

    Why not do it myself?

    Everything we described, you can figure out on your own. However, doing it yourself would not give you a solid answer from a lender who will ultimately be lending you the money. Therefore,  getting an opinion from a mortgage lender can make all the difference. All you have to do is spend about 30 minutes with them on the phone and they will let you know what you can truly afford when you go out to shop for homes.

    When you do reach out to a lender, be prepared to answer some personal questions. How much money do you make? Where do you live? What is your social security number? What is your spouse’s social security number? Again, the answer to these questions will allow them to really understand what your goals are and what you are looking for in a new property. Once they get a good grip on these goals, they can help you with prequalification and a preapproval letter.

    Is the Mortgage Lender Just Guessing?

    At Castle & Cooke, it is critical for their team to give certain answers to their clients, not guesses. This is because many people will get prequalified or preapproved and then the horror stories begin. “Oh my gosh I got under contract and then got turned down.” This is something that should never happen. This is why mortgage lenders really focus on gathering information up front. This allows them to be able to hand you your preapproval letter and say, “Hey Mr. Client, you are good to buy this property. There are no additional questions that need to be asked.”

    This will put you in a very strong position as a buyer. Especially now with the shortage of inventory in entry-level homes. If the seller has multiple offers for an entry-level home, the first thing the listing agent will evaluate is the financial strength of each buyer. They will ask: Have they talked to a creditable mortgage broker? Have the submitted their tax returns and credit reports?

    If the answer is yes, they will know there is a high probability that the deal is going to close. This is how your offer will be seriously considered by the seller, giving you a strong competitive advantage in the market.

    Get Started

    First-time home buyers, find a local real estate agent by contacting Your Castle today and learn more about how much mortgage you can afford with Castle & Cooke Mortgage.

    Filed Under: Real Estate

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recent Posts

    • What NOT to Do After You are Approved
    • 4 Ways to Network as a New Real Estate Agent
    • The Ultimate Colorado Bucket List
    • What Is the Strongest Tailwind to Today’s Recovering Economy?
    • MARCH/APRIL NEWSLETTER 2021
    • 5 Tips for Making a Successful Offer
    • 3 Kinds of Content to Post on Instagram
    • Why You Need a Real Estate Agent
    • Love Me or Not: Home Equity Loans
    • 10 Signs You’re Ready to Buy
    • How to Manage Your Time Successfully
    • FEBRUARY / MARCH 2021 NEWSLETTER
    • 5 DIY Home Improvement Projects
    • 6 Things Your Website Needs for Realtors in 2021
    • Why You Should Get Preapproved This Year
    • 6 Best Instagram Marketing Tips for 2021 Mortgage Style
    Your Castle Real Estate - 2755 S. Locust St. Suite 150 Denver, CO 80222
    Agent Login
    YourCastle.com uses cookies to customize your experience. Learn about cookies and our Privacy Policy here.

    Information source: Information and Real Estate Services, LLC. Provided for limited non-commercial use only under IRES Rules. © Copyright IRES.
    Information is provided exclusively for consumers' personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed by the MLS.

    Copyright © 2021 Pueblo Association of Realtors. All rights reserved. The data relating to real estate for sale on this web site comes in part from the Internet Data Exchange Program of Pueblo Association of Realtors. Real estate listings held by IDX Brokerage firms other than Your Castle Real Estate are marked with the Internet Data Exchange logo or the Internet Data Exchange thumbnail logo and detailed information about them includes the name of the listing Brokers. Information provided is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

    The content relating to real estate for sale in this Web site comes in part from the Internet Data eXchange (IDX) program of METROLIST, INC., DBA RECOLORADO © Real estate listings held by brokers other than Your Castle Real Estate are marked with the IDX Logo. This information is being provided for the consumer's personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any other purpose. All information subject to change and should be independently verified. See Disclaimer

    The real estate listing information and related content displayed on this site is provided exclusively for consumers' personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing.
    This information and related content is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed accurate by the Pikes Peak REALTOR® Services Corp.

    Property listing data provided by Summit County multiple listing service. Information last updated: 12th April, 2021 13:00 MST. All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified. The advertisements herein are merely indications to bid and are not offers to sell which may be accepted. All properties are subject to prior sale or withdrawal. The sale offering is made subject to errors, omissions, change of price, prior sale or withdrawal without notice.

    Listing Data last updated: 12th April, 2021 13:00 MST
    Service by Buying Buddy IDX CRM
    Equal Housing
    Blue Fire Group    Real Estate Websites
    © 2021 Copyright
    Your Castle Real Estate
    LAC
    My Buying Buddy    Powered By MyBuyingBuddy ®