How to Tell If You're Really Ready to Buy a Home

Buying a home is no easy feat. There’s a lot of paperwork you need to be on top of to secure the big-ticket purchase. Here’s how do determine if you should pull the trigger or wait until your finances are in better shape.

Banks will let you take on a mortgage payment at no greater than 45% of your monthly income. This means if you’re earning $8,000 per month, your lender will allow you to take on approximately half of this on a monthly basis for a mortgage payment, with other monthly liabilities. The reality is 45% of your monthly income is a huge percentage of your income going toward a housing payment and other monthly obligations, excluding childcare, college savings, savings in general, other household bills and retirement planning. So if you find you’re unable to make those ends meet, chances are you may not be ready to buy a home.

What follows are some ways to keep your mortgage payment as manageable as possible.

Pay Off Debts to Qualify

If you have a workable down payment, but you have debt payments such as a car loan that are pushing you above that 45% mark, you may want to pick the debts that have the greatest balance with the highest monthly payments, and pay those off in full. Doing so will allow you to not only buy more house but, more importantly, to afford a new mortgage payment.

Keep Your Debts in Check

Car payments, credit card payments — whatever payments you are currently making will limit your buying power. These debts should be as absolutely low as possible.

Don’t Focus on High-Interest Debts First

It’s not what you owe, it’s what you pay that counts. The minimum payment that you’re obligated to make on credit obligations independent of whatever interest rate you have is what lenders will look at to qualify you. Yes, that 0% auto loan could adversely affect your ability to borrow, especially if that payment is a few hundred dollars per month.

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Just because you qualify for a mortgage does not automatically mean you should pull the trigger. The ideal approach is to purchase a house in the following way: Make the mortgage payment low enough so you can pay off other obligations, have the ability to save and contribute to retirement.

If buying a home prevents you from being able to save or from getting out of higher-interest rate debt such as credit cards, student loans, personal loans, etc., put the housing project on hold or pause and ask yourself whether buying a house is really the best financial move for you right now. In some cases, buying a house — despite the obligations — might still make financial sense. In other cases, it might make sense to just say no.

Remember, only you will be making your mortgage payment. So buy a home when it financially makes sense for you. Low rates are an attractive reason to buy a home, but exercising financial prudence should be your number one objective when buying a home.

Also keep in mind that your credit score will impact your ability to qualify for a mortgage with reasonable terms. If you’re not sure where you stand — or want to see what you need to improve — a good place to start your research is by getting ahold of your credit reports. You can view a free snapshot of your credit report, updated regularly, by signing up for an account on Credit.com.

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