7 Signs You Can’t Afford to Buy a Home

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Chief Marketing Officer Jessica

Making the leap from renting to buying is thrilling and liberating — for many, it signifies the realization of “the American Dream.” Buying a home is also a long-term commitment, and one that requires strong financial standing. If any of these signs strike a chord, you may want to delay taking on a mortgage in the near future.

1. You have a low credit score.

Before considering home ownership, you’ll want to check your credit score, which you can do through free sites like Credit Karma, Credit.com, or Credit Sesame.

“The higher your score, the better the interest rate on your mortgage will be,” writes personal finance expert Ramit Sethi in “I Will Teach You to Be Rich.” Good credit can mean significantly lower monthly payments, so if your score is not great, consider delaying this big purchase until you’ve built up your credit.

2. You have to direct more than 30% of your income toward monthly payments.

Personal finance experts say a good rule of thumb is to make sure the total monthly payment doesn’t consume more than 30% of your take home pay.

“Any more than that, and your finances are going to be tight, leaving you financially vulnerable when something inevitably goes wrong,” write Harold Pollack and Helaine Olen in their book, The Index Card. To be fair, this isn’t always possible. While there are a few exceptions, aim to spend no more than 1/3 of your take home pay on housing.

3. You don’t have a fully funded emergency savings account.

And no, your emergency fund is not your down payment.

As Pollack and Olen write, “We all receive unexpected financial setbacks. Someone gets sick. The insurance company denies a medical claim. A job is suddenly lost. However life intrudes, the bank still expects to receive their monthly mortgage payments. Finance your emergency fund. Then think about purchasing a home. If you don’t have an emergency fund and do own a house, chances are good you will someday find yourself in financial turmoil.”

Certified financial planner Jonathan Meaney recommends having the equivalent of a few years’ worth of living expenses set aside in case there is a job loss or other surprise. “Unlike a rental arrangement with a one or two year contract and known termination clauses, defaulting on a mortgage can do major damage to your credit report,” he tells Business Insider. “In addition, a quick sale is not always possible or equitable for a seller.”

4. You can’t afford a 10% down payment.

Technically, you don’t always have to put any money down when financing a home today, but if you can’t afford to put at least 10% down, you may want to reconsider buying, says Sethi.

Ideally, you’ll be able to put 20% down — anything lower and you will have to pay for private mortgage insurance (PMI), which is a safety net for the bank in case you fail to make your payments. PMI can cost between 0.5% and 1.50% of the mortgage, depending on the size of your down payment and your credit score — that’s an additional $1,000 a year on a $200,000 home.

“The more money you can put down toward the initial purchase of a home, the lower your monthly mortgage payment,” Pollack and Olen explain. “That’s because you will need to borrow less money to finance the home. This can save you tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.”

Need help calculating if you can afford to buy a home or what your monthly payments will be based on what you put down? Check out our free mortgage calculators at firstffcu.com!

5. You plan on moving within the next five years.

“Home ownership, like stock investing, works best as a long term proposition,” Pollack and Olen explain. “It takes at least five years to have a reasonable chance of breaking even on a housing purchase. For the first few years, your mortgage payments mostly pay off the interest and not the principal.”

Sethi recommends staying put for at least 10 years. “The longer you stay in your house, the more you save,” he writes. “If you sell through a traditional realtor, you pay that person a fee — usually 6% of the selling price. Divide that by just a few years, and it hits you a lot harder than if you had held the house for ten or twenty years.” Not to mention, moving costs can be high as well.

6. You’re deep in debt.

“If your debt is high, home ownership is going to be a stretch,” Pollack and Olen write. When you apply for a mortgage, you’ll be asked about everything you owe — from car and student loans to credit card debt. “If the combination of that debt with the amount you want to borrow exceeds 43% of your income, you will have a hard time getting a mortgage,” they explain. “Your debt-to-income ratio will be deemed too high, and mortgage issuers will consider you at high risk for a future default.”

7. You’ve only considered the sticker price.

You have to look at much more than just the sticker price of the home. There are a mountain of hidden costs — from closing fees to taxes, that can add up to more than $9,000 each year, real estate marketplace Zillow estimates. And that number will only jump if you live in a major US city.

You’ll have to consider things such as property tax, insurance, utilities, moving costs, renovations, and perhaps the most overlooked expense: maintenance. “The actual purchase price is not the most important cost,” says Alison Bernstein, founder and president of Suburban Jungle Realty Group, an agency that assists suburb-bound movers. “What’s important is how much it’s going to cost to maintain that house,” she tells Business Insider.

Stop into any First Financial branch and we can help you with your home buying journey. We provide great low rates and offer a variety of Mortgage options – to speak with First Financial’s lending department, call us at 732.312.1500 option 4.*

First Financial also offers a Mortgage Rate Text Messaging Service so you can receive updates on our low Mortgage Rates straight to your mobile phone. You can subscribe to our Mortgage rate text message service by signing up for text alerts, and receive instant notification when our mortgage rates change.**

*APR = Annual Percentage Rate. Subject to credit approval. Credit worthiness determines your APR. Rates quoted assume excellent borrower credit history and are for qualified borrowers. Your actual APR may vary based on your state of residence, approved loan amount, applicable discounts and your credit history. Higher rates may apply depending on terms of loan and credit worthiness. Minimum mortgage loan amount is $100,000. Available on primary residence only. The Interest Rates, Annual Percentage Rate (APR), and fees are based on current market rates, are for informational purposes only. Rates and APRs listed are based on a mortgage loan amount of $250,000. Mortgage insurance may be required depending on loan guidelines. This is not a credit decision or a commitment to lend. If mortgage insurance is required, the mortgage insurance premium could increase the APR and the monthly mortgage payment. See Credit Union for details. A First Financial membership is required to obtain a Mortgage and is open to anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in Monmouth or Ocean Counties.

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Article Source: Kathleen Elkins for Business Insider, http://www.businessinsider.com/signs-you-cant-afford-to-buy-a-home-2016-4

6 Reasons to Take Out a Smaller Mortgage Than You Qualify For

Posted on August 9, 2016 by Chief Marketing Officer Jessica

Whether you’re buying your first home or your fifth, being approved for a larger-than-expected mortgage can be intoxicating. But qualifying for a big loan isn’t the same as being able to afford it — and you don’t want your biggest asset to ruin your finances.

Look at what happened during the Great Recession: Believing their homes would appreciate in value, many people borrowed more than they could handle. When their homes lost value instead, those homeowners were stuck with underwater mortgages — loans that exceeded their home’s worth. This made it impossible for many to refinance or sell their homes for a profit, and led to a flood of foreclosures.

Before you sign up for a mortgage, ask yourself “How much house can I afford?” Many financial advisors and consumer advocates recommend that you borrow less than you qualify for. These are a few of the reasons why.

1. You’ll lower your risk of missing a payment. If your housing costs are on the edge of what you can afford, “the odds of not being able to make payments in the event of an economic emergency or a job loss is much too high,” says Casey Fleming, a mortgage advisor with C2 Financial Corporation and author of “The Loan Guide: How to Get the Best Possible Mortgage.”

Missing a mortgage payment can have a domino effect on your finances. “If you are at risk of missing a payment,” Fleming says, “you are at risk of being in default, risk of ruining your credit, and risk of foreclosure, which would wipe out your investment in the home.”

To ensure that the home you’re considering is within your budget, take all housing costs into account, including your mortgage payments, property tax payments, insurance premiums, maintenance costs and, if applicable – homeowners association fees.

2. You’ll be prepared for emergencies. Life can be rough – you might lose your job or face a medical emergency that drains thousands from your savings. You might have to move before you’re able to build significant equity in your home.

“Many people are on the razor’s edge when it comes to being able to tolerate any kind of economic disruption in their life,” says Brian Sullivan, a supervisory public affairs specialist with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Close to half of all American households don’t have enough savings to stay above the poverty line for three months if they lost their income, according to recent findings from the Corporation for Enterprise Development.

Getting a smaller mortgage than you qualify for will allow you to stash away extra money so you can handle hardships. Experts advise keeping enough money in your savings to cover six months of living expenses. You should also be saving for life after retirement.

“If all of your money is going to your monthly housing costs, then you aren’t able to invest in your retirement accounts or other savings,” Fleming says. “The closer you are to the maximum qualifying mortgage, the closer you are to having too little disposable income and inadequate reserves.”

3. You can more easily afford other costs. Part of the fun of owning a home is filling it with things you want and need. If you have children, you might need to set aside money for college. Let’s also not forget the costs of fixing a leaking roof or a busted water heater.

If you have to make other debt payments on credit cards, auto or student loans — it’s in your best interest to opt for a smaller monthly mortgage payment, and put your savings toward these expenses.

4. You can avoid using your home like an ATM. When less of your monthly budget is taken up by the mortgage, you’ll have more disposable income and be less tempted to use a cash-out refinance— the process of replacing your current mortgage with a larger one and pocketing the difference to buy a new car or pay off credit card debt.

A cash-out refinance can be risky because you’re putting your home on the line. If you miss a few credit card payments, you won’t lose your home. It’s another story when you can’t make higher mortgage payments after a cash-out refinance. “A home is shelter first and foremost, as opposed to an ATM for wealth creation,” HUD’s Sullivan says.

5. You’ll be prepared if property taxes rise. “You don’t know what will happen to property taxes in the future, which affect your mortgage payment,” says Lorraine Griscavage-Frisbee, deputy director of the Office of Outreach and Capacity Building at HUD. Depending on where you live, property tax rates may increase annually.

“Many municipalities tie taxes on their properties to the current value of the home. If someone is maxed out on their mortgage payment, they may not have any wiggle room if next year the tax bill goes up because of appreciating property values,” Griscavage-Frisbee says.

6. You can decrease your risk of having an underwater mortgage. Your home’s value isn’t guaranteed to increase over time. If it drops and you don’t have enough equity built up, you could end up owing more than the house’s market value, which is sometimes called having negative equity.

Over 4 million homes were in negative equity positions at the end of 2015, according to a report by real estate industry research firm CoreLogic. That’s an improvement compared with conditions immediately after the last housing bust, but Fleming says it’s still dangerous to count on home appreciation.

“If real estate values rise dramatically, it may work out well in the end anyway, but it seems very dicey to put all your eggs in one basket. If it doesn’t work out, you could end up with no assets at all,” he says.

A borrowing rule of thumb:
So how much should you borrow? Your debt-to-income ratio — the percentage of your pre-tax income that goes toward mortgage and other debt payments — is one way to figure out how large your loan should be. Professionals say 28% is a safe target.

You can also use a mortgage calculator, like our free mortgage payment calculator at firstffcu.com – to see what you might pay and be able to afford each month. In some cases, it does make sense to borrow what you qualify for. We also have a mortgage qualifier calculator at firstffcu.com. If you have a high income, plan on staying in your home for at least seven years, are buying in a competitive market, or have sky-high rent payments, there is some flexibility in the 28% rule. But if you can go lower than 28%, you should. That way, you’ll be more likely to feel comfortable — financially and otherwise, living in your home.

Stop into any First Financial branch and we can help you with your home buying journey. We provide great low rates and offer a variety of Mortgage options – to speak with First Financial’s Loan Department, call us at 732.312.1500, option 4.*