https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 25 May 2026 02:53:54 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-question#post-2909239 Wed, 29 Jan 2020 09:27:57 +0000 JennyPenny 2909239@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Agreed with everything people above said. Just wanted to add that in our most recent house hunt we had told some of our priorities to our realtor, including having an upstairs laundry. There was a house we liked but the laundry was downstairs and our realtor arranged for a contractor to come estimate the cost to move it upstairs and present options for the places it could go. I'm not sure that's something all realtors would do but I do think in general having a realtor will give you a good place to start in a lot of your questions. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-question#post-2909233 Wed, 29 Jan 2020 08:24:43 +0000 Ajsmommy 2909233@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>all of what @muffinsmuffins: @Lahela017: said. You'll get pre approved for an amount but you need to evaluate it and make sure you can afford it or that you want to afford it. Most times it's a LOT more than you would actually want to spend thus making you "house poor". As PP's said we got approved for $700+ but with our other expenses (cars/daycare/college loans) we ended up looking for a home under $275k. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-question#post-2909228 Tue, 28 Jan 2020 21:42:50 +0000 pinkb 2909228@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Agree with stuff above, what you are approved for isn’t necessarily what you can afford or what you want your payment to be. But it is good to make sure you can get approved for enough.<br /> I specifically wanted to comment on having a contractor visit a listing. Our house is currently for sale and recently a very interested buyer wanted a second showing. We found out after that he had brought multiple contractors thru our house. Not cool. Please let the selling agent know you are having contractors accompany you it’s just the right thing to do when you are a guest in someone’s home. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-question#post-2909219 Tue, 28 Jan 2020 19:14:15 +0000 Lahela017 2909219@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Meet with a realtor and go over these things with them. They should be able to answer some of your questions taking into account your location. </p> <p>As for pre-approval, you should figure out your own budget first. You'll likely get approved for far more than you should actually spend. We got approved for over a million !?!?!! and we spent 265k because that's what we were comfortable with when looking at our monthly budget. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-question#post-2909218 Tue, 28 Jan 2020 17:57:26 +0000 karenbme 2909218@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Agreed with @muffinsmuffins that banks can pre-approve for amounts that are higher than what may actually be affordable given everything else in your life (daycare costs, for example, don’t factor in). I would decide with your partner what you think a reasonable monthly payment is for your budget and then use a calculator that factors in taxes (be sure to adjust if taxes tend to be higher in your area) and home owners insurance to determine what you actually want to spend. Bank pre-approval terms vary, and if your credit isn’t perfect you may want to shop around for rates. The rate associated with your pre-approval will be locked for 60-90 days depending on the bank, but unless your credit changes, I wouldn’t worry about going beyond that window and you can always go through pre-approval again.</p> <p>Definitely work with a realtor you trust because they can be a huge resource for comps and for pointing things out on tours. They won’t know what a project would cost, but they’ll see things that need fixing that you probably won’t. Also, just FYI the seller pays both realty’s fees, so there’s no downside for you. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-question#post-2909216 Tue, 28 Jan 2020 17:25:04 +0000 muffinsmuffins 2909216@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Banks will generally pre-approve you for more than you should really buy for which makes it confusing. Pre approval was usually valid for 60-90 days I think? We looked at a lot of houses online to get an idea of prices and then used mortgage monthly payments calculators to figure out what we were able to afford. Our realtor was also an excellent resource for areas and comps for pricing.</p> <p>ETA: for example, a few years ago when we bought our house we were approved for something like 525k. We told our realtor to send us options around the 400-450 range max and ended up spending less than 400k on our house. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-question#post-2909215 Tue, 28 Jan 2020 17:04:42 +0000 KNS 2909215@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Here is what we did and what I would do again:</p> <p>1. Talk to a mortgage broker first. They can give you a good idea of what you will be approved for and then you can decide how much you are comfortable with. This will inform what you should look at. </p> <p>2. Start looking online and going to open houses if you aren't already. Track houses on Redfin or another service to see how much they actually sell for. </p> <p>3. If you have a contractor you already know and know work you want to do then I would have them come and look to give a ballpark estimate. But note that this may or may not resemble your final cost depending on the scope of the work. </p> <p>3a. We looked at one house and paid an architect $100 or so to come look at it with us. It needed VERY extensive renovations so we wanted to have an idea of cost as we wouldn't have had cash to do them. So if you randomly call someone to ask I would offer to compensate them for their time and ask if it could be offset against a future project if you do chose to go with them at that time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-question#post-2909214 Tue, 28 Jan 2020 16:54:04 +0000 annem1990 2909214@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are starting to think about buying our first home and have no clue what we’re doing. I’ve tried so many mortgage calculators online and they all give different numbers. How do you know how much you will be approved for? Can you get “approved” for a certain amount and then let the time lapse before you actually put in an offer? We are not in a hurry so we’d prefer to wait for the right house. But I also don’t want to be way off mark when looking and then be surprised when we aren’t approved for that much. </p> <p>We also will probably be doing some renovations before/after moving in with some cash. How do we know when looking what sort of renovations are possible and the potential cost? Do you bring along a contractor? Do you pay them for the consultation?</p> <p>We feel very lost and overwhelmed. We feel very confident in our financial situation, but home buying is throwing us for a loop and I think we’re terrified of making the wrong decision. </p>