15 May Can You Really Afford This Mortgage? Use These Tools to Find Out

Purchasing a home can be confusing. If you’re considering the purchase of a new residence, one of the first questions you’re typically going to ask yourself is “can I afford a mortgage?”

Fortunately, there are many online tools that have been created to help you find an answer. Once you have this answer, you’ll find it much easier to proceed. Continue reading, to find out more about two of these handy tools, which are at your disposal.

Mortgage Qualifier Tool

One of the great things about using an online calculator tool, such as this one, is that you can plug-in numbers to research many different scenarios. A mortgage qualifier tool does just what the name implies. It helps determine whether or not you qualify for a home mortgage based on criteria that include your income and monthly expenses.

To answer the question “can I afford a mortgage,” you simply enter information like the value of the property you’re interested in, the amount of money you’ve saved for a down payment, your preferred annual interest rate and the preferred term of your loan.

When that’s done, the tool asks for things like your annual income, heating costs, car payments and amount of all of your other bills. According to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, if your down payment is less than 20 percent, you can only qualify for a mortgage that’s based on a five-year fixed-rate.

Mortgage Calculator Tool

The mortgage calculator tool is used to come up with a schedule for your mortgage payments. It shows you how much money you can actually save by making either pre-payments or paying extra on the principle of the loan.

Many homeowners, who ask themselves “can I afford a mortgage,” are pleasantly surprised to learn how much money can be saved simply by making one or two extra payments per year. Cutting back on things like take-out food and entertainment makes it easy to save up to make the additional payments.

It should be noted that any online calculator does not take the place of professional financial advice. Your particular mortgage lender may calculate things in a completely different way.

What’s Your Next Step?

Now that you’re more familiar with mortgage tools, in general, you probably have additional questions other than “can I afford a mortgage“. If so, this is an excellent time to contact the financial division of Previn Court Homes.

Knowledgeable staff members are waiting to help you find the home of your dreams, with payments you can afford. Why not give them a call to schedule an appointment today? Your new home awaits you!