Buying a Home - Are You Ready Financially?

For most Canadians, purchasing your home is likely the most important investment you will ever make.

How do you know if you are financially ready for the responsibilities that home ownership comes with?

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) offers these tips to assess your current financial situation, to calculalte your monthly expenses and to determine how much home and mortgage you can afford.Calculate your net worth - the total of all your assets (include investments, savings, properties, vehicles etc.) minus your liabilities, (mortgages, car loans, personal or student loans, credit cards or other debts).



Your net worth is the difference between your assets and your liabilities and will give you a visual of your current financial situation and an idea of how large a down payment you can afford.



Calculate your current monthly expenses to determine what kind of mortgage payment can comfortably fit into your budget. These include current housing expenses such as rent, utilities, parking and other fees as well as cable/TV/internet, debt payments, insurance, gas and repairs for the cars, clothing, medical and dental costs, child care expenses and groceries.



When you have a clear picture of your financial situation, determine how much you can afford in monthly housing costs. These costs should not exceed 32% of your gross household income. Overall, the total of all your monthly debt load shouldn't be more than 40% of your gross household income.



After determining your financial picture and if you are ready, then contact me http://www.marywozny.com/ for your mortgage financing.



For many people, the hardest part of buying a home - especially a first home - is saving enough money for the down payment. With CMHC mortgage loan insurance, you can purchase a home for as little as 5% down payment on approved credit. With some lenders that 5% can even be a gift from a relative.



To find out more contact me, http://www.marywozny.com/, email mwozny@mortgagealliance.com.



Warmly,

Mary Wozny