Want to have some fun? Take a minute and punch in your own numbers and laugh at what they spit back :D http://www.zillow.com/mortgage-calculator/house-affordability/
Seemed pretty accurate for me. I think a lot of people think they can afford a LOT more house than they really should buy.
Interesting. Was very much off for me. Remember not to factor in your current mortgage as debt. Zillow is notorious for being off base with their property assessments. This calculator, for me anyways, was way off. Then again, I'm cheap and have little debt, so I suppose my debt to income ratio makes it look better than I imagine. Well that backfired. Again why I need to stop posting on here :D
It said I can afford a mortgage around 50% higher than my current loan, which is about what I expected it to say. I don't like being saddled with much debt.
Yeah. It's overshooting for me, though. Are you guys calculating your equity on your existing home into the down payment?
It's 2008 all over again,these people don't learn thing for melting down the economy. Maybe next time someone might go to jail or loose there job?
WAY overshot for me... That's pretty scary and you do have to be concerned about another "2008" event.
Seems pretty close to me, might have to make adjustments based on differences in property tax rates because of location, both otherwise I think it was in the realm of possibility
I couldn't get it to accurately reflect my situation. Barely changing the monthly debt number I got anywhere from 140k to 500k+. I am looking at the 250k range for next spring and should be able to make the numbers work. Freakin housing in Alaska is ridiculous...
It's a little on the high side for us. Adding both of our incomes togther and the fact we have a very good debt to income ratio, it was pretty high. I KNOW the bank won't give us that much... we're in the middle of buying a house now.
Way more than I would feel comfortable with. People that run that high of a mortgage must not have much for hobbies.
Yes, it's very high. If I didn't have a kid, wife, savings account, retirement plan, or any hobbies.......I could swing what it's outlining. We choose to live under our means and spoil our kid, keep my wife at home, save money, stash for retirement, and spend money on things we enjoy. We will be back on the house market in about 6 months but we won't be spending anywhere near what this thing is outlining.
I didn't add in my current utilities and house payment and it was high (once I added in current it was what I'd be comfortable with, but still higher than what we bought ours for). With our income - the original would be doable. I, however, prefer to live with a nice cushion in my bank and would not go even near what it was saying. But, with all that being said, we currently are making double payments every month and our house should be completely paid off between ages 33-35!
I was playing around with the numbers and the payment break down and it still had PMI in even if I put down 1/2. PMI is the biggest rip off of all time in the mortgage industry, where in the hell was all that money when the market collapsed? I'll tell you sitting in some bank CEO's retirement account or 10,000 sq ft mansion in Aspen and one in the Islands. I think the calculator was accurate if you want your home to own you.
Correct. Which is why I think it's odd the calculator doesn't err on the side of caution considering it's a website built around home ownership, valuation, and market trends.
The debt/income ratio used by the caculator looks to be inline with what is used by most lenders. People who have little non-mortgage debt may qualify for an amount which is higher than they are comfortable spending. The problem with alot of applicants is they think if a bank says they qualify it means they can afford it. People need to determine for themselves what is affordable for them.
