some advice with mortgage (to rent, homeowners association, insurance)

[willc86]

I am most likely going to visit a bank to talk about mortgage costs.

We have about 60k saved and was wondering if a 280k house might be over 1400 a month. after all the costs in total. including taxes insurance etc. was wondering what a payment would be for something that price

what are normal tax rates / insurance rates in Colorado springs.

or am I better of getting a mortgage of 170k and put it to rent later on? I dont know; need some opinions

[beezle1]

There are plenty of mortgage calculators out on the web, for example : Mortgage Calculator from Bankrate.com - Calculate Payments with Ease

Insurance and taxes will depend on where you buy a house. Both combined will be 2000-4000 annually. And also consider if you buy a home that is within a homeowners association as you may have HOA dues as well.

[beezle1]

And absolutely do contact a mortgage broker before you start looking so you know what you can qualify for ahead of time. They can also give you an idea of what your closing costs would be.

[willc86]

ahh forgot about closing costs! Would they be ok just me testing waters? lets say I figured I want to maybe save a little more for a down

and are these calculators accurate? What is the standard interest rate (to play it safe, say something high) and what about taxes to add? just to incorporate that in my monthly payment

[beezle1]

Mortgage brokers are absolutely fine talking to you if you are not 100% ready to go. They hope to make a good impression so that you will use them when you ARE ready. Yes, the calculators on the web are pretty accurate.

And of course, the interest rate does affect your payment. You can find interest rates online too, but they change daily. To give a wide range, a conventional 30 year loan will probably be in the 4.00 to 4.5 percent range.

[2bindenver]

Talk to several lenders - including your bank. What you will qualify for may not be the same as what you are comfortable paying.

[lurtsman]

60k saved and 280k purchase price does create 170k mortgage. The math is off here (mortgage would be 220k based on seller paying closing costs)

Based on 4.5% annual interest (compounding monthly) the payment (principal and interest) would be 861k on a 170,000 mortgage.
In my experience insurance and property taxes can run as low as .6% each of the house values. That would be $85 per month for each or 170 per month total on taxes and insurance. That provides a total monthly payment running around $1,031. If you're getting screwed on home insurance rates because of having a bad company, living too close to a fire risk, or paying extra property taxes for living in a more expensive district it would drive up those costs.

[reed303]

Originally Posted by lurtsman

60k saved and 280k purchase price does create 170k mortgage. The math is off here (mortgage would be 220k based on seller paying closing costs)

Based on 4.5% annual interest (compounding monthly) the payment (principal and interest) would be 861k on a 170,000 mortgage.
In my experience insurance and property taxes can run as low as .6% each of the house values. That would be $85 per month for each or 170 per month total on taxes and insurance. That provides a total monthly payment running around $1,031. If you're getting screwed on home insurance rates because of having a bad company, living too close to a fire risk, or paying extra property taxes for living in a more expensive district it would drive up those costs.

Lurtsman meant $861.73 per month P&I

[Sophie Heinicke]

There are a lot of mortgage brokers that you can find online. I would personally look at testimonials, the years of experience they have. Make sure they can be found or contacted easily. I would still recommend to interview the broker before hiring them. As long as you can prove a positive cash flow you can usually get some type of loan.

[lurtsman]

Thanks Reed. Upon re-reading I also noticed that I said "does create" when I meant to say "does not create".

If the loan amount is around 220k with no PMI then based on current interest rates I would expect most offers to come in a little under 1400/month with all costs factored in. It'll depend on the interest rates which fluctuate quite a bit, the insurance, and of course the credit scores of the borrowers.

PS. I recommend ENT credit union. A friend used them and had an excellent experience. I used USAA and had a less than solid experience.