Hey Pod-People -

As mentioned in Episode 3 I've created a spreadsheet to help you figure out how much house you can afford! By changing the inputs in blue and adjusting the down payment, insurance cost, taxes, interest rate etc. - cell B7 will show you what purchase price you can afford while staying in your budget. Remember, I recommend only 25%-30% of your take-home pay should be spent on housing! I also show what the 15-yr and 30-yr payments would look like - keep in mind that 15-yr mortgages usually have a lower interest rate!

Lastly - the 'post-sale' profit section shows how much you stand to make if you sell your house in a certain time-frame. Keep in mind that real estate can rise or fall in a given area so this is for informational purposes only. Helpful to illustrate that if you are not planning on being in a house for at least 5-years it may not be worth it to buy. 

Some helpful tricks I've learned as I've bought real estate over the years:

-Don't let emotions guide your decisions

-Make sure you stick to your budget - being house poor is not fun!

-Cosmetic details DO NOT MATTER! - You can easily repaint, refloor, put in new vanities etc. Don't get caught up on the small details. 

-LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION - being close to the area you work and spend most of your time keeps your transportation costs nice and low!

-A little extra payment goes a LONG way!

That's all for now, hope you enjoyed this weeks episode!

XO

Angie