Scorecard for Your Mortgage
It’s golf season. The weather here in Chicago finally turned and I went to the driving range to practice.
My wife has been golfing for over ten years, and last year I decided to take lessons, practice, and play as often as I could. I loved playing. I became passionate about playing. It seemed it was all I could think about. I couldn’t remember my wife’s name. And, yes, I became addicted. (OK, I am exaggerating.) My goal: break 100 at least once. For those who do not play or follow golf, this is the first milestone (the lower your score–the fewer strokes to get that little white devil in the hole–the better). I did it once. A milestone kind of like:
- Riding a bicycle without training wheels the first time
- Baking that apple pie without using the cookbook
- Your first kiss
- Driving a car without the parents
- Bungee jumping (the first time)
These are big-deal events. This year I have planned to break 95. I can do it. I am going to take some more lessons and practice and listen to others’ advice…and play.
In a way, I am planning for my success. Those home buyers who plan for their home buying and mortgage (financial) success will be happy with their scorecards. The main point is to budget. Take a look at your current budget and then add your projected mortgage payment. What do you want that mortgage payment to be, the most that you want to spend monthly on the total mortgage? And then stick to that number. Not $5.00 higher. Share that information with your loan officer. Make sure he or she pre-approves you for a loan that will keep you at or under those numbers. Once your loan officer has helped with the pre-approval, and you (together) have figured a maximum purchase price for your home, make sure you and your real estate agent view properties that fit the parameters you have just set.
Remember, as in golf, lower is better. It’s better to be $100 under your budget than over. Think about it: if you are $100 over budget, that means in the first year you have spent $1,200 more than you can afford, and in three years that number becomes $3,600.
If you are starting the home buying process, think under 100.
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One Response to “Scorecard for Your Mortgage”
1 richardcohenonline.com Blog » Blog Archive » Mirror, Mirror: Mortgage Reflection Time 6 May 2007 @ 10:29 pm
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[…] My most recent post emphasized the necessity to budget. Before doing anything. My guess is that Mr. Rodriguez and Mr. Beattie’s daughter may have thought about their budgets, but they probably got bad advice from several sources and, more importantly, did not look in the mirror and ask themselves if what they were going to do was the right and best thing for them. For the present and for the future. […]
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