How to Budget for a New Home (2024)

FAQs

How to Budget for a New Home? ›

When budgeting for a home, consider following the 28/36 budgeting rule. The 28/36 rule: This rule stipulates that your housing expenses shouldn't exceed 28% of your gross monthly income, and your total debt (including things like credit cards and student loans) should remain below 36% of your gross monthly income.

First, do a quick calculation to get a rough estimate of how much you can afford based on your income alone. Most financial advisors recommend spending no more than 25% to 28% of your monthly income on housing costs. Add up your total household income and multiply it by . 28.

If you make $70K a year, you can likely afford a home between $290,000 and $310,000*. Depending on your personal finances, that's a monthly house payment between $2,000 and $2,500. Keep in mind that figure will include your monthly mortgage payment, taxes, and insurance.

How much should you save for a home? It's a good idea to put away anywhere from 25% to 30% of your home's purchase price to account for your down payment, closing costs and other assorted expenses. Aiming to save 25% should cover the bare minimum – a 20% down payment, plus 5% in closing costs.

How Much House Can I Afford? If you really want to keep your personal finances easy to manage don't buy a house for more than three times(3X) your income. If your household income is $120,000 then you shouldn't be buying a house for more than a $360,000 list price. This is the price cap, not the starting point.

On a salary of $36,000 per year, you can afford a house priced around $100,000-$110,000 with a monthly payment of just over $1,000. This assumes you have no other debts you're paying off, but also that you haven't been able to save much for a down payment.

An individual earning $60,000 a year may buy a home worth ranging from $180,000 to over $300,000. That's because your wage isn't the only factor that affects your house purchase budget. Your credit score, existing debts, mortgage rates, and a variety of other considerations must all be taken into account.

Can I buy a 300K house with 60k salary? It's possible for a person making $60K to purchase a home worth up to $300,000. However, in order to do so you'll need excellent credit and sufficient savings or other resources available as down payment and closing costs.

The 28/36 rule

This guideline states that you should spend no more than 28 percent of your income on housing costs, and no more than 36 percent on your total debt payments, including housing costs. (So that would also include credit card bills, car payments and any other debt you may carry.)

The required credit score to buy a $300K house typically ranges from 580 to 720 or higher, depending on the type of loan. For an FHA loan, the minimum credit score is usually around 580.

What does Dave Ramsey say about buying a house? ›

But if you do get a mortgage, Dave Ramsey recommends following the 25% rule—remember, that means never buying a house with a monthly payment that's more than 25% of your monthly take-home pay on a 15-year fixed-rate conventional mortgage.

The minimum credit score needed for most mortgages is typically around 620. However, government-backed mortgages like Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans typically have lower credit requirements than conventional fixed-rate loans and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs).

A good number to shoot for when saving for a house is 25% of the sale price to cover your down payment, closing costs and moving expenses. (This amount is separate from saving up 3–6 months of your typical living expenses in a fully-funded emergency fund—which I recommend you do first, before saving up for a home.)

How many times to look at a house before buying? Ideally, four to six viewings should be sufficient.

The most common way to use the 40-30-20-10 rule is to assign 40% of your income — after taxes — to necessities such as food and housing, 30% to discretionary spending, 20% to savings or paying off debt and 10% to charitable giving or meeting financial goals.

If you have a conventional loan, $800 in monthly debt obligations and a $10,000 down payment, you can afford a home that's around $250,000 in today's interest rate environment.

Figure out how much you can afford to spend by applying the 28/36 rule: Your annual income of $100,000 breaks down to gross monthly pay of about $8,333. So take 28 percent of that to determine the maximum amount you should spend on housing costs each month: $2,333.

A $3,500 per month mortgage in the United States, based on our calculations, will put you in an above-average price range in many cities, or let you at least get a foot in the door in high cost of living areas. That price point is $550,000.

Lenders often use the 28/36 rule as a sign of a healthy DTI—meaning you won't spend more than 28% of your gross monthly income on mortgage payments and no more than 36% of your income on total debt payments (including a mortgage, student loans, car loans and credit card debt).