Every week I talk to someone who found a house online, fell in love with the photos, and wants to write an offer. Cool cool cool, I get it. But here's the thing. They haven't talked to their lender about what the actual monthly payment looks like.
I don't mean the pre-approval. I've already talked about that. I mean sitting down with your loan officer and walking through what your real monthly number is going to be once you factor in property taxes, homeowners insurance, and possibly HOA dues. That number is almost always higher than people expect.
Here's an example. A buyer sees a listing at $350,000 and runs a quick mortgage calculator online. It spits out something like $2,100 a month. Sounds great. But once you add in taxes (which in some parts of the valley can run $300 plus a month), insurance, and maybe a $150 HOA, you're closer to $2,700. That's a big difference. And nobody told them that because they skipped the conversation.
I think the reason people skip it is because it feels like a boring step. You want to go look at houses, not sit on the phone with a lender talking about escrow accounts. I get that. But this is the one step that keeps you from falling in love with something you can't actually afford, and honestly that's the worst feeling in this whole process.
My take on it, and I know some agents might disagree, is that you should have this conversation before you even start browsing seriously. Not after you find a house. Before. Your lender can give you a breakdown of estimated monthly payments at different price points. That way when you're scrolling through listings at 11pm you actually know what fits and what doesn't.
I had a buyer earlier this year who did this and it completely changed their search. They realized they were comfortable at $325,000 instead of $375,000, and they ended up finding a place they love without stretching themselves thin. That's awesome.
So if you're just getting started, do yourself a favor. Call your lender. Not to get approved. To get educated on what the real number is. Then we can talk about houses.
Sounds good? Hit me up, let's chat.