Bob Zawaski Principal Broker Investors Trust Realty My Website P.O. Box 91373 Portland, OR 97291 O: 971-246-0194 M: 971-246-0194 Contact Me

They had no debt except car payments, so the average mortgage calculator said they could afford a $450,000 home. They looked online and found some very beautiful homes in that price range around the Austin area. They were excited to see they’d be able to buy a three-thousand square-foot home, with a bonus room, office, four or five bedrooms, island kitchen with granite counter tops and possibly a swimming pool.

They said it was like a giant carrot was dangling in front of them. The couple spent their weekends driving by these homes, and imagined living in one of them very soon. But one thing puzzled them. Each time they “crunched some numbers” and saw what their new budget would be, they never had enough money (or they were stretching their budget too thin). They asked each other, “Why do these mortgage calculators tell us we can afford a $450,000 home when our own calculator tells us otherwise?”

Mortgage calculators don’t ask you about the valuable and priceless things you want and need to do for your family. If you buy a home at the maximum you qualify for (which most Americans do), then you’ll have very little left for the most valuable things in life, or you’ll pay for the valuable things anyway and end up in credit card debt.

Here’s an example list of valuable expenses that may be of importance that the mortgage calculator never asked about:

Pre-school for 2 children: $10,000 per year
College fund for both kids: $233 per month