Can You Afford the Home of your Dreams?

Daydreaming about owning something you can’t afford can be fun. Whether it’s a diamond-encrusted watch from Tiffany & Co., or the latest Lamborghini, even the thought of trying one on or going for a test drive can be exciting. The problem with daydreaming, however, is that it’s all-too-easy to dismiss it as just that – a dream. But, what if you daydream about owning a beautiful home in a desirable neighbourhood? Before you dismiss that as just fanciful thinking, it’s worth finding out if that dream could actually be achievable. You might discover that you do qualify to get into the home of your dreams. It’s relatively easy to figure it out. First, you need to learn what homes are currently selling for in the neighbourhood you’re targeting. If you’ve been through that exercise already, keep in mind that the market might have changed substantially in the past few months. The next thing you need to determine is approximately how much you can expect to get for your current property. That’s a fairly easy calculation and is based on what “comparable” homes in your neighbourhood have sold for recently. Finally, you need to find out how much of a mortgage you may need and what your payments will likely be. Once you have those numbers, you’ll know if you can afford the home of your dreams in the neighbourhood you’d love to get into. Then you can stop daydreaming and make it happen!