The general rule that most banks will look at is 24% to 36% of your gross income, including ALL your debt payments. Take 46k per year and divide by 12 = $3833 a month. The bank would like to see you debt to income ratio to be about $919/mo to $1379/mo.

wait
rent for now
house prices are still declining

as a rough estimate 35% of your disposable income should be the maximum you can afford monthly
for example if you make $3000 per month you can afford about $1000 per month house payment

anyways

good luck

You should make a payment that you feel comfortable with. You don't want to be house poor,(Putting all your money into the home and having nothing left for anything else.) There are a lot of options out there. Just hire a good agent and they will really help you.
J.

Hi Haley,

It does seem very confusing and scary at first, the thought of purchasing a first home.

The best thing to do is to talk to friends and acquaintances to find out if someone can recommend a few reputable real estate agents to you that specialize in the area in which you are considering your purchase. Talk to a few of them, and find the one that suits your needs. There are many excellent Realtors out there.

Search the internet, it is full of great information on the home buying process and finding a Realtor.

Then, the next step would be to talk with the agent that you choose. Ask them if they can recommend 3 to 5 local lenders to you that are familiar with your area, to give you a place in which to start shopping for a loan. Or again, ask friends, neighbors, acquaintances. If someone has had a good experience with a lender they will surely let you know.

Talk to the lenders and get 3 written good faith estimates, upfront, to show you what your closing costs and interest rate is projected to be. Tell the lender and your Realtor that you are interested in staying in the $800 a month price range, and see if they determine whether that is feasible for the area in which you are considering.

Information is power. The more educated you become to the home buying process the less intimidating it will be to you. An excellent Realtor and Mortgage company can make the experience a pleasant one for you.

You are truly the only ones that can determine what a comfortable monthly payment should be for you!

Best wishes to you in getting started,

Sandy Shores, Realtor
M & M Real Estate, Inc
Residential & Investment
Brevard County
Florida's Space Coast

Haley, a good Realtor and lender will make you much more comfortable with the process. Basically most lenders will approve you for about 2.5 X your annual income. This may be too much for your budget, however. You may, to get a home that you are very comfortable with, need to go over the $800/month that you are currently paying however. Depending on your downpayment available that may only buy you a 80-90K home. Most homes that are move-in ready and in desirable areas will probably cost a bit more than that.

Good luck with your move! Let a good agent and lender take care of the headaches.

We specialize in 1st home buyers, work with all the details

I am a real estate agent, and loan officer therefore one stop shop for all your real estate

Few steps you must do
a) Pre-approved for a loan
b) Working with a loan officer can determine what is your best interest for your short term and long term goals
c) It also depends on credit scores, debit ratio, disposal income to purchase a home
d) You have to pay for inspection, bank appraisal, escrow,
e) Foreclosures I have seen some great foreclosures move in quality where you can purchase a home that you would not assume you could have purchased
f) $46K per year, you MIGHT MIGHT be able to qualify for a home approx. $150K to $200K
Contact my office if we can be further assistance.