Richard Mead

Most lenders calculate your payment to income and debt to income ratios using the gross income before taxes and other payroll deductions. The 25% payment to income ratio you mentioned is very very good. You can also increase your withholding exemptions to put more money in the take home. Just ask your loan officer or realtor to calculate the interest that will be paid on the loan for the rest of the year and the property taxes. Then you can take that information to the Payroll department at work and explain that you will be buying a home and this is what you expect to be paying in mortgage interest and property taxes for the rest of this year and to please increase the exemption for withholding purposes. That will have the effect of increasing your take home.
Also consult with your professional tax preparer to see which of the closing costs you can deduct from your taxes as well. That will help out around April 15th.
Congratulations on becoming a new home owner! - Thu Jul 17 2008, 09:57

Most lenders go with Gross Income before taxes, retirement contributions, donations etc. All of those items that come out of your paycheck. Then they factor in monthly debt service. If the debt only has a 3 month or shorter term to go, they usually won't count that either. The 25% Debt - to - Income ratio is really very very good. Remember that your interest paid on the mortgage is a tax deduction so that helps out on the withholding on the paycheck. Your lender or real estate broker can calculate how much interest will be paid on the loan for the rest of the year (It's most of the payment) and then you can go to the Payroll Department explain that you're buying a home and will be paying this much interest, and ask them to add that to the withholding exemptions so you don't give the government a free loan of your withheld taxes. That will make the take home larger and keep your tax refund small. It's usually best to come out owing nothing with no refund either on April 15th. Don't forget about the property taxes and the acquisition costs too. Consult your tax professional to see which of those closing costs you can take as a deduction too. - Wed Jul 16 2008, 15:24

The easiest way is to check the Zoning maps for areas on the Master Plan that are zoned for Business use. Then narrow down the search to those areas. The Multiple Listing Service does not require an accurate entry in the Zoning field when the listing is input to the database. The use you intend may or may not be permitted in B2 zoning too. There is also another Multiple Listing Service for commercial properties so you may want to contact a Realtor like myself that can access those sources of information for you. Of course, there's never any obligation to buy a property or any property when you're working with a Buyer's Agent, and we get paid by the seller so our services are free to you. - Wed Jul 16 2008, 15:33