What Can I Afford?
My best advice is to consult a lender for information on current interest rates, terms, and the wide variety of mortgage programs available today. There are many lenders in the New River Valley who offer competitive rates and excellent service - and fewer unpleasant surprises at the closing table than those too-good-to-be-true mortgage pushers you see advertised on TV or the Internet. I'd be happy to introduce you to local mortgage originators who are especially appropriate for your own circumstances.
In a half-hour on the phone or on a website, most of the local lenders will take your financial information (your income and debts) and "preapprove" you for a target maximum price you can afford for property. Having a letter of preapproval from a lender is a necessary component to a property offer in our local market. (The seller wants to know that you will be able to go through with the sale.)
But for a quick estimate you can do yourself, click on the calculator on my navigation bar (to the left) that will correlate amount of mortgage, interest rate, and duration of the loan to give you an estimated monthly payment. In this region, homeowner's insurance will be $30-$50 per month for the average house. Taxes are based on the assessed value (which I can find out for you on specific properties), and those are usually less than current sales prices. But for a quick estimate of a maximum, take the sales price and multiply by these factors (in tax dollars per thousand dollars of value) for different communities in the New River Valley to get a yearly figure:
Blacksburg - 0.93 (includes Mont. Co. tax)
Christiansburg - 0.774 (includes Mont. Co. tax)
Craig County - 0.52
Floyd County - 0.60
Town of Floyd: 0.687
Giles County - 0.63
Towns: Pearisburg 0.92; Pembroke 0.93
Montgomery County - 0.71
Pulaski County - 0.62
Pulaski town: 080
Radford - 0.73
Financing is one of the most complicated and anxiety-producing aspects of purchasing real estate – let's talk about it in person, and let me introduce you to some lenders who can offer an unbeatable combination of rates and service! See my page on "Local Lenders" for some names, and some advice about how to compare loan offers if you are shopping -- there's much more to it than just the rate!