There is no one answer that works for everyone: it depends on your numbers. Enter yours and see, month against month, your rent today and what you would pay if you bought the home you are looking at, and how much money you need to close: the down payment and the closing costs.
What you already paid comes from your rent today times the years you have been renting, with no increases: it is the same math as in the guide — $3,400 a month is $40,800 a year.
What you would pay if you stayed comes from that same rent with the yearly increase you set in the assumptions.
The home payment is the one from How much do I need: the loan (the price minus the down payment) at today’s rate, plus the taxes and insurance of a home in your county and, if the down payment is under 20%, mortgage insurance. Each property adds its own maintenance on top, which is why two homes at the same price can have different payments: we look at that with you, home by home.
To close you need the down payment plus the closing costs: the lender, the title, the appraisal, the loan taxes and the reserves. The math uses the most expensive case, so you are not short on signing day.
It does not decide for you. If your numbers say keep renting a while and build up more money, the math shows that too: it is the "you are short" number.
It is not an approval or a loan offer. Umbralio is not a bank or a government agency.
It does not count your income, your debts or your credit, and those decide how much the lender will lend you. The questionnaire adds your income and the range your credit is in, which you tell us.
It gives you the numbers to decide yourself: your rent today and the estimated payment on the home you are looking at, month against month, how much you need to close and how much you are short. There is no universal winner: with different assumptions the math changes, which is why the assumptions are shown and can be changed.
It is an estimate using today’s rate, the tax and insurance of a home in your county, and mortgage insurance. The real payment depends on the actual home (its tax, its insurance and its maintenance) and on the loan you are approved for. For your real number there is the questionnaire: five questions and we count the properties for sale today that fit your payment.
There are two ways out, and they can be combined: save the difference while you keep renting, with a date in mind, or down payment help: Miami-Dade, Broward and the state run programs, and each one decides based on your case. The assistance door tells you which ones are taking applications today and which could fit you.
Nelson Paredes, REALTOR®, through One Stop Realty Center Inc, a licensed Florida broker.