Have you been scared away from buying Montana real estate?

 The subprime mortgage bust has terrified a lot of people away from the housing market.

The nightly news is full with images and stories of normal Americans who are losing their homes because they made greedy and uneducated decisions, they were taken advantage of by predatory brokers, or a combination of these situations. Still, the news isn't all terrible. This regression in the market has dropped prices and made housing affordable to many fiscally dependable renters who never considered home ownership to be an option.

If you find yourself house-hunting, make sure that you follow these five simple steps to take the upper hand of this downturn in the market; if you don't, you could be the next somber story in your local news.

1. Accounting for Extraneous Expenses
As with almost any sizable purchase, there can be a numerous of fees associated with buying a home. Expenses associated with property taxes, homeowner's insurance, standard maintenance, and utilities must not be passed over. In addition, if you buy a home that is part of a complex or attached to a homeowner's association, you will have to pay annual fees as well. Make sure that you take these other costs into account when you are defining how much home you can afford.

2. Acknowledging Special Assessments
Many properties require a myriad of regularly scheduled special assessments to be performed in order to satisfy local regulations and ordinances. These are fees that are required in addition to standard property taxes. In order to make sure that these costs don't take you by surprise, obtain copies of prior bills for these services and inquire about any pending and future assessments that need to be done on the property.

3. Obtaining a Manageable Mortgage
A good question to ask yourself before contacting your local banker to confer a loan is, how much is too much? While you might be tempted to try and obtain as much money as possible if you can discover a good rate, you do not want to make the mistake of taking on a loan so big that your finances will be hard-pressed to the point that you cannot make your payments. Traditional income multipliers are a good situation to start. If you have a single income, 3.5 times your annual salary is the maximum that you should ponder requesting and if you have dual incomes, the maximum have to be about 2.75 times your joint salary. If these amounts will stretch your budget too far, then it is a good idea to consider borrowing less.

4. Determining How Much Property to Buy
Now that you have a handle on all of the costs involved and have determined how much money you can lendSynonyms, it is time to figure out just what you can afford to spend on a new home. Whatever you do, don't bite off more than you can chew; doing so could quickly lead down the road to foreclosure. Take into account your credit history, the closing costs on the loan, the amount of the down payment, and any former debts. Weigh these against your income and savings before making a move.

5. Welcoming Your New Real Estate into Your Basic Budget
Once you have everything in order, set a budget and stick to it. While your new home purchase will undoubtedly become both your biggest asset and your biggest payment, you still have to eat. It is also important to make sure that you start procuring a rainy day fund in case of emergencies; one of the things that accompany a new home is the potential for substantial unforeseen expenses. Set a reasonable budget that includes an allowance for sudden costs and you can live happily ever after in your new home.

If you would like to take a look at some Bozeman real estate or any real estate, ranch, commercial or residential in the Montana real estate area, feel free to give me a call or email me.

REAL ESTATE SOURCES: Search the entire Montezuma County Real Estate MLS. Jill Battle Realtor is your LaPlata County Real Estate professional including Mancos Colorado Real Estate. Durango Colorado Real Estate Broker. For all buyers and sellers information for Century 21 real estate contact your Durango CO real estate expert. Your complete source for buying or listing Cortez Colorado real estate in and around Montezuma County. Search for any home, property or ranch in the area including Dolores, Mancos and Pleasant View.  Brenda Fletcher is your Sandpoint Idaho real estate agent for all of Northern Idaho real estate including Coeur d'Alene, Bonner's Ferry, Dover and all Bonner county.