Own your dream home:
4 ways to get there
A place by the beach, or perhaps you prefer the country? Here's what you need to know before taking on a second house.
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Home Affordability
See where you max out
Gross annual income: $ 
Downpayment amount: $ 
Monthly debt:
(eg. student loan, credit card payments)		 $ 
Mortgage rate:  %
Annual property taxes: $ 
Annual homeowner insurance: $ 
CALCULATE  
1. Save the estimated monthly payment
Each month stash the home's cost, including mortgage, property taxes, insurance and maintenance, into a money-market account if you plan to buy in a year or two, or equity funds if not for a few years, says Michael Boone, a financial adviser in Bellevue, Wash. You'll quickly know whether you can afford the house. Plus, you'll build a down payment.

In the end, spend no more than 2 1/2 times your income on a home. For a down payment, it's best to come up with at least 20%. Make a smaller down payment, and most lenders will require you to have private mortgage insurance (PMI), which adds a minimum 0.5% of the loan amount to your mortgage payments, about $1,000 more a year on a $200,000 principal.
Are you on track?
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© 2012 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy. Ad choices .
Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2012 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2012 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.
© 2012 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy. Ad choices .