A Latte' A Day Could Keep The Dream Home Away!

So many times I work with clients who say, "I'm willing to spend $200,000 but not a penny more." Then undoubtedly, we come across a $240,000 house. My client will nearly pass out at the thought of spending almost a "quarter of a million dollars!" on a house. In a normal situation, if I were walking in to a store with a budget to buy a $20 shirt, but the one I really liked was $35, I'd likely walk away. In the situation of a home, however, you are in a much different situation. Let's pretend the above numbers are correct. You are wanting to spend $200k and no more. You find the perfect home for $240k. Here's a pretty normal situation. You offer $200k, they counter with $230k. Now you are heart broken because you simply will not spend the extra $30,000. Then I ask you, "Would you be willing to pay an extra $115-$120 a month to have this home?" The most common answer is "YES!!" Did you know that by countering for $220k, you can get the home of your dreams for only $115 more a month? We are talking about a small increase monthly to walk away with the home you really want. To avoid, "sticker shock" you need to look at the overall monthly cost of a home. Here's a quick rule of thumb. Turn your interest rate into dollars per $1,000. So, if your rate is 5.75%, then you will pay $5.75 in interest per $1,000 on the loan. So, the difference of a $200,000 home and a $220,000 home is only $115 per month. That's a small Latte' a day! What are you willing to let stand in the way of you and your dream home?