To assess how much house you can afford, experts generally recommend that you spend no more than 28% of your gross monthly income on housing expenses and keep total debt, including housing, student loans, car payments, and credit cards, under 36% of your income. Various home loans come with different terms and rates, with some requiring lower down payments than others. Use our straightforward mortgage loan amortization calculator to estimate your payments and help [...]

Generally, if you’ve never owned a home before, you are classified as a first-time homebuyer. Additionally, if you haven’t owned a primary residence in the past three years, you may still qualify as a first-time homebuyer. First-time buyers often benefit from significant financing options and flexibility, with down payments starting as low as 3%. FHA loans are especially popular among first-time buyers due to their low down payment requirement of 3.5%. [...]