How to Prequalify a Buyer When You Sell Your Home By Owner


One questions many "for sale by owner" sellers ask is "how can I determine if a potential buyer can afford to buy my house?" In the real estate industry this is referred to as "pre-qualifying" a buyer.  You might think this is a complex process but in reality it is actually quite simple and only involves a little math.  

Before we get to the math there are a few terms you should understand.  The first is PITI which is nothing more than an abbreviation for "principal, interest, taxes and insurance.  This figure represents the MONTHLY cost of the mortgage payment of principal and interest plus the monthly cost of property taxes and homeowners insurance.  The second term is "RATIO".  The ratio is a number that most banks use as an indicator of how much of a buyers monthly GROSS income they could afford to spend on PITI.  Still with me?  Most banks use a ratio of 28% without considering any other debts (credit cards, car payments etc.).  This ratio is sometimes referred to as the "front end ratio".  When you take into consideration other monthly debt, a ratio of 36-40% is considered acceptable. This is referred to as the "back end ratio".  

Now for the formulas:

The front-end ratio is calculated simply by dividing PITI by the gross monthly income.  Back end ratio is calculated by dividing PITI+DEBT by the gross monthly income. 

Let see the formula in action: 

Fred wants to buy your house.  Fred earns $50,000.00 per year.  We need to know Fred's gross MONTHLY income so we divide $50,000.00 by 12 and we get $4,166.66.  If we know that Fred can safely afford 28% of this figure we multiply $4,166.66 X .28 to get $1,166.66.  That's it! Now we know how much Fred can afford to pay per month for PITI.  

At this point we have half of the information we need to determine whether or not Fred can buy our house.  Next we need to know just how much the PITI  payment is going to be for our house.  

We need four pieces of information to determine PITI:

1) Sales Price (Our example is 100,000.00)

From the sales price we subtract the down payment to determine how much Fred needs to borrow.  This result brings us to another term you might run across.  Loan to Value Ratio or LTV.   Eg: Sale price $100,000 and down payment of 5% = LTV ration of 95%.  Said another way, the loan is 95% of the value of the property.  

  

2) Mortgage amount (principal + interest).

The mortgage amount is generally the sales price less the down payment.  There are three factors in determining how much the P&I (principal & interest) portion of the payment will be.  You need to know 1) loan amount; 2) interest rate; 3) Term of the loan in years.  With these three figures you can find a mortgage payment calculator just about anywhere on the internet to calculate the mortgage payment, but remember you still need to add in the monthly portion of annual property taxes and the monthly portion of hazard insurance (property insurance).  For our example, with 5% down Fred would need to borrow $95,000.00.  We will use an interest rate of 6% and a term of 30 years.

 

3) Annual taxes (Our example is $2,400.00)/12=$200.00 per month

Divide the annual taxes by 12 to come up with the monthly portion of the property taxes.

 

4) Annual hazard insurance (Our example is $600.00)/12=$50.00 per month

Divide the annual hazard insurance by 12 to come up with the monthly portion of the property insurance.

 

Now, let's put it all together.  A mortgage of $95,000 at 6% for 30 years would produce a monthly P&I payment of $569.57 per month.  This figure was produced by our payment calculator.  Add in taxes of $200.00 per month and add in insurance of $50.00 per month and the PITI necessary to purchase our house equals $819.57.  

 

Putting it all together

From our calculations above we know that our buyer Fred can afford PITI up to $1,166.66 per month.  We know that the PITI needed to purchase our house is $819.57.  With this information we now know that Fred DOES qualify to purchase our house!

 

Of course, there are other requirements to qualify for a loan including a good credit rating and a job with at least two years consecutive employment.  More about that is our next issue. 

Bruce Andrews has been in the real estate business for over 20 years.  He has experience in real estate investing as well as practicing real estate as a broker for several years.  He is currently President of Fifty States Realty, www.fiftystatesfsbo.com a national "for sale by owner" website.



RELATED LINKS

Accept Credit Card Payment Online

Accept credit card payment online and increase sales by 400% or more.... Find out how ...

 

Advanta Credit Cards

Apply for an Advanta credit card with 0% APR, rewards and cash back.

 

American Express Credit Card Application

Apply online for a new AMEX rewards credit card. See special offers.

 

Best Airline Miles Credit Card

Earn Frequent Airline Miles for Every Dollar Spent with No Annual Fee.

 

Best Cash Back Credit Card

Earn Up to 5% Cash Back on Every Day Purchases. Apply for Yours Today.

 

Best Reward Credit Card

Compare & Apply for the Best Reward Credit Cards with Up to 5% Cash Back Rewards and more.

 

Business Credit Card Online Application

Compare Business Credit Cards from All Major Banks. Apply Online Now

 

Chase Credit Card Application

Find Credit Card Applications from Chase & Apply Online in Seconds.

 

Citi Credit Card Application

Citibank offers credit cards that have 0% APR balance transfer options, Rewards, Cash Back, and much more

 

Credit Card Application For Bad Credit

Great card for bad credit just got better. 8.9% APR, instant decision.

 

Credit Card Balance Transfer Deal

Great Rates: Balance Transfers and Purchases. Capital One Credit Card

 

Debit Cards

Control Your Spending with a debit card. Guaranteed Approval.

 

Discover Credit Card Offer

Discover Credit Card Offers with 0% for 12 months, no fees & cash back.

 

Gas Credit Card Application

Save money at the gas pump with a new gas credit card. Apply now.

Fast Easy Payday Loan

Get the fast cash you need with an easy payday loan. Compare and apply

 

Hotel Rewards Credit Card

Earn Free Stays with a Hotel Rewards Credit Card. Apply Online Now.

 

HSBC Credit Card Application

Get 0% Intro APR, No Annual Fee, Great Service, Benefits. Apply Now.

 

Low Interest Credit Card List

Compare & Apply for Credit Cards w/ 0% Intro APR for Up to 15 Months

 

Master Card Application

Apply for MasterCard Credit Cards with 0% APR, Cash Back & No Fees.

 

No Annual Fee Credit Card

0% APR with No Annual Fee. Compare No Fee Credit Cards & Apply Online.

 

Online Car Loan Application

Loans and Refinancing for New and Used Cars. Online Approval.

 

Online Debt Consolidation Services

Consolidate your debts today - ease the strain of monthly bills.

 

Online Foreign Currency Trading

FOREX is a serious game. Play it with the pros. Start with just $50. The best trading platform available today. Start Trading and see why.

 

Online Mortgage Application

Apply online for a mortgage for your home. It's fast and easy. Great Rates!

 

Online Visa Credit Card Application

Compare & Apply for Visa Credit Cards with 0% APR and No Annual Fee.

 

Prepaid Credit Card

Get a Prepaid Credit Card with Free Direct Deposit. No Credit Check.

 

Shopping Reward Credit Card

Shopping Reward Credit Card. Fast Online Credit Card Application ... You have found the best shopping reward credit card site on the Internet!

 

Student Credit Card Application

Pay 0 Interest for 6 Months & Earn Rewards with a Student Credit Card.

 

Travel Rewards Credit Card

Compare Frequent Flyer Credit Cards Apply Now and Start Earning Miles.


MORE RESOURCES:


Finance and Commerce

Commercial real estate market in Richmond area improving, executives say
Richmond Times Dispatch
Commercial real estate lending is picking up, but it is still far from the heyday of about five years ago. "Banks are out lending again, if you have good ...
Commerce Real Estate acquires 2 new officesDeseret News
Real estate investors see steady cap rates in more marketsPensions & Investments
Commercial Real Estate outperforms market.Examiner.com
Nashville Post (subscription) -Salt Lake Tribune -Housing Wire
all 22 news articles »


Chicagoist

Mayor Richard Daley secretly questioned by FBI in 2008 over real estate probe
Chicago Tribune (blog)
Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill. Gutierrez, who had just received a $200000 loan from Boender for his own real estate investments, personally lobbied Daley. ...
Daley won't testify in real estate developer caseABC7Chicago.com

all 67 news articles »


Buy Real Estate as Inflation Hedge, Aberdeen Says
BusinessWeek
March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Investors should buy real-estate assets and funds that invest in property in the UK and Asia because a potential ...

and more »


eCreditDaily.com

Real estate pros looking for work, ready to move?
San Francisco Chronicle (blog)
Real estate job hunters who don't want to leave the Bay Area might think about what local institutions might be racing to implement short-selling programs ...
Loan Resolution Corporation adds 100 employees to meet rise in short salesNational Mortgage Professional Magazine
Housing Recovery is Spelled REOHousing Wire

all 10 news articles »


Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust Announces March Distribution
MarketWatch (press release)
TORONTO, ONTARIO, Mar 16, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Allied Properties REIT (TSX:CA:AP.UN) announced today that the Trustees of the REIT have declared ...

and more »


UK Commcl Real Estate Opportunities Despite Uncertain Recovery
Wall Street Journal
CANNES, France (Dow Jones)--There are still opportunities to invest in commercial real estate in the UK, a panel of experts at the Mipim property conference ...

and more »


Real estate leaders challenge relocation expenses
Tampa Tribune
NEW PORT RICHEY - Some local real estate leaders are critical of a new wrinkle in the federal government's program to ...

and more »


Report: Bakersfield fifth worst residential real estate market in country
Bakersfield Californian
The Bakersfield area was the fifth worst residential real estate market in the nation in January based on ...
Sacramento delinquency rate tops 12 percentSacramento Business Journal

all 4 news articles »


Dream Stocks for Real Estate Investors
Motley Fool
We'll enlist CAPS to screen for real estate companies, then get the story behind some of its more highly rated stocks. CAPS' nifty screener will help us ...

and more »

Google News

home page | article index | site map
Credit  |  Currency Trading  |  Debt Consolidation  |  Debt Relief  |  Insurance  |  Investment  |  Leasing  |  Loans  |  Mortgage and Refinance  |  Personal Finance  |  Real Estate  |  Stocks and Mutual Funds  |  Taxes

 

© Copyright 2006 - SmarteCredit.Com. All rights reserved