Before you spend time looking for your dream home, make sure you have a good feel for how much house you can afford. You would be wise not only to get pre-qualified (and ideally pre-approved) for a mortgage through your lender but also to consider your proposed house payment in the context of your overall financial well-being.

You likely will qualify for a payment roughly one third the dollar amount of your monthly gross income. But don't go looking at homes in the upper end of your qualifying range before you decide you would feel more comfortable with a house payment equal to one quarter of your gross pay. You only will be disappointed if you start your search in a higher-end neighborhood and have to settle for a less ritzy area.

Start by writing down all of your fixed and variable expenses and your budget for travel, entertainment, savings, home maintenance, etc. Then, decide on the maximum payment with which you would be comfortable. Ask your lender to help you calculate how much house your budgeted payment will enable you to buy and focus your home search accordingly

For a free consultation to discuss which type of mortgage loan will work best for you, call Victoria Spannaus at Wachovia Mortgage Corp. at

(800) 741-7813 or 910-692-6225.