The Journal News has recently reported that several homes in the communities of Hawthorne and Chappaqua have been burglarized by thieves posing as contractors.

The deception involves enticing a resident out of the home under the pretext of inspecting or approving work that the thief posing as a contractor claims he or she is performing on a neighbor’s property.  Accomplices enter the house and burglarize the premises while the resident is outside on neighboring property engaged in conversation with the pretend contractor.

Please do not leave your home to go anywhere with a stranger, and please do not invite strangers into your home.  

If you wish to report any suspicious activity in your neighborhood, contact the 273-9500.

The National Bureau of Economic Research announced in September that the recession officially ended in June of 2009. However, nearly 15 million people remain unemployed and countless more are working fewer hours than they would like. Unemployment threatens the housing industry as it erodes consumer confidence causing would-be buyers to shy away from big purchasers like homes, and pushing many homeowners into foreclosure. Employment growth is the key to a robust recovery; and while last spring provided a reason for optimism, job growth will not be even around the country.

Officially, the recession ended more than a year ago, but the unemployment rate remained at 9.6 percent in August and is forecasted to remain above 9 percent through 2012. Furthermore, the unemployment rate varies around the country. As of August, the highest rate of unemployment in the 159 markets monitored by NAR Research was 14.8 percent in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California, while the lowest was 3.1 percent in Bismarck, North Dakota. The spread between these two markets’ unemployment rates is close to its widest point in two decades at 11.7, but is below the recent peak of 14.9 in January of 2010. With the exception of the spike in 2006 caused by Hurricane Katrina, the spread between the highest and lowest unemployment rates had not been this wide since
February 1993.

The expansion of this spread reflects the widely different experiences of those markets which have performed relatively well compared to those that experienced a more severe decline in growth.

The Geography of Unemployment

Geographically speaking, many of the most resilient markets in the country are in the Northern Midwest, in particular Fargo, Sioux Falls, and Bismarck; as well as in the Middle Atlantic and a handful of markets in New England and in western and upstate New York. Washington, D.C. and Baltimore have also done well. Both of these markets have large education and health service sectors, which have weathered the recession. Additionally, Washington, D.C. garners a large share of its employment from the Federal government, a notably stable employer. Some of the hardest hit markets in the country are those where home construction was very strong during the boom and played an important part in the local economy. As the housing market slowed, layoffs in construction and the mortgage finance industries rose. The credit crunch spread economic decline to the rest of the economy and this second wave of unemployment added to already swelled pools of unemployed workers. Many of the high unemployment cities in Florida and central California as well as Las Vegas and Phoenix depicted below experienced this pattern.

Unemployment by Industry

More often than not, the geography of unemployment reflects the relative concentrations of certain industries. Nationally, the construction and manufacturing industries were hardest hit over the last four years. Employment in the construction industry fell 26 percent from August of 2006 through August of 2010, while it fell 17 percent in manufacturing, and 11 percent in information services. The trade and transportation sector slid only 6 percent over this period, but that sector accounted for 19 percent of total national employment in August of 2006. When the economy slows, fewer products are shipped, so this sector feels the pinch sooner than most. Memphis, home to Federal Express, and other cities that act as hubs for shipping and warehousing have experienced a sharp decline in employment, but will likely be at the forefront of any expansion. The manufacturing sector accounted for 10 percent of total employment in August of 2006, so the 17 percent decline in that sector over the subsequent four years was deeply felt. Likewise, the share of total employment in both the manufacturing and construction industries declined over this 4-year period. The manufacturing industry’s share of total employment slid from 10 percent to 9 percent by August of 2010, while the construction industry’s share slid from 6 percent to 4 percent.

Not all sectors have withered, though. Employment in mining and logging grew 7 percent over the last four years as prices of oil and some minerals surged. The Federal government expanded to supply services for the unemployed as well as to support U.S. foreign and domestic security policy. Finally, employment in the education and health services sector grew 10 percent as the baby boom generation continues to march into retirement and their parents require more care. Employment growth in this sector caused its share of total employment to rise from 13 percent in August of 2006 to 15 percent four years later. Likewise, the government’s share of total employment rose from 16 percent to 17 percent over this same time frame. These two industries have been boons for the floundering labor market.

The experience of industries at the national level is reflected in unemployment at the local level. Furthermore, the industrial makeup of local markets will likely determine whether their path of expansion is relatively rapid and robust or protracted and modest. Markets with high shares of unemployed construction workers will feel the drag of this industry for many quarters to come.

Unemployment in Construction and Housing Inventory

Nationally, the construction industry made up 6.0 percent of the employed work force in August of 2006. As depicted in the map below, construction employment made up a greater share of the total work force in many markets across the West, Southwest, Southeast, and Middle Atlantic. A few markets had significantly larger shares like Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario (10.5 percent), Reno (11.3 percent), Las Vegas (12.2 percent), Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice (18.8 percent), and Phoenix (10.1 percent).

By 2010, the landscape of employment in construction had changed dramatically. That industry’s share of employment fell in most markets with the exception of a few locations in Texas, Louisiana, North Dakota and several other cities spread across the country. Coastal and Northern California along with Reno, Las Vegas, and a slew of markets in Florida experienced declines greater than 2 percentage points. Cape Coral-Fort Myers was one of the hardest hit cities with the construction share of employment falling 8.4 percentage points from 16.7 percent in August of 2006 to 8.3 percent by August of 2010. The Carolinas were all hit hard with Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, Charleston-North Charleston, and Raleigh-Cary declining by 2.7 percentage points, 2.6 percentage points, and 2.5 percentage points, respectively.

Many markets that experienced a construction boom are now burdened by high concentrations of excess inventory, which will stymie demand for housing and retard future construction. The decline in construction also impacted workers in industries that supported construction like manufacturing and food services. This situation will limit job growth in the local financial and service sectors as well as local governments which depend on property tax revenue. Conversely, markets with higher than average concentrations of workers in manufacturing may expand sooner than mothers as businesses increase orders for the machinery and goods needed to expand production. Likewise as shipments and orders rise, so will those markets that supply shipping and warehousing services.

NAR Research Report

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Lured by low mortgage rates, many homeowners have been rushing to refinance. Interest is gaining for good reason: Eligible borrowers can lock in rates that haven’t been this attractive in decades.

“With interest rates hovering around 5% for conforming loan amounts, homeowners should begin to seriously consider refinancing into a new fixed-rate mortgage, especially if they currently have an adjustable-rate mortgage,” said Lisa Weaver, president of Columbia, Mo.-based Certitude Financial Group. And don’t drag your feet, either, she said.

Rates on jumbo mortgages are still high, she said, but the national average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate conforming mortgage is the lowest in at least 37 years, according to Freddie Mac. The conforming loan limit in 2009 is $417,000 for most areas of the continental U.S., although in designated high-cost markets it will be up to $625,500.

Given the volatility in the mortgage market this year, Greg Gwizdz, national retail sales manager for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, also advises homeowners to be proactive. It’s possible that rates will be low for a while, but in this turbulent economy, it’s not best to gamble that tomorrow will bring a better deal.

“Don’t sit back and say I’m going to wait for something to happen and for rates to go even lower,” he said. If you’re able to refinance into a mortgage that will be better for your finances, don’t pass up the opportunity, Gwizdz said.

Below are other points to consider:

1. Have an idea of home’s value

Prior to starting the refinancing process, call a real-estate agent or look online at sites including Zillow.com to get an estimate of what your home could be worth, said Scott Everett, founder and president of Dallas-based Supreme Lending. If you’re “drastically upside down” on your mortgage, meaning that you owe a lot more than your home is now worth, the possibility of refinancing might end right there.

“If you owe $250,000 and the house is worth $250,000, it [refinancing] is worth discussing,” he said. But if you owe $250,000 and “the house is worth $150,000 and you’re in Southern California, then you probably won’t be able to do it,” he said. Many Southern California markets have experienced a drop in home prices.

To get a better idea on a home’s value, borrowers might ask their mortgage firm if the appraiser it works with could give a ballpark estimate before starting the process, said David Adamo, CEO of Luxury Mortgage, in Stamford, Conn. But that’s still just an estimate until an appraiser comes out to your home, he pointed out.

2. Get ready for a thorough screening process

It’s not impossible to get a mortgage in today’s environment. But lending standards are likely a lot stricter than they were the last time you applied for a mortgage, so expect a thorough and frank discussion of your finances with a mortgage banker or broker before the application is even filled out.

Lenders are asking would-be borrowers to document income and assets thoroughly. In general, many also want FICO credit scores of 660 or 680 for conventional conforming mortgages; requirements are lower for loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, Gwizdz said.

Those who might have a particularly tough time getting a mortgage today are self-employed homeowners who don’t have two years of income documentation — even if they have the income to support the mortgage, Adamo said. The availability of stated-income mortgages, which don’t require borrowers to fully document their income, is limited, he added.

3. Know what you’ll be saving

The old rule of thumb was that your rate should drop two percentage points for a refinance to be worth it, but that doesn’t always apply anymore, Adamo said. If you can recoup closing costs of the new mortgage in the first 12 months — and can save three-quarters of a percentage point on your interest rate every year thereafter — it’s probably economically justifiable to refinance, he said.

In any case, have a conversation about what rate would make refinancing worthwhile, and be prepared to take action. Borrowers also need to consider how long they want to stay in the property to determine which mortgage makes the most sense for their situation, Weaver said.

Sometimes you could be better off refinancing even if you don’t get a better rate, Gwizdz pointed out. If you have an adjustable-rate mortgage that resets in a year, but can get a fixed-rate mortgage at the same rate, it’s probably a good idea to refinance now if you plan on being in the home for years to come, he said.

He also cautions people about refinancing into mortgage terms that extend the life of the loan; doing so may bring monthly payments down, but will probably make the loan more expensive in the long term. “However, for homeowners that must have the lowest payment possible, it may be the right choice when combined with a lower fixed-rate product,” Ms. Weaver said.

4. Don’t count on cashing out

Tapping home equity through a cash-out refinance is much more difficult these days, due to stringent credit standards and loan-to-value requirements, Weaver said.

According to Freddie Mac, the share of refinances with a cash-out component was 63% over the first three quarters of 2008, the lowest level since 2004. Cash-out refinance mortgages have loan amounts at least 5% higher than the paid-off mortgage balances.

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WASHINGTON (Nov. 29) — Americans living in millions of homes will soon crawl into their attics to collect their holiday decorations. With those colorful lights and ornaments could come invisible and deadly asbestos fibers that decades from now may destroy or end the lives of some of the celebrants. For years the government has known that the attics and walls of as many as 35 million homes and businesses are insulated with Zonolite, which contains lethal asbestos-tainted vermiculite. Some medical authorities believe that people are still dying because of it. Paul Kitagaki Jr. with permission of the Seattle Post-Inteligencer Ten years ago, then EPA investigator Keven McDermott crawled through an attic in Manchester, Wash., confirming the presence of 130 bags of asbestos-containing Zonolite insulation. “Based on my experience, and my understanding of the residential and worker exposures to the asbestos in this insulation, I believe firmly that individuals are being sickened and even dying from these exposures across the country on a continuing basis, in these cases bonded asbestos services are extremely needed”  said Dr. Aubrey Miller, who was medical director for the EPA team that was sent to the remote town of Libby, Mont., in 1999 to investigate reports of hundreds of deaths and illnesses with asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer. More than 400 deaths have been attributed to exposure to vermiculite in the community in which it was mined, and a litany of solid scientific studies has shown that it can kill. Yet AOL News has documented that the government has steadfastly refused even to issue widespread warnings to the public about the dangers of a product that was became a popular insulation in the 1940s and continued to be installed in U.S. homes through the 1990s.

The tale of this confirmed killer includes political intrigue, White House intervention, industry meddling and the failure of three Environmental Protection Agency administrators to act on their promises. In This Series Part 1: Government Refuses to Act on Cancer-Causing Insulation Madison Square Garden Case Illustrates Paranoia What to Do If You Have Zonolite Insulation Part 2: Cancer Patient’s Home a ‘Living Laboratory’ for Deadly Fibers Part 3: ‘In Libby, There Was No Maybe’ About Dangers Part 4: Asbestos Dangers Known Centuries Ago, but Battle Continues When asked what they’ve done to alert the public, EPA officials repeatedly point to the vermiculite page on the agency’s website, which even many inside the agency say is inadequate. W. R. Grace & Co., which produced the vermiculite ore used in the insulation, continues to insist that the insulation is safe and presents no health risk to homeowners.

Zonolite insulation hasn’t been sold for years, but experts fear its dangers may be more acute today than ever. They worry about the spread of asbestos contamination in aging homes containing this insulation. And they fear that government-funded plans to weatherize millions of homes will increase the likelihood of exposure among installers and residents. While the threat exists all year, every year until the Zonolite is removed, experts like Miller believe the potential for exposure to the asbestos is greatest during the holidays. He and other researchers from the EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have learned from homeowners that while they may go up to their attics occasionally during the year, holidays almost always necessitate climbing the attic stairs. Miller told AOL News that decorations, coils of lights, artificial wreaths and trees may have become the resting place for asbestos-laden dust over the years. He said he can only imagine how much asbestos has collected in the fake trees and wreaths. But he’s worried most about exposure to the younger children. “It’s particularly important to understand the risks for children who have higher breathing rates and will inhale more of the fibers,” said Miller, a father of two. “Children, especially young ones, tend to spend much of their time on the floor playing with the ornaments and toys, breathing the asbestos-contaminated dust, and have many years for the asbestos fibers that lodge in their lungs to eventually cause disease.” Dangers Widespread For decades, the Grace mine, six miles from Libby, was the source of more than 70 percent of the world’s vermiculite, and geologists say almost all was heavily contaminated with an exceptionally virulent type of cancer-causing asbestos. U.S.Geological Service This shows 1,000-times magnification of needlelike asbestos fibers that contaminate the vermiculite ore from Libby, Mont. These are the same fibers released when Zonolite insulation is even gently disturbed.

No one even knows how many people with lung disease are made ill because of exposure to the tainted vermiculite because most physicians — especially those who are not occupational medicine specialists — rarely probe their patients beyond the traditional question of whether they’d ever worked with asbestos. Since 1999, Miller, Chris Weis, who was EPA’s lead forensic toxicologist on the Libby team, and many of their colleagues have worked closely with the victims of vermiculite and their survivors. They and other government scientists collected more evidence than they wanted showing that exposure to the asbestos in the insulation can trigger a 20-year or longer path to eventual disease and death for those who disturb and then breathe in the cancer-causing fibers. They have fought for years to get the government to disclose the risk to home and business owners throughout the country who have no clue that they may be living with a potentially lethal product. But they were far from alone in calling for highly publicized government warnings. Then and now, union health and safety personnel expressed concern for their members who crawl in and around attics and ceilings doing renovations and stringing telephone, television and Internet cables.

“I am amazed and appalled that nothing has happened,” Joel Shufro, executive director of the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, told AOL News last week. “Given the tremendous government-funded winterization programs, we can expect exposure to workers to increase as they disturb the old asbestos-carrying insulations,” he said. It was at least eight years ago when NYCOSH — a nonprofit coalition of 200 unions and hundreds of health and safety activists — first pleaded for the government to pay attention. “Failure of the government to inform workers and others who may be exposed to this hazard is incorrigible. This is a well-known, aggressive carcinogen and unless people know about it, it’s a prescription for death,” Shufro said. Spreading From Libby to the Rest of U.S. The vermiculite ore pulled from the Grace mine was laced with naturally occurring tremolite, one of the most toxic of six forms of asbestos regulated by the government. Interviews and medical records showed that asbestos first killed miners and then their wives and children and then others just living in Libby. More than 400 deaths have been blamed on the asbestos-fouled vermiculite. Government medical testing found that more than a thousand more had signs of asbestos-related disease. But that was just among people living in and near that corner of Montana. Andrew Schneider for AOL News The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tracked shipments to vermiculite, used in Zonolite insulation, from Libby, Mont., to all over the world.How did this dangerous product get into so many homes so far from Libby? The government analyzed invoices and shipping papers of the massive building-products and chemical multinational. It found that Grace shipped by rail and road 15.6 billion pounds of the identical cancer-causing mineral that spawned the carnage in Libby to more than 750 plants and factories throughout North America.

There the flat, silky smooth, raw vermiculite rock went through high-temperature ovens to pop or exfoliate the ore into popcorn-weight fluff that was then bagged and sold by Grace and hundreds of home- and builder-supply outlets as insulation. Sometimes it was used in scores of other products, such as fertilzer, pool lining, garden additives, potting soil enhancers, cat litter and faux ambers for gas fireplaces. “There are millions, likely tens of millions of homes in the United States probably contaminated with this [lethal] material. The inventories show it was pretty much distributed from coast to coast, most heavily across the tier of Northern states — New England, the upper Midwest and the Northwest — and in all likelihood, it’s still there,” toxicologist Weis said. Agency statisticians geographically plotted sales of Libby vermiculite and showed it went into homes at least as far south as Jacksonville, Fla., and deep into the northern portions of the Canadian provinces. Sales were highest from Grace’s national network of processing plants. The threat may be even more pressing today because the potential for hazard is increasing as the homes containing this insulation age. “They’re being renovated. New wiring is being put in as the aging wiring becomes unsafe. Internet wiring and cabling is being installed in these attics, as well as exhaust fans and various type of winterization,” said Weis, who is now senior toxicologist with the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences. “All of this activity — even the most gentle action — disturbs the asbestos, endangering not only the workers but spreading it though the homes,” he added. But even if the attics are well sealed off from the rest of the house, the EPA and its outside asbestos consultants have found asbestos-contaminated vermiculite dust seeping through wall switches, ceiling-light fixtures and fans and sometimes through the dried-out joint tape in ceilings and walls. “If I had Zonolite in my house I would want to know it, and if I knew it, I would do everything I could to get it out of there,” said Paul Peronard, who headed the EPA’s cleanup of Libby

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There is a category of home renovations which I call “Nice to Have, But Not Overly Exciting.” Replacing your roof falls into this category – though I admit, it’s much more than “Nice to Have.” It’s more like “Essential to Have.”

Replace Your Roof Before Doing Anything Else
Within the home renovation workflow, roof replacement is job number one. Every single home remodeling task you undertake, from drywall installation on down to the most delicate swath of paint, will be ruined if you do not protect it properly with a roof – first. If you are looking for roofing in Flower Mound TX, checkout Peaked Roofing for great service and affordable prices.

When Not to Replace the Roof
Only in a few instances, you may choose not to replace your roof before taking on a big home renovation project:
1.A complete, overall strip-it-and-rebuild-it. Even then, at some point, the roof will come before other remodeling jobs.
2.You are tearing the entire house down.

Roofing company is experienced in working with all types of roofs from flat to steep-sloped. If you are not sure whether you need a repair or replacement, or what type of roofing to choose, one of their knowledgeable representatives will be happy to consult with you.

Types of Roofing Materials to Use
Your choice of roofing materials often depends on your locality, as much as on your own personal taste.
•Asphalt Composition Shingles: Cheap and easily obtainable, but less attractive than other options due to “flat” appearance. •Wood Shake: a pricey, but attractive shingle. •Metal Roofing: Metal roofing is still rare, and few roofers know how to install it; special companies are required for this job. •Slate Roofing: highly attractive, and a high-end roofing option; extremely slippery to walk on. •Rubber Slate or “Faux” Slate – Recycled post-industrial synthetics gaining in popularity.
Interested in learning more about roofing materials?

Important Note: Roof pitch (angle) affects the kind of roofing shingles you can use! As an example, wood shake shingles can, and should, be used for steeper pitched roofs.

Roof Replacement Cost and Terminology
The cost to replace a roof, as you might imagine, varies. It varies according to your roofing materials (all the way from cheap 3-tab asphalt shingles up to architectural shingles or even slate), the roofing contractor, the pitch (or steepness) of your roof, the area to be covered, and a host of other factors. JRLIR – Roofers in Nassau Long Island, NY is the best choice.
Generally, you’re looking at costs of $5,000 or more. It is hard to imagine a whole-house roof replacement to cost less. Roofing contractors have a great deal of flexibility to negotiate on the cost, so you please feel that you have license to do so.

There are a few words you will need to know.

•A “square” is a unit of measure equalling 100 square feet.
•A “vent” runs along the ridge of the roof to expel trapped vapor and heat, so that the roofing does not buckle and deteriorate over time.
•”Composition” is what is commonly referred to as asphalt shingles.

Is Summer the Only Time to Replace a Roof?
No. Roofers are amazing – and this is why we pay them to do our roofs. I have seen roofers here in my very wet state – Washington State – expertly shoehorn in a roofing job between rains. No, the weather conditions do not have to be perfectly dry.
However, any partially installed areas must be perfectly dry before any covering layers are installed. The trick behind “expertly shoehorning” in the roofing project is to have a large team of professional roofers who can knock out work phases in hours, instead of days. Yet another reason to perhaps think twice before doing your own roofing job.

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Sales of previously owned homes fell in October amid weak demand and concerns about the foreclosure process, putting sales for 2010 on pace to close at their lowest level in 13 years.

Existing-home sales declined to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.43 million units last month, down 2.2% from September, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday.

The figures provide the first sign of the impact that suspensions of foreclosed property sales have had on the housing market. Several banks halted those sales in late September to address questions about the integrity of the foreclosure process.

 .Housing markets across the country have been fueled by sales of bank-owned properties, and delays had prompted fears of a new round of aftershocks for battered housing markets.

“To the extent people had any concern about being able to get clear title, they’re going to stand back on distressed properties,” said Douglas Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae. He said foreclosure delays were one of many factors that justified the mortgage company’s “continued view of weak demand.”

Still, foreclosures and other distressed sales accounted for 34% of all sales last month, compared with 35% in September, according to a NAR survey of real-estate agents.

Ivy Zelman, chief executive of research firm Zelman & Associates Inc., said the foreclosure suspensions had contributed “modestly” to October’s decline and said she expected a similar impact in November.

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There are ninety-nine (99) Armonk NY Homes currently available. The Median Price of an unsold Armonk NY Home is $1,299,400. The low price is $469,000 and the high price is $14,995,000. The average Armonk NY Home is 4845 square feet, has been on the market for 225 days and is asking $405 per square foot.

Armonk NY Homes finds sales are up 27% for the past three (3) months compared to the same period in 2009. The Median Price for a sold Armonk NY Home is $1,038,280 this year and was $1,024,687 last year. The average Armonk NY Home is 3684 square feet, takes 231 days to sell and averages $312 per foot. Armonk NY Homes sell at 93.66% of asking price

In 2009 the average Armonk NY Home sold was 3825 square feet, sold in 206 days at $306 per foot. In 2009 Armonk NY Homes sold for 94.30% of asking price.

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The answer involves a lot more than the down payment.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – The house is perfect: it feels right, it’s in the right neighborhood, and it’s got those star-gazing skylights you’ve always dreamed about. You must have it.

The only question is whether you can afford it.

The answer has to do with far more than the down payment and how big a mortgage you’re told you can get. In fact, just because a lender tells you that you can borrow a bazillion dollars doesn’t mean you should.

That’s because buying a home is probably not your only financial goal. You still have to fund your retirement and you may want to help pay for your kids’ educations, not to mention take a vacation or two. Committing every last dollar to the roof over your head can make for financial frustration at best, disaster at worst.

Here’s a quick guide to help you assess how much home you can really afford without committing yourself to the poorhouse.

Step 1: Make friends with reality
Before running off to see every cute colonial on the market, get estimates from lenders of how much you can borrow and then get a loan preapproval. “Why not couch the entire process in reality?” said Barbara Steinmetz, a certified financial planner and former real estate broker. Otherwise, you’ll waste time falling in love with houses out of your league, which can be “frustrating and demoralizing emotionally,” she said.

There are no absolutes that mortgage lenders apply in assessing a potential borrower’s eligibility, but there are some general guidelines that can help you figure out whether you’re a candidate for some of the best loans. (For a ballpark estimate, try our Mortgage Qualifier.)

For starters, the better your credit score, the better your chances of getting a favorable deal. Typically, too, a mortgage lender uses two ratios to assess the risk you’ll default on a mortgage. The first is the ratio of your total monthly housing costs to your total monthly gross income. Ideally, your expected housing costs — namely, the mortgage principal, interest, taxes and homeowner’s insurance (PITI) — shouldn’t exceed 28 percent of your income, although many lenders may allow up to 33 percent, according to Eric Tyson, coauthor of “Mortgages for Dummies.” The second is a debt-to-income ratio. Ideally, your total monthly debt — including your expected housing costs plus credit card bills and loan payments — shouldn’t exceed 38 percent of your gross, and preferably not more than 36 percent.

Having said that, there are numerous programs designed to help low-income consumers and those with weak credit obtain an affordable mortgage. For example, Freddie Mac, a government-established company that buys mortgages from banks, offers programs that do not apply a maximum on the housing-to-income ratio, that raise the cap on the debt-to-income ratio and that let home buyers obtain mortgages for as little as 3 percent down.

By learning which loans you qualify for, you can better assess the maximium price of the homes you should be looking at. “Now you can narrow the market,” Steinmetz said.

Step 2: Learn to love gutters and lawyers
Say you’ve got $60,000 saved for a new home and a bank willing to lend you up to $240,000. You figure you could look at homes priced up to $300,000, right?

Not so fast.

Two of the most shocking realizations for new home buyers is the cost of buying a house and the cost of owning it. First there’s the down payment, often tens of thousands of dollars. And if you put down less than 20 percent of the purchase price, you’ll end up paying monthly for private mortgage insurance (PMI), which protects the lender against the possibility you’ll default.

On top of that, you’ll pay anywhere from 2 to 5 percent of the purchase price in closing costs, which include inspections, discount loan points and lawyers’ fees.

Once you get the keys, you may pay far more, depending on how much renovation and redecorating you’d like to do. Then there’s the cost of maintaining your home and making repairs — everything from gutter cleaning, lawn care and termite inspection to replacing the water heater.

So, in calculating how much home you can afford, factor in the cash cushion you’ll need, after browsing through this official site, once you’re through yelling at the movers for scratching your new floor. Tyson recommends having at least three months’ worth of expenses on hand to help pay for maintenance and emergency repairs. And, indeed, a lender will insist you have some cash reserves left over after the closing.

Step 3: Flirt with the future
“Yeah, yeah, o.k.,” you say, still stuck on the house. “I’ll make the numbers work.”

Alright then. Start working. Estimate what your monthly payments would be if you actually had a $240,000 mortgage and then live for at least three months as if you had to make those payments, Steinmetz suggests. This dry-run serves two purposes: first, you get a good sense of what your cash flow would be with a mortgage that size; and second, you’ll save more money toward a new home by socking away the difference between your current house payments and your imagined ones, Steinmetz said.

In calculating your monthly payments, don’t just count the principal and interest on your mortgage, the property taxes and the insurance. Estimate, too, how much it will cost to heat — or cool — your new home. And factor in all your other expenses — from your commute to your club memberships. Don’t neglect your retirement account, either, and, if you have kids, continue to put aside money for college if that’s a priority. And remember, you’re no monk. You’ll probably still want to buy new clothes, go to the movies, eat out and indulge your love for pricey gizmos.

If, after all this, you find yourself running short every month, then you’ll know you either have to make some lifestyle changes or you have to get a smaller mortgage.

Step 4: Remember, ‘hock’ is a bad word
Given all these costs, that $300,000 house may be out of your league. Take closing costs alone. Assume you have $10,000 in closing costs (3.3 percent of purchase price); that reduces your $60,000 in savings to $50,000. Coupled with a $240,000 mortgage, that would only add up to $290,000. You’d have to borrow more money to buy the house, and you’d have to take out PMI since $50,000 is only 16.6 percent of $300,000.

But even if you know you can afford the monthly payments a $240,000 mortgage incurs, you have an emergency fund on top of your $60,000 and you’re willing to put down less than 20 percent, Steinmetz suggests looking for homes that are slightly less than you can afford. Here’s why: Real estate brokers, she explained, often show clients homes that are more expensive than the client’s stated price range. So it’s better to set your ceiling lower than your real top limit. That way, if you tell your broker you don’t want to spend more than $275,000 but are shown a $290,000 house you love, you’ve left yourself wiggle room to make a bid.

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